Do Reddit links count as backlinks? (2026)

Reddit links are nofollow, so they pass little or no ranking value to your site, and posting more of them won't raise your rankings. They can still send visitors, get a page crawled, and put your name inside threads that rank on Google and get quoted by AI answers.

We didn't want to just repeat the nofollow claim, so we tested it. On 31 October 2026 we loaded three public threads (in r/microsaas, r/SaaS and r/indiehackers) and read the HTML of every outbound link in the posts and comments. All 28 links carried rel="noopener nofollow ugc". One of those threads has more than 1,000 upvotes, and its link was tagged the same way. Last checked: 31 October 2026.

What a Reddit link does and doesn't pass

A Reddit link tells Google "this is user-generated content, don't treat it as a vote." That's what nofollow ugc means. Google calls these attributes hints, so it may still crawl the page the link points to, but don't count on any ranking credit. For PageRank, a Reddit link is worth close to zero.

Google's own guidance says to mark links in comments and forum posts as ugc, and Reddit does that on every link we checked. Since 2020 Google has treated nofollow and ugc as hints rather than strict rules. That's where the "nofollow still counts a little" argument comes from.

Redditors have asked this for years, and the answers in r/SEO haven't changed much. In a 2023 thread, u/independentanalytics pointed out that the attribute isn't up for debate, since you can see it in the page source. A 2024 thread got the same answer from several regulars: the page a comment sits on is weak, and the link is nofollow.

Two myths keep coming up:

• "Enough upvotes turn it dofollow." People say this in both of those threads, and nobody offers proof. Our check found nothing to back it up. The link in the 1,000-upvote thread was nofollow like the rest.
• "Ahrefs shows my Reddit links, so they count." Third-party tools list nofollow links too. A founder in r/SideProject found every one of his referring domains was Reddit and asked whether that meant anything. The replies said no for authority, maybe for traffic.

Why threads still matter (they rank on Google and AI answers cite them)

The link is weak, but the thread can still be worth a lot. Reddit threads hold most of the top results for questions like this one, and AI answers pull from them. A helpful mention in a thread that ranks can bring visitors for months and put your product name in front of ChatGPT and Perplexity. That's where the value sits, more than in the link itself.

When we looked at the Google results for "reddit backlinks" this month, Reddit threads held six or seven of the top nine spots. A thread that ranks for your topic keeps getting read long after it's posted. If your name shows up in it next to a useful answer, you get visibility you would struggle to buy.

This isn't new. A commenter in a 2021 r/SEO thread said the company's subreddit had become its top organic social source, and added:

"Some of our Reddit posts are indexed higher than our own website" (u/FatCoupon in r/SEO)

Another user in the same thread said a link in a popular comment got a new article crawled within a day or two. That fits Google using nofollow links for discovery. It's one person's report, not a test, but it matches the "hint" wording above.

The AI side is newer. In r/seogrowth, people describe Reddit as a brand and visibility channel rather than a link source, because threads match long, conversational questions. Our Reddit and AI search playbook walks through how to find the threads that rank for your buyers' questions.

What Redditors say about "Reddit backlinks" services

Some sellers offer "Reddit backlinks" or paid comments in threads, and most Redditors are against them. The links are nofollow, so you pay for something that passes no authority, and planted comments get removed or downvoted. One r/bigseo regular called the whole "first backlinks package" idea something link sellers made up.

That r/bigseo line was a reply to someone asking which "backlinks package" to buy for a new site:

"This is BS invented by link sellers. Good backlink is good backlink." (u/Wr1per in r/bigseo)

The same commenter added that you post on social sites for traffic and marketing, not for links. Look closely at the accounts recommending these services in Reddit threads, too. In the r/seogrowth thread above, one reply came from an account named after a link-selling company. Treat advice like that as a sales pitch.

If someone sells "Reddit backlinks" by count, ask what you're paying for. Twenty nofollow links from comments that get removed in a week are not an asset. A real answer in a thread that ranks is one, and nobody can sell you that.

How to earn mentions without getting banned

Answer the question in the thread before you mention anything you sell. Then say plainly that it's yours, link only when the link is the answer, and stay out of subreddits that ban self-promotion. Brand accounts that only drop links get removed fast, and a ban costs more than any single mention is worth.

Here is what worked in the threads we read:

1. Find threads that already rank. Search Google for your buyers' questions plus "reddit". The threads on page one are the ones worth answering.
2. Read the rules first. r/SEO and r/bigseo remove promotional comments, and r/bigseo bans service offers outright. Smaller niche subreddits are often friendlier to a disclosed "I built this."
3. Answer the question fully, then disclose. People upvote the reply that solves the problem without the link. If you mention your product, add "I made this."
4. Stick with one real account over time. A commenter in r/seogrowth warns that brand accounts that only drop links get ignored, and r/SEO's AutoModerator removes comments from low-karma accounts.
5. Count visits and mentions, not links. Watch referral visits in analytics and check whether the thread ranks. Don't report the link as a backlink win.

For the wider Reddit marketing picture, growwithreddit's guide to dofollow vs nofollow Reddit links goes deeper on the community side.

What we'd do instead for dofollow links

If you want links that pass ranking value, treat Reddit as a traffic source and build links elsewhere. The cheapest place to start is a short list of directories that are free, dofollow and reasonably strong. In our database, 348 directories meet all three conditions, and the only cost is your time.

Our database tracks 1,289 directories, and 681 of them give a dofollow link (counts pulled 30 October 2026, from how many directories give dofollow links). Of the 557 that are free and dofollow, 348 have a domain rating of 30 or higher. The filtered list is at free dofollow directories, with the link type and DR on every row.

Directories get you started, but they won't carry a whole strategy. For the routes Redditors say work (outreach, data people want to cite, relationships, and careful paid placements), read link building lessons from Reddit. If you're weighing a service, our ledger of the link building services Reddit names lists each vendor with the praise, the complaints and a dated price.

If you want dofollow links you can get this week, open the free dofollow directory list, sort by DR, and submit to the ten that match your category.

How we picked and checked the threads on this page: how we research Reddit.