Reddit Campaign Objectives: Awareness vs Traffic vs Conversions (2026)
Reddit's campaign objective tells the algorithm what to find. Pick traffic and it finds clicks. Pick sales or lead generation and it tries to find people who convert. Pick awareness and consideration and it finds impressions and video views. Use sales, lead generation or app promotion when you can track the result, awareness when you can't, like a Steam page, and traffic only when visits are the goal. Pick the wrong objective and Reddit will do exactly what you asked.
What campaign objectives does Reddit offer?
Objective | Optimizes for | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
Awareness and consideration | Impressions, 6-second video views or 15-second video views | You can't track what happens after the click, like on a Steam page |
Traffic | Clicks | Visits are the goal and you'll judge them on your own site |
Sales | Purchases and other conversions | You can track conversions with the Reddit Pixel and Conversions API |
Lead generation | Leads | You collect leads and can track them |
App promotion | App installs | You promote an app and use a mobile measurement partner |
Max campaigns, Reddit's automated campaign type, are available for the traffic, app promotion and sales objectives. See Reddit Max campaigns in 2026.
Why does the objective matter so much?
Because the platform optimizes toward whatever you tell it to. A traffic campaign finds people likely to click, not people likely to buy, and Reddit has no information about the quality of those clicks. Some are curious, some are accidental, some are bots, and many will never buy from you. Choose the wrong objective and don't blame Reddit later.
In our analysis of 5,824 ads, 54% used the traffic objective and only 36% used conversions. Among gaming ads, 66% used traffic. See The most common Reddit ads mistakes.
In our Case study: $19.67 to $3.63 per signup, a first Reddit campaign on the traffic objective had cheap clicks and a $19.67 cost per signup, and more than half of the clicks never reached the website. After switching to a conversions campaign with better targeting, clicks cost more, and cost per signup fell to $3.63.
When should you use an awareness campaign?
Only when you can't track your traffic. If people land on a Steam page, a Skool group or a YouTube video, the Reddit Pixel and Conversions API don't work, so the conversion objectives have nothing to optimize on. Awareness and consideration is the honest choice: you pay to reach the right communities and measure with UTM links and the destination's own analytics. See our step-by-step guide to advertising a Steam game on Reddit and how to track Reddit ads without the pixel.
When is a traffic campaign okay?
When visits are the goal, like a content page or an event page, and you'll judge them on your site: time on page, sign-ups, what people do next. Never judge a traffic campaign by click cost. Cheap clicks are rarely buyers.
How do you choose in three questions?
Can you install the Reddit Pixel or Conversions API where people land? If yes, use Sales or Lead generation. See our Reddit Pixel and Conversions API guide.
Is it an app? Use App promotion with a mobile measurement partner.
Otherwise, use Awareness and consideration with UTM links. Use Traffic only when visits are the goal.
Reddit campaign objectives: FAQ
What's the best Reddit campaign objective?
It depends on whether you can track the result. Sales, lead generation or app promotion when you can, awareness and consideration when you can't, and traffic only when visits are the goal.
Should you use traffic or conversions on Reddit?
Conversions, when you can track them. Traffic campaigns optimize for clicks and Reddit has no information about their quality.
Why do Reddit traffic campaigns bring bad clicks?
Because the algorithm looks for people likely to click, not to buy. Many clicks are accidental or from bots.
Which objective should a Steam game use?
Awareness and consideration, with UTM links. You can't install the Reddit Pixel on a Steam page, so conversion objectives can't optimize.
What does an awareness campaign optimize for?
Impressions, 6-second video views or 15-second video views.
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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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