The answer to the question is, yes. 100%. It’s undeniable. Marketing on Reddit, will affect your visibility on search.
It is well known in the SEO community. Whether it’s being parasitic (using another website’s domain authority to rank your own website), or driving traffic, making a splash is very easy on Reddit.
In previous Google updates, Google has taken a shine to Reddit (other than buying it’s data and using Reddit to outsource several Google processes). It means that Reddit threads have been shooting into some of the most competitive SERPS and taking up real-estate in the “what people are saying” tab. The social media platform has seen millions more users, more comments and more opportunity for people like us: links from Reddit may have more value, more through traffic and all the stuff search engines love (and that increase sales/ conversions/ whatever you’re after).
So, can we take advantage of this to improve SEO & traffic? Many already are.
But, if you’re looking for us to share any evidence of our own Reddit Abuse, we’d be putting a noose around our own necks. This can be a little naughty – black hat – and may get your projects punished.
Consider this a thought experiment; if you are looking to use the most standard ways of abusing Reddit for growth purposes, here are handy tips from things we’ve learned in the past.
1. Just be useful
I think it’s sensible to say: “it’s best not to go overboard and abuse this tactic”.
This is not how Google intended Reddit to be used, nor will thousands more posts from marketers improve the platform (therefore, providing this strategy with a shelf life).
First and foremost, the reason why we’re writing about this is because part of our mission is to help companies, organisations and niche websites think about lateral ways to generate value from search marketing. Thus, thinking about how other marketing tactics can help your website via search.
This plea may be futile, but the best thing to do here is to provide value. We’ve found, the best results are from products and services that offer genuine value. With real thinking behind the product, branding or service. It cannot be a quick-buck link to a payday loan company or crypto scam, it needs to be something that connects with HUMANS in the real world. Otherwise, you’ll likely find no success or get yourself banned from the platform.
Marketing at it’s most effective is connecting consumers to value. The result? Making their lives better. This is just another way to help them find the value you provide.
2. Plan before posting.
Often, the most obvious rules are those that we forget.
The most crucial thing to do is to make a plan. Without a plan, it’s likely the post may get zero traction, it may get spotted as spam and removed (after a torrent of abuse from Reddit users) or, in the worst case of all, it does extremely well, but, to no end. It’s essential to visualise and plan the ideal outcome, and think about how you can get searchers from A, to V (value).
There are some questions you need to ask yourself before
- Before I create a post, which keywords could this post rank for?
- What is their intent and can I reflect this in the post? What will search engines be looking for? A discussion, recommendations, information or answer to a question?
- Where should I write my post so it is relevant for Reddit users and therefore search engines (subreddits, communities etc..)
- Can I legitimately add value to this discussion? Or am I being Spammy?
- I need to be subtle here, how can I get a link/ mention of my website without it being flagged? How can I make the recommendation look organic and genuine? Via comments or hoping users mention you organically?
- Should I – maybe – add an extra step between the Reddit thread and my website? (say, an article on a third-party website)
- What can I do if it all goes wrong, and this thread starts to become potentially damaging to my brand/ website?
- While effective, does my brand need to be using sneaky tactics? And would it matter to the brand if people found out?
With a plan, you can add in extra steps, market for soft conversions (emails or scorecards) that hard conversions (sales) etc.. What do you want to achieve? and work back from there.
3. Organic doesn’t always mean “natural”.
The key is to make it all feel organic. What I mean by that is ‘natural’. Not unusual, doesn’t stand out for the wrong reasons.
Even though we’re designing these funnels from the top to the bottom, it needs to seem as natural as possible. As if we had planted a seedling that, over years of love and nurturing, has grown into a wonderful tree; the difference being, we’re trying to build provinance, with an adult tree we planned yesterday. It’s very hard considering that Reddit users are also generally good at sniffing out a ruse.
A common mistake from Reddit marketers is to going too heavy: “I bought this [insert thing], and it’s worked great”. That’s a quick way to get spotted, your post is removed and probably banned from the platform. We’ve made these mistakes – with those outcomes.
An example I will use is made up, but based on a real example.
How about, a post to promote a little handheld Hoover? It’s good for getting into corners, has a brush on it that’s designed for small hairs and a key selling point is that it is quiet and doesn’t scare pets. I need to help potential customers discover the benefits for themselves, so what kind of questions are they likely to ask? Where will my target audience likely be? Is there a way I can be personable and express knowledge in the subject? How do I create a post that encourages people to interact in a way that provides an opportunity to talk about the product – without it being an obvious sales pitch?
