Reddit became the second most visible website in Google’s US search results in 2025, trailing only Wikipedia. The change happened in roughly 18 months, and most brands haven’t adjusted to what it means.
The shift traces back to a specific event: in February 2024, Reddit and Google signed a $60 million per year content licensing agreement. The deal gave Google access to Reddit’s content API for training Gemini and other AI models. Within months of the agreement, Reddit’s organic search visibility began climbing dramatically. SISTRIX documented the scale: Reddit moved from 78th to 3rd most visible domain in Google’s US results during 2024, with a 190.9% increase in visibility for the year, and gained approximately 200 SISTRIX visibility index points in a single week after the August 2024 core update, a figure that exceeded the total visibility of most established content sites.
The trajectory continued through 2025 and into 2026. Google introduced and expanded the “Discussions and forums” carousel as a dedicated SERP feature, surfacing Reddit threads for queries where real-world discussion adds value. In 2026, this feature appears in roughly 1 in 4 commercial-intent searches: product comparisons, software recommendations, troubleshooting queries, and purchase-decision questions.
The result: for queries like “best CRM for small business” or “what’s the most reliable wireless router,” the search results page typically includes three to five Reddit threads on page one. They outrank established review sites and product comparison platforms. They sometimes outrank the brands’ own websites.
What follows is the breakdown of why this is happening and how it works mechanically. It also covers how brands can participate authentically without crossing into the manipulation patterns that get accounts banned.
Why Reddit content ranks so well now:
Several factors combine to produce Reddit’s current SERP dominance.
Domain Rating advantage. Reddit’s domain authority is among the highest on the internet at over 91. Every individual Reddit page inherits substantial authority from the parent domain, which gives Reddit threads a structural ranking advantage over standalone pages on lower-authority sites.
The licensing deal’s direct effect. Google’s $60M annual payment for Reddit content created an explicit business relationship. While Google denies algorithmic favoritism toward Reddit specifically, the timing of Reddit’s visibility increase aligns closely with the deal’s implementation. The conclusion most practitioners draw: even if Reddit is not getting favorable treatment in the literal sense, the integration of Reddit content into Google’s AI training data has produced effects. Reddit content surfaces in search more prominently than before.
The user behavior signal. People searching for product recommendations and decision-making information frequently add “reddit” to their queries (“best vacuum reddit,” “best project management software reddit”). The pattern signals to Google that users want forum discussions for these query types, which feeds back into how Google ranks the results.
The discussion format match. For queries with high commercial intent, the value of real-world discussion exceeds the value of marketing copy. Reddit’s threaded discussions, with upvote-validated answers and multiple perspectives, match the format Google’s systems have learned users prefer for these queries.
The aging asset behavior. Unlike blog posts that tend to decay in rankings over time, popular Reddit threads gain authority as they accumulate upvotes and ongoing comments. A thread asking “What’s the best email marketing tool?” from two years ago can continue ranking and even climb if it keeps attracting engagement.
The AI search reinforcement. Reddit content is consistently cited in Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT responses, and Perplexity answers. The citations reinforce Reddit’s authority within the AI ecosystem, which feeds back into traditional search visibility.
The combined effect produces a feedback loop. Reddit ranks well in search. Users click through and engage. That engagement reinforces Reddit’s authority. AI systems train on Reddit data, then cite Reddit in their responses. The citations feed back into search rankings. The brands that aren’t represented in this loop are absent from a growing share of the discovery surface.
The Discussions and forums carousel:
Google’s most visible feature for surfacing forum content is the Discussions and forums carousel, introduced in late 2023 and expanded substantially since. The carousel appears as a dedicated section on the search results page, featuring threads from Reddit and occasionally other forum sources.
How the carousel works:
- For queries Google identifies as benefiting from discussion content, the carousel appears prominently on the search results page, often above traditional organic results.
- The threads featured are selected based on relevance to the query, engagement metrics within the threads, and the thread’s overall ranking signals.
- Each thread in the carousel shows the post title, the subreddit it’s from, and an excerpt of the highest-voted answer or relevant comment.
- Clicking through takes the user to the Reddit thread itself, where they can read the full discussion.
The query types that trigger the carousel:
- Commercial product queries: “best [product type] for [use case],” “[product] vs [product],” “[product] review.”
- Decision support queries: “should I buy [product],” “is [product] worth it,” “[product] alternatives.”
- Troubleshooting queries: “[product] not working,” “how to fix [issue],” “[product] common problems.”
- Subjective recommendations: “best restaurants in [city],” “best podcasts for [topic],” “what to do in [location].”
- Industry-specific advice queries: “how to break into [field],” “what software should [job role] use,” “[industry] career advice.”
What doesn’t typically trigger the carousel:
Pure factual queries with definitive answers (“when did World War II end,” “what is the population of Tokyo”).
