6 Ways Spammers Exploit Google With Reddit via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A hunt marketer named Lars Lofgren felt exasperated by the avalanche of spam hitting Reddit and decided to exposure the tricks that spammers are utilizing to exploit Google’s penchant for ranking Reddit discussions.

Reddit’s Spam Problem

Lars wrote that the crushed helium decided to exposure however spammers are exploiting Reddit was due to the fact that he’s a Redditor who is appalled by however spammy Reddit has go which successful crook is infecting however spammy Google’s hunt results person become.

I spoke with Lars by email and helium explained his motivation:

“I’m successful the SEO manufacture and I judge successful producing large content. That’s ever been what motivates me. Produce large content, marque Google users happy, Google features my stuff, and everyone wins.

Starting past fall, Google has begun featuring Reddit everywhere. In theory, this tin beryllium good. Reddit has tons of authentic conversations. But it’s anonymous, not moderated well, and has nary accountability. So large contented crossed the net is getting buried beneath spammy Reddit content.

I privation to beryllium capable to hunt Google and reliably find large contented again, not spam. And a batch of concern owners that tally large websites person had to bash layoffs oregon adjacent unopen down their websites due to the fact that of this.”

How Spammers Exploit Reddit

Lars wrote an nonfiction that exposes six ways that spammers are utilizing Reddit to beforehand affiliate sites and getting rewarded by Google. In our treatment I asked him if links were commoditized connected Reddit and helium speculated that it wouldn’t astonishment him.

“I wouldn’t beryllium amazed astatine each if moderators are selling links. …I’d beryllium shocked if it wasn’t happening determination connected Reddit. Or a institution could conscionable bargain the nexus outright, tons of companies bash this with blog posts that rank.”

1. Become A Moderator

Moderators person the powerfulness to pin a remark to immoderate post. If anyone objects to the spammy enactment the moderators tin simply prohibition the users and marque them spell away.

In our conversation, Lars explained however moderators spam their subreddits and wherefore Google’s uncontrolled ranking of Reddit discussions has corrupted them:

“A moderator of a subreddit tin people a remark of their ain to immoderate station successful their subreddit. Usually it’ll beryllium a caller remark that they marque to the conversation. And past pin the remark to the precise apical of the speech truthful everyone sees it.

They can’t modify comments from different users but they tin pin immoderate remark of their own. This moderation powerfulness is determination for communicating to their community, similar erstwhile a speech gets excessively arguable and a moderator wants to dilatory it down.

Some moderators person realized that their subreddit is being featured for lucrative presumption successful Google. So they spell looking for posts that rank, past pin comments successful those posts with a nexus that makes them a batch of wealth personally.”

2. Find Posts That Google Ranks

Lars wrote that different maneuver spammers usage is to place posts that Google is ranking and past adhd a caller pinned station that contains an affiliate link. A pinned station is simply a station that’s permanently lodged astatine the opening of a discussion. That ensures that it volition person maximum vulnerability and engagement with users who sojourn Reddit from Google’s hunt results.

He writes:

“If you were a mod of that subreddit, you could spell into that remark thread, adhd a caller remark with your ain affiliate link, past pin that remark to the apical of the thread. And that’s EXACTLY what idiosyncratic has done…”

3. Spam A Trusted Subreddit

The adjacent method doesn’t adjacent impact becoming a mod. Lars described that a spammer conscionable needs to find a subreddit that has a past of ranking successful the SERPs. The adjacent measurement is to make a topic. Lars suggests utilizing a sock puppet to reply the question with a link.

As a moderator astatine WebmasterWorld for astir 20 years, and a forum proprietor arsenic well, I tin corroborate that that method is an aged 1 known arsenic Tag Teaming. Tag Teaming is wherever a idiosyncratic posts a question past subsequently answers the question with a antithetic account. That 2nd relationship is called a sock puppet.

Successfully utilizing sock puppets against a seasoned and determined moderator won’t work. But from my acquisition arsenic a forum proprietor and a moderator, I cognize that astir moderators are conscionable enthusiasts and seldom person immoderate thought erstwhile idiosyncratic is abusing their forum.  So Lar’s insistence that spammers are utilizing sock puppets is perfectly valid.

4. Create Engagement Bait

Another maneuver that Lars exposes is astir dropping a notation of a merchandise oregon website successful a Reddit treatment alternatively of a link. Spammers bash this due to the fact that it has a higher likelihood of surviving moderator scrutiny.

What spammers bash is station a treatment that purposely inspires empathy and causes different Redditors to leap successful with their proposal and experiences. The cardinal to this strategy is to usage a sock puppet to station an reply aboriginal successful the treatment truthful that erstwhile aft it begins trending the station with the spam successful it volition fertile higher.

Lars writes:

“Use each your Reddit accounts to pump up the speech and get it trending. Once that’s done, the assemblage should tally with it.

If you deed an affectional symptom truly good and your merchandise notation looks natural, the subreddit volition spell crazy. Everyone volition leap in, empathize, connection their ain suggestions, argue, upvote, the full thing.”

There’s a akin strategy called Linkbaiting that uses affectional triggers to beforehand engagement. One of the legendary SEOs from the past, Todd Malicoat, wrote astir these triggers 17 years agone (some of which helium credited to different radical for having invented them). Using emotionally triggering topics is an aged but proven tactic.

5. Build A New Subreddit

Lars said that different spam maneuver is to physique their ain subreddit, effect it with sock puppet conversations connected topics that are a highly ranked successful akin subreddits. Lars explained that Reddit’s proposal motor volition statesman surfacing the spam posts to users funny successful that taxable which volition past assistance the spammy subreddit turn truthful that the spammer tin bash immoderate they privation with it erstwhile it’s mature.

6. Aged Reddit Accounts Can Be Bought

Lars revealed that determination is simply a marketplace for aged Reddit subordinate accounts with posting histories that tin beryllium purchased for arsenic small arsenic $150. This avoids having to make an service of sock puppets and gathering a posting past truthful that they look to beryllium legit accounts.

Everything Google Ranks Is A Commodity

I’ve been successful SEO for 20 5 years and 1 happening that ne'er changes is that everything that Google ranks becomes a commodity. If it ranks past determination are a legion of spammers and hackers who tendency to exploit it. So it’s not astonishing to maine that spammers person worked retired however to successfully exploit Reddit.

The spam concern is atrocious quality for Google due to the fact that present it has to constabulary Reddit discussions to weed retired the spam. Is Google up to the task?

Read the nonfiction by Lars Lofgren:

The Sleazy World of Reddit Marketing, Everything is Fake

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Luis Molinero