It's not just you: Reddit is taking over Google

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses how Google's AI search engine and the rise of forum posts like Reddit and Quora are disrupting traditional SEO practices. It highlights the following key points:

🙋 Q&A

[01] Google's Shift Towards More Human, Helpful Sites

1. Questions related to the content of the section?

• Google has been shifting towards promoting more human and helpful sites, leading to a surge in traffic to Reddit and other forum sites.
• This shift is being exploited by spammers, raising concerns about the quality of content appearing in Google search results.
• Google's deal with Reddit to train its AI models on Reddit content has led to speculation that Google is giving Reddit better visibility in exchange for the valuable training data, though Google denies this.

[02] The Rise of Reddit and Quora in Google Search

1. Questions related to the content of the section?

• Data analysis shows that traffic to Reddit has climbed significantly since August 2023, with Semrush estimating over 346 million visitors in April 2024.
• Quora is also getting a huge visibility boost in Google search results, along with hundreds of other forums and communities across the web.
• Reddit is now as visible in top Google search results as Instagram, which is described as "unprecedented" growth.
• Reddit is competing with the likes of Wikipedia, YouTube, Fandom, and even Amazon for high-value commercial searches.

[03] Google's Rationale for Promoting Forum Content

1. Questions related to the content of the section?

• Google says it is giving users what they want, as its research has shown that people often want to learn from others' experiences on a topic.
• This shift in search behavior has been happening for several years, with younger users turning to alternative sources like TikTok and Instagram for information and recommendations.
• Google's AI systems would benefit from the more up-to-date information Reddit can provide, especially as its generative AI search engine rolls out.

[04] Risks of Spammers Exploiting the Reddit Bump

1. Questions related to the content of the section?

• There are concerns that spammers are already abusing the rise of Reddit and other forums in Google rankings, with a study finding that 51% of Reddit's top-ranking threads in Google's forums sections contained spam as a top comment.
• Techniques like purchasing abandoned Reddit accounts, posting affiliate-filled comments on popular posts, and artificially inflating their popularity are being used to game the system.
• Google's anti-spam policies apply to all content, but it's unclear how effective they are in dealing with the influx of manipulated content on Reddit and other forums.
• There are concerns that Google is shifting the burden of monitoring abuse onto Reddit moderators, which could lead to neglected subreddits being spammed with unhelpful or false content.

[05] The Future of Reddit's Visibility in Google Search

1. Questions related to the content of the section?

• The SEO community believes Google may need to recalibrate its approach, as users may start complaining that too much Reddit content in Google results can be a bad thing.
• However, there is also room for Reddit's presence in Google search to grow even bigger, as currently only 8% of Reddit's ranking content appears in the top 3 search results.
• For now, Reddit and Google need each other, and it may be in neither of their interests to stop the current trend of increased visibility for Reddit in Google search.