Reddit Ads campaign review

Periodic review of a live Reddit Ads account: parallel workstreams → consolidation with cross-checks → ranked change proposals + manual tasks → follow-up next cycle.

BigData Boutique defaults: B2B data/search consulting, technical audience, long sales cycle, low conversion volume. Reddit is mainly a community-reach and assist channel, not a last-click lead source. Reddit Ads MCP money fields are USD (*_usd).

1. How Reddit Differs

So weigh community fit, creative freshness, sentiment and assist value; distrust platform CPA.

2. Principles

1. Measurement first: R1 gates every CPA finding. Every finding cites data (metrics + window).
2. Judge qualified outcomes and assist value (lead → SQL, pipeline, self-reported, branded/direct lift), not CTR or platform CPA. Split click-through from view-through (suspect for B2B).
3. Community is the unit of analysis; always break down by community (and keyword/placement).
4. Creative decays fast; comments are data and risk. Valid public criticism is a reason to pause.
5. Respect learning, don’t starve it (§11). Humans approve every change; agents only propose.

3. Cadence & Windows

Windows: weekly = last 7 days + 28-day context; monthly = 30 vs prior 30; quarterly = 90 vs prior 90. Exclude the last ~2 days from efficiency windows: CAPI accepts events up to 7 days late, and dedup needs both copies within 2 days plus up to 24 h processing.

4. Execution Model

Phase 4  Follow-up (run FIRST)          ─ did last cycle's applied changes work? (§10)
Phase 0  Context pack (sequential)      ─ account, goals, windows, entity map, community tiers
Phase 1  R1…R11 (PARALLEL)              ─ each pulls its own data → Findings[] (no proposals)
Phase 2  Consolidation (sequential)     ─ R1 gate, cross-check matrix, dedupe, root causes
Phase 3  Prioritize & act (sequential)  ─ score, guardrails, ≤N proposals + manual tasks, report

Workstreams return candidate actions only; proposals/tasks are filed once, after consolidation.

5. Phase 0: Context Pack

6. Phase 1: Parallel Workstreams

Severity: 🔴 critical, 🟠 material, 🟡 hygiene. Decision thresholds are in §11 (stated once).

R1 Measurement & Attribution

Data: Events Manager (UI, manual), get_report conversion metrics (*_clicks vs *_views, reddit_leads), CRM leads with utm_source=reddit.

• Pixel on all relevant pages (Reddit warns after 6 h without data; primary event silent → 🔴) and CAPI for the same events (warns after 48 h; no CAPI → 🟠).
• Dedup: same ID in Pixel conversionId and CAPI metadata.conversion_id; source coverage (share of events with a conversion ID) high; dedup rate ~50% is healthy; a much higher rate can mean a reused ID collapsing real events → 🔴.
• Rejected events > 10% of an event type (Reddit banner; e.g. CAPI events > 7 days old) → 🟠.
• Match quality (0–10, needs ≥100 events in 7 days) low → add match keys (email, phone, IP, user agent, external ID, click ID rdt_cid, UUID). 🟠
• Attribution: default 28-day click / 1-day view (1/7/28-day options, view ≤ click); reporting window changes don’t change optimization. Mostly view-through → 🟠 “unproven”.
• Event choice = real outcome (Lead/Sign Up) when volume allows. Reconcile Reddit vs CRM leads (§11). UTMs on every URL (content = ad id) → 🟠 if missing; self-reported field → 🟡.

Required verdict: measurement_confidence: high | medium | low.

R2 Governance, Policy & Brand Safety

Data: list_campaigns / list_ad_groups / list_ads (effective_status, rejection_reason); UI: brand safety, exclusions, members.

• Rejected ads (top spender → 🔴); stale objects (past end date, no active ads, clutter) 🟡.
• Brand safety tier chosen deliberately (Expanded = default/recommended, Standard, Limited w/ IAS for managed accounts only); community/keyword exclusions for off-brand contexts. 🟠
• Redditor Highlights (on by default for eligible feed ads; AI summary + organic posts, not editable): is the summary accurate and on-message? Opt out (UI) if not. 🟠
• Policy: substantiated claims, no implied Reddit endorsement, LP matches ad; AI/synthetic media disclosed where required (political ads). Naming by role/targeting/tier; access minimal. 🟡

R3 Budget, Pacing & Delivery

Data: get_account_performance_summary, get_report (campaign/ad_group × date); budget is on the ad group (goal_value), campaigns have only spend_cap.