Strictly navigational queries (specific brand names looking for the brand’s own site).
Local service queries dominated by the local pack.
Some YMYL queries where Google may prefer authoritative editorial sources over forum discussion.
The carousel’s placement matters for visibility. When present, it occupies prime real estate on the SERP, above the position where users typically look first. Being represented in the carousel for relevant queries is one of the highest-value visibility outcomes available in 2026.
The Forums tab in search results:
Beyond the carousel, Google’s search results include a “Forums” tab in the filter row at the top of the SERP. The tab surfaces the top-ranking forum threads for the current query.
What the Forums tab reveals:
The threads Google considers most authoritative for the query topic, regardless of whether they appeared in the main results.
The subreddits where the discussion is happening, which can guide where to participate.
The aging of the discussion (newer threads vs. evergreen threads still getting engagement).
The depth of discussion (threads with many comments vs. brief exchanges).
The Forums tab is underused by most SEO practitioners but reveals important information. Andrew Tulip’s team at Search Everywhere has described the tab as “essentially a map of the URLs Google is using to train its AI.” Threads ranking in the Forums tab for high-value keywords are likely in the data pool informing AI Overview responses. They shape how AI systems describe products, categories, and brands.
The strategic implication: check the Forums tab for the most important keywords in your space. Identify the threads where your brand should be represented. Those are the conversations that influence both traditional search visibility and AI search citation patterns.
Why participating in Reddit isn’t straightforward:
The opportunity is clear. The execution is much harder than it looks because Reddit communities have strong defenses against marketing intrusion.
Reddit’s culture is hostile to overt promotion. Every subreddit has rules and moderators who actively enforce them. Posts and comments that read as marketing get removed quickly. Accounts that consistently post promotional content get banned, sometimes permanently.
Karma matters. Reddit accounts accumulate karma based on the upvotes their posts and comments receive. New accounts with low karma are treated with suspicion. Many subreddits have minimum karma requirements for posting. Building genuine karma takes months of authentic participation before the account has standing to make recommendations that might benefit a brand.
Account history is scrutinized. When an account makes a brand recommendation, other Redditors often check the account’s history. If the history shows a pattern of recommending the same brand across multiple subreddits, or if the account shows obvious signs of being a marketing operation, the community labels it as spam. The recommendations lose credibility.
Moderator tools have improved. Modern Reddit moderation includes automated tools that detect coordinated posting, suspicious patterns, and likely marketing accounts. The detection has gotten substantially better through 2024-2025, which has reduced the effectiveness of the manipulation tactics that worked in earlier years.
The community sniff test. Even when automated tools miss it, Redditors are skilled at identifying inauthentic participation. A comment that reads like marketing copy, mentions a product unnaturally, or follows a recognizable pattern gets called out by other users, downvoted, and reported.
The pattern: Reddit’s defenses against marketing are substantial and getting more sophisticated. Approaches that try to game the system tend to fail in the short term and create reputational risk that’s hard to recover from.
The artificial engagement market and why it fails:
A substantial market exists for buying Reddit engagement: upvotes, comments, aged accounts, posting services. Andrew Tulip has estimated that 95% of what agencies sell as “Reddit marketing” is artificial engagement from banks of old accounts.
How the manipulation typically works:
Spam operators maintain banks of Reddit accounts, often with substantial age and karma built up through automated activity over years.
When a client wants Reddit visibility, the operator deploys the accounts to post comments mentioning the client’s brand in relevant threads.
The accounts cycle through different IP addresses, vary their posting patterns, and try to mimic organic behavior.
For some campaigns, the operator deploys upvoting accounts to boost the visibility of the planted comments within the threads.
Why this fails consistently:
Reddit’s anti-abuse team identifies the patterns. Account banks get detected and banned in waves. The investment in account aging gets lost overnight when the operator’s network is identified.
The artificial engagement produces no genuine community standing. When real Redditors investigate the accounts (which they do regularly when they see suspicious recommendations), the accounts’ histories don’t hold up. The brands being promoted get publicly identified as spammy.
The threads where artificial engagement is detected often get removed entirely by moderators, which means the link or mention disappears regardless of how much was paid to place it.
When campaigns are exposed publicly (which happens regularly because the SEO community discusses these tactics openly), the brand using artificial engagement gets named, which damages the brand’s reputation more than the temporary visibility helped.
The legitimate approach takes substantially longer but produces durable results that don’t get reversed by enforcement actions.
The legitimate participation playbook:
The approach that produces lasting value involves authentic participation that follows the actual norms of Reddit communities.
