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Sponsored headline tests: placement and design (self.announcements)

starfishjenga[A] が 投稿

Hi everyone,

We’re going to be launching a test on Monday, June 27 to get a better understanding of the costs and benefits of putting sponsored headlines inside the content feed vs. at the top. We believe that this will help Reddit move closer to becoming a long-term sustainable business with an average small to zero negative impact to the user experience.

Specifically, users who are (randomly) selected to be part of the test group will see a redesigned version of the sponsored headline moving between positions 1-6 in the content feed on desktop. You can see examples of a couple design variants here and here (we may introduce new test variants as we gather more data). We tried to strike a balance with ads that are clearly labeled but not too loud or obnoxious.

We will be monitoring a couple of things. Do we see higher ad engagement when the ads are not pinned to the top of the page? Do we see higher content engagement when the top link is not an ad?

As usual, feedback on this change is welcome. I’ll be reading your comments and will respond to as many as I can.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

u/starfishjenga

FAQ

What will you do if the test is successful? If the test is successful, we’ll roll this out to all users.

What determines if the test is successful? We’ll be considering both qualitative user feedback as well as measurable user behavior (engagement, ad engagement data, etc). We’re looking for an uptick in ad interaction (bringing more value to advertisers) as well as overall user engagement with content.

I hate ads / you shouldn’t be doing this / you’re all terrible moneygrabbers! We’re doing our best to do this in the least disruptive way possible, and we’ll be taking your feedback into account through this test to make sure we can balance the needs and desires of the community and becoming a sustainable business.

What platforms does this affect? Just the desktop website for now.

Does this impact 3rd party apps? Not at this time. We’ll speak with our developer community before making any potential changes there.

How long will the test run for? The test will run for at least 4 weeks, possibly longer.

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[–]keveready 6ポイント7ポイント  (1子コメント)

I don't mind the idea personally. I'm curious to hear how moderation will be conducted? Ostensibly, if a company pays to have their product advertised here, they probably won't want some people with (honest) negative opinions of the product making their thoughts known to other potential consumers. Will we be allowed to provide this kind of feedback?

[–]starfishjenga[S] 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

Thanks for your support!

This test doesn't incorporate any changes to how the normal redditor <=> advertiser interaction works. Some advertisers choose to disable comments and some choose to engage with the community. Here's a Toyota ad that has comments enabled for example.

[–]lilyeister 2ポイント3ポイント  (2子コメント)

As long as the ads are clearly not content, which has been true in the past, this should go well enough. I prefer the "native" approach to the giant freaking images that news websites often insert mid-page that make it harder to read.

[–]starfishjenga[S] 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

Cool. I've linked to a couple of the test designs in the post, so feel free to take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!

コメントをもっと表示する (1 返事)

    [–]Arthrine 9ポイント10ポイント  (1子コメント)

    I couldn't help but notice that on those examples, there's no "hide" function on the ads. Are you permanently taking away the ability of users to hide ads?

    [–]twerktle -1ポイント0ポイント  (1子コメント)

    I don't mind this idea, seems good.

    [–]tizorres 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

    I know a lot of people will hate it, personally I don't mind it. Surprised it wasn't done sooner.

    [–]mattymck 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

    As long as they are properly labelled i cant imagine why anyone would dislike this.

    Bonus points if the sponsored content is actually interesting!

    [–]DeltaF1 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Will there still only be one item of sponsored content, or is this paving the way for multiple entries along the feed, ala twitter ads?

    [–]thecday 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

    I don't see any issues with this so long as ad's are clearly marked and are vetted to insure they are not biased or otherwise baiting.....

    [–]you_need_more 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    I don't like it, but I can see why it is necessary. How far will the ads go though?

    These aren't too obnoxious at first glance. I just wonder how long before we see posts about reducing mortgages or disinfecting computers. Ads at the top are one thing, but ads masquerading as posts could be dangerous if people click an ad without intending to. There are more than a few cases of drive-by downloads and other infections every year.

    tl;dr Are there any plans to have an "ad free" option on reddit for gold users?

    [–]Conducteur 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Can they be hidden by Reddit Gold users like the current ads?

    [–]DapperDodger 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

    I notice the "sponsored headline" has up/downvote arrows, what happens when redditors decide to just downvote brigade them?

    [–]heebiejeebies_ferret 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

    This is a terrible, horrible idea and I hope you fail.

    [–]foley0304 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Not really a fan of this. Will it be clear that they ARE adds? Will it stay that way, or will they slowly change until the difference is gone? How long until reddit is nothing more than a billboard?

    [–]Cornan_KotW 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Oh go fuck yourselves with this shit. You're putting ads IN LINE WITH CONTENT. This is a clear "let's trick our users into clicking on more ads."

    Your idea is bad and you should feel bad.

    [–]thegoodstudyguide 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Isn't this what Digg started to do right before it died?

    [–]njjc 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Ahh, the beginning of the end. It's been a good run, Reddit. Thanks for the fun times. Good luck monetizing without me.

    [–]PaleBlueThought 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    As long as it's clearly labelled, I don't have a problem with it. Thanks for sharing :)

    [–]mylefthandkilledme 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Do you want this site to die like Digg? Because that's how you make this website die.

    [–]teraman 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Hello Digg

    [–]Spiderpig_422 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Can I choose to opt out if I happen to be selected?

    [–]Kingmal 0ポイント1ポイント  (1子コメント)

    Is there any way to ensure you aren't part of the test group?

    [–]starfishjenga[S] 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Unfortunately no - allowing redditors to influence their test group selection would influence the accuracy of the results.

    [–]nate500 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

    How about, fuck ads

    [–]jpflathead -3ポイント-2ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Hey dipshit, /r/hailcorporate was a warning not a business model

    [–]qwantry -1ポイント0ポイント  (0子コメント)

    Nah