Reddit boosts ad targeting with AI-Powered keyword suggestions

Reddit, the diverse and niche-driven social platform, is boosting its advertising capabilities with a slew of refinements to its Contextual Keyword Targeting system. These enhancements aim to empower advertisers to connect more effectively with their desired audiences.

A standout feature in this update is the introduction of keyword suggestions. When advertisers select their targeting terms, Reddit’s AI steps in to suggest related topics based on these chosen keywords. For instance, if you input “football” as a target term, Reddit’s system may recommend keywords like “soccer” or “nfl football.” This intelligent feature, driven by machine learning, ensures that your advertisements are precisely delivered to users and communities most closely aligned with your campaign’s objectives.

Reddit maintains a steadfast commitment to upholding a brand-safe advertising environment. Its AI algorithms carefully consider the original context of each keyword to ensure that ads appear in suitable and relevant spaces. This meticulous approach gives advertisers confidence that their promotional content will be showcased in an appropriate and engaging context on the platform.

In addition to the introduction of keyword suggestions, Reddit is expanding its selection of interest categories. This expansion significantly broadens the options available to advertisers looking to target specific subreddit communities. Reddit has more than doubled the number of interests available for targeting, providing brands with greater flexibility to fine-tune their advertising strategy and effectively engage with their intended audience.

“The technology takes the original context of each keyword into consideration so that only those existing in a brand-safe and suitable environment are served to advertisers.” Reddit says. “In practice, this means machine learning is doing the heavy lifting for us, pulling from the Reddit posts and conversations that best match each advertiser’s specific needs. Most importantly, this allows our advertisers to show the most relevant ads to the Reddit users who will be most interested in them.”

These enhancements align with Reddit’s overarching mission to bolster its ad targeting capabilities and generate increased revenue for the platform. Reddit is strategically positioning itself to harness its unique market position and explore potential avenues such as the prospect of an IPO. While the platform has encountered certain challenges along the way, it remains committed to refining its approach and delivering greater value to advertisers.

With these advanced targeting options, Reddit is making its advertising platform more enticing for businesses seeking to engage with specific audience segments within its dynamic and committed user base. As Reddit continues to evolve, it merits consideration as a valuable platform for advertisers looking to connect with distinct and passionate communities.

Reddit announced it would start charging developers for its API access back in April this year. This decision was viewed as controversial and has been getting backlash ever since. Developers of third party Reddit apps expressed their concerns due to the company’s API pricing. And, soon after, some popular third-party Reddit clients Apollo, Reddit is Fun, and Sync for Reddit shut down. 

User groups of Reddit, called subreddits, have also protested this controversial move by going dark and making their subreddits private for a day in June. Thousands of major subreddits participated. Lastly, most recently, a hacker group threatened Reddit to disclose confidential data stolen from the company, demanding it pays a $4.5 million ransom and reverses its controversial API pricing changes.