Reddit is the real winner of Google's August Core Update

The recent August 2024 Google core update surprised the SEO community, with one unexpected outcome - the meteoric rise of Reddit in search engine rankings.

Once relegated to the sidelines, the social news aggregation and discussion platform has now surged to become the third most visible site in Google's US. search results, trailing only behind the juggernauts of Wikipedia and Amazon.

This shift in the SEO landscape raises questions about the factors driving Reddit's success, the implications for digital marketers, and the potential conflicts of interest arising from Google's recent investment in the platform.

Reddit's Ascent to Prominence

The data paints a clear picture of Reddit's dramatic rise in the aftermath of the August 2024 core update.

According to SISTRIX, a leading SEO monitoring tool, the platform gained a staggering 200 visibility points in just one week - a statistically significant surge that has propelled it from the 78th to the 3rd position in overall visibility. To put this into perspective, Healthline, a well-established health information website, sits at a mere 178 points.

This meteoric rise has catapulted Reddit from the 85th position to the 7th on the SISTRIX "Top Domains" list within just eight months. Ahrefs data further corroborates this trend, indicating that Reddit's organic traffic from Google U.S. searches skyrocketed from 57 million to 427 million visits between July 2023 and April 2024.

Factors Driving Reddit's SEO Success

The rise of Reddit in search engine rankings can be attributed to several key factors, many of which reflect broader changes in Google's search algorithms and user behavior.

Google's Emphasis on Authenticity and User Intent

A significant driver of Reddit's success is Google's apparent shift towards prioritizing authenticity and user intent in search results, particularly in the context of YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) queries. This shift is evidenced by the fact that Reddit threads are now outranking traditional, SEO-optimized articles, suggesting that Google values the perceived genuineness of user-generated discussions over commercially motivated content.

For example, the search query "best credit repair companies" now yields a Reddit thread as the top result, where a year-old discussion titled "Are there any LEGIT credit repair companies?" has overtaken traditional industry-focused articles.

However, this approach is not without its risks. While Reddit discussions can offer valuable insights, the platform is also prone to misinformation and manipulation, as Lily Ray, Vice President of SEO Strategy & Research, noted. This presents a challenge for Google, which must balance the authenticity of user-generated content with the need to protect users from potentially harmful information.

Google's Strategic Partnership with Reddit

Another factor that cannot be ignored is the strategic partnership between Google and Reddit. In February 2024, the search giant announced a $60 million deal with the social platform, granting it access to Reddit's data API. This partnership, aimed at improving the integration of Reddit content within Google's ecosystem, has raised concerns about the objectivity of Google's search algorithms.

While Google has denied any direct influence of this partnership on Reddit's search rankings, the timing of Reddit's visibility surge - beginning months before the partnership was announced - has fuelled scepticism within the SEO community.

Implications for the SEO Industry

Reddit's rise to prominence in Google's search results has significant implications for the SEO industry, highlighting the increasing importance of user-generated content (UGC) in search rankings and challenging traditional notions of SEO.

For brands and marketers, this shift underscores the need to engage with platforms like Reddit as part of a comprehensive SEO strategy. By leveraging the visibility and authenticity of user-generated discussions, companies can potentially gain a competitive edge in the search landscape.

However, this shift also presents its own set of challenges. The open nature of Reddit makes it susceptible to spam, misinformation, and manipulation - issues that are likely to increase as more marketers seek to capitalize on the platform's newfound prominence. This raises questions about the sustainability of Reddit's SEO success and whether the platform can maintain the trust and authenticity that have contributed to its rise.

😏 on X: "Reddit was the biggest winner of the August core update by far. Quora saw big gains too. Google seems to be incorporating more real user comments/subreddits into the search results for high-volume keywords (E = experience) https://t.co/enqo9yOUg2" / X

The Risks of Prioritizing UGC in YMYL Queries

One of the most contentious aspects of Reddit's rise is its prominence in YMYL queries - searches related to health, finance, and other areas where the accuracy of information is critically important. While Reddit can provide valuable insights, it can also be a source of misinformation, as evidenced by a top comment in a Reddit thread on "how to lose weight quickly" that suggests "cutting your arm off" as a method.

In the context of YMYL queries, the stakes are particularly high. Google has traditionally emphasized the importance of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) in these areas, and by elevating Reddit content in these queries, the search giant risks undermining these principles and exposing users to potentially harmful advice.

A New Era in SEO?

For SEO professionals, the message is clear: the rules of the game are changing. As platforms like Reddit become increasingly important in search rankings, brands and marketers must adapt their strategies accordingly.

This may involve a greater focus on engaging with online communities, leveraging user-generated content, and diversifying traffic sources to mitigate the risks associated with relying on a single platform.

At the same time, SEO practitioners must remain vigilant in addressing the challenges posed by the rise of UGC, particularly in sensitive areas like health and finance. By emphasizing content quality, E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trust), and traffic diversification, they can position their clients for success in this new era of search.