This is a great feature addition for Reddit users, but for Reddit as a business, maybe not so much.
Reddit has added a new option that will enable users to block all ads from a specific advertiser for a year at a time, which will save users from having to see the same irrelevant ads in their feed.
As you can see in this example, Reddit’s adding a new “Hide” option to its ad dropdown menu, which will enable users to eliminate ads from that company entirely if they choose.
As explained by Reddit:
“We’ve heard feedback that redditors want more control over the ads they see on Reddit. So, this week, we’ll start rolling out an update to do just that: redditors will now have the ability to ‘Hide’ an ad from their feed – and when you do, we’ll automatically hide future ads from that advertiser account for at least a year (you can re-hide the ad after that period of time).”
Which is good for users, and a handy update that will enhance the user experience.
But from a business perspective, it could also significantly reduce Reddit’s available ad slots, depending on how many people choose to hide promotions.
I mean, first off, what’s to stop someone from blocking all ads from all advertisers in the app?
Well, that’s actually not possible, because Reddit does have a limit on how many advertisers you can block. The platform hasn’t provided specifics, but several users have already reported getting notifications that they’ve reached their daily block limit.
That should help Reddit mitigate any potential impacts from mass-blocking. But at the same time, what if each of Reddit’s 102 million daily users decided to block, say, 10 advertisers each.
That’s a lot of ad slots that Reddit could lose, and thus, a lot of ad dollars, which is why no other platform has outlined a time frame for their own similar ad and brand blocking tools.
On Facebook, for example, you can selectively block ads in certain sensitive categories (gambling, alcohol, etc., you can do this “Conversation Ads”, which are ad slots within comment streams. Which, given the length of Reddit’s comment sections, likely added a heap more ad inventory, while it also rolled out AMA ads in January, as part of its continued expansion of its ad products.
Maybe, then, this is the best time for Reddit to add in more ad filter options, in order to learn more about user preferences, without impacting its ad revenue intake, with the equilibrium of ad slots added versus advertisers blocked maintaining a semblance of balance.
And again, any impacts are only relative to how many people implement ad blocks, and research suggests that most people won’t bother, as we’re all used to ads being shown either way.
Reddit says that its new brand blocking option will “gradually become available across iOS, Android, and www.reddit.com over the next several weeks.”
