Reddit now blocks search engines in Robot.txt

[secretagentdad]

So it looks like we're going down the pay to index us route.

I know its not a block, but between the twitter login wall and new moves by reddit sure looks like indexing is going the direction of pay us and cut a deal or get lost.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1ec1r2c/reddit_has_blocked_all_search_engine_to_crawl/

Something something, pay us to train ur ai.....

 

[eliquid]

sounds like the time a guy named AOJON decided to lock up the Enlightend Members section of his forum

 

[secretagentdad]

zinnnnnng

Yeah I dunno why platforms always seem to think they can assert ownership rights what users posts.

Bet you a dollar it ends the same way if they get to pushy.

 

[Ryuzaki]

The worst part of this will be having to use Reddit’s search function.

Originally they blocked everyone but Google and swore it had nothing to do with the AI training / API access deal they made with them as well as their IPO. Looks like they realized how fishy that was and included Google. I’d bet once it blows over we see Google quietly regain access.

Brain dead move if you consider their display ads and massive Google traffic. Smart move when you realize most redditors don’t have or spend money and don’t click ads or use ad blockers. Selling API access at an “AI Premium” does make a lot of sense. It’s not a very risky bet.

 

[chubes]

Correct me if I'm wrong but this is a good thing for publishers right? Less Reddit results in search means more room for our websites. It will also reduce spam on Reddit significantly.

Parasite SEO spam of posting a full article on Reddit simply because it will show up at the top of Google is essentially pointless if the results are not going to be indexed. Reddit is likely dealing with a massive influx of spam since September 2023.

Or... is Google still going to index Reddit?