Many content creators have noticed dips (or even dives) in traffic this year following several Google algorithm updates. One of the best ways to weather the increasingly variable world of SEO is to diversify your traffic (and income) sources via social media, email, memberships, and more. If you’re looking for a potential new source of traffic for your blog, consider Reddit as a traffic source for food creators!
As Google starts to treat the user-generated content from Reddit as a publisher in its own right, it is not uncommon to see Reddit posts in the top three spots on a SERP (search engine result page). Given the increased visibility of platforms like Reddit in Google search results, it makes sense to pivot some of your traffic-driving efforts to this platform.
Let’s start with the basics. What is Reddit? And who uses it? Reddit is a social media site/news aggregator/user forum hybrid that defies a super simple definition. In 2024, there are over half a billion Reddit users — and this number continues to grow. Most Reddit users are male (2 out of 3), and almost half of Reddit users live in the United States.
So if you’re looking to find a new traffic source for your food blog, are tired of the SEO grind, or just interested in an experiment, Reddit is a good place to start. So after you’ve secured your username on Reddit… what’s next?
Find Relevant Recipe Communities
There are over 100,000 active Reddit communities, or subreddits, on Reddit. Where should you be posting? A quick search on Google or Reddit for “Reddit recipes” will return numerous subreddits that might be a good fit for you. To give you a taste of some recipe-related communities, check out:
- r/recipes
- r/easyrecipes
- r/Cooking
- r/InstantPot
- r/EatCheapAndHealthy
- r/cookingforbeginners
- r/bakingrecipes
Try searching for keywords related to your niche to find smaller communities to post in. If you post lots of easy vegan recipes, you might try the r/veganmealprep community (with 59,000 members) as opposed to the r/veganrecipes community (with 525,000 members). The same principles of keyword research apply here — you want to find a Reddit “sweet spot” community (i.e. one with enough interest, but not too much competition) to allow you to breakthrough.
When you start exploring subreddits, you’ll notice important information about each community on the top right of the page — the number of members, how many members are online now, and rules (more on those, later).
Each subreddit also has its own rules and guidelines. Follow them! For example, you can see the rules for r/cookingforbeginners here:
Each subreddit will provide you with the “how to” of posting in that community. Some require photos with each recipe post, some require that the recipe is included in the post, etc. You’ll have to tailor your posting strategy for each subreddit accordingly.
Want to learn more about Reddit as a traffic source?Engage in Reddit Communities
Reddit has fairly specific guidelines around how to operate on the platform, especially around self-promotion. A good rule of thumb is that only 10% of your posts on Reddit should link to your website. Reddit prioritizes useful contributors over self-promotional users, and posting only links to your site (especially right out of the gate) is a surefire way to get banned from a subreddit. Becoming an active user on Reddit is an important part of establishing yourself as a useful contributor.
Start engaging with the content of other creators. Observe what type of content other users are posting. Notice what kinds of posts perform well. Just like E-E-A-T matters for search engines like Google, being an engaged, active user on Reddit will help build trust and authority within the subreddits that you hope to get traffic from (also known as karma on Reddit).
Posting Strategy on Reddit as a Food Creator
Unlike on platforms like TikTok or Instagram, the cadence of posting on Reddit is not as relevant (unless it’s a requirement of the subreddit that you post weekly on a Tuesday, for example). It can be useful to post mostly on weekday mornings (EST), as Reddit tends to see a surge in traffic around the lunch hour.
How can you start providing value to a subreddit as a food creator?
- Share cooking tips and tricks.
- Share your favorite products from different grocery stores.
- Share your go-to kitchen equipment and tools.
- Share easy recipes right in a thread (without linking back to your site).
- Answer questions posed by other users.
Some general recommendations for popular posts on Reddit:
- Include photos or videos.
- Solve a problem for other users.
- Post consistently.
- Respond to comments or questions promptly.
You don’t necessarily need to create new posts to gain traction on Reddit and appear in the SERPs. Publishing useful comments on relevant posts (especially ones that might already be ranking in Google’s top spots for keywords you’re trying to rank for) is another great way to get visibility.
Content on Reddit can be viewed as both viral and evergreen, especially in light of Reddit’s increased visibility on Google, so don’t despair if you’re not gaining immediate traction on the platform — be patient as you build trust within the community.
We’d love to know… are you currently posting on Reddit as a food creator? Is it a significant traffic driver for you?