Using Reddit Ads: How To

Reddit is so much more than AMAs and memes; it’s a place to reach highly engaged, niche communities built around shared interests, rather than passive scrolling.

But this often overlooked ad platform has been racing into 2026 with some seriously useful updates, creating an opportunity for the most up to date marketers to benefit from.

Looking for all the info? We’ve got you covered. Read on to learn about these new developments, and how you can create the ultimate Reddit ad campaign:

• An introduction to Reddit
• The latest developments in Reddit Ads
• How to set up your next campaign
• Our tips for optimisation

An introduction to Reddit

Unlike platforms such as Meta or Google, Reddit users tend to be more skeptical of traditional advertising, which makes authenticity within your ads essential.

The platform operates through thousands of “subreddits”, each acting as a micro community with its own tone, rules, and expectations. This creates a powerful environment for you as a marketer to tap into communities, if you are prepared to meet them through an authentic understanding of their niche.

These subreddits allow you to reach an audience that is engaged and actively looking to further their passion for their interests. This makes Reddit Ads a suitable space for a variety of PPC goals, including brand awareness, traffic generation, and conversions, particularly for brands targeting digitally savvy audiences.

The latest developments in Reddit ads

Reddit is actively evolving its advertising ecosystem, introducing new formats and machine learning driven features to improve performance and targeting. Here’s the latest:

AI and shopping integrations
Reddit has started testing AI powered shopping carousels within search results, allowing users to discover products directly within their browsing. These carousels pull together product recommendations based on user intent and discussion context, blending organic and paid discovery.

This signals a shift towards more commerce driven functionality, similar to developments seen on Amazon and TikTok. What makes this really useful for marketers is the potential of increased visibility at high intent moments, particularly when users are actively researching products and services.

Improved targeting and ad formats
Reddit is continuing to refine its interest targeting, allowing you to align campaigns with specific communities and behaviours with even more accuracy.

Reddit ads uses conversation placement targeting, which enables ads to appear within relevant discussion threads rather than just in feeds.

Beyond targeting, Reddit also provides new creative formats, including video and carousel ads. More flexibility in storytelling and engagement. These developments bring Reddit closer to what we would expect from more famous PPC platforms like Google and Bing, while still retaining its community driven edge.

Measurement and optimisation enhancements
The value of any PPC campaign lies in the accuracy of its metrics. Luckily, Reddit provides enhanced tracking and reporting tools. The level of precision here helps improve your ability to measure ROI.

You can track standard PPC metrics such as CPC, CPA, and conversion tracking, making Reddit more accessible to experienced PPC marketers.

Recent ongoing improvements suggest Reddit is positioning itself as a full funnel advertising platform rather than just a brand awareness channel. Much like platforms like TikTok or PInterest, it is embracing the ad side of its potential.

How to set up your next campaign

Setting up a Reddit ads campaign requires a balance of technical setup and cultural understanding. Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Define your objective
Choose a clear campaign goal such as awareness, traffic, app installs, or conversions. Define your marketing objective with measurable KPIs to track success effectively. If you’re hyper specific on what “success” actually looks like, you can build your campaign towards something tangible.

Consider where Reddit fits within your broader PPC strategy, so you’re using it as effectively as possible, rather than merely ticking a box to cover Reddit ads.

Step 2: Choose your audience
In Reddit, you can target users based on interests, subreddits, location, device, and behaviour. Beyond those more expected targeting metrics in PPC, you find powerful subreddit targeting, allowing you to reach highly specific audiences.

Avoid overly broad targeting, as Reddit users respond better to relevance and specificity. This is a platform designed to be niche to all users.

Step 3: Set your budget and bidding strategy
Reddit offers CPC, CPM, and CPA bidding options depending on campaign goals. Start with a test budget to gather performance data, and only then consider building out your campaign into something larger. This way, you’re using data to inform your optimisation over time.

Monitor spend closely, as niche audiences can deliver strong engagement but vary massively in cost efficiency.

Step 4: Create your ad creative
Write engaging copy that feels native to Reddit rather than anything overly polished or sales driven. Reddit users are particularly hesitant to engage with anything that feels like a hard sell.

Use a conversational tone and acknowledge the audience’s awareness of advertising; they’re as much in one it as you are!

Craft strong visuals and engaging headlines to capture attention within busy threads. Users are already being shown a whole host of assets within their niche, so you need to stand out.

Test multiple variations to identify what resonates best, getting rid of anything that doesn’t move the needle.

Step 5: Launch and monitor
Upon launching your campaign, track key metrics such as click through rate, engagement, and conversions. Make use of Reddit’s reporting tools to refine targeting and creative.

Be prepared to quickly adapt your ads and campaign strategy based on performance insights. Reddit is formed on trends just as much as TikTok or Instagram, so it’s a constantly fluctuating creative space.

Our tips for optimisation

Success on Reddit depends as much on cultural fit as it does on careful PPC setup…

Understand the community first
Spend time browsing relevant subreddits before launching campaigns. Learn the tone, humour, and expectations of each community. (Hint: it’s less about “Reddit language” and more about learning how your niche specifically communicates.)

Avoid appearing intrusive or out of touch, as Reddit users are quick to disengage.

Prioritise authenticity
Ads that feel honest and transparent tend to perform better than overly promotional content. Consider acknowledging that your post is an ad in a natural, self aware way. We find that brands that engage in genuine conversation often build stronger trust.

Balance performance with brand
While conversion metrics are important, Reddit is also a strong platform for brand building. Engage users with content that adds value, not just direct sales messaging. Reddit can become a platform for your brand, too. You can create your own subreddit dedicated to your products or services, and meet users right where they are online, to complement your Reddit ad campaign.

In closing…

Reddit ads present a unique targeting opportunity, to an audience that is already engaged and ready to take action in their niche.

Recent developments, in particular those involving AI and ad types, are expanding the value that you can get from Reddit as a savvy PPC marketer. But success demands a thorough understanding of not only the niche you are targeting, but how Reddit makes its users feel seen and heard.

If you can match your campaign to Reddit’s specific tone of voice, authenticity and unique culture, you’ll be well set to bring in some great metrics.