• ACTIVE, ~no spend → bid, audience size, rejection, budget, schedule (🔴 if key campaign).
• Under-delivery → budget isn’t the constraint; see R4/R5/R7. 🟠
• Underfunded / fragmented ad groups (§11 floor) → consolidate. 🟠
• Pacing, spend mix by funnel role vs plan, concentration without results.

R4 Objective, Bidding & Optimization

Data: objective (list_campaigns); bid_strategy, bid_value, optimization_goal (list_ad_groups); results by ad group.

• Objective fits role (judge each on its own metric; mismatch → 🟠, e.g. Traffic expected to produce SQLs). API objective → UI name; formats per Reddit’s “Ad format by objective”:

Default BDB mix [H]: Traffic or Awareness for cold T1/T2, Conversions only for retargeting or once R1 is high. Feed vs conversation placements apply to all formats (R5). The objective isn’t editable (update_campaign has no objective; Reddit locks some settings after save) → fix = new campaign via a PAUSED create plan (create_campaign → create_ad_group → create_ad), then pause the old one in a separate proposal. create_ad makes TEXT/IMAGE/VIDEO posts only; carousel, free-form and lead forms are manual (UI).

• Bid strategy (API → UI: MAXIMIZE_VOLUME = lowest cost, TARGET_CPX = cost cap, MANUAL_BIDDING). Reddit recommends automated bidding: lowest cost usually best, cost cap for control (may underspend). Bid/cap below market → under-delivery (C1).
• Optimization event too deep for volume → step up the funnel. Learning resets from frequent edits. 🟠
• MAX campaigns (beta; Traffic/App/Sales; Sales needs Pixel/CAPI): test only after a baseline (C11); manual (UI).

R5 Targeting: Communities, Keywords, Interests, Expansion

Data: get_report(level=ad_group, breakdowns=[community|keyword|interest|placement|country|os_type]); targeting from list_ad_groups; candidates via search_targeting.

• Community breakdown (spend share, CTR, CPC, CVR, click-through CPA) → winners (protect / dedicated ad group), spenders without results, low CTR, off-map (often expansion).
• Community targeting reaches people active in those communities anywhere on Reddit, not only in the subreddit; too few communities per ad group can’t deliver (§11).
• One targeting type per ad group (mixed → 🟡); overlap across ad groups → 🟡.
• Keywords: short problem/solution terms (Reddit favours short terms over long phrases). Interests: lowest B2B intent; judge separately.
• Automated targeting (expand_targeting): Reddit recommends on; off is valid for precise, small budgets. Off-map spend dominant with worse CPA → 🟠.
• Placement: feed vs conversation (between post and first comment); keep both unless one is clearly worse. Geo/OS: serviceable market; mobile spend with poor CVR → LP fix/split. 🟠
• Demographics. Reddit targets location (IP at serve time: country, region, DMA (US), city, postal code), gender (profile-set) and language (first-party signals); no age targeting. Devices/OS and platform (desktop / mobile web / app) are separate targeting.
  • Review: get_report(level=ad_group, breakdowns=[country|region|gender|language|os_type]) → spend share, CTR, CVR, click-through CPA per segment vs the ad group average. Act only past §11 floors (≥ 5–10k impr; spend ≥ 1.5–2× target CPA for a zero-conversion segment) [H]; no age breakdown exists. Reddit’s gender reflects only profile-set data, so an unknown/unset bucket is expected [H].
  • Selection (B2B): geo + language = serviceable market (where we sell and deliver, and the ad/LP language); out-of-market spend → 🟠 exclude. Don’t target or exclude by gender without CRM-qualified evidence (lead → SQL), never on CTR alone [H]; community fit beats demographics. Split desktop vs mobile into separate ad groups only when CVR clearly differs (R9) [H].
  • Action: geolocations/excluded_geolocations, languages, gender, platforms, devices via update_ad_group (proposable; list keys replace). Postal-code geo needs ids from search_targeting(kind=geolocations).

R6 Custom Audiences, Retargeting & Exclusions

Data: list_custom_audiences (type, status, size), ad group custom_audience_ids, results.

• Retargeting pools exist and grow (flat → R1 or no traffic) 🟠; short high-intent windows for conversion campaigns.
• Exclusions: customers/converters out of prospecting → 🟠 if missing. Customer lists fresh (≥1,000 matches to be VALID) 🟡. Lookalikes from SQL/customer seeds.
• Retargeting not beating prospecting CVR → R7 or C12.

