How to Ramp Up Your Website Traffic with Reddit
If you are not familiar with Reddit, you might find it overwhelming and confusing at first glance. The truth is, you are not alone in thinking that it is one of the most perplexing and intimidating social networks you will come across on the Web today. Anyone new to Reddit might find it difficult initially to make sense of anything, much less post marketing content that won’t be met with disapproval. However, this social sharing website can open a whole new world of opportunities for your business or website, as long as you are prepared to understand how you can provide value to the community.
Reddit is a big online community where you can post pictures, text, and links, as well as find almost any information you need. Everyone can vote on posted content, and the best ones rise to the top. The more downvotes a content receives, the more it becomes less visible. While these may seem sufficient reasons for you to steer clear of Reddit, there is much to gain once you get the hang of it.
An important fact you should be aware of is Reddit users around the world number by the millions. The official figures on the company’s website reveal that they have more than 430 million users worldwide and over 30 million views monthly. If these facts are not impressive enough, you might be interested to know that Reddit is one of the US's top visited sites today, with more than 2.5 million exiting subreddits. What this means for you is that there is so much potential for your site to get traffic once you learn the right way to build your presence. To get started, you first need to get a sense of what this online community is all about and understand how you can provide users with value.
What Exactly Is Reddit?
In 2005, Reddit founders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian began working on the social news platform's idea and initial development. Over the years, the website has gained many exceptionally loyal Redditors—or registered users—who are brought together by similar interests and the enthusiasm to curate and discuss popular content on the Web. Links from other sites that users submit are always relevant to each particular community. When you post your own quality content, it has the potential to drive traffic to your site.
However, karma is something you should pay special attention to on Reddit. Take note that Redditors have the choice to upvote or downvote your submission, and keeping your downvotes to a minimum will earn you a high karma score. This can boost your Reddit credibility and make it easier to build trust within the communities. Submitting valuable content is one of the best ways to receive upvotes and increase your karma.
Subreddits
Collectively, subreddits are the niche communities that make up Reddit. A subreddit is focused on a specific topic and has its own rules, moderators, and coding systems. They are much like topic categories that always begin with /r/. Entering a subreddit out of nowhere can be tricky because moderators can ban you if you don’t follow the rules. That being said, it is imperative that you take the time to go through the guidelines and submissions before posting. You can also create your own subreddit if you meet specific criteria, but make sure your category is aligned with your business, and you can contribute something insightful and valuable.
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Reddit as Part of Your Marketing Strategy
Using Reddit to increase traffic to your site may be more simple than you think. As long as people are interested enough in your content to click your links, then there really isn’t much more you need to do. Of course, if driving traffic were that easy, then everyone would have been doing it already. Incorporating Reddit into your marketing plan is only as effective as the effort you put into sharing quality content with the community.
Read the Guidelines
As previously mentioned, subreddits that you join should have something to do with your niche to make it easier to post authentic content. Reading the rules is a must before any post, regardless of your niche. Every subreddit has different rules, and violating them can result in the removal of your post or worse, your permanent ban.
It can be a while before you can post anything, and it’s crucial to first get a sense of a particular subreddit’s content. For the most part, new accounts are generally distrusted, and posting in your chosen subreddit is the usual way to gain the trust of the users. Be very careful with jumping in and marketing your site because you will likely get downvotes almost immediately. Wait until you’ve earned some positive karma before mentioning your site. It would be a good idea to observe how others in the subreddit are posting links to their site successfully.
Submit Value
After you have participated a bit and let Redditors become acquainted with your presence, you may want to show more of what you have to offer. You can submit content that you believe subreddits would find valuable, insightful, interesting, or amusing. Your submissions and link does not need to be your own because your ultimate goal should be content that people actually want to read. Besides, you run the risk of being banned if your posts qualify as spamming. In other words, don’t submit anything just for the sake of submitting—people easily get turned off by excessive self-promotion.
Be Authentic
If you create subreddits, make them engaging, and post content that is distinctive and actionable. Make it a point to be active on your subreddits and offer comprehensive replies to comments. If you have a high user engagement, it’s easier to achieve a large following and turn them into brand advocates.
You might want to consider hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) where you start a post telling something about who you are and what you do. Redditors can then ask you related questions, much like in an interview. This can become the ideal opportunity for you to mention your site naturally and drive traffic. Redditors enjoy AMAs that provide interesting and detailed information, and you should take advantage of this chance to get a lot of buzz.
Conclusion
While many website owners don’t see Reddit as a major driver of traffic, it may be worth your while to explore this source. Passionate Redditors who love your content on the community will likely love your content on your site. As long as you provide plenty of value, then it’s almost impossible to go wrong.