Reddit Ads for Affiliates: What You Can Run, How to Target and How to Measure

First: check what Reddit's ad policy allows

Reddit's advertising policy is stricter than its rules for normal posts. Some categories are banned from ads, some are allowed only with approval, in certain countries, or with extra requirements. Adult content and gambling are both restricted categories. The details change, so read Reddit's current advertising policy and help pages before you plan a campaign.

How targeting works on Reddit

Reddit's strength is that people group themselves by interest into communities. Instead of guessing who might like your offer, you can often target the communities where those people already talk about it.

• Community targeting: show ads to people active in chosen communities. Usually the most precise option.
• Interest targeting: broader groups Reddit builds from activity. Good for scale once you know what works.
• Keyword or conversation targeting: reach people around certain topics, where available.
• Location and device: essential for iGaming, where you must stay inside allowed countries.

Ads that fit Reddit

Reddit users scroll past anything that looks like a banner. The ads that work look like a good post: a plain, honest headline, a real image or short video, and a clear reason to click. Comments may be open on ads, so be ready to answer questions politely or switch comments off where the platform allows it.

Write for the community you target. An ad for a music release aimed at a genre community should sound like a fan sharing a track, not like a label press release. See captions that get clicks for headline ideas.

A small test plan

1. 1Set a test budget you're fine losing. Treat the first spend as paying for information.
2. 2Run two or three ad versions against two or three audiences, not twenty of each.
3. 3Give every ad and audience its own tracking link from the tracking link builder.
4. 4Let it run long enough to get real numbers before judging.
5. 5Compare cost per result, not cost per click. Cheap clicks that never convert are expensive.
6. 6Keep what works, cut what doesn't, then scale slowly.

As an illustration only: if you spend 100 on a test and it brings 400 clicks and 8 sign-ups, your cost per sign-up is 12.50. Whether that is good depends entirely on what a sign-up is worth to you. Our guide to affiliate metrics explains the maths.

Are Reddit ads worth it for affiliates?

They can be for offers Reddit allows and audiences that live in clear communities. They usually aren't for offers that the ad policy restricts, or when organic posting already reaches the same people for free. Compare both before deciding, using free vs paid traffic and media buying explained. If you work with AMZA, your Wingman can help you read the test numbers before you scale.