Defining your content North Star in a zero-click world

In this talk, Ainhoa will explain how SEO performance is shifting as rankings become more volatile and SERPs are increasingly shaped by zero-click experiences and platforms like Reddit.

She will show how combining SEO data with Reddit insights helps move from keyword-led strategies to topic-driven content plans based on real user intent, conversations, and gaps.

The session will focus on using this combined intelligence to improve content relevance, build authority, and prioritise visibility where it actually drives impact.

Transcript

1. Defining your content North Star in a zero-click world. Ainhoa Lizarralde International Head of SEO @marketfully
2. S E C T I O N 0 1 Global Search Has Changed. 01 BRIGHTON SEO · APRIL 2026
3. BRAND INTELLIGENCE · REDDIT · 13 MONTHS Brand Conversations About You On Reddit Are Growing. Across a tracked brand set, Reddit mentions rose 23.7% period-on-period over 13 months. 300K 250K 200K 150K 100K 50K 0 225,379 H1 Mar 21 – Oct 5, 2025 278,718 H2 Oct 6, 2025 – Apr 21, 2026 TOT AL CONVERSATION S 504K Mar 2025 – Ap r 2026 PERIOD-ON-PERIOD GROWTH ▲ 23.7% More conversations in H2 vs H1 ADDITIONAL MEN TIONS IN H2 +53K Ad ditional mentions in H2 DAILY AVERAGE · H2 1,408/day vs 1,138 in H1 — a sustained up lift
4. Reddit’s Volume Is Staggering. And AI Knows It.​ 5.95B pieces of content created on Reddit​ in H1 2025 alone 1.93B comments left by registered users under posted content 3.50B chats were exchanged during the examined period 280M private messages on the platform REDDIT ON AI "Reddit's content is essential for training LLMs and AI search engines." KEY TAKEAWAY Most users agree that some questions can only be answered by people not AI- generated summaries. (80%) BRAND INTELLIGENCE: · REDDIT'S VOLUME
5. SEO · BRANDED QUERIES 73% of businesses have Reddit threads ranking on page 1 for their branded searches The thread is now not only AIO Overviews but UGC first in the SERP, so option A, Zero click, option B user goes to reddit Branded Search Queries Are Now UGC-First
6. SEO · ORGANIC RANKINGS · REDDIT.COM · UK Non-Branded Terms Also Reddit. Keywords 221.8K -3.68% filter: review · UK · Desktop · Apr 2026 Traffic 1M +9.37% monthly organic visits Traffic Cost $1.0M +12.58% estimated PPC equivalent value Organic Keywords Trend — reddit.com \ UK 37.6M Top 3 4–10 11–20 21–50 51–100 SERP Features 300K 200K 100K 0 May '25 Jun '25 Jul '25 Aug '25 Sep '25 Oct '25 Nov '25 Dec '26 Jan '26 Feb '26 Mar '26 Apr '26 1M 6M 1Y 2Y All time
7. AEO · AI ANSWERS · CITATIONS Reddit Doesn’t Stop at SEO. AI Answers Mostly Quote It Too Conversation and connection are becoming more valuable and rare. In a world increasingly dominated by algorithms and automation, the need for human voices has never been greater. 50M scrollers visit Reddit daily · 60M seekers search for answers Reddit's on-site search has 70M weekly active users — nearly 2 searches per human on Earth vs. Google's 14B daily queries. Reddit content is "essential for training" LLMs and AI search engines — "the backbone of building AI." ~80% of users say some questions can only be answered by humans, not AI-generated summaries. 70M+ WAUq searched on Reddit Q2 6M ↑5× Reddit Answers WAUq vs. prior quarter
8. CONTENT INTELLIGENCE Not About Reddit. About Content Intelligence In A Zero-Click World. This is not about managing Reddit communities. It is about using two data sources to understand real user intent: SEO DATA SEO data → what users search privately High-volume topics and queries · Intent clusters (what people search privately) · Gaps vs competitors REDDIT DATA Reddit data → what users discuss openly Real questions and scenarios · Pain points, frustrations, language · Emerging themes across markets In a zero-click environment, visibility is no longer just rankings. It is about understanding demand, sentiment, and gaps across platforms.
9. S E C T I O N 0 2 Reading The Signal: A Case Study in Automotive. BRIGHTON SEO · APRIL 2026 02
10. STAGE 02 · INTRODUCTION​ Two Data Sources. One Overlap.​ That overlap is where content intelligence opportunity lives.​ Find demand → Understand reality → Define the angle → Build for EEAT SEO DATA What people search privately · High-volume topics · Intent clusters · Competitor gaps REDDIT DATA What people say openly · Real questions & scenarios · Pain points & language · Emerging themes The Opportunity
