Reddit is one of the oldest and most established social news portals on the web and has managed to successfully weather the storm, unlike competitors such as Digg and Delicious. Throughout its years of existence, Reddit has remained relatively unchanged and yet still possesses one of the best and most popular platforms for sharing unique and viral content. Some have wondered whether Reddit can be used effectively by webmasters and bloggers as a way to drive traffic to their sites without penalty. There are definitely pros and cons to the use of Reddit, some of which we will explore in this article.

PRO: Existing Infrastructure

As mentioned earlier, Reddit is an old, strong, relatively unchanged product that continues to entertain, inform and attract visitors from all over the world. The fact that Reddit’s simple construct has been so successful can not only give you a lesson on how to design and maintain a site, but also can provide you with an audience that may find your content to their liking. Not all blog or website content will be suitable for Reddit (read below), but anything that is unique or not covered by many other websites can find its way onto the screens of thousands of interested readers.

CON: Tons of Content

The very same aspect of Reddit that makes it great for visitors can also make it difficult and frustrating for those who are seeking to garner attention. While the Reddit boards are fairly well categorized and can lead to you finding relatively niche audiences, many bloggers and writers make the mistake of trying to advertise in the most popular forums. It is here that many forms of content (Top 5 Lists, How-tos, etc) that traditionally do well in a standard online format end up flopping and receiving no real attention. Since Reddit is utilized mainly by dedicated readers, the demand for premium and original content is even higher.

PRO: Tracking Your Progress

Reddit’s easy-to-use ranking system makes it a dream for you to determine how well your link is being received by readers. In each category, the ranking system shows the top 25 posts along with the number of comments and the net number of positive “+1”s that you have received (people can vote your post down, as well; this is why traditional advertising tactics do not work well on here). You can also quickly check any page on Reddit to see if your article has made the top by using Pingler’s Link Extractor; simply input the URL of the board and all links will be displayed – including your link if it is there.

CON: Stars Fade Quickly

Reddit’s algorithms and moderation tools make the site function more like a dynamic entity that a permanent ranking system. In other words, articles that make it to the top will be downgraded after some time in order to make way for new articles and posts. This may be a major deterrent for those who are considering whether or not to invest their time in creating a Reddit post. If your post does extremely well, however, the gain in visitors, traffic and sales may make it worth your while.