Photo credit: arstechnica.com

Reddit’s Advertising Strategy: User Controls and Industry Changes

According to a representative from Reddit, users have the option to “report” advertisements they believe violate the platform’s advertising policies. This action not only alerts the platform but also leads to the blocking of the reported advertiser from reaching out to the user for a year.

Currently, Reddit allows users to block ads related to several categories including alcohol, dating, gambling, political and activist content, pregnancy and parenting, religion and spirituality, as well as weight loss. However, there have been complaints from some users expressing dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of this feature.

For users based in the United States and a few other selected countries, Reddit has provided an option to disable personalized ads. Notably, the introduction of mandatory personalized ads in certain regions began in September 2023.

Despite the available ad controls, it is anticipated that Reddit users will encounter an increasing number of advertisements on the platform in the forthcoming years. Executives from Reddit have indicated plans to incorporate more advertisements directly into comments, as well as to emphasize contextual advertisements dependent on surrounding content. The landscape for ad consumption is changing; a crackdown on third-party applications has made accessing Reddit outside of its official apps or website more challenging. In 2024, advertising accounted for a remarkable 92 percent of Reddit’s total revenue, reflecting a 60 percent growth year-over-year.

It is worth noting that Advance Publications, which owns Condé Nast—the parent company of Ars Technica—is the largest shareholder in Reddit, further intertwining traditional media with digital advertising strategies.

Source
arstechnica.com