A Reddit thread ranks in Google's top 10 results for 49.8% of software searches, half of them, against 20.5% of searches across 24 industries. For real estate searches the rate is 3%.
Analysis of 20,000 desktop and 10,000 mobile Google results pages · Google US search results, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.A Reddit thread ranks in Google's top 10 results for 49.8% of software searches, against 3% of real estate searches.
- 2.A Reddit thread ranks in Google's top 10 results for 20.5% of desktop searches, one search in five, and 15.6% of mobile searches.
- 3.Counting Reddit links in Google's discussion and forum boxes as well, Reddit appears on 25.9% of Google desktop results pages.
- 4.Reddit ranks in Google's top 10 on 26.4% of searches that show an AI Overview, more than twice the 12.5% of searches without one.
- 5.Reddit ranks in Google's top 10 for 23.9% of keywords searched under 10,000 times a month, twice the 12% for keywords searched more than 100,000 times.
Summary
An operations manager searches for the best project management software for a small team. Between the vendor websites and the review sites on Google's first page sits a Reddit thread titled with almost the same question, full of users comparing tools, sharing prices and naming the ones they dropped. To a buyer, it looks like honest advice from people in their position.
Reddit is a set of online discussion boards, called subreddits, where users post questions and vote on the answers. A Reddit thread on Google's page one takes a spot a business could have held. It also shapes the buyer's view: the thread tells them which products real users recommend, and sometimes which ones to avoid.
A Reddit thread ranks in Google's top 10 for 20.5% of searches across 24 industries, one search in five, and for 49.8% of software searches. Reddit is the second most common website in Google's top 10, behind only YouTube. For businesses in the affected industries, the competition on page one now includes their own customers.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we checked 20,000 desktop and 10,000 mobile Google results pages for US keywords across 24 industries, from home services and finance to healthcare and software. A page counts if at least one of its top 10 organic results, the ordinary listings below the ads, is a page on reddit.com. We also counted Reddit links anywhere on the page, including Google's discussion and forum boxes.
We split the results by industry, device, monthly search volume and search intent, what the person searching wants, and by whether the same page showed an AI Overview, the AI-written summary Google places above the ordinary results.
Software and home service buyers see Reddit most
The spread by industry is huge. Half of software searches show Reddit on page one, rising to 54% on mobile. Pest control, home security, weddings and HVAC all sit between 34% and 43%. These are purchases where buyers want a second opinion from someone who has been through it: which tool, which contractor, which alarm system, whether a price is fair.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 20,000 desktop and 10,000 mobile Google results pages · Google US search results, September 2026
At the other end, Reddit rarely reaches the top 10 for real estate (3%), senior care (3.4%), accounting (4.2%) or dental (5.7%) searches. Buyers in these industries search for a listing or a local provider more than for opinions.
One Google search in five shows Reddit on page one
Across all 24 industries, a Reddit thread ranks in Google's top 10 on 20.5% of desktop searches and 15.6% of mobile searches. Counting Reddit links inside Google's discussion and forum boxes and similar features as well, Reddit appears somewhere on 25.9% of desktop results pages, about one in four.
That makes Reddit one of the most common websites on Google's first page: in a count of the websites that hold the most top 10 spots across these searches, Reddit ranks second only to YouTube. For a business, this changes the competition. You are no longer only competing with other businesses for page one. You are competing with customers talking about your industry, and sometimes about you.
Reddit and AI Overviews show up on the same searches
Reddit ranks in the top 10 on 26.4% of desktop searches that also show an AI Overview, and on 12.5% of searches without one. Where Google adds an AI summary, a Reddit thread is more than twice as likely to be ranking below it. Both appear on searches where people want advice and opinions rather than a single fact or a specific website.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 20,000 desktop and 10,000 mobile Google results pages · Google US search results, September 2026
Search volume matters too. Reddit ranks for 23.9% of keywords searched under 10,000 times a month, 16.6% of keywords searched 10,000 to 100,000 times, and 12% of keywords searched more than 100,000 times. The mid-sized, specific searches that bring a business its best-qualified buyers are the ones where Reddit shows up most.
What this means for businesses
Search your ten most important keywords and see which Reddit threads rank. Read them. They show what real buyers ask, what they complain about and which competitors they recommend. That is useful for your website content and your sales pitch, even if you never post.
If you do take part, do it as a person, not an advertiser. Answer questions in the relevant subreddits with useful detail and follow each subreddit's rules on self-promotion. Then answer the same questions on your own website, so the searchers who skip the thread find a clear answer from you on page one.
This matters most in software, where half of searches show a Reddit thread. A saas seo agency that tracks Reddit alongside your rankings can tell you which threads shape your buyers' choices.
Embed this research
Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.
<iframe id="sd-reddit-google-page-one-share" src="https://www.suffdigital.com/embed/data-studies/reddit-google-page-one-share" width="100%" height="600" style="width:100%;border:1px solid #E5E7EB;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy" title="Reddit Ranks on Google's First Page for 49.8% of Software Searches vs 20.5% Overall - Suff Digital"></iframe>
<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e&&e.data&&e.data.sdEmbed==="reddit-google-page-one-share"&&e.data.height){var f=document.getElementById("sd-reddit-google-page-one-share");if(f){f.style.height=e.data.height+"px";}}});</script>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/reddit-google-page-one-share">Reddit Ranks on Google's First Page for 49.8% of Software Searches vs 20.5% Overall - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). Reddit Ranks on Google's First Page for 49.8% of Software Searches vs 20.5% Overall. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/reddit-google-page-one-share
Reddit Ranks on Google's First Page for 49.8% of Software Searches vs 20.5% Overall - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/reddit-google-page-one-share