Automattic has extended the availability of an ad tool available for WordPress websites via Jetpack (opens in new tab) and WordPress.com (opens in new tab).
First introduced in April 2022 by Tumblr, the Blaze ad tool now lets users reach a wider audience, with an estimated 13.5 billion impressions per month across hundreds of millions of WordPress.com sites and Tumblr pages.
Available now, the tool enables anyone with a WordPress blog to advertise on the WordPress.com website builder (opens in new tab) and Tumblr through Blaze.
Website ad upgrade
The tool lets users turn existing content into ads that can run across Automattic’s network portfolio, which includes millions of blogs.
“At WordPress.com we’re always looking for ways to make building and running your website simpler and more impactful and more fun,” Automattic said in a written blog.
“One of the biggest challenges for any site owner is finding your readers, fans, customers, or subscribers. Until now, promoting your WordPress.com web site required multiple tools, online accounts, professional design and marketing skills, and – yes – lots of money.”
Similar to Instagram and Facebook ads, websites that are hosted on WordPress.com are able utilize the tool through the advertising section of the dashboard, where a list of recent posts and pages are available for users to promote.
Another feature of the tool that’s similar to Instagram and Facebook ads include the ability to adjust the settings to select a specific target audience (geographically and industry-specific) for the paid ads to reach.
For WordPress sites that aren’t hosted on WordPress.com, users can use the Blaze ad tool via the Jetpack plugin.
Additionally, the ad campaigns are billed weekly based on how many times users want their ads to be shown. Currently, the feature is only available for sites with “English” set as a primary language, but Automattic says it’s working on introducing other languages in the future.
