How does Reddit work?
Reddit works through communities (subreddits) where members vote posts and comments up or down, so the most useful content rises to the top. Each subreddit, written as r/name, has its own topic, rules and volunteer moderators. Users post under pseudonyms and collect karma, a score based on the votes their content receives.
The main building blocks are:
- Subreddits: topic communities such as r/SEO or r/marketing.
- Posts: links, text, images, videos or polls submitted to a subreddit.
- Comments: threaded discussions under each post, often more valuable than the post itself.
- Votes: upvotes and downvotes that decide what ranks in feeds and threads.
History of Reddit: key dates
Reddit grew from a 2005 startup into a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2005 | Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian launch Reddit |
| July 2015 | Steve Huffman returns as CEO |
| February 2024 | Reports reveal a Google data licence worth 60 million USD a year, and Reddit announces a partnership with OpenAI |
| March 2024 | Reddit goes public on the NYSE (ticker RDDT), raising 600 million USD |
| Q2 2026 | Revenue reaches 805 million USD, up 61% year on year |
Reddit is based in San Francisco. In Q2 2026 advertising brought in 762 million USD and other revenue, mainly data licensing, 43 million USD.
Reddit users in numbers
Reddit’s audience is growing fastest outside the United States. In Q2 2026, international daily active uniques reached 77.1 million, up 28% year on year, against 18% growth for the whole platform. In Poland, DataReportal’s Digital 2026 report counts 7.9 million people reachable with Reddit ads, which is 23.1% of Polish internet users.
Reddit in marketing, SEO and AI search
Reddit is important for marketers because search engines and AI assistants treat it as a source of authentic opinions. Three angles matter most.
Reddit in Google search
Reddit threads rank for many product, comparison and “best X” queries in Google, often above brand websites. For a search engine, a thread with dozens of first-hand answers is a strong match for review-type intent.
Reddit in AI answers
Reddit is one of the most cited domains in generative search. Semrush tracked about 230,000 prompts between July and October 2025 and found Reddit in close to 60% of ChatGPT responses in early August, falling to around 10% by mid-September, while it stayed the top source for Perplexity. Brand mentions on Reddit therefore feed directly into Generative Engine Optimization.
Reddit Ads
Reddit Ads Manager sells promoted posts that appear in feeds and threads with a “Promoted” label. Advertisers can target by community, interest and keyword. In March 2024 Reddit added free-form ads that combine text, images and video like a regular post, and Reddit said they beat other formats in average click-through rate by 28% in early tests.
In my SEO projects I check which subreddits already discuss a client’s category before planning content, because these threads show the exact language customers use.
Reddit vs other social platforms
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Pseudonymous | Real names |
| Content ranking | Community votes | Personal feed algorithm |
| Visibility in Google and AI answers | Very high | Low for most posts |
| Tolerance for self-promotion | Low, rules set per subreddit | High on own pages |
I include Reddit visibility checks in my AI SEO services, because it shapes how AI assistants describe brands.
Frequently asked questions about Reddit
Who owns Reddit?
Reddit is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RDDT since March 2024. Advance Publications, the parent of Condé Nast, remains a large shareholder, and Steve Huffman is CEO.
When was Reddit created?
Reddit was launched in June 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian. Aaron Swartz joined the team later in 2005.
How many people use Reddit?
Reddit reported 130.3 million daily active uniques and 514.6 million weekly active uniques in Q2 2026. International users made up 77.1 million of the daily figure.
Why does Reddit show up so often in Google?
Reddit ranks often because its threads contain first-hand answers that match review and comparison searches. Google also signed a data licence with Reddit in 2024, and AI assistants cite Reddit frequently.
Related terms
- Reddit Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results · Reddit Investor Relations
- Digital 2026: Poland · DataReportal
- Reddit signs $60 million annual training data deal with Google · The Decoder
- The most-cited domains in AI search · Semrush
- Reddit introduces a new ad format that looks similar to posts made by users · TechCrunch
- Reddit · Wikipedia
