The short version
- The Reddit threads on the first page of Google for the topic's search terms. Those are the threads you'd land on, so our guide has to beat them.
- The top posts of the past year in the subreddits where the topic comes up, mainly r/SEO, r/bigseo, r/SaaS, r/startups, r/indiehackers, r/SideProject, r/microsaas, r/agency and r/Entrepreneur.
- Older threads that still get found, with their age stated.
On this page
We read the Reddit threads ourselves. We quote people by username with a link back, and we put our own numbers next to theirs, each with the date we checked it. This page explains how we do that, so you can judge the guides built on it.
BacklinkBot sells backlink tools and services, and several of these guides compare things we sell against other options. The rules below are there to keep us honest as much as to make the guides useful.
Which threads we read
We start from what people already find. For each topic we collect:
- The Reddit threads on the first page of Google for the topic's search terms. Those are the threads you'd land on, so our guide has to beat them.
- The top posts of the past year in the subreddits where the topic comes up, mainly r/SEO, r/bigseo, r/SaaS, r/startups, r/indiehackers, r/SideProject, r/microsaas, r/agency and r/Entrepreneur.
- Older threads that still get found, with their age stated.
Reddit's own search blocked us during this research (it returned HTTP 403), so we found the rest through the Google-ranking threads, each subreddit's top list and a third-party archive. We can miss a small thread nobody links to, which is why the guides say "we found" and not "all of Reddit says". Scores and comment counts are read live from each thread on the date we note.
How we choose and credit quotes
- A quote is the exact words, under 25 words, with the username, the subreddit and a link to the thread. For example, u/name in r/SEO.
- Most things we paraphrase. Direct quotes are for the lines that carry weight, mainly negative reviews where the exact wording matters.
- We never edit a quote to make it sound better. When we cut one, the cut is marked.
- A quote isn't a statistic. One person's result is reported as one person's result.
How we spot vendor posts
Many replies in "who should I hire" threads come from the sellers themselves. We treat a comment as a possible vendor post when it:
- names one company, with a link, from an account that mostly posts about that company;
- is the only reply praising a service nobody else mentions;
- reads as a pitch, with a price list or a "DM me" at the end;
- comes from an account that is new or has little other history.
We leave those comments out of "what Reddit thinks." When one is useful for a price or a claim, we label it as coming from the seller. The service-comparison guides carry a note about this, and wherever we cite a vendor's claim, we say it's the vendor's.
Where our own data comes from
Each guide pairs what Reddit says with something we measured ourselves. Our sources:
| What | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Directory counts and dofollow share | Our directory database, which tracks 1,289 directories. We check each link's rel attribute |
| Domain rating (DR) | A third-party score from backlink-index providers. DR is not a Google metric, and we label it that way |
| Competitor prices | The vendor's own pricing page, with the date we read it |
| Customer results | Our case studies, labeled as done-for-you results and not as promises |
| Link attributes on Reddit | We load public threads and read the HTML of the links, then publish the date |
If we can't verify a number, we leave it out of the guide.
Where we're an interested party
Some of these guides rank services that compete with ours. In those guides the disclosure comes first, and our own service sits in a separate box at the end without a score next to the others. If a guide quotes a complaint about us, the quote stays in.
How often we re-check
Every price and count has a "checked" date. We re-check them about once a quarter, or sooner if a vendor changes its pricing. A page's "Updated" date changes whenever the page does. If a date looks older than that, tell us on the contact page.
The guides
Link building and backlinks
- Link building that actually works: lessons from Reddit
- Do Reddit links count as backlinks?
- Best link building services, according to Reddit
- Best directory submission services, according to Reddit
SEO tools
- Best SEO tools, according to Reddit
- Semrush alternatives Reddit actually recommends
- Ahrefs alternatives Reddit recommends
- Free SEO tools Reddit swears by
Agencies and clients
- Hiring an SEO agency: lessons from Reddit
- White label SEO and link building: Reddit's take
- How to get SEO clients: what works, according to Reddit
SEO and AI search
The playbook behind these pages is Reddit & AI Search. If you'd rather start on the links, get your free ranked list of directories.
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