We're excited to announce a significant improvement coming to TRAC on July 24th, 2025 - a change in how Pulsar measures Reddit impressions, which will provide you with more accurate, reliable, and actionable data for your analysis. As you might be aware, impression data is not shared by Reddit so we need to rely on our modelling to estimate how many people see content on the platform. New scientific research now available about Reddit allows us to model user behaviour more accurately.
What's Changing
Starting July 24th, 2025 Pulsar is implementing a new Reddit impressions formula on TRAC, based on scientific research and real-world Reddit user behavior. This update replaces our previous calculation method with a more sophisticated approach that delivers realistic impression counts you can trust for strategic decision-making.
Why We Made This Change
Our previous Reddit impressions formula was straightforward but for lack of real-world user behavioural metrics, it simply added together three numbers: the total number of subreddit subscribers, plus the number of comments on a post, plus the number of likes (upvotes) the post received. While this approach was easy to understand, it created several problems that affected the quality of insights we provided.
The most significant issue was that this method produced misleading numbers. For example, a post in a popular subreddit with 5 million subscribers would automatically be credited with over 5 million impressions, regardless of whether anyone actually saw it. This happened because our old formula assumed that every single subscriber to a subreddit would see every single post, something that simply doesn't reflect how people actually use Reddit.
In reality, Reddit users don't see every post from every subreddit they follow. Most users only browse Reddit for short periods, they don't scroll through every post, and Reddit's own algorithm determines which posts appear prominently in users' feeds. Our old formula ignored all of these real-world factors, leading to impression counts that were often 10 to 100 times higher than the actual number of people who saw a post, creating a cascade of problems for our clients.
The Need for Scientific Accuracy
As social media measurement becomes increasingly important for business strategy, we recognized that our clients deserve impression data that reflects reality. Accurate measurement isn't just about having smaller numbers; it's about having numbers you can actually use to understand your audience, optimize your content strategy, and demonstrate real business value. We also heard feedback from clients who were comparing Pulsar's Reddit data with other platforms and finding significant discrepancies. While every platform measures impressions slightly differently, our old Reddit formula was producing results that were completely out of line with industry standards and common sense.
Our New Scientific Approach
Our new Reddit impressions formula is built on extensive research into how people actually use Reddit. Instead of making unrealistic assumptions, it accounts for real user behavior patterns and Reddit's platform dynamics. The new calculation considers four key factors that determine how many people actually see a Reddit post:
How many subs are actually online: Not everyone who subscribes to a subreddit is actively browsing Reddit every day. Our new formula uses Reddit's own published data showing that only about 8% of total users are active on any given day. This means instead of assuming all 5 million subscribers to a subreddit are online, we realistically estimate that about 450,000 might be active.
How likely is a post to be seen in your feed: In larger subreddits, posts compete for attention with many other posts. A post in a subreddit with 10,000 subscribers has a much better chance of being seen by each active user than a post in a subreddit with 1 million subscribers. Our new formula mathematically accounts for this competition, giving more realistic impression estimates for posts in large communities.
How quickly does attention fade: Reddit posts don't stay visible forever. Most posts receive the majority of their views within the first few hours after being posted, then gradually fade from prominence. Our new formula includes a "time decay" factor that recognizes this reality, reducing estimated impressions as posts get older.
Comment Boost: When people comment on a Reddit post, it often gets pushed back up in users' feeds and stays visible longer. Our new formula recognizes that comments are both a sign of engagement and a driver of additional visibility, adding estimated impressions based on comment activity.
The Science Behind the Numbers
Our new approach is calibrated against real Reddit analytics data. When we test our formula against actual impression numbers from Reddit's own analytics tools (available to subreddit moderators), our estimates typically come within 30% of the real figures. This is a dramatic improvement from our old formula, which could be off by 1000% or more. The formula also includes built-in safeguards to prevent unrealistic estimates. For example, even if a post receives thousands of comments, the formula caps the comment-driven boost to prevent the kind of runaway numbers that made our old system unreliable.
What This Means for Your Data on TRAC
The most immediate change you'll notice, starting July 24th 2025, is that Reddit impression numbers in your TRAC searches will be significantly lower than before. This isn't because your content is performing worse; it's because the numbers now accurately reflect how many people are actually seeing your posts. For example, a post that previously showed 2 million impressions might now show 50,000 impressions. While this might seem concerning at first, the new number is far more accurate and useful for making business decisions. You can now trust that when Pulsar reports 50,000 impressions, approximately 50,000 people actually saw your content.
Benefits of the New Approach
More Reliable Insights
With accurate Reddit impression data, you can now make confident decisions about your social media strategy. Whether you're planning content campaigns, allocating budget across platforms, or reporting to stakeholders, you'll have trustworthy numbers that reflect genuine audience reach.
Better Cross-Platform Comparisons
The new Reddit impression formula aligns much more closely with how other major social platforms measure reach. This means you can now make meaningful comparisons between your Reddit performance and your results on other platforms.
Enhanced Credibility with Stakeholders
When presenting social media performance data to clients, you can now stand behind your Reddit metrics with confidence. The scientific basis of our new formula means your data can withstand scrutiny and support important business decisions.
Future-Proof Measurement
Our new formula is designed to evolve with Reddit's platform changes and user behavior shifts. As we gather more data and Reddit continues to develop, we can fine-tune the formula while maintaining its scientific foundation.
Addressing Your Concerns
My Impression Numbers Look Much Lower Now
This is completely expected and actually a positive change. Lower numbers that accurately reflect reality are far more valuable than inflated numbers that don't. Think of it this way: would you rather know that 50,000 people definitely saw your content, or have a system tell you 2 million people saw it when the real number was actually closer to 50,000?
How Do I Compare Historical Data?
We understand that this change creates a discontinuity in your historical data. For the most accurate analysis going forward, we recommend treating the implementation date (July 24th), as a fresh starting point for Reddit impression tracking. If you would like your older data to be reanalysed with the new formula, then please reach out to our support team and we can action this for you. If you need to make historical comparisons, a rough conversion factor is that new impression numbers will typically be 10-50 times smaller than old numbers, depending on the subreddit size and post characteristics.
Will This Affect My Reporting and Dashboards?
Your TRAC dashboards and reports will automatically reflect the new calculation method. No action is required on your part. However, you may want to update any internal benchmarks, or KPI email alerts that were based on the old Reddit impression numbers.
Are Other Platforms Affected?
No, this update only affects Reddit impression calculations. Our measurement methods for X, Facebook, Instagram impressions and other online platforms remain unchanged.
Overall, this update represents our ongoing commitment to providing you with the most accurate and actionable audience intelligence insights available. By grounding our Reddit impression calculations in scientific research and real user behavior, we're ensuring that Pulsar continues to be the trusted foundation for your social media strategy. If you have any further questions or need specific details on the new formula, then please do not hesitate to contact us via the in-app chat.