Time to read: 7 minutes
We’re coming up on a year of Google and Reddit’s partnership, as it was finalized in April of last year, and in that time a lot has shifted in the world of search for Google, Reddit, marketers, and general users.
If you weren’t aware, last year Google signed a deal with Reddit that allowed Google to use the forum to train its AI products, including Gemini and AI Overviews, for $60 million annually. The deal, and its consequences, spurred a lot of mixed reactions and debate in the ensuing months, and also brought about some changes to search. Let’s look at the state of things.
The Rise of Reddit in 2024 and How It Changed the Game
Google makes it no secret that they’re always looking for ways to improve search functionality and the results they deliver to their users, as evidenced by their many algorithm updates and the introduction of new tools, such as AI Overviews. And while these updates often impact a range of sites, positively and negatively, it’s rare for a single site, or a grouping of sites, to seemingly be singled out and receive a surprising amount of attention and prominence in search results.
And yet, this is what happened to Reddit last year, and, to a lesser extent, other forums like Quora and Stack Exchange. These forums, Reddit in particular, began to appear more often and more prominently in search results in 2024, with many commentators pointing to Google’s partnership with Reddit as the likely reason why. While this is certainly a component, there are actually a number of factors at play:
- Google initially began to promote forums such as Reddit and Quora as part of its Discussions carousel in 2021, well before any deal was inked with Reddit. Later, a “Forums” area for online searches was added to Google alongside stalwarts like “News,” “Videos,” and “Images.”
- Meanwhile, many users had begun to add “Reddit” to the end of their search queries because they were seeking out real discussions on topics from real people, rather than corporate or otherwise biased results. Google surely took note of this and began to focus on delivering what users wanted.
- Google, wanting a steady stream of content to train its AI systems, then sees Reddit as a viable opportunity. The logic could go something like this: If users are already searching for Reddit threads for information, and it’s in Google’s best interests to supply that information for searches, then Google has a significant opportunity. Sign a deal with Reddit, heavily promote Reddit in search, and receive a wealth of new content for AI training purposes from the forum’s more than 140,000 active subreddits that would only grow with increased exposure.
The Impact
No matter what combination of factors led to Reddit’s surge, however, the results spoke for themselves:
- One study in February of last year showed that Reddit appeared more than 97% of time for queries related to products and reviews.
- Smaller sites with posts featuring original content began to be outranked by Reddit posts that featured that same content, much to the site owners’ dismay.
- Many companies and marketers were troubled by and frustrated with these changes, as it seemed Google had cut companies out of the loop for many searches, so these professionals made their feelings known online. As SEO strategist Lily Ray noted in May, “I am pretty sure the recent SEO visibility growth of Reddit.com is unprecedented in the history of Google Search… never has a site seen this massive of an increase in SEO rankings, traffic, and visibility in this short amount of time.”
- Some raised alarm bells about the spam and affiliate links they saw populating subreddits due to Reddit’s increased visibility, worsening posts. Others, meanwhile, pointed out that while Reddit and other forums surely have their place for discussions, they are not comprised of experts on given topics and information presented can often be misleading, incorrect, or biased.
- As an example of the dangers of Reddit, AI Overviews, which had been trained in part on Reddit forum information, came under fire in the spring of last year for supplying information that was often incorrect, strange, and borderline dangerous.
Where Things Stand with Reddit in 2025
Throughout 2024, Reddit’s status in search remained largely unchanged, and marketers’ qualms about the shift remained. In November of 2024, Lily Ray was once again examining analytics related to Reddit’s placement and reported that the forum was still ranking for terms that used to deliver results for affiliate and review sites. But not only this, her example showed a Reddit post that featured a top comment with an affiliate link (and not even a working one) rather than any kind of natural discussion.
Ray commented that “The good old days of Reddit being some beacon of authentic human conversations are over, if you ask me.” She went on to argue that Google might need to adjust its search results to lessen Reddit’s prominence due to the potential for low-quality results. A later post of hers discussed the prevalence of AI spam on various forums as well.
Meanwhile, through the end of 2024, Reddit was still racking up big numbers with no end in sight, and Lily Ray predicted that any kind of recalibration by Google might not happen for months or years.
Then, by January 7, 2025, things took a turn.
Reddit Drops
Marketers began to see a drop in Reddit’s visibility and prominence in search results after the first of the year, with tools like Semrush and SISTRIX tracking the decline.
As SEO analyst Glen Gabe noted, a lot of volatility was seen on user-generated content sites like Reddit, Quora, and Stack Exchange. While some sites, like Quora, saw slight improvement, Reddit showed significant decline. Gabe also highlighted that Reddit not only dropped in organic search results, but also had reduced visibility on Google features such as the People Also Ask dropdowns.
Lily Ray, meanwhile, noted that Reddit dropped in organic search results by 350 SISTRIX visibility points, or “about the size of the entire Home Depot website,” as she put it. Reddit also moved from #3 to #4 for Google’s U.S. site visibility rankings, per SISTRIX. Needless to say, Ray was pleased with this result, as Reddit’s previous surge had done no favors for marketers and regular businesses.
So, what happened?
Google, unsurprisingly, has remained tightlipped on the matter, but some theories have emerged:
- Google may have altered how certain kinds of sources appear for specific types of queries, with Reddit being impacted
- Google may have altered some of their featured offerings, such as “What people are saying,” resulting in a Reddit drop
- Reddit could have been singled out due to the aforementioned quality issues, marketers’ concerns, or some other factor
It’s Not Over, Yet
Despite recent drops, Reddit remains a front-runner on search, even having some of the most successful couple months in Q4:
Where Do We Go from Here?
Though Google’s changes and Reddit’s drop could be a good thing for businesses and their marketing teams, until we get a fuller picture in the coming months it’s a good idea to not get ahead of ourselves.
Google’s changes could be part of a larger plan that might upend search in a new way, or Reddit could rise to prominence once again. Plus, with Google’s multimillion-dollar annual deal with Reddit, and their vested interest in the forum’s content, it’s unlikely the search engine will be doing much that could damage Reddit’s viability long-term.
Until we know more, we should all keep following the news and experts’ takes, studying the analytics, and using best practices to boost our own content efforts like normal.
