How keyword targeting works

Context, not search#

There is no query and no match type here: Reddit joins your phrases to discussions mentioning them. That makes keyword targeting the natural partner of conversation placement, where thread intent runs hottest. Product page: Reddit keyword targeting.

Conversational phrases#

Use multi-word phrases mirroring how buyers actually talk: problem statements, comparison wordings, category slang. Reddit January 2026 guidance warns against overly broad terms, which buy adjacency to everything and relevance to nothing. Mine phrases from Reddit Pro tracked terms, community threads and your own comment sections. Research layer: Pro plus paid.

OR within, AND across#

Multiple keywords broaden eligibility (OR logic), while combining keyword with community targeting narrows to users matching both (AND logic). Use the combination deliberately: keyword plus community is a sniper scope for launch weeks, keyword alone is the survey. Logic source: Reddit January 2026 targeting explainer, via audience targeting guide.

Exclusion discipline#

Negative keywords cap at 2,000 terms: upload blocklists for free-seekers, job hunters, pirates and meme traffic before launch, then review search-adjacent waste weekly. Excluded communities (up to 500) fence off rooms that spend without converting. Full controls: negatives and exclusions.

Separate to read#

Keyword audiences live in their own ad groups, apart from community, interest and retargeting. Only separation shows whether phrases beat rooms on your offer, which decides where the next pound goes. Campaign architecture: first campaign setup.

Putting keyword targeting into practice#

Harvest fifty phrases this week: Pro tracked terms, community thread language, own comment sections, competitor threads. Group into tight themes, exclude broad terms pre-emptively, launch one group per theme against the community control. Phrases either catch intent or catch everything; the theme grouping reveals which.

Review weekly for new phrases (promote) and junk adjacency (exclude). Keyword lists are gardens: tended ones compound, neglected ones weed over. Tending: negatives and exclusions and Pro plus paid.

Frequently asked questions#