Identify the relevant subreddits. The subreddits where your target audience is active. Not every brand has natural Reddit communities; some audiences (developers, gamers, specific hobbyist communities, certain professional categories) have substantial Reddit presence. Others (luxury consumers, some B2B segments, older demographics) have less. SparkToro and similar audience research tools can help identify whether Reddit is the right channel.
Build accounts that exist for genuine participation. Real people from the brand (founders, technical staff, customer-facing team members) should have their own Reddit accounts that they use authentically. The accounts develop karma through helpful comments on topics they actually know about, regardless of whether those comments mention the brand.
Participate substantively in discussions. Comment on threads where the brand has genuine expertise to add. Answer questions that don’t require mentioning the product. Share knowledge that benefits the community. The participation builds reputation over time.
Recommend the brand only when it genuinely fits the question. When someone asks for recommendations in a category where your product applies, an account with established standing can recommend the product with proper disclosure of affiliation. The disclosure is required by Reddit’s policies and by FTC guidelines.
Engage with criticism honestly. When the brand comes up in Reddit discussions (positive or negative), engage with the discussion authentically. Acknowledge criticism that’s valid. Provide context for misunderstandings. Don’t argue or get defensive.
Accept that the timeline is months to years. The compounding effect of authentic participation across many discussions, by people who work at the brand, builds the kind of community presence that Reddit communities accept. It also ranks durably in search. The investment is real.
The brand mention effect:
Even without active participation, the way brands surface in Reddit discussions affects SEO outcomes through several indirect mechanisms.
Branded search volume. When users encounter a brand recommendation on Reddit, many of them search for the brand by name afterward. The branded searches feed Google’s understanding of brand prominence, which influences ranking decisions for non-branded queries.
Referral traffic. Reddit threads that mention the brand drive direct traffic from users clicking through to learn more. The traffic itself isn’t a ranking signal, but the engagement patterns it produces feed downstream signals.
Natural backlinks. Bloggers, journalists, and content creators often discover products through Reddit discussions. They then write about the products on their own sites, producing genuine editorial backlinks that pass ranking authority.
AI search citations. Reddit threads mentioning the brand feed into the data that AI search systems train on and retrieve from. The mentions translate into citations in AI-generated answers, which extends the brand’s visibility beyond traditional search.
Local AI Overview effects. Andrew Tulip’s research documented a case where a Seattle pub never participated in Reddit themselves but kept getting mentioned by locals discussing where to watch Premier League. The mentions led to the pub appearing in AI Overviews and Google’s organic results for relevant queries. The mechanism was entirely organic; the visibility outcome was substantial.
The implication: brand mentions on Reddit have value even when the brand isn’t the one creating them. Brands with passionate customers often get mentioned organically. Brands without that customer base do not get mentioned even when they try to participate.
The strategic priority becomes earning the kind of customer experience that produces organic Reddit mentions. The mentions then feed the visibility effects automatically.
What Reddit looks like in 2026 vs. 2022:
The shift in Reddit’s role over the past few years has been substantial enough that approaches developed even three years ago are partially outdated.
In 2022: Reddit was a community platform with limited search visibility. SEO practitioners largely ignored it. Reddit threads occasionally appeared in search results but didn’t dominate.
In 2023: Google introduced the Discussions and forums carousel. Reddit visibility started increasing in product-related queries. The shift was visible but not yet dramatic.
In 2024: The Google-Reddit licensing deal happened. Reddit’s visibility jumped substantially. AI Overviews launched and began citing Reddit content regularly. The shift became impossible to ignore for SEO practitioners.
In 2025-2026: Reddit became the second most visible site in Google US search results. The Discussions and forums carousel expanded to nearly 1 in 4 commercial queries. AI search systems consistently cited Reddit as a primary source. Reddit SEO emerged as a distinct discipline.
The trajectory suggests continued importance through 2026 and beyond. The licensing deal between Google and Reddit isn’t time-limited; the integration of Reddit content into AI training corpora is structural rather than promotional. The user behavior patterns that favor Reddit-style discussion content for certain query types appear durable.
For brands building SEO strategy in 2026, ignoring Reddit means ignoring a substantial and growing share of the discovery surface. Participating in Reddit authentically requires investment but produces durable visibility that compounds. Trying to manipulate Reddit through artificial engagement produces short-term visibility followed by enforcement and reputational damage.
The brands that have adjusted their strategy benefit most from the shift. The adjustments include legitimate Reddit participation, customer experience that produces organic mentions, and monitoring of how the brand appears in Reddit discussions. The brands that haven’t adjusted are increasingly invisible in a segment of search where their potential customers are actively making decisions.
Reddit’s role in Google search results changed faster than most strategic frameworks updated to reflect it. The catch-up is still happening; the brands that move now have an opening that won’t last forever. The opening will close as competition for Reddit visibility intensifies, but the closing is still in front of most categories rather than behind them.