Reddit introduces a new ad format that looks similar to posts made by users | TechCrunch

https://dormi.zone/post/1587269

Reddit introduces a new ad format that looks similar to posts made by users | TechCrunch - dormi.zone

In early testing of the new format, Reddit found that free-form ads outperform all other ad types in average click through rate (CTR) by 28%

Translation: users mistakenly click it 28% more, before realising that it isn’t actually content

along with increased community engagement when comments are enabled.

Translation: more “fuck your ad” complains in the comments.

More importantly, I predict that the move will increase the usage of ad blockers within the site. Dressing ads as content feels like a bad idea - I feel like users interpret this as a sign of hostility, trying to “deceive” them. I’m not sure on that though, I’m half-drunk through the whole day and I don’t have data to back me up.

I like “I don’t have data to back me up”.

I’m gonna try to remember to use that whenever I doll out my feefee based opinions.

Well, they’re pretty much the same thing anyway. I just felt that it wouldn’t be honest to pretend that I have knowledge that I don’t; and knowledge comes from data, so…

(Another cool word to use this way is “to hypothesise”.)