Good morning, marketers. This week brought two important pieces of news. One will change the data your website sends to Google Ads, and I’ll cover it in the next post. The other could open a new market for search advertising, especially for one type of advertiser: Reddit search ads.
Quick answer: On November 3, 2026, Reddit announced it’s testing ads on its own search results pages. Ads can appear based on a range of factors, including how relevant they are to what the person searched. The test is limited to a select group of eligible advertisers, and Reddit hasn’t shared markets, pricing or performance data yet. If you get access, run it as a small separate campaign, compare its CPA with your other Reddit ads, and watch lead and traffic quality.
Why Reddit Matters to Marketers
Reddit is one of the strongest places to learn what people really think, because it’s full of real people discussing real experiences. For SEO people, Reddit threads also rank well on Google and show up in AI answers, so a good thread can send steady visibility and referral traffic. One clarification: links posted on Reddit are typically marked nofollow or UGC, so the value is visibility and clicks, not classic link equity, as Brand24 explains.
Now Reddit wants advertisers to pay for that attention directly inside its own search.
What Reddit Announced, and What It Didn’t
In a post on November 3, 2026, Reddit said it’s testing ad placements on its search results pages. Reddit says ads “may appear based on a range of factors, including contextual relevance to a user’s search query,” and that the placements build on its existing ad targeting. Its examples: a search for “espresso station” could show ads for espresso machines or coffee, and “home office setup” could show monitors, desks and chairs (via TechCrunch and Search Engine Journal).
| What we know | What Reddit hasn’t said yet |
|---|---|
| Ads are being tested on Reddit’s search results pages | Which countries the test runs in |
| Relevance to the search query is one of the matching factors | The other factors, and whether you bid on keywords |
| Only a select group of eligible advertisers has access | How advertisers are chosen, or when it opens up |
| It builds on Reddit’s existing ad targeting | The exact ad format, destination and pricing |
| Reddit will evaluate how users respond | Any performance data |
Why Reddit Search Ads Could Be a Big Deal
People don’t go to Reddit to scroll aimlessly. When they search there, they’re usually looking for a real recommendation from people like them. That’s very high intent, the same thing we pay for on Google. And people are searching more: Reddit reported more than 80 million weekly searchers in Q4 2025, up from 60 million a year earlier, and weekly active users who search grew 30% year over year in Q1 2026, according to PPC Land.
Reddit’s examples also show who benefits most: product categories people research through recommendations. Think coffee gear, home office, consumer tech, beauty, fitness and software. If your buyers ask “what’s the best…” before they buy, this is your market.
Format is the other advantage. Reddit’s regular ads already look like posts in the feed, labeled as ads, and they can allow comments. That native look tends to feel less like an interruption. Whether search ads follow the same post-style format, and whether they can send people to an existing Reddit post, Reddit hasn’t confirmed yet.
Google Search Ads vs Reddit Search Ads
| Google Search ads | Reddit search ads (test) | |
|---|---|---|
| How ads are matched | Keywords and match types | A range of factors, including relevance to the query |
| Typical search | Everything, from research to “buy now” | Recommendations and real experiences |
| Access | Open to all advertisers | Select advertisers only |
| Reporting | Mature, including the search terms report | Not disclosed yet |
| Performance data | Years of benchmarks | None published |
The Case Against Getting Too Excited
- No data yet. There are no published markets, pricing or performance numbers.
- Reddit’s own search is weaker than Google’s. Many people still find Reddit threads by searching on Google, not inside Reddit.
- Traffic pressure. Reddit’s US daily active users fell from 53.2 million in Q2 to 50.7 million in Q3 2026, as Google’s AI-powered search sends fewer clicks to websites, according to TechCrunch. That’s part of why Reddit wants more revenue from its own search.
None of that means skip it. It means treat it as a test, not a budget shift.
How to Test Reddit Search Ads If You Get Access
- Run it as a small, separate campaign. Keep it apart from your other Reddit campaigns so its results stay clean.
- Compare its CPA with your other Reddit ads. The question isn’t “does it work?” but “does it beat what I already run?”
- Track lead and traffic quality. Look past clicks: engagement on site, lead qualification, and sales. High intent should show up in quality, not just volume.
Before you start, make sure your Reddit conversion tracking is in place and tag your links so you can compare the traffic in your analytics. And if you’re exploring new intent-based ad channels in general, ChatGPT is opening up too: read my breakdowns of how ChatGPT ads work and the ChatGPT Ads MENA launch.
Coming up next: a change from Google itself that will reach everyone running server-side tracking.
More From the Blog
- OpenAI Ads Explained: How ChatGPT Ads Actually Work
- ChatGPT Ads Update: New Manager Plugin, Audiences, MENA Launch
- What Is Media Buying? The 185-Year History of a Middleman Job
- Google Ads Match Types: Why Exact Match Isn’t Exact Anymore
- Google Ads Search Terms Report: The First Check Every New Advertiser Should Make
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Reddit have search ads?
Reddit is testing them. On November 3, 2026, it announced ad placements on its search results pages, starting with a select group of eligible advertisers.
How are Reddit search ads matched to searches?
Reddit says ads may appear based on a range of factors, including contextual relevance to the user’s search query, building on its existing ad targeting. It hasn’t said whether advertisers bid on keywords.
Can any advertiser run Reddit search ads?
Not yet. The test is limited to a select group of eligible advertisers, and Reddit hasn’t shared how they’re chosen.
Which countries are Reddit search ads available in?
Reddit hasn’t announced the markets for the test.
Should I move budget from Google Ads to Reddit search ads?
No. There’s no performance data yet. If you get access, test it with a small, separate campaign and compare its CPA and lead quality with your existing channels.
Sources
- Reddit tests ads in search results as traffic declines and growth concerns mount, TechCrunch
- Reddit Begins Testing Ads In Its Own Search Results, Search Engine Journal
- Reddit tests ads in its search results for the first time, PPC Land
- Reddit Backlinks: Do Reddit Links Help SEO?, Brand24
Would you test Reddit search ads for your business, or wait for the data? Tell me on LinkedIn, and subscribe on YouTube for more ad platform news.
About the author: Amr Atef is a Dubai-based performance marketing specialist focused on Google Ads and marketing technology, and the builder of BenaAds. He covers ad platform news and writes a practical Google Ads series for new advertisers. Follow him on LinkedIn and YouTube, or read more about Amr.
