Google’s Danny Sullivan disputed claims made in a Reddit discussion that Google prioritizes Reddit in search results. However, the example of a Redditor whose Reddit post ranked in the top 10 of search results within minutes and actually proved that it is possible for him to move up the rankings to 2nd place after a week. I am.
Discussion about Google’s prioritization of Reddit
One Redditor (gronetwork) complained that Google was sending so many visitors to Reddit that its servers were suffering from load, and that it took only a few minutes for a Reddit post to rank in the top 10. I shared an example that proved this.
This post is part of a 79-item Reddit thread in which many on the r/SEO subreddit complained that Google favors Reddit too much over legitimate sites.
The person who did the test (gronetwork) wrote:
“…the website is already cracked down due to too many visitors (server down, double posts, comments not visible).
…It takes just a few minutes (you can test it) for your post on Reddit to appear in Google’s top 10 results with keywords related to the post’s title… (see article on my site) You’ll have to wait a few months for that to happen)). Do the math, the whole world will be spamming here. The loop is complete. ”
Reddit posts ranked within minutes
Another Redditor asked if he had ever tested whether it took “a few minutes” to rank in the top 10, and gronetwork replied that he had tested it in a post titled “Google SGE Review.”
Gro Network posted:
“Yes, for example, I previously created a post called “Google SGE Review.” In less than 5 minutes, he was ranked 8th in Google SGE Reviews (no quotes). Washingtonpost.com is immediately followed by his six authoritative SEO websites and his SGE (Search Generative Experience) overview page on Google.com. Ranked #3 in SGE Reviews. ”
Indeed, not only did that particular post (Google SGE Review) rank in the top 10, but it started at #8 and actually improved its ranking and is now #1 for the search query “SGE Review” listed below.
Screenshots of Reddit posts that ranked within minutes.
anecdote and anecdote
Now, the above is just an example. But this is an incredible anecdote. Because it proves that Reddit posts can rank within minutes and stay higher in search results than other, possibly more authoritative, websites.
hankschrader79 shared that Reddit posts rank higher than Toyota Tacoma forums for phrases related to Toyota Tacoma truck modifications.
Google’s Danny Sullivan responded to the post and the entire discussion, disputing that Reddit doesn’t always take precedence over other forums.
Danny writes:
“Reddit is not always prioritized over other forums. [super vhs to mac adapter] What I went to this week was the Apple Support Community, the MacRumors Forum, and below that was Reddit.I did that too [kumo cloud not working setup 5ghz] These days (nightmare), before Reddit it was Netgear Community, SmartThings Community, and GreenBuildingAdvisor. Related to this was [disable 5g airport] There is an Apple support community on Reddit. [how to open an 8 track tape] — Actually, the thing that helped me the most was YouTube videos, but even before Reddit, it was the Tapeheads community.
In your example, [toyota tacoma], Reddit is also not displayed at the top. Toyota, Car & Driver, Wikipedia, Toyota again, got his three YouTube videos of various creators (not Toyota), Edmunds in the Top Stories unit. There is no Reddit. It doesn’t really support the concept of wanting to drive traffic only to Reddit all the time.
Guessing the more specific query you would have run would probably be [overland mods for toyota tacoma], you’ll get YouTube videos first, then Reddit, and Tacoma World third (not near the bottom). Sure, Reddit ranks higher for that query, but it’s not the first. It’s not necessarily the first. And sometimes it doesn’t even appear at all. ”
hankschrader79 acknowledged that they were generalizing when they wrote that Google always prioritizes Reddit. But they also argued that doesn’t diminish the fact that Google’s “preferred” forum content benefits Reddit more than the actual forums.
Why do Reddit posts rank so highly?
It’s possible that Google “tested” Reddit’s post to #8 within minutes, and user interaction signals may have indicated to Google’s algorithm that users liked seeing that Reddit post. there is. If so, it’s not a question of Google giving priority to Reddit posts, but rather that users are giving priority and the algorithm is responding to that priority. .
Nevertheless, an argument can be made that users’ preferences for Reddit may be a manifestation of familiarity bias. Familiarity bias refers to people preferring things that are familiar. Because of all the advertising they have been exposed to, people who are familiar with a brand may be more biased toward that brand’s products than those from unfamiliar brands.
Users who are familiar with Reddit may be more likely to read it because they don’t know about other sites that show up in search results, or because Google ranks spam websites and optimized websites. People may choose Reddit because they feel safe.
Google may be detecting user interaction signals that indicate liking or satisfaction with Reddit’s results, but those results may simply be bias, indicating that Reddit is trustworthy and authoritative. It’s not a thing.
Does Reddit benefit from a self-reinforcing feedback loop?
Google’s decision to prioritize user-generated content may have started a self-reinforcing pattern of drawing users to Reddit through search results, causing users to prefer Reddit’s results because the answer seemed plausible. There are enough. As you are exposed to more Reddit posts, familiarity bias kicks in and you start to prefer Reddit.so what did it What’s happening is that you and Google’s algorithms are creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop.
Google’s decision to show more user-generated content, regardless of their lack of expertise or authority, exposes more users to Reddit, which feeds back into Google’s algorithms, resulting in Reddit’s Is it possible that a cycle of increased visibility has begun?
Featured image by Shutterstock/Kues
