Reddit has started testing ads directly in its internal search results. The ads are displayed based on users' search queries, with a small «Ad» label at the top of each card.
For now, the new format is available only to some advertisers, and the platform selects which ads to show based on the context of the query.
Paid posts targeting commercial searches
People often use Reddit internal search before making a purchase to find genuine reviews of products, services or electronics. According to the platform's own statistics, 72% of users visit the site looking for specific information, while 64% enter queries with a clear intention of finding a solution.
The platform will now start placing sponsored posts alongside these high-intent search queries. As a result, advertisers will be able to capture high-intent traffic at the exact moment users are reading other people's reviews or choosing a product.
Declining traffic from search engines
The launch of search advertising coincided with a noticeable decline in external traffic. In the third-quarter report, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said that in October, the platform was losing an average of more than one million visits per week from external search engines.
These losses are attributed to AI-generated answers from search engines and chatbots, which summarize the content of Reddit threads and capture clicks that would otherwise go to the platform. That's why Reddit is trying to generate more revenue from its existing audience, which is already searching for information within the app.
