When advertisers start testing Reddit, community targeting is usually the most obvious starting place.
You identify the subreddits your audience might follow, build an ad group around them, and start running ads. That can work, especially when your product serves a distinct professional or technical community.
But Reddit also offers contextual keyword targeting, and I think it deserves a separate test.
The important thing is understanding that Reddit keywords do not work exactly like Google Search keywords. You are not simply bidding on a list of direct search queries. You are using the language people include in posts, searches, and conversations to help Reddit place your ads in relevant contexts.
That difference should change how you build the campaign.
Community targeting and keyword targeting solve different problems
Community targeting helps you reach people who have joined or recently engaged with selected subreddits. Those people may see your ads while browsing the targeted communities or elsewhere on Reddit.
Keyword targeting focuses more closely on the language and context surrounding what people are discussing or exploring.
Reddit describes it as a form of contextual advertising that uses specific words and phrases to connect advertisers with relevant conversations. Reddit also reports a 29.6% CTR increase from keyword targeting compared with community or interest targeting alone in a study involving approximately 250 advertisers. I would treat that figure as a reason to test the feature, not as a performance promise. Reddit’s keyword-targeting overview
For a B2B advertiser, the distinction can be useful.
A community may contain the right professional audience, but not every conversation inside it will relate to the problem your product solves. Keyword targeting gives you another way to focus on the moments when that problem is actually being discussed.
Do not copy your Google Ads keyword list
A paid-search keyword list can help with research, but I would not paste it directly into Reddit Ads and call the campaign finished.
Google Search keywords are often short and transactional:
- Workflow automation software
- Data orchestration platform
- Business transcription API
- Best project management tool
Reddit conversations tend to be more natural and problem-oriented:
- How are you handling failed workflows?
- What are people using instead of this tool?
- How do you automate this process?
- Has anyone solved this integration problem?
The difference is intent expressed through conversation rather than a perfectly formed product query.
A good Reddit keyword list should include the terminology your customers use when explaining their frustrations, comparing options, asking for recommendations, and describing the work they are trying to complete.
Reddit specifically recommends choosing conversational keywords commonly used on the platform and regularly reviewing the list. Reddit’s keyword-targeting recommendations
Build the first test around a clear comparison
My starting approach would be to create separate ad groups for community targeting and keyword targeting.
Keep the offer, landing page, bidding strategy, and creative as consistent as possible. That gives you a cleaner comparison between the two targeting approaches.
For the keyword ad group, I would organize the initial list into a few categories:
Problem language
These are the frustrations and obstacles your product helps address.
They may include phrases about slow processes, unreliable tools, manual work, errors, integration problems, or difficulty scaling.
Use cases
These describe what the audience is trying to accomplish.
A use-case list can help reach conversations where the person is not actively asking for a product but is clearly working through a relevant task.
Categories and alternatives
Include the broader product category, recognizable approaches to solving the problem, and relevant alternatives.
Branded and non-branded terms can both be useful, but I would separate them when there is enough volume. Someone discussing your brand is in a different stage of consideration from someone describing the problem for the first time.
Match the ad to the conversation
Contextual targeting becomes less useful when the ad feels disconnected from the discussion around it.
The creative does not need to imitate a Reddit post or force Reddit-specific slang. It should simply acknowledge the problem clearly and get to the point quickly.
I would test a couple of direct messages based on the strongest keyword categories. If one ad group focuses on a particular operational problem, the creative and landing page should continue that same idea.
That message match gives the campaign a better chance of attracting someone who cares about the specific problem, rather than someone who was only loosely interested in the broader category.
Evaluate more than click-through rate
Reddit’s reported CTR lift is interesting, but clicks are only the first layer of the test.
I would also review:
- Landing-page engagement
- Key product or website actions
- Signups or lead submissions
- Lead quality
- Downstream sales activity
- Search terms or contextual themes generating useful traffic
A high CTR can tell you that the message fits the conversation. It does not automatically tell you that the campaign is producing qualified prospects.
That is why community and keyword targeting should be compared against the actual campaign goal.
Use the results to improve the next round
The first keyword list should be a starting point.
Review which themes are generating meaningful activity, remove terms that consistently produce irrelevant context, and look for new language in the communities where your audience spends time.
Reddit also offers automated targeting that can expand beyond manual selections using signals from the ad creative, landing page, and user behavior. I would test that separately once conversion tracking is reliable and the initial campaign has produced enough information to judge the expansion. Reddit’s targeting overview
The opportunity with Reddit keyword targeting is not to recreate paid search on another platform.
It is to reach potential customers while they are discussing the problems, options, and decisions surrounding your product.
Start with the way your audience actually talks. Test it against community targeting. Then evaluate whether those conversations are turning into useful business outcomes.