Reddit has become one of the most popular sites over the years. It has undergone many changes over time, but its decision to take the company public was perhaps the most pivotal moment in its history. Reddit’s initial public offering (IPO) last March was a vote of confidence in what was once as niche community forum, evolving into a mainstream digital content behemoth.
At the beginning of Reddit’s IPO, the company’s share price stood at $34 per share, valuing the company at a total market cap of $6.4 billion. By the end of last year, Reddit’s share price had soared by 380%, beating even the top-performing stocks on the S&P 500 like Nvidia.
It’s fair to say that Reddit’s impressive performance in the stock market was augmented by Reddit’s enhanced visibility within Google. A Google algorithm update between July 2023 and April 2024 saw posts from Reddit benefit from a 1,328% increase in visibility within the search engine results pages (SERPs). In fact, by April 2024, Reddit had established itself as the fifth most visible website in Google’s U.S. SERPs. The end result being a 39% year-on-year rise in organic website traffic.
Room for Improvement at Reddit?
Although these are notable achievements for Reddit, there are many who feel there’s still strategic tweaks necessary to maintain the platform’s growth curve. One of the biggest elephants in the room is its dated search functionality. Users regularly bang their heads against the wall with search engine. Indeed, many Reddit users end up getting better results by visiting Google and using “site:reddit.com” search queries.
In 2025 – and with its current sky-high valuation – Reddit can ill-afford to maintain such a poor user experience for locating specific content. Enhancing the native search function would surely drive engagement further still, keeping new users within the community for longer.
Another area ripe for improvement is Reddit’s native mobile app. Although its accessibility on smartphones and tablets has improved, it still lags behind some of its competitors in terms of its functionality and general performance.
Content Streams
Content is the beating heart of Reddit’s community. It’s long been used as a yardstick for monitoring online platforms and services. Their forums are recommended as a go-to for iGamers looking to find the most trustworthy online casinos, for example, which is a hugely competitive market. That’s because it’s a broad database of first-person user reviews and players who specifically play slots are likely to pinpoint the things that matter to other slots players.
Nevertheless, moderating content is still a huge issue. Reddit must invest money and human resource in improving the moderation of its content, with improved detection and monitoring of posts, potentially aided by artificial intelligence (AI).
Reddit’s newfound shareholders will be conscious about how the platform improves its monetization. While targeted advertising and data licensing has already proven successful, further diversification of revenue streams will be essential to the long-term sustainability of the Reddit community. The time is now for Reddit, but it must be proactive in maintaining its momentum and delivering a worthy hub for online communities in the years ahead.