{"id":56845,"date":"2025-01-30T03:26:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T03:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/marketing\/the-google-reddit-partnership-what-does-this-mean-for-your-content-strategy\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T03:26:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T03:26:31","slug":"the-google-reddit-partnership-what-does-this-mean-for-your-content-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=56845","title":{"rendered":"The Google + Reddit Partnership: What Does This Mean for Your Content Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"The\"The<\/p>\n

In February 2024, Google and Reddit announced a partnership that involved Google\u2019s access to Reddit\u2019s content through official APIs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever since Reddit has been enjoying unprecedented visibility on Google\u2019s search result pages, both through organic rankings and separate \u201cdiscussions\u201d\u00a0 sections which would often be featured in SERPs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The partnership raised a lot of questions in the digital marketing community as it obviously made Reddit an unavoidable part of buying journeys. But there\u2019s even more to it than immediately meets the eye.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why Did This Partnership Even Happen?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Understanding the why\u2019s is important for seeing the broader picture and knowing what the future may hold for organic visibility. Like for any important business partnership, there are several reasons for this one to have happened:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Happier Google\u2019s Users<\/b><\/h3>\n

Google was very <\/span>transparent<\/span><\/a> about this reason for the partnership: Lots of searchers add \u201creddit\u201d to search queries making it obvious that they wanted to see what others were saying about problems they were trying to solve.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. More Traffic for Reddit<\/b><\/h3>\n

In its official <\/span>announcement<\/span><\/a>, Reddit didn\u2019t make it a secret that its objective behind the partnership was to increase organic visibility for Reddit content. More traffic translates into more revenue. Reddit became a public company a few months after the partnership, so the deal was very timely indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Chart:\"Chart:
Reddit\u2019s organic traffic growth, according to Semrush (as of December 2024)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Google\u2019s Access to Real Human Conversations<\/b><\/h3>\n

For years Google has been lacking one key element: Access to real human conversations. We\u2019ve seen it correct this disadvantage many times: Google Wave, Google Plus, and recently Google Notes \u2013 all of these projects had one distinct purpose: Giving Google access to actual live conversations real people exchange in real life.<\/span><\/p>\n

All those projects failed, and meanwhile, the Internet has been moving towards letting people talk to each other for decades now.<\/span><\/p>\n

The quick development of generative AI technologies made this gap even wider. Suddenly Google faced one huge risk: Having access to millions of AI-generated documents and little to no exposure to what real people say or need.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s when the Reddit partnership happened: Google got access to actual people\u2019s conversations giving its AI models to learn from real people, in real time.<\/span><\/p>\n

For marketers, it is crucial to understand this higher-level goal behind the partnership.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

It is an early sign of what is going to happen to digital marketing: In the sea of smart AI platforms that can take just about any role (<\/span>sales<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>customer support<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>content<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>promotion<\/span><\/a>, etc.), customers will be seeking alternative channels to find solutions to their problems, <\/span>from real people<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why human-first marketing is going to win.<\/span><\/p>\n

So now that we know why this partnership happens, what can we, marketers do to benefit from this knowledge?<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Reddit Reputation Management is Crucial but Challenging<\/span><\/h2>\n

Over the past several months Reddit has become an integral part of just about any buying journey. Whether you are investing in TV or social media ads, be prepared people checking your reputation on Reddit because Reddit threads rank for most branded searches:<\/span><\/p>\n

Even people who did not intend to search for your brand name on Reddit will likely read Reddit discussions after discovering them through a simple Google search.<\/span><\/p>\n

We get lots of businesses asking us how to go about these results.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no simple answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The nature of Reddit is that no happy customer will go there to create a thread boasting their positive positive experience with your business. As a result, mostly negative threads rank for various branded searches. And there\u2019s no easy way to protect your reputation because you risk being attacked by trolls and make things worse? <\/span>Reddit marketing<\/span><\/a> is not an easy thing to implement.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Jay\"JayI have written multiple books that include sections around the power of interacting with customers and prospects in any kind of discussion board forum, conversational venue, Reddit, and even just simple forums. I think that\u2019s a no-brainer and has to be done.\u201d \u2013 Jay Baer (via the Social Pros Podcast 600th episode<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Things you need to be doing to manage your brand reputation on Reddit:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first thing to do is not to get despaired. Keep in mind that any brand out there is facing the same issue. You are not alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, use these threads to collect negative feedback and learn from it:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Make sure you close all the real gaps redditors are reporting<\/strong>. Whether it\u2019s poor customer service or product deficiencies, make sure you\u2019ll get that fixed;<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Use Reddit complaints for on-site content inspiration<\/strong>. Create a detailed FAQ page to address all those problems and questions.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Implement Reddit feedback in the buying process<\/strong>: Make sure your buyers are well aware of shipping terms, return procedures, etc. before they complete the payment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Once you have everything done, comment on negative feedback<\/strong> with links to your official FAQs. Don\u2019t get defensive or sarcastic. Apologize and calmly explain what may have gone wrong and why. The worst you can do is to mock redditors even if you think what they are saying is false.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Reddit has another interesting phenomenon to blame for: People are trained to research brands and products more and more. Even if they just type a brand name to navigate to its site, they are encouraged to read about it through Autocomplete results:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Image\"Image
    Google\u2019s Autocomplete suggestions for a brand name I found through Instagram ads.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Make sure to monitor your brand mentions and be everywhere where you are discussed. Be part of every conversation, and learn from each one. This will also build the brand\u2019s trust and recognizability. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Branding statistics<\/span><\/a> claim that it takes at least 7 touch points for your brand to be remembered. Being part of every conversation is the best way to achieve it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. Reddit as Content Ideation and Research Tool<\/span><\/h2>\n

    The future of winning content is human-driven. As more and more content gets AI-generated, people will more and more long for real first-hand experience and human content. The popularity of Reddit is the best proof of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

    That\u2019s why Reddit is such a great tool for content ideation. You can always see which topics resonate with people and which angles get their attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ways to utilize Reddit to build your content strategy:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Rand Fishkin, CEO of the audience research tool SparkToro, shares a great example of the way the brand Chartr<\/a> found a creative way to reach more audiences by utilizing the subbreddit r\/dataisbeautiful.<\/a> Listen to the conversation via the Data-Driven Decisions podcast<\/a> below.<\/p>\n