Reddit Ads Glossary: CPC, CPM, Max, DPA, CAPI and More
This Reddit ads glossary explains the words you'll see in Reddit Ads Manager and in Reddit ads guides, in plain language. Terms are grouped by topic: costs, campaigns, targeting, creative and tracking. Each one links to a deeper guide where we have one.
What do Reddit ads cost terms mean?
CPC (cost per click): what you pay, on average, for one click on your ad.
CPM (cost per mille): what you pay for 1,000 views of your ad.
CPV (cost per view): what you pay per video view.
CPA (cost per action): what one result costs you, like a purchase or a signup.
ROAS (return on ad spend): revenue divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 3 means $3 back for every $1 spent.
Minimum budget: Reddit's floor is $5 per day for each ad group. See how much do Reddit ads cost?
What do Reddit campaign terms mean?
Campaign: the top level, where you choose the objective.
Ad group: inside a campaign, where you set targeting, budget, placements and schedule.
Objective: what Reddit optimizes for, such as awareness, traffic, conversions or app installs. See Reddit campaign objectives.
Max campaigns: Reddit's automated campaign type that sets budget split, bids and creative combinations for you. See Reddit Max campaigns.
Learning phase: the period after launch or a big change when Reddit is still figuring out who to show ads to. Results jump around.
Bid strategy: how Reddit bids in the auction, automatically or with a cost limit you set.
What do Reddit targeting terms mean?
Community targeting: showing ads to people who use specific subreddits.
Interest targeting: showing ads to people Reddit thinks are interested in a topic.
Keyword targeting: showing ads next to posts and conversations that contain your keywords.
Automated targeting (audience expansion): Reddit showing your ads beyond the audience you chose.
Custom audience: a list you upload or build, such as website visitors or people who engaged with your ads.
Engagement audience: people who saw or clicked your earlier ads, used for retargeting.
Placements: where the ad shows, in the feed or in conversations. See feed vs conversation placement.
What do Reddit creative terms mean?
Promoted post: Reddit's name for an ad that looks like a post.
Free-form ad: a post-style ad that mixes text, images and video.
Carousel ad: 2 to 6 swipeable cards in one ad.
DPA (Dynamic Product Ads): ads that pull products from your catalog automatically.
Redditor Highlights: real positive posts about your brand added to your ad.
Comments on or off: whether people can reply to your ad. We keep them on. See should you turn comments off?
Specs: the sizes and limits for each format. See Reddit ad specs.
What do Reddit tracking terms mean?
Reddit Pixel: code on your website that tells Reddit what visitors do there.
CAPI (Conversions API): the server-side version of the pixel, which still works when browsers block it.
UTM parameters: tags added to your link so your own analytics knows the visit came from Reddit.
Attribution: deciding which ad or channel gets credit for a sale.
Click and view-through attribution: counting people who clicked your ad and people who only saw it, within a set window.
Attribution gap: the difference between what Reddit really drives and what your dashboards show. See why Reddit ads look bad in your dashboard.
Brand search lift: more people searching for your brand on Google after seeing Reddit ads.
Reddit ads glossary: FAQ
What is the difference between CPC and CPM on Reddit?
CPC is what you pay per click. CPM is what you pay per 1,000 views. Which one you pay depends on your campaign objective.
What is an ad group on Reddit?
The level inside a campaign where you set targeting, budget, placements and schedule. Each ad group has its own budget.
What does CAPI mean in Reddit ads?
Conversions API: sending conversion events from your server to Reddit, so they still count when the browser pixel is blocked.
About the author
Written by Dāvis Lejnieks, CEO of Undecided Agency and a Redditor for 15+ years. He plans and runs Reddit ad campaigns for DTC, gaming and app brands, and shares what the data shows here.
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