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Reddit Keyword Search: The Definitive Guide to Finding Your Next Customer

Your competitors are missing conversations worth millions. Master Reddit search operators to find customers actively looking for solutions.

Liftburst Team

Liftburst Team

Reddit Keyword Search: The Definitive Guide to Finding Your Next Customer

Reddit Keyword Search: The Definitive Guide to Finding Your Next Customer

Your competitors are missing conversations worth millions. Master Reddit search operators to find customers actively looking for solutions.

Reddit Keyword Research

Are you posting on Reddit, but without any strategy? You are missing the single biggest opportunity. Smart Reddit keyword search turns everyday conversations into your secret weapon for finding customers who actually want what you sell.

How Reddit Can Be a Hidden Treasure

Reddit is often overlooked by businesses. This is a huge mistake. Reddit has over 73 million daily active users and authentic conversations in various forums, where there is real sharing of opinions, asking of questions, and answering of questions when looking for solutions.

Reddit is like a gigantic, never-ending focus group. Every minute, someone is posting about an issue that your product resolves. Your job is to do the research to find the issues and conversations before your competition does.

Eighty percent of Reddit users trust conversations when making decisions to purchase. In other words, there are people who are looking to see what others recommend. If you can show up with something meaningful when asking a question or helping others with a question, then you have won!

Take Control of Reddit's Inherent Search Operators

Before you invest in sophisticated research tools, learn the search operators Reddit has built into the platform. These simple commands allow you to cut out noise and reveal exactly what you are looking for. It's like having x-ray vision when you navigate Reddit.

The Search Operators You Need to Know Now

Reddit uses boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT (case sensitive). This is how each is meant to be used:

Using AND: It connects multiple words that need to appear together.

  • Example: customer service AND software will find posts with both terms in them.
  • This is a good tool for honing in on specifics.

Using OR: It will pull posts with either term.

  • Example: CRM OR "project management" will find posts with either phrase.
  • This is a good way to find a wider net.

Using NOT: It will remove terms you don't want.

  • Example: marketing NOT agency will remove a lot of recruitment posts.
  • This feature will easily remove results you don't want.

Using Quotes: It looks for exact phrases.

  • Example: "looking for recommendations" will find actual text.
  • This technique is an absolute must if you are looking for buying signals.

Search Filters That Completely Change Everything.

Reddit has special searchable words that can limit your searches to the criteria that you want. These are real game-changers.

  • author: - You can find posts made by specific users (author:username)
  • subreddit: - You can find search within one community (subreddit:entrepreneur)
  • title: - You can restrict your search to post titles (title:"how to")
  • selftext: - You can search the post body text (selftext:struggling)
  • site: - You can find links from specific domains (site:github.com)
  • flair: - You can filter your search by post tags (flair:question)

You can also combine these for laser-focused searches. For example, subreddit:SaaS title:"recommendation" selftext:CRM will show you people asking for CRM tools in the SaaS community.

Advanced Search Strategies

Discover Recipes that Uncover Real Leads

Stop first clicking random recipes: These effective frameworks can lead to hot leads and insights if you they know how to use them. Just copy, paste, and edit to find great stuff for your business.

Recipe 1: Catch Buying Signals

Search: ("looking for" OR "recommendation for" OR "anyone use") subreddit:your niche

Why It works: If someone is typing these phrases into Reddit, they are clearly ready to buy - and they are actively looking for help in the here and now.

Real example: Inserting the phrase "looking for" "email marketing" subreddit:smallbusiness would show you entrepreneurs asking for an email marketing solution (a solution that you can provide). When you find them, jump in and help them/advise them -- not sell them.

Recipe 2: Keep an Eye on Complaints About Competitors

The Search: ("Competitor Name" OR subreddit:competitor) (frustrated OR slow OR disappointed OR broken)

Why It works: According to 75 percent of B2B decision-makers, Reddit is an important source of influential information on business products. If someone is unhappy with a competitor, they aren't shy about sharing that information.

Look for pain points that your products directly resolve. Be on the lookout for someone who says that they had terrible customer support with a competitor and that's your biggest strength - that's gold.

Recipe 3: Discover User-Generated Content

The Search: "YourBrand" (image OR video) NOT author:yourusername
Why It Works: Authentic content from a real user builds trust. Locate individuals already discussing you and then amplify their content.

Then share the posts (with their permission), thank the creators, and watch your trust build! Stories from real customers trump every marketing message you could produce!

The Search: subreddit:yourindustry flair:discussion (trend OR future OR 2025)
Why It Works: Establish your thought-leadership by watching conversations among experts and practitioners debate things before everyone else in your will see it. Watching the conversations will give you the best ideas and frameworks for where the market debate is heading.

By participating early, you will increase your thought-leadership before the trends turbocharge and explode.

Finding Leads on Reddit

Advanced Strategies for Serious Marketers

Reddit's search engine rewards content that resonates with people that are genuinely interested in a particular topic. One of the key indicators is the depth of the discussion. Here’s how to take advantage of it.

Time Filters

Use time filters to find new conversations.

  • New conversations will need a response time-sensitive
  • Older discussions will highlight issues occurring over and over again
  • Timing conventions for certain types of posts imply seasonality

You can also sort by "Hot" and see what conversations are trending and getting engagement right now, or, sort by "New" to catch the question before the first answer.

Combing All the Operators

Combine operators together for surgical precision. For example: (subreddit:marketing OR subreddit:advertising) title:("need help" OR "struggling with") selftext:ROI NOT hiring

This big search term will surface people looking for marketing help specifically concerning ROI across two communities, while filtering out hiring, simply by adding this in as an option. Talk about powerful.

Use Google Instead of Reddit

When Reddit fails as a search engine, use Google instead, and search in the following format: site:reddit.com [your search topic. Google's algorithm will usually do a better job of more quickly getting you to better Reddit results than the default Reddit search.

For example: site:reddit.com best project management tool 2025 would pull up the best top discussions without the burden of enduring Reddit's search interface.

Advanced Search Techniques

Automation: Work Smarter, Not Harder

Doing a manual search of Reddit every day can be a serious productivity killer. Good marketers will use automation to monitor Reddit and stay on the lookout for opportunities 24/7 without having to burn out.

Tools That Actually Help

There are quite a few platforms that now provide tools for monitoring Reddit.

  • Some AI-powered tools will find Reddit posts that rank high on a search engine.
  • You can set up alerts in real time when keywords are mentioned.
  • You can also find templates to help you develop an organic response using your borrowed content.

The best tools offer semantic matching, not just merely a keyword search and this greatly reduces false alerts and preserves your time.

Building Your Monitoring System

In your monitoring system, build keyword collections based on the goal:

Brand Protection:

  • Your company name
  • Your product names
  • Common misspellings of both these two items.

Lead Generation:

  • Buying signal phrases
  • Mentions of competitors
  • Statements of problems or frustrations

Content Ideas:

  • Questions within your industry
  • Topics that are trending
  • Common pain points among consumers.

Once you have built a business monitoring system, you'll want to plan to do these searches at least on a weekly basis. It is best to do these every day if you are in a competitive market.

Monitoring and Automation

Is the Reddit mobile facility included in bringing about a search?

Yes, but if you want to search for more advanced operators, Reddit's new interface has not gotten those operators to work properly on mobile. This is okay for serious research to be done on desktop. Mobile can be used for quick, informative checks.

How do I save my best searches?

You can save searches in Reddit, but Reddit does not have a method to categorize the searches are notified, so a third party will have to solve that issue.

Which subreddits should I watch?

Start with the main communities associated with your industry. Then, look for adjacent topics where your customers will likely go. It's not about the number of communities; it's about finding quality communities.

How often should I search?

Search every day if you want to generate leads and more often they are available. Search every week to be notified of your brand. Search once a month to monitor trend research. Again, consistent searches are better than frequency.

The Next Steps

Reddit keyword search is the single most important aspect that differentiates amateur from professional. If you master the techniques in this guide you will discover customers, new ideas, opportunities that your competition does not even see.

Start simple - take one search recipe from the guide, run it daily for a week, engage in three authentic conversations, and document the results.

Then replicate what worked. When tasks become redundant, automate. Always go for value first, sell second.

Business Growth Strategy

So, if you are ready to turn Reddit conversations into real business growth. Liftburst.com allows you to keyword monitor, competitor track, and authentically engage with Reddit, all at scale. Stop missing out on opportunities, and start your journey of winning today.

Discussions are happening right now. Your next customer is at this minute posting a question. Will you find them first?