Ad Formats: Choosing the Right One for Your SaaS
Not all Reddit ads are created equal. The platform offers a range of formats, but Promoted Posts are your best bet—they blend seamlessly into subreddit feeds, looking like organic discussions rather than intrusive ads. If done well, they can spark engagement instead of being ignored.
Display Ads (banner-style) are an option, but they’re less effective for SaaS, given Reddit’s community-driven nature. Video Ads can drive stronger engagement, but they come with higher production costs and require the right creative to capture attention. App Install Ads can help drive downloads if your SaaS has a mobile component. And if you want to showcase multiple product features or tell a story, Carousel Ads allow you to do just that with a swipeable format.
The key is choosing an ad type that aligns with Reddit’s browsing behavior. Traditional, salesy ads won’t work—you need to make it feel like part of the conversation.
Targeting Capabilities
Unlike LinkedIn or Google, Reddit’s targeting is community-first, which is both its biggest strength and the reason most marketers get it wrong. Instead of demographic targeting, you’re zeroing in on subreddits—communities where discussions are already happening around your product category.
For B2B SaaS, that means r/SaaS, r/Entrepreneur, r/marketing, r/sysadmin, and r/startups are prime real estate. If you’re running top-of-funnel (ToFu) campaigns, interest-based targeting can help you reach a broader audience, though it’s less precise than subreddit targeting. Keyword targeting is another underrated option—Reddit scans post content and comments, serving your ads within relevant discussions.
Want to retarget visitors? The Reddit Pixel lets you track users and serve them ads later, keeping your brand top of mind. And if you want to scale beyond initial results, Lookalike Audiences help expand your reach by targeting users who resemble your existing customers.
Reddit’s targeting is different from other ad platforms, but if you match the right message to the right community, it can drive insanely high engagement.
Budgeting and Bidding Strategies
Reddit offers two primary bidding models: CPM (Cost per Mille), which works well for brand awareness, and CPC (Cost per Click), better for driving traffic and signups. Auto-bidding is a good starting point to get a sense of costs, but once you have data, switching to manual bidding gives you more control over spend and performance.
Here’s a pro move: Start bidding 20-30% higher than Reddit’s suggested amount. This lets you win impressions quickly, gather data, and see what works. Once you’ve identified the best-performing audiences and creatives, gradually lower your bid to improve cost efficiency without sacrificing performance.
Reddit’s ad costs are already lower than LinkedIn and Google—using the right bidding strategy ensures you stretch your budget even further.
Reddit Pixel: Setup and Optimization
If you’re serious about performance marketing on Reddit, setting up the Reddit Pixel is non-negotiable. It tracks key conversion events like page visits, signups, trial activations, and purchases, helping you measure actual impact instead of just vanity metrics.
Use Custom Audiences to retarget site visitors and exclude users who’ve already converted—no sense in wasting ad spend on leads you’ve already won. Keep in mind, Reddit’s conversion window is 28 days, so your reporting should factor in both post-click and view-through conversions. This multi-touch attribution model helps capture the true influence of Reddit ads, especially in longer B2B sales cycles.
Reddit might not be the first platform SaaS marketers think of, but with the right tracking and targeting, it can quietly become one of your highest-ROI channels—all while your competitors keep ignoring it.
