Reddit Pixel and Conversions API setup (Reddit Ads)
What do the Reddit Pixel and Conversions API do?
The Reddit Pixel is a piece of JavaScript added to your site. It tracks what visitors do after seeing or clicking a Reddit ad. You can install it by hand, through Google Tag Manager, through Shopify or through a partner2.
The Reddit Conversions API is a connection from your server to Reddit. It sends conversion events without code running on the page1. That makes it a form of server-side tracking: data is collected and passed on from a server you control, not only from the visitor's browser.
Run both and the same purchase can arrive twice. That is why event deduplication matters. The glossary entry describes Meta's version. For Reddit, the Tag Manager setup guide says a consistent conversion ID on both Pixel and Conversions API events is what makes deduplication work3.
Why do ecommerce brands use it?
Without it, Reddit cannot tell you what its ads led to. The ads then run, the platform reports little or nothing, and your shop reports sales you cannot link to Reddit.
With it, Reddit's numbers can at least be compared with your shop's. They will still not match exactly. They are different counts, made by different systems with different rules. The attribution window is one such rule. Reddit's attribution page offers windows of 1, 7 or 28 days, and its recommended setting counts conversions up to 28 days after a click and one day after a view4.
Some formats also depend on it. Dynamic product ads need a catalogue mapped to the Pixel or Conversions API, with ViewContent, AddToCart and Purchase events set up5.
For the channel itself, read Reddit ads for ecommerce.
How do you install and check it?
Installation options, per Reddit's help documentation:
- By hand. Add the Pixel code to your site2.
- Through Google Tag Manager. Reddit has a guide for setting up the Pixel and Conversions API through GTM, using a web container plus a server container that sends events to Reddit3.
- Through Shopify. Reddit has an app in the Shopify App Store6.
- Through a partner2.
For the Conversions API, Reddit says to send events as close to real time as possible, and no later than seven days after they happen1.
Checking:
- Events Manager. Reddit's help centre describes verifying events there7.
- Pixel Helper. A Reddit Pixel Helper extension for Chrome checks whether the Pixel fires8.
- Your own orders. Place a test order and follow it through.
Reddit lists eight standard events: PageVisit, ViewContent, Search, AddToCart, AddToWishlist, Purchase, Lead and SignUp9. On Shopify, events such as product viewed or checkout completed link to ViewContent and Purchase. Reddit's help page notes that Add to Wishlist, Lead and Sign Up are not native Shopify events, so they need custom events on your site10.
How do we implement it?
Check you need it
Confirm you run Reddit Ads, or plan to, and that you have access to your tag manager and shop admin. If not, wait.
Pixel first, then server
Install the Pixel, then the Conversions API, with one shared conversion ID so a purchase counts once.
Map the events
Match your shop's events to Reddit's. Wishlist, lead and sign-up events need custom builds on Shopify, or Reddit never receives them.
Check the events
Use Events Manager, the Pixel Helper and a test order. Recheck after shop or theme updates.
When should you not use it?
What does it cost, in effort?
We do not give prices. In effort terms:
- Set-up time. Pixel first, then the server connection, then deduplication.
- Mapping. Your shop's events have to be matched to Reddit's.
- Someone with access. Tag Manager, your shop admin and sometimes your developer.
- Re-checking. Shop updates and theme changes can break tracking quietly.
What are the pitfalls?
Counting twice
Running both without a shared conversion ID can double-count.
Expecting a match with the shop
Different counts and different windows give different numbers.
Events that do not map
Wishlist, lead and sign-up events do not exist in Shopify by default. If nobody builds them, Reddit never receives them.
Consent left to chance
What the Pixel and the server connection may send, and when, is set in your consent set-up. Your counsel decides the rules.
Trusting the install
A Pixel that loads is not the same as events arriving. Check Events Manager.
Our take: Selective
This is our view, not a market fact. We rate the Reddit Pixel and Conversions API setup Selective.
The setup is documented, and Reddit's own guidance calls for both together1. The only reason for Selective is relevance: it matters to brands that run Reddit Ads and to nobody else.
If you do run Reddit Ads, treat it as a precondition. Without it, you cannot compare Reddit's results with your shop's.
For ZFD: Reddit tracking is part of how we set up a Reddit channel. See our Reddit ads agency page. The wider view is in the ecommerce marketing technology stack.
FAQ
Do I need both the Pixel and the Conversions API?
Reddit's help centre advises using them together, and says deduplication is required when you do1.
How do I stop events being counted twice?
Send both with the same conversion ID, as Reddit's guide for Tag Manager describes3.
Can I install it through Shopify?
Yes. Reddit has an app in the Shopify App Store6. Check which events it sends.
How do I know it works?
Why do Reddit and Shopify show different numbers?
They are different counts with different rules, and the attribution window is one of them. Reddit can credit a sale to an ad up to 28 days after a click4. Your shop counts orders, not ad clicks.
Sources
- Knowledge: About the Conversions API (Reddit Ads Help)Primary source
- Knowledge: About the Reddit PixelPrimary source
- Set Up the Reddit Conversions API and Pixel with GTMPrimary source
- Knowledge: Web Attribution - Reddit Ads Help CenterPrimary source
- Map a Catalog - Reddit Ads Help CenterPrimary source
- Reddit Ads - app (Shopify App Store)Primary source
- Verify Events in the Events Manager - Reddit Ads Help CenterPrimary source
- Reddit Pixel Helper (Chrome Web Store)Primary source
- Conversion Events - Reddit Ads Help CenterPrimary source
- Link Standard Events to Conversion Events (Reddit Ads Help Center)Primary source
Let’s find what’s actually working.
Next step. Running Reddit Ads, or about to? Talk to us about your setup.