Reddit Conversation Ads: A Guide to Boosting Engagement & Conversions

Discover how Reddit conversation ads revolutionize your growth marketing strategy. Learn how to leverage these unique ads to engage with highly-targeted audiences, drive cost-effective traffic, and boost your SEO efforts.

Reddit is taking over Google. No, the social network that launched nearly 20 years ago isn’t merging with the company behind the world’s most popular search engine.

But take a look at search engine results pages (SERPs) while you’re using Google Search. Today, they’re often filled with links pointing you to a post on Reddit. It’s also a common practice for Google Search users to now default to adding “reddit” to their search queries, ensuring that the social media platform’s links appear entirely on SERPs.

It’s a shift caused by Google’s decision to prioritize user-generated content (UGC). In this case, the conversations occurring throughout subreddits on the platform are what Google sees as attractive. Reddit users take to subreddits to explore their interests, ask questions, and engage with others who want to discuss similar topics.

Brands struggled to find and engage with this highly engaged audience until social media. Often, these consumers spent their time on disparate forums rather than in a centralized location. Social media changed that, and Reddit arguably does it better than anyone else by bringing brands directly to communities mirroring a target audience.

Several ad types Reddit offers align with what you’d expect from a social media platform—promoted posts, image ads, and carousel ads are all standard. However, Reddit conversation ads are unique.

With a conversation ad, your brand becomes part of the discussion on Reddit, making it a potentially lucrative channel when considering Reddit’s explosive growth through search engine optimization (SEO).

Let’s examine Reddit conversation ads and how to integrate them into your growth marketing strategy.

What is a Reddit Conversation Ad?

Conversation ads on Reddit insert a brand in the middle of a subreddit’s post. Rather than limiting a brand to the subreddit’s homepage or a sidebar that users might ignore, a conversation ad appears where the discussion is happening.

Here’s the official conversation ad description from Reddit:

“Reddit Conversation Ads offers advertisers the ability to deliver an ad within a conversation thread, beneath the post and before the comments. This placement helps advertisers scale their reach to an audience beyond Reddit feeds and engage users while they’re the most leaned in, having authentic interactions and compelling discussions.”

Reddit says conversation ads maximize reach, driving advertiser performance across the funnel in a channel where over 91 monthly active users are “already engaged and ready to take action.” It estimates 83% higher awareness and 5.46% higher action intent for campaigns that use both feed and conversation ads rather than feed alone.

Sounds good, right? It gets even better. In 2024, Reddit unveiled a new capability for conversation ads placing ads within conversation threads. So they’re no longer limited to the area between a post and the comments. Now, a conversation ad can appear between individual comments.

How to set up a Reddit conversation ad

First, you’ll need a Reddit Ads account. Once you’ve set up your account, you’re ready to build ads on the platform.

Create a conversation ad from the Reddit Ads dashboard and specify the keywords on which to bid. You won’t need to run a traditional feed ad and are not limited to specific subreddits.

Here’s what you’ll need to design the Reddit conversation ad:

• Destination Page: Where do you want to direct people after they click or tap on your conversation ad? It could be your homepage, a blog post, a landing page, or some other URL. Remember to test within a conversation ad because you can have multiple ad groups and ads for a campaign.‍
• Tracking: Turn this on once you have an analytics infrastructure to track the results correctly. Otherwise, leave it off.‍
• Creative: Copy is the hero here—not graphics. However, you’ll still have a graphic to include. Given it’ll be tiny, keep the graphic simple. Anything complex will lead to a poor user experience.‍
• Budget: Everyone has a different amount of money they’re willing (or able) to spend, but aim to spend a minimum of $1,000 and begin experimenting.‍
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Test this out and look at other KPIs such as landing page button clicks, form submissions, sign-ups, or time on site. Make your KPIs for a conversation ad similar to what they’d be for content developed for SEO.‍
• Keywords: What keywords do you want to test? Find keywords that Reddit ranks well for, you do not rank well for, and that you want to achieve ranking for.

You'll be well-prepared to launch a Reddit conversation ad by carefully considering these elements.

Success often comes through experimentation and learning from initial results. As you gather data and insights from Reddit conversation ads, refine your approach and maximize the impact of the ads on Reddit within your broader growth marketing strategy.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Reddit Conversation Ads

Every growth marketer recognizes that traditional SEO activities—such as producing quality content, creating backlinks, and carrying out technical optimization—remain important. Without question, don’t abandon those.

In fact, they complement Reddit conversation ads because you want users who click the ad to receive high-quality content after converting.

However, the influence of Reddit’s user-led conversation on Google’s search engine results pages has forced everyone to rethink their strategies. Reddit’s ability to claim real estate throughout SERPs likely affected many brands’ ability to generate organic traffic. And if you’re unsure, you should immediately do an SEO analysis because reclaiming lost positions and outranking Reddit is a big challenge.

8 Reasons to Use Reddit Conversation Ads

Reddit conversation ads should be on every growth marketer’s radar if not already in use. Compared to traditional display advertising, conversation ads foster trust and credibility, leading to higher conversion rates among highly engaged communities.

Here’s what I’ve learned as a growth marketer with deep experience using Reddit conversation ads.

Cost-effective traffic generation

Conversation ads on Reddit consistently prove to be more budget-friendly than clicks from platforms like Google Ads or LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. Even with limited budgets, I’ve generated significant traffic for our clients.

Impact on SERP rankings and organic traffic

You may see a positive impact on SERP rankings from running Reddit conversation ads. The increased traffic to specific landing pages signals relevance to search engines, boosting organic traffic.

Efficient landing page testing

Reddit conversation ads provide an opportunity to test and optimize landing pages rapidly. I’ve quickly gathered data on which designs and content perform best, allowing for efficient iteration.

A rapid feedback loop has helped refine clients’ online presence and conversion strategies.

Instant traffic while building SEO

Brands early in developing an SEO strategy or entering new markets can use conversation ads for their ability to drive instant, relevant traffic. Reddit conversation ads effectively bridge the gap while longer-term SEO tactics take effect, unlocking a quick win in terms of visibility and engagement.

Indirect boost to SEO

Reddit conversation ads could lead to more earned media and links to a brand’s content.

After running conversation ads, clients I’ve worked with noticed an uptick in natural backlinks and social media shares—two critical factors in ranking content organically.

Diversified traffic source

By incorporating conversation ads, brands demonstrate to search engines that their websites are relevant across multiple platforms. This diversity of traffic sources positively impacts overall search performance, potentially improving domain authority and search rankings.

SEO keyword strategy refinement

Through running conversation ads on Reddit, I’ve assessed the performance of different keywords.

In cases where certain terms from our keyword list didn't perform well in conversation ads, strategically remove them from your long-term SEO focus. It allows you to concentrate SEO efforts on keywords that resonate with the target audience, leading to more efficient resource allocation and improved overall marketing performance.

Drive conversions

Conversation ads on Reddit drive conversions for actions such as report downloads, webinar registrations, and sign-ups for demos.

Create Your First Reddit Conversation Ad

Reddit's prevalence in Google’s search engine results pages can't be ignored. By actively engaging on the platform, leveraging conversation ads, and focusing on authentic interactions, brands connect with their target audience more effectively and efficiently.

Conversation ads on Reddit are essential for growth marketers, providing a unique opportunity to engage directly with highly engaged audiences to drive cost-effective traffic, improve SERP rankings, and enhance overall SEO strategies. 

‍Ready to create your first Reddit conversation ad? Get in touch with Right Side Up—we’ll connect you with a growth marketing consultant ready to advertise your brand in subreddits where your target audience is.