How I'm optimizing AEO with Reddit

We’re in the first inning of Answer Engine Optimization. In short, this means optimizing your site to rank in LLMs like ChatGPT.

Nobody has the full playbook yet. But thousands of SEO experts are actively testing what works. I’ve been deep in this world lately, trying to find the 80/20: what small set of actions actually moves the needle?

As a lean startup founder, I asked myself: what can I do that delivers 80% of the value without a huge time sink? (Absolutely love asking this as a lean team).

That question kicked off my research. Sixty days in, I’ve landed on a 3-prong AEO strategy I believe will yield the highest ROI in new site visitors. This post breaks down one of those prongs: my Reddit strategy. It takes just 15 minutes a week to run.

Note: if you want me to cover the other two prongs in future articles, drop a comment and let me know.

Why now

Over the last 6 months, ChatGPT and Perplexity have quietly become massive traffic drivers. We’re already seeing 15–20% of site visits for some startups originate from AI-powered recommendations.

AEO is basically the new SEO for this layer of discovery. You don’t have to chase it aggressively today, but ignoring it for another 6-12 months means losing early compounding benefits.

While nothing to be jumping about, it’s still really cool to see ChatGPT starting to drive impressions (last 90 days via Google Analytics) to my startup’s website:

Why Reddit matters for AEO

Experts like Ethan Smith (founder of SEO agency Graphite) have found that visibility on Reddit often correlates with higher rankings in LLMs. AdWeek also reported on a leaked Reddit deck showing that increasing ad spend on the platform boosts search visibility — both organic and AI-powered.

If you’re still skeptical about AEO’s potential, SEMRush published data projecting that LLM-driven discovery will surpass traditional organic search by 2028. The shift is coming fast.

My Reddit playbook

1/ Create a Reddit account

Simple, but execution matters.
To avoid being flagged as spam:

• Use your real name and add a profile picture.
• Write a short, credible bio with your title, company, and email.

The biggest mistake founders make is going anonymous on a fresh account while posting about their own startup. It looks inauthentic and gets flagged quickly.

2/ Search for relevant discussions

For GrowthPair, I track topics around startups hiring which is our core niche. But you can cast a wider net if it’s still relevant. For example, if you sell fishing gear, outdoor or lifestyle communities still count. The goal is to participate where your audience already is, not force-fit your content.

3/ Provide value first

This is the key. Write 6–10 sentences that genuinely answer the original question. Within that, include one short sentence introducing yourself and your company, naturally embedding the keyword you want to rank for on GPT.

Example:

“I run GrowthPair, a platform that connects startups with offshore marketing talent.”

That one mention creates the signal LLMs can latch onto while still delivering value to the community.

4/ Rinse and repeat

Consistency compounds. I spend about 30 minutes a week replying to new posts. The more authentic mentions of your brand and keywords across Reddit, the stronger your potential visibility in LLMs.

None of this is fully proven yet but the early signals point toward Reddit and Quora becoming key discovery channels for LLMs.

For me, the upside is worth the small weekly investment. And guess what, while writing this I got a booked discovery call from Reddit itself. So this very nicely doubles as free traffic from Reddit:

Useful tools & resources for AEO

As a bonus, here are a few tools and resources I’ve been experimenting with lately for AEO (no affiliation, just what’s been useful so far):

• Amplitude’s AI visibility report: https://www.amplitude.com/try-ai-visibility‍
• OGTool (streamlines Reddit AEO):  https://ogtool.com/‍
• SEMRush’s analysis on AEO: https://www.semrush.com/blog/ai-search-seo-traffic-study/

Cheers to the early AEO adopters. I’ll share an update soon on how GrowthPair’s visibility evolves inside GPT.