Subject: Does Reddit Linking Impact Domain Authority?
I’ve noticed a concerning drop in my website’s Domain Authority (DA) – it fell by 10 points in just one week. I’ve recently implemented a strategy that heavily utilizes Reddit for marketing, and I’m wondering if this could be the cause. Here’s a bit more context:
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My website is 7 months old. It previously had a DA of 15, but now it has dropped to 5.
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From December to February, I was primarily generating leads through blog content and sharing those blogs on social media.
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In March, I shifted my marketing focus to social forums like Reddit, and I haven’t posted any new blogs since then. Despite this, my website traffic surged by 800% over the past 30 days.
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Additionally, traffic from Google Search Console increased by 300% month-over-month.
What could explain a 10-point drop in DA?
One response to “Does Reddit linking affect domain authority?”
There can be several factors contributing to a drop in your website’s domain authority (DA), especially with the significant changes you’ve made in your marketing strategy. Here are a few possibilities:
Link Quality vs. Quantity: While Reddit can drive significant traffic, the quality of the links pointing to your site is crucial for DA. If the links from Reddit are seen as low-quality or spammy by search engines, they might negatively impact your DA.
External vs. Internal Links: If you’ve shifted your focus primarily to social platforms like Reddit without maintaining a balanced strategy for acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites, it could affect your DA.
Changes in Reddit’s Algorithm: Depending on how you’ve been using Reddit, there’s a chance that recent changes to the platform or its linking policies have affected how search engines view links coming from there.
Search Engine Updates: Search engines frequently update their algorithms, which can affect how domain authority is calculated. If your backlinks from Reddit are now considered less valuable due to an update, it might be reflected in your DA.
Backlink Profile Review: It’s worth reviewing your backlink profile. If you’ve received aggressive linking to your site from spammy sources or if there are too many nofollow links from Reddit, this could trigger a decline in your DA.
Competitor Changes: If competitors in your niche have improved their backlink profiles significantly, this can also indirectly affect your site’s relative DA.
Diminished Trust from Spammy Traffic: While your site traffic has increased dramatically, if a large percentage of this traffic comes from less engaged users (like users from spammy subreddits), this could signal to search engines that your site isn’t providing valuable content, potentially affecting your DA.
To address the drop, consider gradually integrating a diverse range of high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources, continue producing valuable content, and maintain an active engagement with your audience across different platforms. Additionally, ensure your traffic sources remain organic and valuable over the long term.