To say that Reddit became a total powerhouse in 2025 wouldn’t be an overstatement. Boasting 97 million daily active users, it’s currently Google’s favorite for product reviews, advice, and even niche queries. Google partnered up with Reddit in 2024 and paid a whopping $60 to access Reddit data. And now Reddit enjoys astonishing visibility not only in search but also in AI-powered results. All of that means Reddit link building is now more alluring to marketers than ever.
Skeptics point out that Reddit links are nofollow, which some believe is of no use, but that’s 100% a myth that has been debunked over and over again. Yes, these links don’t pass traditional PageRank, but they draw a mighty surge of referral traffic as well as user engagement, which are the positive signals that Google certainly notices. No follow links are now “hints” in the eyes of Google, which means they’re valuable even though they don’t influence the rankings directly. What’s more, Reddit’s content is community-driven – just the kind Google considers authentic and loves. That’s why, if you’re using Reddit for link building, you’re gaining traffic and, most importantly, trust, not simply link juice.
Now that we’ve established why Reddit matters for SEO in 2025, let’s take a look at how you can use Reddit SEO backlinks to your advantage.
Why Reddit Backlinks Are Valuable
Despite the fact that Reddit won’t give you the traditional link juice, it’s a treasure trove of perks that more than make up for it:
High Authority Domain
Authority-wise, Reddit is at the very top of the web, boasting an impressive Domain Rating of ~94. Getting a link from such a trusted domain (even if it’s nofollow) will diversify your backlink profile and tell Google that your brand is the talk of the town on the most popular platform. In short, Reddit backlinks have implied authority because of the impeccable credibility of Reddit.
Significant Traffic Generation
It’s hard to believe, but 100% true – a single well-received post on Reddit can send hundreds or even thousands of visitors your way. This surge of real users instantly boosts engagement metrics, which helps your SEO big time. It also doesn’t go unnoticed by Google – it sees when a swarm of users from Reddit finds your website and sticks around – for Google, it means your content is up to users’ liking and worth showing higher in rankings.
Indirect SEO Signals
Reddit backlinks have the power to bring you both brand mentions and community validation, because even if users don’t click your link, just the mere fact that people discuss your brand on Reddit amplifies Google’s belief in your site’s authority and trust. This chatter aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines (real people confirming your expertise or approving of your content) and acts as 3rd party endorsement. To put it very simply, Reddit mentions are votes of confidence that add to your SEO effort big time.
AI Search Visibility
Given the partnership and trust Google puts in Reddit, it’s no wonder that Reddit became the prime source of AI-generated results and is often cited by Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google’s own Search Generative Experience, among many others. So, if you successfully drop links in Reddit threads, you have a much bigger chance of popping in the AI answers as a result. This way, backlinks from Reddit give you a considerable boost in AI search visibility.
Quality Referral Traffic
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Redditors are highly engaged when targeted the right way. If the topic interests them, they tend to read through entire discussions and consequently see your link. It’s true that not every visitor from Reddit will convert right away, but here you’re playing the long game. Redditors are more likely to do their research on you, spend more time on your site than the average internet user, leave detailed feedback, and if it matches their expectations, even share it somewhere else. All of that word-of-mouth traffic draws conversions later on, even if the short-term effect isn’t so apparent.
Reddit Link Building vs. Traditional Link Building
Now that we’ve established why Reddit backlinks are valuable, let’s take a look at the differences between good old traditional link building, like outreach, and Reddit link building:
As you can see from the table, you can get more direct SEO equity and control from traditional methods, while with Reddit link building, you get instant audience feedback, authenticity, and agility. Here, the best bet is to use a mix of both. To give you an example of use: you can make a well-researched blog post, and then share an insight or question from it on Reddit. The discussion on Reddit will send traffic your way and can even draw extra organic links – adding to your SEO efforts.
The Reddit Link Building Process
Building links on Reddit is certainly not an easy task and involves many steps. Here’s a quick overview of each of them:
Step 1: Account Preparation & Karma Building
If you already have an account – great, if not – create one and start earning karma, aka reputation. New accounts with no history of posting raise suspicion, which is why, here, you should use a value-first, promotion-later approach. Contribute to discussions, post helpful comments in your niche, and funny/interesting content on general subreddits. It will establish you as a community member and an honest contributor. Only after you have enough karma and trust can you think of adding links to your comments or posts. It takes several months at the very least to be considered a community member and a decent contributor, so be patient. You do not want your new account shadowbanned or banned right away, so don’t start with protion right after registering.
