3 ms·

I tried advertising on Reddit earlier this year. I picked a few subreddits, whipped out my credit card, picked a few key phrases, and figured I was ready to go.

I tried advertising on Reddit earlier this year. I picked a few subreddits, whipped out my credit card, picked a few key phrases, and figured I was ready to go. The advertising UI left a lot to be desired. I was hoping to run multiple versions of the same ad to test CTR, no dice. I could set up multiple ads, wait for them each to be approved, then manually make changes through molasses, possibly with additional approvals after each one. I've used Google Ads, Bing, and some of those "curated" networks before. All of them felt like they wanted to help me succeed (so I'd give them more money). Using the Reddit system felt like a fight I was losing the whole time. (at the time they were segregating advertisers into the like 10K+ spenders, and others. we were in the others category)

TorKlingberg 9y ago
This feels like an impossible game. Reddit's advertising UI will never have as many features as Google's. Just compare how many engineers each company has.
- preinheimer 9y ago
  Absolutely google can throw more people at the problem. I'd settle for: - Let me run multiple versions of an ad, run more of the one that has the best CTR. - Once you've got my money, and have seen a few of my ads, never require approval again unless I've been bad. - Label all graphs clearly. - Give me an estimate of how many ads will show at various bids.
  - tomjen3 9y ago
    Once you've got my money, and have seen a few of my ads, never require approval again unless I've been bad. That will never fly, for the sole reason that reddit is small enough and young enough that they could be run over by somebody willing to drop 10 grand. Googles spam filter is probably the best.
pavel_lishin 9y ago
> The advertising UI left a lot to be desired. Every bit of UI, except the two main ones[1], leave a lot to be desired. Their moderation tools are still atrocious, despite promising for years to improve things. [1] The list of submissions for any particular subreddit, and the subreddits therein. As far as I'm concerned, they absolutely nailed it, and should be wary of messing with a good thing.

TorKlingberg 9y ago

This feels like an impossible game. Reddit's advertising UI will never have as many features as Google's. Just compare how many engineers each company has.

preinheimer 9y ago
Absolutely google can throw more people at the problem. I'd settle for: - Let me run multiple versions of an ad, run more of the one that has the best CTR. - Once you've got my money, and have seen a few of my ads, never require approval again unless I've been bad. - Label all graphs clearly. - Give me an estimate of how many ads will show at various bids.
- tomjen3 9y ago
  Once you've got my money, and have seen a few of my ads, never require approval again unless I've been bad. That will never fly, for the sole reason that reddit is small enough and young enough that they could be run over by somebody willing to drop 10 grand. Googles spam filter is probably the best.

pavel_lishin 9y ago

> The advertising UI left a lot to be desired. Every bit of UI, except the two main ones[1], leave a lot to be desired. Their moderation tools are still atrocious, despite promising for years to improve things. [1] The list of submissions for any particular subreddit, and the subreddits therein. As far as I'm concerned, they absolutely nailed it, and should be wary of messing with a good thing.