With millions of active users and thousands of communities dedicated to almost every topic imaginable, Reddit offers endless opportunities to build links and drive traffic to your site.
But building Reddit backlinks can be difficult, especially if you’re new to the platform. From finding relevant subreddits to understanding the lingo, there’s a lot you need to get the hang of.
We’ll cover all the basics and more in this guide. Let’s roll.
Yes and no. Reddit backlinks aren’t exactly considered high-quality because of a few reasons:
With that said, Reddit backlinks can still be valuable for your business.
In fact, Reddit link building has some serious advantages over building links on other sites:
Like most things in life, Reddit link building has pros and cons.
But if you do it right, it can only help your search engine optimization efforts, not hurt them. When you add to that that building links on Reddit is completely free, it becomes obvious that it would be a shame not to use the platform as part of your SEO strategy.
Reddit is quite different from other social media platforms and forums you may have used before. It even has its own terminology, and getting familiar with it in advance will help you get results faster.
So, here are a few Reddit-specific terms you should know:
As we’ve mentioned, Reddit is different from most other social media platforms. If you’re using it for the first time, it may be helpful to understand how its users differ from communities on other platforms before you start building links.
Here are four main things you should know about the Reddit community:
Of course, the best way to learn about the Reddit community is to become a part of it. Don’t be afraid to jump straight in and learn as you go.
Finally, let’s see how you can build Reddit backlinks in 2023.
First things first, you need to create a Reddit account to be able to post and gain users’ trust.
Go to the Reddit website and click “Join Reddit.” This will open a sign-up window where you can enter your email.
From there, you’ll be able to enter your desired username and password.
Reddit will warn you that you won’t be able to change your username later, so make sure you think your decision through.
Considering you’ll use Reddit to build links, we suggest you enter your real name or a username that people associate you with online. This will help you gain trust.
Once you’ve created your account, you’ll be able to edit your profile and add more details about yourself. Take this opportunity to further establish your credibility.
(Note that you can change your display name on this site, although this won’t affect your original username.)
We suggest you:
Think of your first 30 days on the platform as a test run. But it’s not just about you testing Reddit — it’s also about Reddit testing you.
You want to convince the moderators and users that you’re on Reddit to add value to the conversations and not just to post links or promote your business.
That’s why you should focus on publishing valuable content and avoid posting links or overly-promotional posts during your first month on the platform. This will help you build Karma, i.e., your user reputation.
Also, you want to post comments regularly in order to position yourself as an active Reddit user and get the algorithms working in your favor. Like most other social networks, Reddit values consistency.
The platform hosts thousands of subreddits covering just about every topic you can imagine. So, you’ll surely find one that fits your niche and goals, but this may take some trial and error.
One way to find relevant subreddits is to simply enter your keywords in the Reddit search bar and see what comes up:
Alternatively, you can enter the following query string into Google and find more relevant results that way:
For example, if we google “site:reddit.com “link building”,” we’ll find multiple subreddits and posts mentioning this specific keyword. This may help us find additional suitable subreddits that we wouldn’t discover on the platform:
The third option is to use specialized tools like NewsWhip to monitor relevant posts across all subreddits. This is the easiest, but also the costliest strategy out of the three. But to each their own; choose an approach that best suits your needs.
If you can't find a relevant-enough subreddit, you can always create your own. In fact, doing so can be an excellent way to build a community of like-minded individuals who are genuinely interested in your content.
To create a subreddit, visit the Reddit homepage and click the "Create Community" button.
You'll be prompted to enter the subreddit name and choose a community type. You’ll probably want to make your subreddit public if you’re using it for link building purposes:
Once you’ve created your community, you’ll be able to add a description, rules, and primary topics, and tweak other features of your subreddit.
All that’s left to do is start posting! The following sections will help you do so with success.
If you post too many links or spam the site with promotional content, you could get a lot of negative feedback or even get banned from Reddit.
To avoid this, post only relevant links that add value to the conversation. Focus on providing helpful information or resources rather than just promoting your own content.
A good rule of thumb is to make one promotional post (or include one backlink to your site) per 15 pure-value posts.
Also, keep in mind that some subreddits don’t allow text-only posts, so you may need to prepare visuals in advance. If you need more guidance on how to publish posts on Reddit, we suggest checking out this 1-minute tutorial:
“Value” became a buzzword in marketing circles. So here’s exactly what we mean when we say you should make your Reddit posts valuable:
Last but not least, try to regularly check which of your posts are getting the most downvotes and upvotes.
From there, you want to zero in on your most popular posts and try to create more similar content in the future, while avoiding posts that got you downvoted in the past. It’s not rocket science, but it can make or break your efforts on the platform.
Reddit doesn’t allow posting affiliate links, and doing so can actually get you banned from the platform.
Still, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use Reddit for affiliate marketing. You just need a more creative approach.
For example, you can post a link to a blog post with affiliate links in it rather than blatantly posting the links on the platform.
While building links on Reddit has its advantages, it’s not a good strategy for getting higher search engine rankings or driving consistent traffic to your site. You’ll need a more sophisticated link building strategy to do so.
Our link building company can help you develop one and get placements in high-authority publications like Forbes, Southern Living, and many others. Schedule your free consultation today to learn more about how we can help. No strings attached.
Talk to our link building team to see how we can help.