R7 Creative Performance & Fatigue

Data: get_report(level=ad) (reach, frequency, CTR, CPC, conversions, video); headline/body via get_ad(include_creative=true); age from list_ads.

• Variant count, fatigue and age vs §11 → refresh queue. 🟠 Rank within ad group on CTR and click-through CVR; pause losers past §11 minimums.
• Native fit: reads like a Reddit post (specific problem, data, plain language); screenshots and numbers over stock imagery. Same ad diverging across T1 vs T3 → community-specific variants.
• Formats on their own metric (video: completion/CPV). Posts are immutable (update_ad only changes name/click URL): a change means a new ad, losing the winner’s votes/comments.

R8 Comments & Sentiment

Data: manual (Ads Manager / Reddit UI); no MCP tool reads comments. If unavailable, say so.

• Coverage: owner per comment-enabled ad, fast answers; unanswered or unmonitored → 🟠.
• Sentiment/objections (price, trust, “another vendor”, wrong audience, technical correction); valid unresolved criticism → 🔴 pause or fix (C10). Wrong-audience signals → R5 (C9).
• Objections feed R7 creative and R9 FAQs.

R9 Landing Pages & Post-Click

Data: ad click_urls, HTTP checks, GA4 (utm_source=reddit engagement), CVR by LP.

• Broken/redirecting URLs, UTMs stripped 🔴/🟠; low engagement vs other channels → curiosity clicks or mismatch; message match ad ↔ LP headline.
• Offer fit: cold → content/tool/benchmark, retargeting → demo; cold → demo with poor CVR → 🟠.
• Mobile-first (most Reddit users are on mobile); forms fire the conversion once.

R10 Business Outcomes, Lead Quality & Assist Value

Data: CRM (HubSpot) leads with Reddit UTMs/click IDs, stages, pipeline; self-reported attribution; GA4/GSC branded search and direct trends.

• Lead → SQL and cost per SQL / pipeline per $ vs LinkedIn/Google (same windows); far below → junk source 🟠/🔴. Spam leads clustered by community/interest/expansion → exclude.
• Assist value (self-reported “Reddit”, branded/direct lift, multi-touch): record before any cut.
• CRM → CAPI only for events ≤7 days old; later stages stay in CRM reporting.
• No CRM data → say so; efficiency findings become platform-only, lower confidence.

R11 Community & Market Landscape (quarterly)

Data: reddit_ads_search_targeting (communities with subscriber counts), organic monitoring, subreddit rules.

• New/growing T1/T2 communities untargeted; dead ones still targeted. Organic themes ads miss.
• Competitor presence, our organic mentions (feeds creative, Highlights), vendor-hostile subs, paid ↔ organic consistency.

7. Finding Format

- id: R5-02
  workstream: R5
  title: "r/learnprogramming takes 18% of 'Data Eng - Communities' spend, 0 conversions"
  entities: {campaign_ids: ["…"], ad_group_ids: ["…"], communities: ["learnprogramming"]}
  evidence:
    window: "2026-08-25..2026-09-21"
    metrics: {spend_usd: 412, clicks: 233, ctr: 0.0041, conversions_click: 0, share_of_ad_group_spend: 0.18}
    source: "reddit_ads_get_report level=ad_group breakdowns=[community]"
  severity: material            # critical | material | hygiene
  confidence: high              # high | medium | low; capped by R1 verdict
  est_monthly_impact_usd: 440
  root_cause_hint: "Learner community, off the tier map (expansion?)"
  candidate_actions:
    - kind: proposable          # proposable (propose_reddit_ads_change) | manual (human task)
      tool: update_ad_group
      summary: "Add r/learnprogramming to excluded_communities of ad group …"
  depends_on: []
  conflicts_with: []            # filled in Phase 2

No finding without metrics and a window. Efficiency uses click-through conversions unless stated.

8. Phase 2: Consolidation & Cross-Checks

8.1 Gate on measurement (R1)

8.2 Cross-check matrix

8.3 Dedupe & sanity

• Merge same-entity findings (R3 under-delivery + R4 low bid → one); collapse leaf findings into one cause (“exclude learner-community cluster”).
• Totals reconcile with get_account_performance_summary (±2%). Ids exist and are active. Savings ≤ spend. Nothing contradicts a recorded human decision or an open reddit-ads-change task (a duplicate proposal returns status: duplicate).

