Post Google December 2024 Core and Spam Updates, the amount of traffic and keyword rankings for the Reddit domain seems to have seen a decline in the last month. Per SEMrush, Reddit’s total Top 3 organic keywords are down -0.53% the last 28 days and Reddit’s total Page 1 organic keywords are down -3.71%. Reddit’s average estimated organic traffic is also down -4.5%.
Reviewing Reddit’s keyword data, this is the first time that it saw a decline in the last two years. Previously, every other Google Core Algorithm Update, Reddit saw double- if not triple-digit percent increases in their Top 3 and Page 1 keywords—so much so that it became one of the top three trafficked websites on the web. Comparing December 2024 Page 1 keywords to December 2024 Page 1 keywords, Reddit is still up +442% year-over-year (YoY), even with this small blip.
Is this the end of Reddit’s visibility and influence on the SERP? Not necessarily
While Reddit’s keywords have declined recently, the amount of keywords triggering a PAA (People Also Ask) on the SERP are up +71% in the last 28 days, per SEMrush, while keywords that trigger the Discussion/Forums SERP feature for Reddit have declined -6.4% in the same period.
But the standout number is the amount of AIOs (AI Overviews) on the SERP that are triggering for keywords that Reddit is ranking for. In the last 28 days, the number of keywords Reddit is ranking for that are triggering an AIO is up +4,717%!
The August, November, and December Google Core Algorithm updates show that the percentage of time an AIO is displaying on Mobile and Desktop increased leading up to and through the rollout, especially on mobile devices. The data below is from the SEMrush SERP Volatility tool since the AIO rollout in May 2024:
November 2024 Google Core Update
- Mobile devices increased +3.39%
- Desktop devices increased +2.18%
December 2024 Google Core and Spam Update
- Mobile devices increased +4.02%
- Desktop devices increased +0.87%
Reddit keyword declines
Using SEMrush and reviewing the top 50k keywords in the last 28 days that improved into the top 10 organic positions, as well as the top 50k keywords in the top 10 organic positions that declined for the Reddit domain:
- Lost 25k keywords worth 1.6 billion in average monthly search volume (AMSV)
- Gained 38.7k new keywords worth 1 billion in AMSV
- Saw 24.9k keywords decline worth 977 million in AMSV
- And saw 11.2k keywords improve worth 534 million in AMSV
This nets out to a loss in 1 billion in AMSV. Segmenting further, the top subreddit links that saw declines based on search volume were mostly social media related:
Top 10 subreddit declines
- https://www.reddit.com/r/facebook/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/wordle/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/language/comments/qleogv/is_google_translate_a_good_way_to_learn_a_language/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Instagram/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitter/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1hc7r3s/is_chatgpt_down_for_all/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/1hbmrwy/is_my_isp_preventing_video_thumbnails_from/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/TropicalWeather/comments/1fyenoi/i_updated_hurricanetrackernet_for_milton_all_of/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/okZyox/comments/1hbfdem/chat_gpt_aware/
Top 10 Reddit organic keyword declines
- facebook
- wordle
- google translate
- chat gpt
- instagram
- hurricane milton tracker
- cool math games
- craigslist
- twitter
- costco
How to win in this new era of search
While current data suggests a decline in high volume search demand terms ranking high on Page 1 for Reddit, keywords triggering an AIO by Google is increasing. So, while organic traffic might be declining, visibility might be increasing—a hallmark of the zero-click SERP.
Through the $60 million dollar partnership that Google signed with Reddit to help train their AI models, it is not a surprise that as Google dials up the percentage of queries that trigger an AI Overview, which in turn increases the frequency with which Reddit is cited as a source. The question is: Is this just a temporary blip in organic rankings and traffic for Reddit, or is this simply the beginning of Google’s mission to increase the quantity of queries that trigger an AI Overview and cite Reddit as a source?
Questions like these are why DAC takes a TotalSERP approach. To win in digital marketing today, you need to “own the SERP” and work collaboratively across local SEO, paid media, social media, and other disciplines—making sure decisions are not only joined up but informed by the latest data and trends. Contact DAC today to get started.
