Reddit Tests Search Ads as Weekly Search Audience Rose 30%

Reddit announced on Tuesday that it was testing advertisements inside its own search results with a select group of eligible advertisers, after Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman said weekly search users had increased 30% year over year.

Reddit did not disclose an end date, eligibility rules or a schedule for wider release. Its short newsroom post said the company would evaluate user response and refine the experience over time.

What does this change for advertisers?

Reddit says the placements use existing ad targeting around queries with high purchase and search intent. The company wrote: “These placements leverage existing ad targeting in search results pages on Reddit, which have high purchase and search intent.”

Ads may appear based on a range of factors, including contextual relevance to the query, Reddit said. The post names no other selection factors and does not explain how one ad gets selected over another.

For now, the test gives selected advertisers a query-led placement without establishing broad availability. Practitioners can ask their Reddit representative whether their account participates and how search impressions will appear in reporting.

Reddit is pitching the surface on the strength of what users type there. In its examples, “espresso station” could lead to coffee beans, mugs or espresso machines, while “home office setup” could surface desks, office chairs or monitors.

Example screens show the mobile app after a “home office setup” search. Each product card carries an “Ad” label, an image, a website address and a “Shop Now” button. One card sits below a blurb citing subreddits as sources; another appears between two posts.

The examples confirm a mobile card format, but Reddit does not say whether the test extends beyond the app. The announcement does not establish a broader rollout.

The path from Feed targeting to search ads

Reddit’s current search test followed a separate expansion into its main Feed. In October 2024, journalist Brooke Osmundson reported that Reddit had extended the keyword targeting used in conversation placements into the platform’s Feed.

In its first-quarter shareholder letter, Reddit said its product placements allow users searching the site to browse listings and shop directly within search results. On April 30, during the investor call after first-quarter earnings, Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Wong said Reddit did not yet have ads on search, which she described as a high-growth surface.

On the same call, Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman said: “Search WAUqs are up 30% year-over-year.” WAUqs is Reddit’s shorthand for weekly active uniques who search.

Roger Montti reported that Wong discussed search during Reddit’s second-quarter investor call. Wong described it as a space the company was eyeing for advertising and said the infrastructure was already queued up.

She also referenced Shopping Listing Ads, a format that groups several retailers’ products in one module, as an advertisement type she believed could work on search pages. Reddit has not said that the format will enter the test.

The details Reddit has not confirmed

Reddit has not disclosed the test markets, eligible ad formats, pricing models or whether search ads extend beyond the app shown. The company also gives no test end date or timeline for adding advertisers, and its post does not explain eligibility beyond naming a selected group.

These omissions constrain practitioner decisions. No price, impression volume or campaign result in the announcement supports a budget forecast; the 30% figure measures search-user growth, not ad delivery.

Any assertion of general availability, an app-only rollout or a specific pricing structure would exceed Reddit’s confirmation. Advertisers outside the test can watch for search to appear among Reddit’s ad placements. Until Reddit publishes eligibility, pricing and rollout terms, search should be treated as a controlled test rather than a scalable buying channel.