Power of Forum Sniping in Driving Website Traffic

Rajat Jain
speakrj
Published in
3 min readSep 14, 2023

My site’s page-views saw a 2X increase in merely four-five days.

All thanks to an interesting strategy I employed, named Forum Sniping on Reddit.

Forum Snipping — If you can’t beat ’em, join ‘em.

Understanding Forum Sniping

Essentially another form of Parasite SEO, Forum Sniping is occasionally referenced as Forum Hijacking.

Essentially, it entails hunting for Reddit threads that rank high for a specific keyword you’re targeting, and leaving valuable and relevant comments linking back to your site.

This technique has steadily been gaining popularity and has undergone certain changes in recent years.

Let’s take a closer look.

Forum Sniping: Then and Now

In the past, the aim was to seek out Reddit posts relevant to our topic, then generate a well-structured article to outperform them.

The method was straightforward and easy to execute. However, now the game has changed and the strategy — evolved.

We can now produce a high-quality article, and simultaneously latch onto a related Reddit thread, making our presence felt directly on the first page of the search.

The Strength of Forum Sniping

So, why is Forum Sniping so effective?

This has largely to do with Google’s algorithmic changes.

Earlier, Google wasn’t keen on ranking forum-posts such as Reddit, Quora, etc.

However, post-update, these forums are now considered more authoritative by Google, often better aligning with searcher’s intent than niche websites.

It’s no secret that online users appreciate organic, authentic human experiences and feedback.

Oftentimes, this insight is readily available on forums such as Reddit.

Hence, the shift from trying to outrank forums to joining them.

Forum Sniping in Action

So, how do you execute Forum Sniping?

I utilized two methods: browsing Reddit directly and capitalizing on SEMrush for potential avenues.

Personally, I found Reddit to be more accurate and concurrent.

Direct Sniping on Reddit

Employing Reddit directly, you can explore different paths:

Step 1: Responding to Existing High Authority Posts: This method’s strength lies in interacting with well-established posts that already generate significant traffic.

However, the challenge is getting your reply ranked higher, since you’re entering the game late.

Scroll through Reddit’s ‘Top’ or ‘Hot’ section sorted by the last month. Look for posts relevant to an article you’ve already written.

Do note, some subs might not allow ‘self-promotion’ or direct links.

Step 2. Responding to Recent Posts: My preference lies in being among the first to comment on a new post.

This keeps your comment at the top, generating natural upvotes owing to its high quality.

Head to Reddit and select ‘New’.

Look for emerging posts related to your existing articles and craft a high-quality reply linking back to your site.

Step 3: Creating New Posts: The other method involves crafting your own post on Reddit.

This gives you complete control over the narrative and enhances your visibility.

If your post is of high-quality and bears a link, it can drive significant traffic your way.

Forum Sniping is a powerful tool in the world of digital marketing, lending credence to the saying, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ‘em.”

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Rajat Jain
speakrj
Editor for

Entrepreneur, Social Media Consultant & Strategist, SEO Expert. I like my own space! AI enthusiast.