In the same way charity volunteers do when they stop you in the street, we’re asking: “How is your day?” – rather than – “Buy my thing?”
If you wanted what we’d do in this situation?
R/Catadvice, maybe? : How about “best hoovers for cat hair?” for the keyword? It’s niche, specific and catches some traffic (110) but fairly high difficulty. Looking at the SERP, a Reddit thread could cut through really nicely. A title like: “Help! I have a Persian Cat (called Ralph) and I can’t keep my carpets clean. What’s the best hoover for cat hair?”. This question may seem genuine enough, it shows some knowledge adds a personal flair, is about cats (Reddit LOVES cats) and open for people to comment. On the surface, the intent of the post isn’t immediately obvious.
At this point, get commenting! Talk to the people there like a human being. Ask questions, get people to comment, upvote and engage. The more that do, the higher the chance that Google will pick up on the thread and discover it to be valuable. At worst, it’s great market research.
4. The 7-11-4 Rule
This is a rule that we live by. It is one of the most important rules to understand while working in digital marketing (including link building). It answers the question: “What do I need to do to earn trust online?”
The research tells us that consumers need (on average) 7 hours, over 11 touchpoints in 4 locations. Perfect. So, while adding extra steps into your funnel may seem counterproductive, it’s going to help build a brand relationship with your potential customers.
Then, how can we apply this rule to Reddit? Plan the customer journey to help them discover all of the touchpoints they can before reaching a landing page?
If Reddit is where potential customers find the recommendation (1st location), rather than add a raw link to a product profile page, why not add another step to a 3rd party article educating the customer about what you do (2nd location)? Another idea, include a YouTube video of a product/service showcase in the article for them to watch (3rd location) – with a discount/ into offer of course – then onto the landing page on your website (4rd location)?
Already, customers have spent a huge chunk of those 11 hours, researching the brand and interacting with touchpoints, before they find your website.
Why not combine it with a social media ad campaign (specifically retargeting ads), and visible links to your review platforms (Trustpilot etc..)? It is also extremely common for users to leave the platform they are on to search for your brand using search engines (organic traffic). So, write more articles to be found under branded searches, and think about featured listings where consumers can also purchase the product (amazon, Ebay etc..). All of these will pop up for product and branded searches.
It’s like a pinketto machine, why leave the rungs to chance, when you could lead your customers into the pocket that is yours?
5. Post something a little outrageous (and create a wave)
Sadly, this is how the world works. It sometimes flies in the face of our “don’t abuse this tactic” speech, but sometimes, we need to be shocking to be seen. NGO’s and charities pipe videos of starving children onto our TV screens for that very reason.
In the past, some of our most effective posts on Reddit have been about a topic that is contentious, likely trending, or a manufactured battle (within a community). You could even be the commenter to start a bit of a debate!
Outrage is currency, and the easiest to attract outrage is by creating a post that provides, provokes, an opportunity for different viewpoints to go at each other in the comment section. This doesn’t need to be politics and could be as niche as two factions within a community (Games Workshop is a business that uses internal friction to its advantage with superb effect). If you know it will create a war in the comments, write a post that attracts that kind of attention.
The game is to get more comments, more interactions, more upvotes and more visibility. Search engines usually pick up on Reddit threads with lots of activity, because they deem those as most relevant. So, when you’re asking a question or writing anything on Reddit, consider whether manufacturing grievance could be used to generate a buzz.
Then, once all is said and done, hi-jack the top comment with a link to whatever it is you intend people to see. Just an idea – you could then take that argument online and send it to a news agency to push the row further.
This is very effective for activist campaigns, raising awareness of a just-giving campaign, and selling something that takes advantage of tribal infighting. Often, where there is friction, there is interaction and attention.
FAIR WARNING: be very careful what you do this for, or why. It could very easily backfire. If you cause too much trouble, it may come back to haunt you. It’s a fine line between generating interest, and causing trouble in the real world. Keep it light!
Rule of 3
Say it 3 times, and people will remember.
Reddit users tend to like to read over most of the comments. Searchers on search engines usually scan through the comment to see whether one recommendation is recommended more than once. Place your message 3 times within a thread, that’s the rule.
