We Paid $2,500 for 30 Reddit Mentions So You Didn’t Have To
October 1, 2025
Because someone had to test if Reddit SEO really mattered.
What happens when you try to buy your way into AI visibility? We ran the experiment, tracked the results, and learned what the algorithms actually pay attention to.
The Backstory
In early 2024, Google made headlines for partnering with Reddit to train its AI models. That move had every SEO forum buzzing.
“Google’s Reddit deal … shows how much it sees Reddit as a crucial part of the future of search,” according to Business Insider.
When that announcement dropped, it felt like the start of a new era. Reddit was already one of the internet’s most active communities, high-authority, brutally honest, and crawling with niche conversations. If Google was going to prioritize Reddit content, then surely Reddit SEO was about to become the next big visibility play.
At least, that’s what we thought.
And because we’re North + South, the agency that never takes someone else’s theory at face value, we didn’t just talk about it. We tested it.
The Experiment
In August 2025, we decided to find out whether paying for Reddit mentions could actually increase AI visibility.
We spent $2,500 to have 30 organic-looking comments placed across relevant subreddits, from marketing and SEO communities to wedding-business threads where creatives ask for help growing their reach.
Each mention referenced North + South naturally, the kind of post that said something like, “You should check out North + South Agency. They focus on AI visibility for wedding pros.”
No spam. No link dumping. Just genuine-sounding mentions designed to mimic authentic community chatter.
Our goal was to measure whether those posts would improve how AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing Copilot, and Google’s SGE recognized our brand name.
The Results
Sixty days later, the data was painfully clear:
It didn’t work.
Below is a snapshot of our before-and-after metrics, measured between August and October 2025.
| Category | Before (Aug 2025) | After (Oct 2025) | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entity Clarity | 87 % | 87 % | 0 % | AI tools still recognized N+S correctly, but Reddit didn’t add new context. |
| ChatGPT Mentions (Web Mode) | 6 | 6 | 0 | No increase in brand references or citations. |
| Perplexity Source Pulls | 3 | 3 | 0 | No new data citations. Reddit comments weren’t indexed as sources. |
| SGE Mentions (Google AI Overviews) | 2 | 2 | 0 | No new AI Overviews surfaced the Reddit threads. |
| Organic Google Ranking | +0.2 positions | 0 change | Neutral | No measurable keyword improvement. |
After a two-month waiting period, not one of the 30 comments appeared in Google search results for North + South Agency or related terms like AI visibility agency or wedding SEO experts.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot never retrieved them either.
High-authority domain? Yes.
High-impact signal? Not even close.
Why It Didn’t Work
Reddit has sky-high domain authority, but AI visibility isn’t about domain authority anymore. It’s about entity authority.
Search engines and large language models aren’t counting backlinks the way they used to. They’re looking for contextual proof: structured data, authorship signals, entity markup, internal link ecosystems, and consistency across the web.
Here’s what the algorithms actually saw in our test:
- 30 random comments with unstructured mentions
- No schema, no verified author identity, no link trail
- Zero contextual reinforcement between the Reddit comments and our verified web entity
To a crawler, that looks like noise.
To a human, it looks like marketing.
To an AI, it looks like nothing at all.
What We Learned
This experiment taught us more than a thousand Reddit posts ever could.
We learned that visibility in 2025 isn’t about where your name appears. It’s about how your name is connected.
Every algorithm, from Google’s SGE to ChatGPT’s web mode, is trying to build knowledge graphs. Those graphs don’t care about raw mentions. They care about structured signals.
That’s why our clients see jumps in AI visibility when we:
- Build structured blog clusters that interlink key topics and entities
- Implement FAQ and Article JSON-LD on every post
- Use consistent authorship to train AI crawlers on who’s speaking
- Maintain semantic consistency between website copy, alt text, and external profiles
That’s the difference between being talked about and being recognized.
What Actually Works
We didn’t lose $2,500. We bought proof (at least, that’s what we keep reminding ourselves).
Proof that you can’t buy credibility from algorithms. You have to build it.
AI doesn’t reward hype. It rewards clarity.
It rewards brands that explain themselves in code and context.
So, instead of chasing Reddit SEO, here’s what works right now:
- Own your structured data. Every post needs FAQ + Article JSON-LD.
- Create interlinked blog ecosystems. Think content clusters that teach crawlers relationships between your topics.
- Use consistent authorship. Google and ChatGPT now reference “known experts” in AI results.
- Publish measurable experiments. Transparency builds trust signals with both humans and AI.
The Takeaway
We’ve always believed the best marketing comes from proof, not promise.
Reddit mentions didn’t move the needle on AI visibility.
But they did confirm that structured storytelling, not viral buzz, is what trains algorithms to see you.
So no, you don’t need to spend $2,500 testing Reddit SEO.
We already did.
If you want to see what actually works, start with an AI Visibility Report. It breaks down your brand’s current entity signals and shows exactly where to strengthen them.
Or, if you want to learn how to build lasting visibility yourself, join the next round of The Wedding SEO Method. It’s our foundational training for creative professionals who want to rank on Google and show up in ChatGPT.
And if you haven’t read it yet, here’s the moment that proved it all: We Showed Up in Google AI Results. Here’s Why That Matters for Wedding Creatives.
Because at the end of the day, real visibility isn’t bought.
It’s built.
For your viewing pleasure, here’s some more of our sponsored comments:
FAQ
Q: Does paying for Reddit mentions help SEO or AI visibility?
A: No. Our $2,500 Reddit test showed zero improvement in SEO rankings, AI visibility, or brand recognition across ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s SGE. Reddit comments lack structured data, authorship, and verified context — the exact signals AI tools use to understand and recommend brands.
Q: Why doesn’t Reddit SEO work the way people think?
A: Reddit has powerful domain authority, but search engines and AI models don’t rank or reference mentions that lack schema or structured entity connections. Comments on Reddit may help with community exposure, but they don’t strengthen your brand’s visibility in search or AI-generated results.
Q: What’s the difference between domain authority and entity authority?
A: Domain authority measures the strength of a website. Entity authority measures how clearly algorithms understand who you are, what you do, and where you’re mentioned. AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s SGE prioritize entity authority — which comes from structured data, internal links, and consistent authorship.
Q: What actually improves AI visibility?
A: Structured storytelling. Using FAQ and Article JSON-LD on every blog, linking related topics, maintaining author consistency, and creating high-quality educational content that clearly defines your brand’s expertise.
Q: Should I still post on Reddit for marketing?
A: Sure — if your goal is conversation or community building. But if your goal is measurable AI visibility or SEO impact, focus your time on optimizing structured content and entity signals on your website instead.
