TL;DR enshittification. Lots of targeted ads and corporate newspeak.

TLDR; remember how you liked putting site:reddit.com at the end of searches for specific product recommendations because it seemed like the last place left on the internet where you can get recommendations which weren’t blatant ads? Well fuck you, we gonna use the question context when choosing ads.

Example: Looking for headphone recs and go to a reddit post? You’re gonna see a headphone ad.

TLDR: They’re selling keywords and organic advertising (I think that’s the name) from their official blog.

Full text:

Investing in what makes Reddit unique: Introducing Contextual Keyword Targeting and Product Ads Announcements Staff • June 9, 2023

Reddit is the place the world turns to for advice, recommendations and honest conversations. Every day, Reddit users contribute to more than 400,000 conversations on the platform, and with each passing second, an average of two questions are asked on Reddit that receive an average of 19 responses – from real people (helpful, anonymous strangers no less!). And, with over 13 billion posts and comments, Reddit has become one of the internet’s largest open archives of human experiences. These rich conversations are a valuable place for advertisers to find highly engaged, potential customers, and for brands to become part of the most contextually relevant conversations happening online. As we continue to invest in advertising solutions that bring the best of Reddit to businesses, and vice versa, we are excited to today announce two new Reddit Ad Products that harness the value of Reddit’s communities for advertisers: Contextual Keyword Targeting and Product Ads. Introducing Contextual Keyword Targeting

One of the main reasons people come to Reddit is to be informed by discussions they’re interested in, creating an environment of active discovery ripe for brands to show up and add value. Contextual Keyword Targeting places advertisers at the center of this journey, and at the heart of active conversations taking place, giving them the option to select specific keywords to associate with their brand, or even align keywords with their creative ad copy for added relevance. With so much direct traffic to Reddit conversation threads originating from high intent organic searches or research sessions, Contextual Keyword Targeting unlocks value for advertisers during and after discussions unfold, since we know Reddit threads live on as valuable, searchable resources for our users. Introducing Product Ads

Research shows that redditors are higher-value customers; they make 2x more category purchases and spend 2.5x more per purchase, are +56% more likely to talk positively about a brand online and are +46% more likely to trust a brand that advertises on Reddit. To address this unique mindset, Product Ads are aimed at seamlessly connecting brands with consumers when they are already in research mode and primed to make a purchase decision. Integrated into the shopping journeys already happening on Reddit, Product Ads are a natural next step in the consideration process as users gear up to make a purchase. Product Ads feature information like product description and pricing in local currency, as well as a call-to-action button that sends users directly to the brand’s product page. And, as part of our wider commitment to making it even easier for advertisers to set up and manage their campaigns on Reddit, Product Ads enable advertisers to quickly and easily build ads directly from their existing catalogs with no need for additional creative resources. If an advertiser is already activating shopping campaigns on other platforms, they can easily import those same catalogs to the Reddit Ads Manager.

“We’ve known for over a decade that people come to Reddit to talk about the products they love – take r/BuyItForLife for example, a community of over 1.5 million redditors who have been sharing recommendations and advice about their lifelong, must-have purchases since 2011. These updates will uplevel the search-and-discover experience for both brands and our users by tapping into our differentiated value as a hub for actionable conversation” said Reddit Chief Revenue Officer, Harold Klaje. “Our approach to this next phase of our Ads Product offering is to help brands help people make informed decisions, find answers to their questions, and discover products they care about – while in the process enabling advertisers to build connections with new and valuable new audiences.” Client success so far

Reddit partners have already begun tapping into the potential of Contextual Keyword Targeting and Product Ads as part of our early testing process.

“We are very excited to see Reddit’s ads product suite expand. Contextual keyword targeting is a fit with the inherent nature of Reddit users, as well as discoveries of Reddit content via search queries,” said GroupM Vice President and Global Head of Social, Amanda Grant. “Connecting that high intent user behavior with Product Ads gives our clients more full funnel opportunities on the platform, and more commerce considerations in the arsenal that is especially meaningful as teams prepare for 2H activation."

As a Financial Services disruptor brand, Ally Financial sought out Contextual Keyword Targeting to run contextual ads along relevant conversations on Reddit. By aligning their ads with suitable keywords, Ally was able to drive cost efficient down funnel sign ups from Reddit users.

Liquid I.V. came to Reddit looking to boost consideration and sales for their line of hydration products. As part of our Product Ads beta testing, the brand saw substantial performance relative to internal metrics for Return on Ad Spend.

Contextual Keyword Targeting and Product Ads are available in Beta to all qualified Reddit advertisers globally from today. To run your own ads on Reddit, and learn more about our other advertising options, contact us.

So I am not the only one? :)

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