11. CASE STUDY · AUTOMOTIVE · REDDIT STRATEGY Mapping SEO Gaps With Social Intelligence On Reddit? And if so — what does good look like? 01 The brief A global automotive brand approached us to evaluate its Reddit presence and determine what active intervention is required. 02 The approach We analyzed 12 months of Reddit data across G5 markets, examining mentions of the brand alongside 9 direct competitors to establish a clear benchmark. 03 The problem Does Reddit represent a meaningful opportunity. How should the brand optimize its content strategy based on what the data reveals? Markets Analyzed G5 UK · DE · FR · IT · ES Data Period 12 months of Reddit data Competitors Tracked 9 direct competitors The central question What Are We Missing From The Conversation?
12. CASE STUDY · AUTOMOTIVE · METHODOLOGY A Standardised Approach To Evaluating Reddit. Powered by complex AI & text analytics — analyzing conversations at scale across all three stages. 01 Landscape Analysis What’s the conversation? A macro view of how the brand and its competitors are discussed on Reddit — volume, sentiment, share of voice, and the dominant themes shaping perception. 02 Community Exploration Who is speaking? Mapping the subreddits where conversations happen — the specific pockets and mini-forums that range by topic, interest, and audience — to understand where the brand lives. 03 Market Deep Dives Understanding regional differences Examining how conversation dynamics shift across G5 markets, surfacing region-specific insights that inform a localised content and engagement strategy. Operationalization of data.
13. STAGE 01 · LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS The Automotive Category Is Massive On Reddit. And it's growing — but our client's visibility across markets tells a more nuanced story. KEY FINDING A thriving, engaged category — with pockets our client is not yet reaching. ▲ GROWING Year-on-year category conversation volume is on the rise across G5 markets. Conversations 350K+ across G5 markets Engagements 2.7M+ upvotes, comments & shares BUT Client visibility was nuanced across markets
14. STAGE 02 · COMMUNITY EXPLORATION The Community Is Fragmented And Our Client Is Featured In A Subset Of Conversations. Conversations cluster into three key buckets — but most happen in shared spaces our client hasn't claimed. Brand Direct brand mentions, product discussion, owned content Community Enthusiast spaces, peer advice, shared passion — the majority of conversation Multicultural Dynamics Broader automotive culture, trends, memes and lifestyle content COMMUNITIES FOUND 8.2K unique subreddits participating CLIENT FEATURED IN 14% of those communities KEY INSIGHT Most conversation happens in the same shared spaces — across all brands.
15. STAGE 03 · MARKET DEEP DIVES Same Topics. Very Different Sentiment. Markets share common interests — but client perception swings dramatically depending on market, culture and language. EXAMPLE · EV CONVERSATION Both the UK and Germany concentrate heavily on EV discussion — yet client sentiment tells two very different stories. GERMANY UNITED KINGDOM -9% net sentiment score More negative than positive mentions +17% net sentiment score Significantly more positive reception SENTIMENT SWING 26 pts swing UK DE​ IMPLICATION A Single Global Strategy Won’t Work. Market-level insight is essential to craft messaging that lands — and avoids stoking negativity. ACROSS ALL MARKETS Similar topics dominate — but the emotional temperature varies dramatically by region. Same topic. Two stories. One global strategy will not work. GERMANY
16. KEY TAKEAWAYS · REDDIT STRATEGY Three Things We Know For Certain. And a clear path forward. 01 · LANDSCAPE The conversation is rich, large and growing. Whether or not the brand decides to have an active presence on Reddit, the volume and depth of automotive conversation makes listening a non- negotiable. This is a channel that cannot be ignored. Listen first — regardless of presence. 02 · COMMUNITY Biggest conversations happen in a few key spaces. While thousands of subreddits participate, the most impactful conversations are concentrated. Our strategy should begin by understanding how the brand appears in those spaces — especially where Google surfaces older Reddit results. Prioritise the highest-traffic communities. 03 · MARKET DEEP DIVE We can write for scale and relevance. The data shows how a single topic like EVs can anchor a content strategy, while market-specific nuances — sentiment, framing, local concerns — allow the brand to dial in relevancy for each G5 market. One topic. Five markets. Tailored messaging.
17. S E C T I O N 0 3 From Data To Content Strategy. 03 BRIGHTON SEO · APRIL 2026
