In a recent LinkedIn post, Ross Simmonds explores a surprising trend in digital marketing: the growing dominance of Reddit over company websites in capturing buyer intent keywords. Simmonds, founder of Foundation Marketing, presents data suggesting that platforms like Reddit are often the first point of contact for potential customers actively searching for solutions in their category.
Simmonds highlights a critical observation from his team’s analysis of over 8,500 keywords across 14 SaaS domains. “957,540 monthly searches where someone is actively looking for a product in your category and Reddit shows up before any vendor does,” he stated, underscoring the significant search volume where established brands are being outmaneuvered.
The Real Reason Brands Are Losing to Reddit
Contrary to common assumptions about search engine rankings, Simmonds argues that the battle isn’t primarily a matter of domain authority. Instead, he points to a fundamental shift in how companies are approaching content strategy. “The brands losing to Reddit aren’t losing because of domain authority,” Simmonds explains. “They’re losing because they stopped investing in content that actually serves the buyer.” This suggests a disconnect between what businesses are publishing and what potential customers are actively seeking.
Education-First Content as a Winning Strategy
Simmonds contrasts the losing strategies with those that are succeeding, emphasizing the power of educational content. He observes that the brands that are winning in this competitive landscape are those that have prioritized building educational resources. “The brands winning? They built education-first content at the exact difficulty range everyone else ignores,” he shared. This approach, according to Simmonds, leverages the same search algorithms but yields entirely different results by meeting buyers where they are with valuable, relevant information.
Understanding Algorithmic Outcomes
The core of Simmonds’s argument revolves around the effectiveness of content that genuinely serves the buyer’s needs. While search engines aim to deliver the most relevant results, Simmonds contends that many businesses are failing to create content that aligns with genuine buyer intent. He suggests that by focusing on educational content that addresses the specific challenges and questions buyers have, brands can effectively compete, even against established platforms like Reddit. “Same algorithm. Completely different outcomes,” he concluded, encapsulating the disparity driven by content strategy.
Simmonds’s insights suggest a strategic pivot for businesses looking to improve their search visibility and connect with potential customers. By shifting focus from solely promotional content to deeply educational resources, companies can potentially capture a larger share of buyer intent searches, even in crowded markets.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Ross Simmonds on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on March 20, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →