When you run Reddit ads, you’re using an auction-based system that determines when and where your ads appear, and at what cost. You can choose from formats such as promoted posts, display ads, and video ads, then target users by interests, locations, devices, or specific subreddits. Performance depends not only on reaching the right audience, but also on how well your ads align with Reddit’s community-driven culture and on how you bid within Reddit’s pricing models (such as cost per impression, click, or action). Understanding both the platform’s norms and its auction mechanics is important for using your budget efficiently and achieving measurable results.
What Reddit Advertising Is and Why It Matters
Reddit advertising allows businesses to place paid promotions within Reddit’s network of user-created communities, called subreddits. The platform reports over 1.2 billion monthly users, and its community structure enables advertisers to appear in contexts where specific topics are already being discussed. This can make ads feel more aligned with users’ interests compared with broad, untargeted placements on some other platforms.
Advertisers can target by interests, location, and individual subreddits, which helps focus campaigns on users who are more likely to be engaged with a given subject. In addition to standard impression-based campaigns, Reddit’s comment and voting features provide opportunities to gather feedback, test messaging, and observe reactions in real time. One major advantage is that Reddit CPMs are often lower than those on platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook, allowing advertisers to reach niche communities at a relatively low cost.
Average costs on Reddit are often lower than on larger, more mature platforms such as Google or Facebook, though actual performance depends on factors like industry, competition, and campaign setup.
When used effectively, Reddit ads can support goals such as brand awareness, traffic generation, and community-building around a product or service, particularly in niches with active, well-defined subreddit communities.
Core Ad Formats Available on Reddit
Reddit offers several core ad formats that can be selected based on campaign objectives, budget, and available creative assets.
Promoted Posts resemble standard user posts within feeds and are designed to drive clicks, comments, and discussion.
Display Ads appear in sidebars and banner placements, primarily supporting reach and brand awareness.
Video Ads play automatically within the feed and are suitable for communicating short narratives, product demonstrations, or feature overviews.
Carousel Ads allow multiple images or products to be showcased within a single unit, encouraging users to swipe through and view additional content.
For advertisers seeking broad exposure, Takeover campaigns provide prominent placement across key Reddit surfaces or specific communities, making them appropriate for large launches or branding initiatives that require high visibility.
How Targeting and Audience Selection Work
Effective targeting on Reddit begins with a clear definition of your desired audience and an understanding of how they participate in different communities. Advertisers can refine their reach based on interests, behaviors, locations, devices, and specific subreddits, which allows for more precise control over who’s exposed to a given campaign. Subreddit targeting aligns ads with users who are already engaged in particular topics, which can increase the relevance of the message and the likelihood of interaction. Location targeting is useful for promoting region-specific offers, events, or services, ensuring that impressions are concentrated where they’re most applicable. Device targeting enables advertisers to tailor creative assets and formats to mobile or desktop environments, reflecting differences in screen size, browsing context, and usage patterns. Time-of-day targeting allows campaigns to focus on periods when target audiences are more likely to be active, such as evenings or weekends, potentially improving visibility and engagement efficiency. By layering these options with community targeting rooted in real subreddit behavior, advertisers can reach highly engaged niche audiences while maintaining authenticity and relevance.
The Reddit Ads Auction and Pricing Models
Once you’ve defined your target audience, the next step is to understand how Reddit determines which ads are shown to them and how pricing is calculated. Reddit uses a bid-based auction in which advertisers compete for impressions. The outcome of the auction is influenced by both the bid amount and the relevance or expected performance of the ad. Because Reddit is structured into targeted subreddits, choosing the right communities for your ads is critical to both performance and cost efficiency.
Reddit primarily offers two pricing models: cost per click (CPC) and cost per mille (CPM), where “mille” refers to 1,000 impressions. Under the CPC model, you pay each time a user clicks your ad. Under the CPM model, you pay for every 1,000 impressions your ad receives, regardless of clicks.
The platform uses a second‑price auction system. In this model, the highest bidder wins the impression but typically pays an amount slightly above the second‑highest bid, rather than their full maximum bid. This can lead to paying less than your stated maximum bid when competition is lower.
Benchmarks for CPC on English‑language inventory are often reported in the range of approximately $5 to $6, though actual costs vary by factors such as audience, placement, competition, and creative performance.
Advertisers can manage their overall spend through daily and lifetime budget settings, which help control how much is spent over specific time periods.
Setting Up and Launching a Reddit Campaign
The first step in setting up and launching a Reddit campaign is to create a Reddit Ads account in Ads Manager and link it to your company profile, ensuring compliance with Reddit’s advertising policies and guidelines.
Once your account is set up, decide whether to use Reddit’s managed advertising option, which is generally suited to larger budgets and more complex campaigns, or the self-serve option, which allows you to begin with daily budgets as low as $5.
After selecting the buying method, choose a campaign objective such as traffic, conversions, or brand awareness. This objective will influence how Reddit optimizes delivery and which performance metrics are most relevant.
Then select an ad format—such as Promoted Posts or Carousel Ads—based on how much information or visual content you need to present.
Define your target audience using Reddit’s available parameters, which typically include subreddit interests, location, device type, and time of day.
Finally, set your budget and bidding strategy, choose a start and end date (or run the campaign continuously), review all settings for accuracy, and launch the campaign.
Monitoring early performance and adjusting targeting, bids, or creatives based on observed data is recommended to improve outcomes over time.
Measuring Performance and Key Metrics to Watch
Before adjusting your Reddit campaigns, it’s important to understand their current performance and the metrics that indicate effectiveness.
Begin with impressions, which show how often your ad is displayed. Next, review click-through rate (CTR), the percentage of users who click on your ad; this helps you assess how relevant and engaging your creative and messaging are.
Monitor engagement metrics such as comments and upvotes, as these can indicate how well your ad content aligns with the interests and expectations of the community.
Track conversion rate to determine what proportion of users who click go on to complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service.
Finally, evaluate return on investment (ROI) to understand whether your campaigns are financially viable.
Use Reddit’s analytics dashboard to compare these metrics across different campaigns, audiences, and creatives, and adjust your targeting, bidding, and content based on the data you observe.
Strategic Tips for Aligning With Reddit’s Culture
Strategic Tips for Aligning With Reddit’s Culture
Reddit can be an effective platform for targeted advertising, but performance typically improves when ads align with the norms of each community. Begin by researching each target subreddit: review highly upvoted posts, examine the tone of top comments, and observe which types of content are downvoted or removed. This helps clarify what users consider valuable, off-topic, or intrusive.
Use the community’s typical language style and formatting conventions where appropriate, without attempting to mimic individual users or fabricate familiarity. Avoid overly polished or generic promotional copy; instead, present useful, relevant information that could reasonably appear alongside organic posts. Clearly disclose your affiliation, role, or brand so users understand the source and purpose of the message.
Monitor and participate in the comment threads on your ads. Respond to questions, correct inaccuracies, and acknowledge valid criticism. When possible, adjust your messaging or creative based on consistent feedback patterns.
Over time, this approach can improve user trust, reduce negative reactions, and lead to more stable engagement metrics such as click-through rates, time spent, and constructive discussion.
When Reddit Ads Are the Right Channel for Your Brand
Reddit is most effective as an ad channel when you need targeted reach, active discussion, and cost control within the same campaign.
It’s particularly useful for brands seeking niche audiences that participate in specific subreddits and show strong interest in a given category.
For advertisers with limited budgets, Reddit’s CPC and CPM models allow for controlled testing and incremental scaling based on performance data.
The platform’s more than 1.2 billion monthly users also provide meaningful reach for new product or feature launches, while comment threads can offer qualitative feedback and insight into user reactions.
However, effective use of Reddit Ads typically requires creative that aligns with Reddit’s norms and expectations.
Ads that reflect the platform’s tone, add clear value, and respect community guidelines are more likely to perform well and avoid negative user response.
Conclusion
By this point, you have seen how Reddit ads operate, including available formats, targeting options, bidding mechanisms, and measurement capabilities, as well as the importance of aligning with platform culture. This foundation enables you to run small, controlled tests, evaluate performance using relevant metrics, and selectively scale campaigns that show strong results. When your objective is to reach engaged, niche audiences, Reddit can serve as a useful component of a broader media strategy. A considered approach that respects user expectations and emphasizes relevance can help translate on-platform conversations into measurable business outcomes.