18. So What's The Goal At The Start? ARE WE TRYING TO OUTRANK REDDIT? NO. Our goal is to move from keywords to themes, make the content conversational. USE THE DATA If we CAN compete → rankings Use Reddit signal to write content that ranks for the queries we already chase. If we CAN'T compete → site depth Build content that answers the question on our own site — even if it never ranks. Get cited in AI answers; deepen EEAT.
19. SEO + Reddit + EEAT Content that ranks. Content that gets cited. Content that converts. = Non-commodity THE FORMULA
20. Each dot represents mentions. A group of these is called a cluster. These are posts on a similar topic The lines between groups highlight shared themes or language The distance between clusters highlights how connected or disconnected they are Segmentation REDDIT · AUTOMOTIVE BRANDS · SHARE OF VOICE
21. Outer circle: October 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026 Inner circle: April 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025 United Kingdom ◉ Nissan ◉ Ford ◉ Hyundai ◉ Kia ◉ Peugeot ◉ Renault France ◉ Nissan ◉ Ford ◉ Toyota ◉ Kia ◉ Peugeot ◉ Renault Italy ◉ Nissan ◉ Jeep ◉ Volkswagen ◉ Kia ◉ Peugeot ◉ Renault Spain ◉ Nissan ◉ Volkswagen ◉ Hyundai ◉ Kia ◉ Peugeot ◉ Toyota Germany ◉ Nissan ◉ Volkswagen ◉ Hyundai ◉ Kia ◉ Skoda ◉ Renault 106.4K Mentions 36.4K Mentions 1K Mentions 39.2K Mentions 103.4K Mentions REDDIT · AUTOMOTIVE BRANDS · SHARE OF VOICE Reddit Mentions
22. Source: Talkwalker, 1st Apr4l 25 to 31st March 26, UK, Reddit, The Category EV Hunt Ford Engine Woes Poor Drivers Driving Tips Toyota Yaris Family Car Debates Renault EVs Challenger Chinese Brands Screenshot 2026-04-13 at 11.16.39.png The Top Themes In UK Category Mentions MARKET DEEP DIVES Example of Reddit Mentions Reddit · Category · Top themes
23. German Auto Decline Vehicle Issues Reckless Driving Used Cars French Brands Volkswagen Reliability Issues Kia EV Hunt Screenshot 2026-04-13 at 11.20.03.png The Top Themes In German Category Mentions MARKET DEEP DIVES Example of Reddit Mentions Reddit · Category · Top themes
24. UK SEO Semantic Clusters Identification​ MARKET DEEP DIVES DE
25. From Commodity To Non-commodity. Reddit data reveals the real questions behind the search. The same intent a completely different, un- commoditised angle. REDDIT + SEO ANGLE RECURRING THEMES ACROSS MARKETS​ Best used cars under €10k → What people regret after buying a €10k used car UK Best electric cars in the UK 2026 Best EV under £30k for UK commuting: what works and what does not Most reliable cars in Germany Which cars hold up after 100,000 km: real maintenance and failure patterns DE → → SEO REDDIT + SEO ANGLE
26. SEO + Reddit = EEAT + Non-commodity Find demand (SEO data) High-volume topics and queries Intent clusters (what people search privately) Gaps vs competitors Understand reality (user conversations) Real questions and scenarios Pain points, frustrations, language Emerging themes across markets Define the angle (non-commodity shift) Move from generic to specific scenario Add constraints (market, budget, use case, location) Focus on decisions, not descriptions Build for EEAT and helpfulness Add real experience (users, experts, data) Include proof: comparisons, trade-offs, outcomes Answer the actual decision behind the query RESULT: Content that ranks, gets cited, and converts Matches search demand (SEO) Reflects real user needs (Reddit) Stands out from commodity content
27. BRIGHTON SEO · APRIL 2026 S E C T I O N 0 4 The Main Takeaway: 04 BRIGHTON SEO · APRIL 2026
28. Build a Strategy with Streamlined Social Intelligence Feedback Loops Not a tactic but an always-on system, not one-time effort The System M Monitor Continuous listening to real conversations (e.g., Reddit) E Extract Identify recurring themes, questions, and product signals U Update Evolve content, product pages, FAQs, and messaging T Track Measure sentiment, engagement, and conversion impact Mindset Shift Before: content = brand storytelling Now: content = reflection of real human conversation What's changing AI surfaces trusted, experience-based discussions · Keywords alone are no longer enough What wins going forward Build content from validated human experiences · This drives visibility, credibility, and performance
29. T A K E A W A Y S You Now Have… 01 A diagnosis The SERP is now UGC-first and AI-cited. Keywords alone are a losing game. A framework Landscape → Community → Market. Apply to any category. 3 A formula SEO + Reddit = EEAT + Non-commodity. A reframe From keywords to themes. From descriptions to decisions. A system MEUT — a repeatable monthly loop, not a one-time audit. 02 03 04 05
30. Thank you Questions?