Reddit, #1 Source of Truth for Google, and LLMs, + What Should Businesses Do?

For GEO/AEO, is Reddit here to stay, and what should we do?

Reddit’s meteoric growth in organic search is astounding, and not good news for the bottom of the funnel for most businesses. According to Semrush data (which is likely less than 1/3 of actual search data):

😱 Reddit ranks for about 2 MILLION queries containing “reviews” (These are reviews businesses have NO CONTROL OVER)

😱 About 500K of Reddit’s ranking URLs and titles contain “SCAM” (Searchers seeing these in search may make a buying decision right away without clicking to verify)

😱 About 500K of Reddit’s ranking URLs and titles contain “legit” (When your potential customer is questioning if your business is legit, would other Redditors be able to confirm that it is?)

Join us to discuss this LIVE, and bring your questions!

Is Reddit Here to Stay?

Businesses are not happy. I am often asked if I think this is long-term visibility or if they can hope Reddit will finally decline in visibility for their most important queries.

Well, Google didn’t start ranking Google just because they wanted to :)

GOOGLE just FOLLOWED THEIR USER.

According to Semrush (again, this is not ALL Google’s data),

✅ The word “reddit” is added to at least 9 MILLION queries Semrush knows about.

✅ This is over 100 MILLION searches a month. People want to know what Redditors think on that many topics.

Reddit is Google’s users’ DESTINATION. That’s why Reddit is so visible in search, and consequently in LLMs (AI wants to give people what people need!)

I cannot predict the future, but don’t assume Reddit’s visibility is because of high-level agreements with Google and OpenAI. The latter two just give users what they apparently need!

Can Reddit Be Manipulated?

Any platform can be manipulated. It all comes down to how much you value your brand and how ready you are to risk its existence.

The recent article from 404 Media exposes some vulnerabilities that still work.

Reddit’s visibility is also its major challenge. Will it be able to cope?

So far, it looks like it will.

Reddit understands its power in delivering real insights from real users. If AI slop prevails, it will not exist.

So just a few days ago, Reddit delivered a quiet “Reddit update”, and that’s what we saw:

• Major subreddits were suspended for a lack of moderation

• Lots of posts and accounts are banned without even a chance for a moderator to see them.

Reddit automation and manipulation are becoming impossible as we speak, because Reddit knows it is the matter of its existence.

So What Should Business Do?

Generally, building an engaged community on Reddit will help your brand’s sentiment for just about any situation:

• Explain pain points

• Talk to your customers, like you are a real human being

• Showcase customer stories without being promotional

Overall, make yourself heard as an authentic, legit business entity.

It takes time, but it is also long-term. Once you set up your business as a trustworthy brand entity, it is not easy to lose.

Here are some resources that can help to create a strategy:

• Reddit OWNS the Bottom of the Sales Funnel (And Businesses Fail to Do Anything about That)

• So, How Do You Fix Your Reddit Reputation? (For SEO & AI Visibility)

• The Dangers of Reddit: If You Cannot Beat it, Lead it

• How to Use Reddit for Marketing THE RIGHT WAY

• How to Manage Your Brand’s Reputation on Reddit

• How to Do Reddit Marketing without Making Enemies

And start working on your Reddit strategy now (actually, you should have started a few years ago!)