{"id":10554,"date":"2025-11-11T17:44:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/?p=10554"},"modified":"2025-11-11T17:44:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:44:48","slug":"reddits-rise-shows-every-brand-needs-a-forum-for-its-genai-search-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/?p=10554","title":{"rendered":"Reddit\u2019s rise shows every brand needs a forum for its GenAI search strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"448\" src=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/thriving-UGC-forum-garden-same-old-blogs-800x448.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A year and a half ago, I wrote \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/forums-google-adapt-444065\">The rise of forums: Why Google prefers them and how to adapt<\/a>,\u201d arguing that brands should build their own online forums and communities.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at what\u2019s happened since.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As of this writing, Reddit\u2019s stock price has risen 177.6%. If you\u2019d bought 100 shares of RDDT then, you\u2019d be $13,113 richer today.<\/li>\n<li>In a June 2025 analysis of 150,000 AI citations, Semrush found that Reddit was the top source, appearing in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/ai-mode-comparison-study\/?utm_campaign=forums-ai-conversation-king-464370&amp;utm_source=searchengineland.com&amp;utm_medium=referral\"> more than 40%<\/a> of LLM responses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"545\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush-545x600.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-404299\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>So what happened? It comes down to the law of supply and demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The supply-and-demand crisis of online answers<\/h2>\n<p>The demand for answers has skyrocketed as people increasingly turn to LLMs. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Grok will try to come up with the answers from their training data and failing that, they\u2019ll search the web.<\/p>\n<p>ChatGPT uses Bing, Gemini uses Google and Claude, Grok and Perplexity use their own internal search engine. The web search engine will quickly find that the supply of long-tail answers is nonexistent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And so it will surface the closest thing it can find: a Reddit thread that matches the keywords, but could very well have been written by a novice, an armchair expert or a troll. Whose fault is it that the web is devoid of meaningful long-tail content?<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, it was Google\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even the best SEO professionals among us were told by our clients and bosses that nothing mattered except for the One Ring \u2013 getting ranked at the top for a highly competitive keyword. We all started to write the same blog posts to try to grab that top spot, while the vast long tail went ignored.<\/p>\n<p>The irony is that if your brand has any expertise or authority in its space, it always could \u2013 and still can \u2013 completely own the undiscovered country of the long-tail of search for your industry, a frontier of questions no brand has yet answered.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The advantages of user-generated content<\/h2>\n<p>The best way to do this \u2013 by far \u2013 is through user-generated content (UGC), which has several key characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It matches search intent: Users post the same way they search, using the same words.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s always up-to-date: New posts keep topics current without constant editorial work.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s accurate: Assuming your brand can attract experienced experts who contribute, each new reply will add value or correction.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It builds semantic depth: Conversations naturally surface related terms, subtopics and entities that boost SEO and LLM discovery.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s trustworthy and AI-proof: Authentic human discussion is the one thing that LLMs can\u2019t replicate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If this all sounds familiar to you, it\u2019s the same old E-E-A-T that Google has been trying to get us to do for years.<\/p>\n<p>Only now, it really counts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/a-marketers-guide-to-reddit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reddit\u00a0marketing guide \u2013 maximize your spend<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why brands hesitate<\/h2>\n<p>Most companies instinctively resist the idea of launching a forum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here are the objections I hear most often \u2013 and how I respond.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It\u2019s too expensive: Ironically, forum and Q&amp;A software is among the most mature open-source software. You can literally have a production-ready system up and running in a week at a cost less than a few cups of coffee. I\u2019ll share some examples below.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>We don\u2019t have the development resources: If you\u2019re not familiar with the concept of open-source, you don\u2019t need development resources other than for tasks like skinning and building single sign-on, which your developers can accomplish with ease.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>We tried it before and it didn\u2019t work: In most cases, this is because forums were treated as side projects and not owned media.<\/li>\n<li>There\u2019s no clear ROI: Forums have always reduced support tickets, but because it\u2019s hard to prove a negative, most companies treated both online and offline customer service as cost centers \u2013 and the first things to cut. Today, forums still lower service costs and add valuable, search-friendly content. It\u2019s time to redo the math.<\/li>\n<li>Moderation is too much of a hassle: Today\u2019s spam filters, coupled with intelligent heuristics, enforced policies and AI-supported moderation, can handle 90% of bad actors. A strong community of users and in-house moderators can easily handle the rest.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Everyone\u2019s already on Reddit or Discord: Exactly. And those platforms own your audience, your brand and your data. It\u2019s time to take it back.<\/li>\n<li>Forums are outdated: Reddit is a forum. It has a market cap of $38 billion. Time to redo the math on that one, too.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Discussion boards vs. Q&amp;A sites<\/h2>\n<p>I tend to use the phrase \u201cforums\u201d interchangeably to refer to two kinds of sites: discussion boards and Q&amp;A sites.