Reddit Ads Metrics: Which Numbers Matter (and Which Ones Mislead)
The Reddit ads metrics that matter most are your results in your own data: sales, sign-ups or installs, and what each one costs. Click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), cost per 1,000 views (CPM) and frequency help you fix problems, but they don't tell you whether Reddit works. Here's what each number means and when to act on it.
Which Reddit ads metrics matter most?
Cost per result in your own data: cost per sale, sign-up or install, from your store, CRM or MMP.
Return on ad spend (ROAS), if you sell online and send order values.
Brand searches and direct visits, which grow when Reddit works but don't show up as Reddit conversions.
Which metrics help you fix problems?
CTR: are people interested in the ad? A low CTR usually means the creative or the community is wrong.
CPC: what a click costs. Cheap clicks aren't good by themselves. One account paid $0.45 a click, but more than half of those clicks never reached the site.
CPM: what 1,000 views cost. A rising CPM can mean more competition, like in Q4, or an audience that's too small.
Frequency: how often the same people see your ad. High frequency wears ads out.
Engaged video views: for video, how many people watched at least 15 seconds. See Reddit engaged video views.
Why do Reddit ads metrics look worse than they are?
Reddit's dashboard only counts what it can track. In our app campaign, Reddit Ads Manager showed 32 installs while AppsFlyer counted 222. In another account, Google searches for the brand rose from about 500 a day to almost 3,000 a day after Reddit ads launched, with no other channels running. Most of that never showed up as Reddit conversions. More in the Reddit ads attribution gap.
When should you judge Reddit ads metrics?
A new ad: after about 4 days.
A test: after 7 to 14 days.
A new account: after about 3 months, before you decide whether Reddit works.
Reddit ads metrics: FAQ
What is a good CTR for Reddit ads?
It depends on the format, placement and community. In our app install campaign, CTR was 1.12%. Compare your ads with each other rather than with someone else's account.
Why do my Reddit conversions look so low?
Reddit only sees part of what its ads drive. People often see an ad and buy later through Google or a direct visit. Compare Reddit's numbers with your own sales data.
Which metric should I optimize for?
Cost per result in your own data. Use CTR, CPM and frequency to find problems, not to decide whether Reddit works.
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.
Keep reading
Undecided Agency is a Reddit ads agency for DTC, gaming and app brands. Want a plan for your product? Get a Reddit Ads Game Plan.
Comments