By On Thursday Reddit announced “Interest Targeting“. This is a new update to the advertising platform that goes beyond “Collections”. Interests are groups based on what subreddits users visit most often. For example if you visit /r/NoMansSky and /r/Gaming you might be considered as part of the Gaming Interest Group and if you visit /r/Enrepreneur and /r/BigSEO you might be considered as part of the Business Interest Group.
Users can opt-out of the new targeting in their user panel. It should be noted that this new targeting is cooked based but only includes Reddit data, so no re-targeting (yet). The Opt-Out options work on a per browser basis and are set for both logged in and logged out users, these are cookie based so users must reset them if they logout and clear cookies.
For now interest groups are only based on the type of content an account visits frequently based on the sub-reddits they visit. That means being able to target things like gender and sexual preference are not possible with this ad type.
One other interesting distinction with this advertising unit is that Reddit will not link various accounts owned by the same person. CEO Steve Huffman himself stated that Reddit wants users to be able to openly express themselves on Reddit and keep different parts of their lives separate on their own will. This runs in stark contrast to Google and Facebook the former of which has spent the last 5 or 6 years trying to combine information across Google accounts about one user.
Interest Groups are only available on desktop for now, it’s very possible that Reddit could release this on mobile soon, but for now they are not.
Here are all of the current Interest Groups
- Art & Design – art lovers, creators, and designers
- Books & Writing – aspiring authors, bookworms, and writers
- Business – business savvy users, from startups to corporations
- Comics & Hobbies – comic readers, cosplayers, and conventions goers
- DIY / Crafts – ‘Do it yourself’ and crafty users
- Entertainment – moviegoers, TV show enthusiasts, and music lovers
- Fashion & Style – users interested in the latest fashion trends Food & Drink – foodies, chefs, and home cooks
- Gaming – PC, console, and mobile gamers
- Health & Fitness – fitness experts and newcomers
- Home Decor – homeowners and decorators
- Humor – users who love to laugh
- Life Advice – users looking to improve themselves and others
- Music – music makers, concert goers, and all things musical
- Personal Finance – users learning to invest, save money, and reduce debt
- Photography – professional and amateur photographers
- Programming – developers, engineers, and aspiring programmers
- Relationships – users keen on discussing their relationships
- Science – users interested in all things science related
- Shopping – shoppers, savers, and bargain hunters
- Sports – users who are up to date in the sports world
- Technology – Reddit’s tech savvy enthusiasts
- Travel – travelers, bloggers, and nomads
- Vehicles – automotive enthusiasts
This is what the new targeting looks like inside of the Reddit Ads Editor
