Last September, in an initiative called the Helpful Content Update, Google made a number of changes to the algorithm that powers its search results.
Despite its innocuous name, the update dramatically reshaped the search landscape, throttling traffic to smaller, independent websites while increasing the visibility of others, according to Ewen Finser, the founder of growth agency ReddVisible.
The update gave heightened search visibility to user forums like Quora and Reddit—Google even added a Forums tab to its search results—and Reddit in particular has since seen its traffic skyrocket. Between August 2023 and April 2024, readership to the 20-year-old platform nearly tripled, rising from 132 million visitors to 346 million monthly visitors, according to data from Semrush.
“No matter where you are in digital, Reddit is the elephant in the room right now,” Finser said. “According to Ahrefs and Semrush, Reddit increased its organic traffic sevenfold in the last nine months. That’s big, exponential growth on an already big number.”
In response, publishers have revisited their audience development strategies for the platform in hopes of funneling some of this burgeoning audience into a new source of social traffic.
Some, such as Yahoo, Puck, and New York Times Opinion, have launched new Reddit accounts in the last several months. Others, such as Rolling Stone, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Independent, the AP, and Newsweek, have restarted existing accounts or dedicated more resources to them.
Publishers redouble their Reddit strategies
For publishers launching new Reddit accounts, turning those presences into substantial sources of traffic could be a years-long effort.
In the meantime, the platform offers publishers a venue for engaging with subreddits and readers already sharing their reporting, according to Puck chief executive Sarah Personette. This can help drive brand affinity, engagement, traffic, and ultimately subscriber conversion, as these audiences are already exhibiting a strong interest in the publication.
“We’re targeting subreddits where our reporters’ writing is already being shared by members, with the idea that we’re delighting these members with these surprise appearances and helping to drive brand exposure,” Personette said.
For publishers reactivating or revamping dormant accounts, their renewed efforts have already begun paying dividends. Most news organizations were hesitant to share specific traffic data—for many, Reddit is still a single-digit source of overall referral traffic. But the readership is steadily growing.
At Newsweek, for instance, July was its biggest month for Reddit traffic ever. And before that, June was its biggest. Likewise, one publisher that spoke to ADWEEK on background had its biggest month of Reddit referrals ever in July, up 132% year over year. At The Washington Post, in the last 12 months, traffic from Reddit has occasionally overtaken traffic from Instagram, which had never happened before.
Rolling Stone also redoubled its efforts on Reddit last spring, hiring a member of its audience team dedicated solely to cultivating its Reddit presence. In the last eight months, seven of those increased in traffic year over year.