Step 2: Subreddit Research & Selection
Spotting a suitable and narrowly specific to your niche subreddit is half the battle. Find out which subreddits are most often frequented by your target audience – use Reddit’s search tools to find communities related to your niche. After you’ve spotted a suitable one, check whether it’s active and allows promotions. There are subreddits where self-promotion is explicitly forbidden, so posting on such subreddits will be a waste of your effort. Posting on 2-3 subreddits well-suited for your niche and getting genuine interest and clicks is infinitely better than dropping links in large general ones and getting no attention.
Step 3: Learn the Rules & Culture
This is extremely important – read and follow subreddit rules to the T. Each subreddit has its own set of rules, which can differ greatly and include everything from specific post formatting to bans on self-promos and so on. If the subreddit allows text-only posts with no links, but the links can be included in the comments, don’t hope that your post will be an exception.
The culture or vibe of each subreddit is peculiar, so before you create a post or write a comment, make sure you’ve read lots of posts and gotten the vibe, lingo used, and mood in general. Out-of-place posts will be frowned upon or even deleted right off the bat.
Step 4: Craft Valuable, Native Content
Here, you have to remember that Reddit likes value and authenticity above all and absolutely hates self-promotion. So simply dropping a link will be useless and dangerous at that. Create a helpful post that contains tips from your blog article, or even make up a story and use the link simply as an example of one of the options you’re considering, or a suggestion for further read on the topic. Your link should not be the focus of the article – make it look like no more than a helpful reference. Also, create a genuine title that doesn’t look like clickbait but still draws attention.
Step 5: Post & Engage Naturally
Make sure you post at the time when most Reddotirs are active – weekday mornings and weekends are perfect for that. After you’ve submitted the post – reply, thank people for advice/feedback, and answer questions. This way, you’ll get more upvotes and visibility. Moderators also love active posters – replies in the comments show that you’re not a one-time link dropper but an actual part of the community eager to add value. Keep your tone friendly – you don’t want to appear patronizing or make an impression of a corporate drone.
Step 6: Smart Link Placement
Remember that 1 link per post/comment is more than enough. Stuffing links immediately increases suspicion of promotion and will do you no good. Think of where to place the link naturally. For example, you can place it at the end of the post as a further read suggestion, or somewhere in the middle if you’re listing the options you’re considering. For those subreddits where a link in the post isn’t allowed – say, I’ll include the link in the comments, so people know where to see what you’re talking about. The most important thing here is to make your link look like a helpful addition of value, not the main focus. Subtlety should be your best bud.
Step 7: Use Upvotes & Social Proof (Ethically)
It’s a good tactic to give your post a little push – you can ask your colleagues, friends, or family members who have Reddit accounts to upvote your post. The same goes for comments. Some marketers use a second account to write a couple of comments if there aren’t any right away, to give the post traction. Just a few upvotes or comments are usually enough for the Reddit algorithm to take over and show your post to real users who will interact with it. You might think of creating multiple accounts to support your posts – don’t do it. Reddit catches the so-called upvote circles pretty quickly, and the accounts involved risk getting banned, so easy does it. Don’t go overboard – a gentle push is usually enough.
Step 8: Monitor and Maintain
Don’t post and leave – interact with users and respond to the comments because the active comment section will keep your post at the top of the subreddit’s page longer. Apart from that, use UTM tags to see which subreddit sends the most traffic your way and focus on it next time. It’ll allow you to adjust your strategy in the future.
Maintaining your account is very important if you’re serious about Reddit link building. Post non-promotion, helpful comments, even if you’re currently not working on any promotional campaigns on Reddit. Stick around and be a part of the community over a long period of time – it’ll build trust and your reputation, and that, in turn, will help you in your future Reddit link building efforts.
