Reddit shown excessively in Google product review search results, study finds

Reddit appears in 97.5% of Google Search queries related to product reviews and holds almost two-thirds of the spots within Google’s Discussions and forums feature on search results pages, according to a new analysis.

Why it matters. While Reddit can serve as a helpful resource for users, it seems to face a notable issue with spam. Over half of the top Reddit threads reviewed in this study contained affiliate links within comments, as noted by the report's author, Glen Allsopp, who stated that “Google’s emphasis on these results feels overdone,” calling the current search outcomes “the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Key statistics. A review of 10,000 search phrases revealed that Discussion and forum content appeared in 77% (7,702) of cases. In total, 766 distinct forums were identified, but only Reddit and Quora achieved visibility levels three times higher than all others:

• Reddit was present in 7,509 search results and featured a total of 14,263 times.
• Quora showed up in 3,513 results and was displayed 3,832 times.
• All remaining domains combined (766 sites) appeared just 4,989 times, with most never receiving more than one listing like Reddit. Some were inactive, and no new or low-activity forums made an impact.

Is this an overreaction? Why is Google favoring Reddit so heavily? It may partly stem from reports over recent years noting that users often add “Reddit” at the end of their searches. However, based on the findings here, it’s possible that Google has overcorrected for this behavior.

The full research. You can access the complete detailed breakdown here: The Discussion Forums Dominating 10,000 Product Review Search Results.

Reddit's reaction. Following publication, a Reddit spokesperson contacted Search Engine Land expressing concerns about the report, labeling it “flawed and misleading.” They added:

• “The examples provided seem selectively chosen. Google is directing more product review traffic because Reddit hosts quality, authentic product reviews. What isn’t accurate is the idea that Reddit posts are being overwhelmed with spam due to this, or that we lock threads to manage spam.
• “Many communities where the best content is pulled have rules to remove spam or irrelevant comments and posts that don't contribute meaningfully to discussions. We also provide tools and insights to help moderators handle spam directly, such as our spam filter and community health dashboard.”

Additionally, Reddit mentioned launching a new spam detection system in Q3 2023, which successfully flagged 2 million spam accounts.

Allsopp responds to Reddit. I asked Allsopp if he had any thoughts on Reddit’s reply. Here’s what he shared:

• “As avid Reddit users ourselves, we urge anyone—on Reddit or elsewhere—who questions the validity of our findings to simply perform product review-related (e.g., “best X”) Google searches and click through several top-ranking Reddit results.”
• “This issue was so widespread in our research that it didn’t matter which product category we looked at—we don’t even need to suggest specific ones for you to quickly discover this spam problem yourself.”
• “For every research report we publish, we maintain private documentation of our findings in case they are challenged, and we’re open to sharing those directly with Reddit, though again, these issues are easy to confirm independently.”
• “We believe Reddit is an outstanding platform and deserves recognition from Google when its content meets the highest standards. We hope the problems we found are things Reddit continues to address effectively.”

Increased Google exposure leads to increased Reddit spam. Clearly, Reddit and Allsopp hold differing views. But I also examined many of the links included in Allsopp’s study and confirmed the presence of affiliate links and AI-generated comments. A common indicator of spam is when there’s a significant gap between the original Reddit thread date and the dates of top comments.

To clarify – not all of Reddit is spam. This is solely focused on the Reddit discussion links that Google is prominently featuring in its search results.

I easily found multiple instances of this. Although I couldn’t check all 14,263 examples cited in the study, it was actually harder to find a Reddit thread without spam than one that had it.

Reddit was already a popular site before Google gave it extra attention in the Discussions and forums section. However, with Google significantly increasing Reddit’s visibility, it’s likely to attract even more spam, especially in the product review niche.

When Reddit reached out, they even shared this link as evidence of minimal spam: //m.sbmmt.com/link/5ba5243c88dd19c466dee8cb5bc8eb35

But the first comment I saw includes a link to //m.sbmmt.com/link/ec8da1b5980e5c90358cfe8ffee27108, which redirects to //m.sbmmt.com/link/7b308824b9a5a738569e0908bd7c9656 “quiz/entertainment” website), twice.

Clicking those links takes you to the same page, which displays:

“Quizience is supported by you, the audience. When you make purchases through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.”

There’s no author listed and no explanation of methodology like Wirecutter provides. It’s simply an affiliate-driven page.

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