9. Phase 3: Prioritization, Proposals & Manual Tasks

Score impact × confidence ÷ effort (confidence 1.0/0.6/0.3; effort 1 = one API call, 2 = new creative/LP, 3 = restructure/tracking). Buckets: Fix now (broken tracking, rejected top ads, valid public criticism, runaway spend) → Quick wins (exclusions, pauses, bid/cap, one budget step) → Optimizations (new angles, restructure, LP/offer tests) → Strategic (CAPI/CRM loop, MAX test, holdout, tier-map refresh, channel role).

9.1 Proposable changes → propose_reddit_ads_change

Each call creates one reddit-ads-change task on the Paid Ads board (todo, requires_human=true, assigned to the Ad Change Applier). A human reviews and clears Requires human; the deterministic applier then runs the sealed call once (cancel/archive = reject; editing fields breaks the seal). Rules:

• One change per call (tool_name + arguments, the tool’s own arg names), or one ordered create plan (steps, ≤5 of create_campaign / create_ad_group / create_ad, later steps reference "{{steps.N.id}}"). Everything is created PAUSED; activation (set_status ACTIVE) is always a separate proposal.
• Pass account_id, a one-line summary, a quantified expected_impact, and a rationale (evidence + cross-checks passed). Use ids from pulled data only. On an error, fix the named args or drop the change. Cap: weekly ≤10, highest priority first.

9.2 Manual changes → human tasks

Not proposable: Pixel/CAPI/dedup fixes, attribution settings, brand-safety tier and account exclusions, Redditor Highlights opt-out, pixel/engagement retargeting and lookalike audiences, comment replies/moderation, MAX campaigns, carousel/free-form/lead-form ads, LP/form work, CRM→CAPI loop, holdout tests. For each: create_board_task(board_id="paid-ads", status="todo", labels="Reddit Ads", …) with title = action, description = finding id + evidence pointer (no copied prose), priority from score. Never label manual tasks reddit-ads-change (that routes to the applier). If the task tool isn’t bound, list them in the report under “Manual actions”.

9.3 Experiments over guesses

Uncertain-direction changes (MAX vs standard, bid strategy, interest vs community, channel incrementality via geo/time holdout on branded, direct, self-reported, pipeline) → manual test task.

10. Phase 4: Follow-up (start of each cycle)

list_board_tasks(board_id="paid-ads") (also status="done"), keep reddit-ads-change tasks since the last review, read fields with get_board_task, then:

• Applied (applied_at): entity metrics pre vs post (equal windows, skip learning days) vs expected_impact → worked / neutral / harmful (C18).
• Held/failed (apply_error, or apply_started_at without applied_at = unknown outcome): report; a human verifies in Ads Manager before re-approving. Don’t re-propose.
• Awaiting approval (requires_human): don’t duplicate; flag if stale. Created-PAUSED entities never activated → propose set_status ACTIVE or cleanup.

11. Thresholds & Decision Rules

[R] = Reddit guidance; [H] = internal rule of thumb (adjust to account history).

Pause vs optimize (ad group/community), first match wins: at/under target with OK lead quality → keep (scale if budget-limited) · not enough data → watch · R1 unhealthy → fix tracking, don’t pause on CPA · assist evidence → judge as assist · fatigued → refresh · off-map/wrong audience → exclude/narrow · LP/offer mismatch → fix LP/offer · otherwise → lower bid/cap or pause. Scale only if all hold: CPA ≤ target with OK lead → SQL; budget-limited (spend ≈ budget); frequency not high; not in learning; last change ≥ 72 h; one step, re-check in 3–7 days — or clone into adjacent T1/T2 communities, one variable at a time.

12. Symptom → Root Cause

13. Report Format

One markdown asset Reddit Ads Review: <account_id> <period>, sections in order:

1. Verdict + R1 confidence + channel role · 2. Scorecard (spend, impr, CPM, CTR, CPC, conversions click/view, CPA, cost/SQL vs prior and target) · 3. Last-cycle follow-up ·
2. Critical issues · 5. Communities (winners / no-result spenders / off-map, top 10) ·
3. Creative & comments (fatigue queue, objections) · 7. Ranked actions (id, entity, impact, confidence, proposable/manual, task id) · 8. Workstream notes (“checked and fine” too), Deferred/blocked (reason, revisit date), Open questions.

Appendix A: Data Pulls (Reddit Ads MCP)

LLM agents get only read tools (reddit_ads_get_* / list_* / search_*) plus propose_reddit_ads_change.

Appendix B: Platform Facts & Changes That Affect Audits