<\/p>\n<p>There are key differences, depending on your company\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n<p>A discussion board is built for ongoing conversation. It\u2019s a social space where customers can connect, share experiences, swap ideas and engage in the occasional friendly debate, like an always-on company event or conference.<\/p>\n<p>A Q&amp;A site, by contrast, is built for resolution. Each post centers on a single question from a community member. Some brands limit responses to verified experts, while others invite the whole community to contribute and vote on the best answer. The goal is clarity: one question, one accepted solution.<\/p>\n<p>Both formats create a treasure trove of owned, uniquely human content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While other companies rely on generative AI to churn out soulless copy, with the help of your community, you\u2019ll be building fresh content that feeds AI and, more importantly, reaches real customers. As derivative AI-generated content floods the web, that authentic human signal will become a substantial competitive edge.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The open-source path to ownership<\/h2>\n<p>While many enterprise and SaaS options exist, most businesses can start with open-source software, which is ideal for small, mid-sized or cost-conscious enterprises. Here\u2019s why open source makes sense.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Open source software is free<\/h3>\n<p>Every software package I recommend below will be free. All you need is a web server or hosting plan (your own infrastructure, a cloud provider or even a managed host) and you can run it yourself.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Open source software is customizable\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Most mature open-source platforms enable brands to easily customize and extend functionality through plug-ins and extensions \u2013 all with a fraction of the development effort required to build a system from scratch.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/how-digital-visibility-drives-or-destroys-brand-trust\/\">How digital visibility drives \u2014 or destroys \u2014 brand trust<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Instead of building a huge system from scratch, your team can focus on customization, such as:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Customizing the front-end design to match your brand website.<\/li>\n<li>Using single sign-on with your existing customer database to make access seamless for your customers.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Adding reputation and gamification systems, such as upvotes, leaderboards and badges, to promote the most credible voices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You own your own data<\/h3>\n<p>When you self-host your forum, you own the data and can export it at any time, with no dependencies on third-party platforms or APIs. This is increasingly important as we enter an era where unique content is literally an asset.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SEO and LLM visibility<\/h3>\n<p>Most mature forum and Q&amp;A software have SEO best practices built in, from automatic<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/title-tags-seo-everything-you-need-to-know-2025-451233\"> title tags<\/a> to best<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/internal-links-seo-best-practices-examples-tips-448047\"> internal linking<\/a> practices that make it easy for search engines and AI bots to discover content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Moderation tools<\/h3>\n<p>Active moderation is crucial to the success of online communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Choosing the correct discussion board software<\/h2>\n<p>After extensive research, my go-to recommendations for discussion boards are Flarum and Discourse.<\/p>\n<p>I like Flarum for its sleek, minimalist interface and Reddit-like familiarity. Built on PHP with Laravel components, it\u2019s fast, lightweight and highly extensible, supported by an active developer community. It\u2019s ideal for small to mid-sized businesses, startups and niche communities.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"581\" src=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-11-at-11.32.11-AM-800x581.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-404300\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Discourse is the gold standard for modern forums, built on Ruby on Rails and Ember.js. It offers robust features out of the box, including SSO, analytics, trust levels and a robust API, as well as a paid option for fully managed deployments. Used by major brands like OpenAI, Samsung and Shopify, it\u2019s ideal for larger organizations, SaaS companies and professional communities.<\/p>\n<p>Honorable mention goes to NodeBB and phpBB, older platforms that require a bit more care and feeding, but also have their advantages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Platforms built for Q&amp;A<\/h2>\n<p>My go-tos here include Apache Answer and Question2Answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Apache Answer is a modern, actively supported platform from the Apache Software Foundation, with a solid pedigree.\u00a0Built on Go and Vue.js, it offers a comprehensive feature set, including voting, accepted answers, categories and a Reddit-style reputation system.<\/p>\n<p>Question2Answer, first released in 2010 and still actively maintained, is inspired by Stack Overflow, offering features such as voting and tagging. Its out-of-the-box interface looks dated, but a good designer can easily modernize it. It\u2019s built in PHP.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-11-at-11.37.59-AM-800x520.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-404301\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>AskBot and Scoold are also worth exploring.<\/p>\n<p>Test them out. They all have links to a demo and real-world client implementations on their sites.\u00a0Find one you like. Pay $50 for a shared web hosting service and another $50 for pizza for engineers and developers.\u00a0You\u2019ll have a fully functional forum within a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where most forums succeed \u2013 or fail<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike most software projects, building a discussion board or Q&amp;A site is relatively straightforward.\u00a0But it\u2019s maintaining and running it that will determine whether it\u2019ll be successful. I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to have launched, managed and moderated several successful discussion forums and Q&amp;A sites over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s some practical advice.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have a zero tolerance for spam<\/h3>\n<p>Spam is the number one reason forums fail.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The moment you launch a discussion board, it will be attacked.\u00a0Fortunately, tools like Akismet, StopForumSpam, CleanTalk and reCAPTCHA can block most spam before it reaches your site.\u00a0You can even run your server logs through an LLM to generate smart filtering rules for your CDN.