Why Reddit ranks so well
After Google's helpful-content updates, real discussion started outranking thin marketing pages. Reddit is wall-to-wall real discussion, so it climbed for exactly the queries buyers use: "best", "vs", "review", "alternative". Search for almost any product category and you will see Reddit threads near the top.
The AI angle most people miss
Google signed a reported 60 million dollar a year deal to train its AI on Reddit. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews now pull from Reddit constantly when they recommend tools and vendors. That means a Reddit thread is not just a search result, it is training and retrieval material for the AI your buyers ask.
Where it does not help
Dropping links in comments does nothing and can get you banned. A thread nobody engages with does nothing. Reddit helps SEO only when the content is genuinely useful and lives in an active, relevant community.
How to use it
Find the threads that already rank for your category, add real value, and mention your brand only where it fits. Then measure whether Google and AI start surfacing you. That is the whole game. For a step-by-step version, see the Reddit SEO strategy guide on the homepage.