White Hat Reddit Link Building Techniques
White hat Reddit linkbuilding is the opposite of shady, spammy tactics. White hat strategies are transparent, deliver real value, and follow the rules. Here are the ones you should follow:
Put Value First (90/10 Rule)
Always make sure that the bulk (90%) of what you’re doing on Reddit adds value to the community. Ask questions, share your knowledge, and take part in fun threads. Only 10% can be dedicated to self-promotion. Convince people that you’re a trustworthy user and a part of the community. If you succeed, your occasional link drop will be met with interest instead of hostility. Before posting anything, ask yourself whether you’re adding something useful – if the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.
Use Your Expertise (AMAs & Credibility)
Try your best to earn the reputation of an expert in your specific niche. A decent way to do it is to make AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions on the subreddit you’re targeting. Invite everyone to ask questions about the topic you’re good at. It will earn you recognition and will allow you to drop a link, which will be met with warmth and interest. AMAs aren’t the only ways – adding flair with your credentials during discussions will make people trust you more since your expertise will be perceived as a sign of authority in the topic.
Be a Resource & Problem-Solver
Once again, here, the “helping, not selling” mindset is the one you should adopt. If a Redditor is looking for a solution and you have a suitable article on the topic, share the main points and include the link for further read. Don’t shy away from sharing others’ content – yes, it won’t bring you traffic, but it’ll increase your authority and trust within the community. If you keep at it, there’ll come a time when users will be asking for your input or even tagging you in various discussions, which is a perfect situation – in this case, your Reddit backlinks will be building themselves because people will value your opinion and everything you contribute.
Engage Like a Community Member
Showing up just to drop a comment and vanish is a very bad idea. You have to put in effort – engage in conversations even if they’re off-topic, vote on people’s posts, and generally show your genuine personality (while being professional). All of this makes you a decent member of the community, and the more you contribute, the more integrated in the community fabric you are, the more weigh your links and words will carry. The goal is to become a Reddiot whose recommendations everyone trusts.
Common Reddit Link Building Mistakes
Even veteran marketers can slip up while dealing with Reddit, so it’s worth being aware of and avoiding common mistakes that can make your efforts go nowhere:
Spammy behavior
This mistake is pretty self-explanatory – spamming multiple subreddits with the same link or going heavy on self-promotion will get you tagged as a spammer. Redditors hate self-promotion with passion, so this kind of behavior will get you a guaranteed ban.
Using a throwaway/new account
Brand new accounts or those with low karma are always given a cold shoulder because Redditors suspect that these accounts were created for self-promotion purposes. If you start dropping links from such an account, you’ll only confirm what they’ve suspected, and that’s a sure-fire way to get your posts and comments auto-removed. Put in some time, participate in discussions, post non-promotional comments and posts – only after that, you can start thinking about including links to your content.
Ignoring subreddit rules
Every subreddit has its own, often very particular, set of rules. For instance, some tolerate no link or self-promotion at all – in any form. If you attempt to post something with a link or promo, you’ll get banned right away. Always read the rules before you create your post or write a comment.
Blatant or sneaky self-promotion
As we mentioned earlier, Redditors absolutely hate any self-promotion attempts, so trying to pretend to be an unrelated user to praise your goods/service will end badly, just as writing in an openly salesy tone and promoting yourself openly. Sales pitches don’t work on Reddit – your only way is to be open about who you are and to be helpful to the community, earning its trust by putting in effort.
Faking engagement
Even though it might sound tempting to use multiple fake accounts or to buy upvotes, avoid this tactic at all costs. Reddit’s algorithm is already advanced enough to detect it. Getting caught on something like this will get you site-wide banned and ruin your reputation beyond any repair. Yes, genuine engagement is slower, but it’s far more effective and safe in the long run.
Tools and Resources
Making use of suitable tools and resources for Reddit link building will increase the efficiency of the efforts you put into it. Below are some of the most noteworthy ones:
Subreddit discovery
If you want to find stats on subreddit size and activity level before pouring your efforts into it, SubredditStats will be your best bud. Also, don’t underestimate Reddit’s own search and “Related Communities” recommendations – they’ll help you spot active subreddits that are uniquely suitable for your niche.
Audience research
Here, we’d recommend looking into GummySearch. It’s a Reddit-focused research tool that shows you all the hot topics and burning questions that people talk about in your specific niche. It can also give you a pretty good notion of the content ideas and audience’s pain points – based on this data, you can craft content that’s guaranteed to hit the mark.