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If anything slips through, remove it fast \u2013 spam spreads apathy faster than any troll.<\/p>\n<p>With Q&amp;A sites, you\u2019ll have a bit more control, depending on how many of the questions and answers you\u2019d like to open up to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/why-genai-search-is-as-bad-for-shoppers-as-it-is-for-marketers\/\">Why genAI search is as bad for shoppers as it is for marketers<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Require detailed and authentic titles\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>This is another Achilles\u2019 Heel of many forums.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Discussion boards often have non-descript titles, such as \u201cHelp!\u201d or \u201cNeed Advice!\u201d You\u2019ll also want to have a zero-tolerance policy toward those.\u00a0Have instructional copy that reminds them to leave detailed titles and if any slip through the cracks, either generate a title for them or reject the post.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, for Q&amp;A sites, your titles must reflect actual questions that users ask in their own language, not the words of a marketer or other internal voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seed popular topics<\/h3>\n<p>To understand the questions people are asking, review:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your on-site search data.<\/li>\n<li>Google Search Console data.<\/li>\n<li>Customer service inquiries.<\/li>\n<li>External sites like Reddit.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Post them to the discussion board from a moderator account, provide high-quality answers and invite comments.\u00a0As long as you\u2019re authentic and transparent, users will respond.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Establish clear, public community guidelines<\/h3>\n<p>Set rules and boundaries clearly up-front and display them prominently.\u00a0Keep them short enough that real users will read them, ideally 5-7 bullet points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some thought starters:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Linking policy: Generally, you\u2019ll want to allow only accounts that have been vetted or meet specific criteria to post links.<\/li>\n<li>Reinforce tone: \u201cDisagree without being disagreeable\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Rules against harassment and foul language.<\/li>\n<li>Rules against off-topic posts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Establish clear categories<\/h3>\n<p>Define categories and tags clearly.\u00a0Take a large pool of typical questions or discussion topics and categorize them. (Hint: Use your favorite LLM to help.)Ensure that category names are immediately intuitive to users. Move or delete off-topic content quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Empower trusted regulars<\/h3>\n<p>Over time, many forums start to attract regular visitors.\u00a0If this happens to your brand, tap into their passion by inviting them to take on small moderation privileges (e.g., editing titles, retagging or flagging spam).\u00a0Depending on your relationship with these fans, you can incentivize them with recognition, branded merchandise, free product or monetary compensation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Community self-correction scales far better than centralized policing.<\/p>\n<p>Gamify contributions for everyone with leaderboards, badges, upvote milestones, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Archive or merge duplicates<\/h3>\n<p>Especially on Q&amp;A boards, you\u2019ll want to ensure that you avoid repeating questions.\u00a0That causes duplicate content issues for SEO, but worse, it can frustrate visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Own the conversation before your competitors do<\/h2>\n<p>There are plenty more ways to run a successful discussion board or Q&amp;A site.\u00a0But the most important rule is this: don\u2019t treat it as an SEO tactic, an LLM feeder or a necessary evil.\u00a0Build a destination you and your team would actually want to visit \u2013 a place for lively conversation, helpful knowledge and genuine connection with your customers and fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the real formula for success.<\/p>\n<p>A year ago, I suggested starting a forum. This year, it\u2019s no longer optional. Reddit has made it clear that conversation holds real value \u2014 and your competitors won\u2019t be far behind. By claiming the conversations that belong to your brand, you\u2019ll create better customer experiences, enhance your reputation, increase conversions and position yourself as the trusted source AI turns to.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center nl-inline-container\">\n<div class=\"col-12 pb-1\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Fuel up with free marketing insights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-auto pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Email:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-8 pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-auto\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/terms-of-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/reddits-rise-in-shows-every-brand-needs-a-forum-for-its-genai-search-strategy\/\">Reddit\u2019s rise shows every brand needs a forum for its GenAI search strategy<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/\">MarTech<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A year and a half ago, I wrote \u201cThe rise of forums: Why Google prefers them and how to adapt,\u201d arguing that brands should build their own online forums and communities. Let\u2019s look at what\u2019s happened since. As of this writing, Reddit\u2019s stock price has risen 177.6%. If you\u2019d bought 100 shares of RDDT then, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/?p=10554\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Reddit\u2019s rise shows every brand needs a forum for its GenAI search strategy&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"medium":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"large":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"inspiro-featured-image":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"inspiro-loop":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"inspiro-loop@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-masonry":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-masonry@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_cinema":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_portrait":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_portrait@2x":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false],"portfolio_item-thumbnail_square":["https:\/\/martech.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/sel-semrush.png",0,0,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/attentionmedia.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}