Karma/account tracking
Need to analyze your Reddit profile for insights? Look no further than the SnooSnoop tool. It’ll let you peek into subreddits where you’ve gotten the most karma and help you monitor your posting patterns. It’s perfect for strategy adjustment (for example, shifting your focus to communities where you perform the best).
Monitoring mentions
Social listening tools should be in the arsenal of any self-respecting Reddit marketer because their alerts for your brand of keywords show you right away when someone talks about your brand or goods/services on Reddit. Knowing that, you can immediately jump into the conversation and increase your brand awareness, drive traffic, and visibility. Brand24 or Awario are good options that are worth considering.
Scheduling & analytics
If your goal is to hit peak engagement times, scheduling your posts in advance is a very good idea. Here, tools like Postpone or Delay For Reddit will be immensely helpful. For analytics, make use of UTM in your Reddit links and monitor your gains in Google Analytics. A combo of these will let you see how much traffic and conversions are flowing your way from Reddit, as well as which subreddits are the best for scaling your efforts.
Should You Hire a Reddit Link Building Service?
Link building on Reddit is tough, and not everyone has enough experience, time, and patience to do it the right way. This is exactly where professional Reddit link building services can help.
Of course, you can choose the DIY (Do it yourself) path – find out the inner workings of Reddit through trial and error, build authority on Reddit, control all the content you submit, and invest time to become a highly-respected member of the community. But it demands a big chunk of time and infinite patience.
Hiring a Reddit link building service, on the other hand, lifts the tediousness of consistent effort off your shoulders and puts it in the hands of professionals with years of experience and in-depth knowledge of the ins and outs of Reddit link building. Most agencies that work with Reddit already have aged, high-karma accounts and a good feel of every subreddit.
What can you expect from an agency? Well, everything, from the groundwork like subreddit research to custom content creation and even upvotes/first comments in some cases. Take, for example, Crowdo’s Reddit marketing service – they use real, well-established, and niche-relevant accounts, deliver natural contributions, and follow the 90/10 rule.
As for the pricing, it’s very different from agency to agency and from one type of service to another. To give you a notion, several hundred dollars per month is a minimal investment. Some providers offer convenient packages with, say, 5-15 link placements per month. Such packages can range in price from around $300 to $1000, depending on subreddit, quality, and a plethora of other factors. Don’t go for the cheapest offer because in such cases, you’ll be dealing with spammy tactics and removed posts. Reddit promotion is very labor-intensive and requires custom creation of every post; it simply can’t be cheap due to the sheer amount of work put into it.
To sum it up, hiring an agency will help you big time and will allow you to turn Reddit into a brand awareness and revenue generator much quicker than if you did it yourself. But you have to choose the agency to partner with very, very carefully – it should be white-hat only and open to tight collaboration.
You can check out the list of the best Reddit marketing services here.
Conclusion & Action Plan
You can’t expect overnight success with Reddit link-building – it’s a very long-term strategy that’s based on trust and community involvement. The rewards from putting in hours of work, however, more than make up for the tediousness of the process – a steady flow of referral traffic, powered-up brand authority, and a backlink profile diversified by one of the most trusted, high-authority platforms there is.
Action Plan
To get started on your path to reaping those gains, follow these steps:
- Find Relevant Subreddits
Find active subreddits with your niche target audience and read through them, monitor patterns, vibe, and behavior for a couple of days.
- Engage Without Links
Comment, contribute, help, and engage in these subreddits to get karma and build credibility with these communities before you share any links at all.
- Share Value
After reaching even a moderate recognizability, create a high-value post on the topic of the pain-point of the specific subreddit. Make your link a part of the solution (if it’s a guide, offer it as a further read; if it’s a product, show it as one of the good options).
- Interact & Iterate
Monitor feedback, actively reply to comments, and keep the discussion alive to have a higher chance of staying at the top of the subreddit longer. Analyse the result and adjust your strategy for the next post/comment.
Treat Reddit link building as community building, and you’ll get yourself an asset that no competitor will be able to replicate. Be consistent and play a long game – you’ll be rewarded with immense brand growth and SEO benefits.
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