Native advertising is a form of digital marketing that has become increasingly popular in recent years, rivalling traditional display ads and search engine marketing in terms of efficacy.
From a SEO expert’s perspective, native advertising can be an effective way to reach potential customers while blending seamlessly into your online content.
Native ads are designed to look like normal editorial content, allowing them to attract readers while avoiding the ad-blocking software many potential customers have installed on their browsers.
The effectiveness and ethical implications of native advertising are often debated, with some questioning its potential to confuse customers and others expressing concerns about its perceived lack of transparency.
In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of native advertising and provide insights into:
- How Native Advertising Works
- Native Advertising Benefits
- Native Advertising Drawbacks,
- and Best Native Advertising Practices To Help You Maximize Your Return On Investment.
What is Native Advertising?
Native meaning content on websites that is mostly advertising but designed to look like the news or editorial content on the site.
It is an advertorial for sure, just presented in a way that it does not feel like you are being marketed at.
Native ad are quickly taking over as one of the biggest trends in marketing online because they offer marketers an opportunity to market to you without overwhelming you with an ad.
They feel like the rest of the content that is out there and they don’t scream at you like a banner ad would.
People prefer native ads to banner ads because it feels less spammy and more natural.
Native advertisements blend in better on your screen and seem to go along naturally with the content around them.
For example, sponsored content feels non disruptive when placed on a news site because it simply serves as another article.
It doesn’t look like you are being marketed at, but you are seeing an advertiser’s message.
Here is the definition of native advertising – “Advertising that matches both the form and content of the media in which it appears.”
In other words, when a marketer is trying to sell a product or service to you, they are looking for a way to make it look natural or feel like the rest of the content on that website by having it be similar in form and function.
So if you are reading about how to sew, maybe your ad is an advertisement for thread.
Or if you are trying to sell handbags, then maybe you have a post about how to carry a handbag.
Native ads are highlighted in some way so that you know it is an advertisement. In most cases, the ad will be clearly marked “sponsored posts” or “ad”.
This type of advertising balances people’s need for information with their ability to process it by making information easy to understand.
It has become a very popular option for advertisers, especially since people are starting to realize that banner ad are not as effective as they were before.
Banner ad can lose their effectiveness after you have seen them for 100 days in a row.
Native ad still holds the same power it did when you first saw it because it isn’t something you are used to seeing.
Another great thing about native advertising is that it seems more trustworthy than banner ad do.
It looks much less commercial because it actually fits in with the content on the page, which makes it seem like its purpose is to provide useful information instead of trying to sell you a product or service.
Because it blends in so well people are more likely to interact with the content surrounding the ad.
As a result, this creates trust between the marketer and the consumer.
Native ad allows them to connect on a much deeper level than banner ad do because they provide information that is truly useful as opposed to just trying to sell you something.
Native advertising is here to stay and the best part about it is that it comes in many different forms.
You can take any type of content (graphics, videos, articles, etc.) that you already have out there on your website or blog and turn them into native ads for another company.
Native advertising is a form of advertising that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears. It is designed to seamlessly blend in with the user experience, creating a less intrusive and more engaging experience for the viewer. Native advertising is often used to promote content, products, or services within articles, videos, or other media.
A Brief History of Native Advertising
Native advertising has been around for a while, but it has only recently become popular.
The first form of native advertising was actually print ads that were placed in newspapers and magazines.
These ads were designed to look like the content around them and were often called “advertorials.”
Advertisers loved this type of advertising because it allowed them to create a message that was easy to understand and also seemed trustworthy.
However, the rise of the internet led to a decline in the use of print media and, as a result, the use of native advertising.
It wasn’t until the early 2010s that native advertising started to make a comeback.
This was largely due to the fact that people were getting tired of banner ad cluttering up their screens and pop-ups that interrupted what they were doing.
As a result, advertisers started to get creative with how they advertised their products.
They relied more heavily on social media, blogs, and other forms of content marketing to attract new clients.
I found this infographic from outbrain really illustrated it well.
Sources: outbrain.com
The Future Of Natives Ads
According to Adyoulike “Global Native Advertising Market Set to Be Worth Over $400BN By 2025” so it is an absolute certainty that the future of native ads is bright.
Natives ads are the future of advertising because they are effective in creating an image that entices customers to either buy a product or try out a new brand.
Brands are also able to target specific demographics which helps them get their products in front of exactly who they want to see them
However, native ads will never replace all online marketing because banner ad are cheap to create and can be used in online display advertising.
For this reason, there will always be room for both native ads and banner ads to co-exist on the internet.
The infographic below was created by prnewswire.com.
It contains some interesting statistics about the potential future of native advertising.
Sources: prnewswire.com
What do Native Ads look like?
Native ads come in various forms, but the most popular are sponsored stories on social media or blog posts that look like any other type of content.
They usually blend into their surroundings and feel like a regular part of the site rather than an ad.
This makes native advertising more appealing to customers who can be turned off by blatantly promotional messages.
Here are some examples of native ad formats:
Different types of Native Advertising
In-feed ads
These ads are placed in content pieces, social media posts, or websites so that they are not disruptive to the user’s experience.
Content recommendation ads (Sponsored content)
Recommendation ads are ads that are displayed next to other content, such as editorial content or other ads. These ads usually show up at the end of an article. They might suggest different ads or content.
Search and promoted listings ads
Another type of ad is a “search ad.” This is an ad that shows up on a search results like Google or Bing.
The ad is paid for, and it is based on keywords that the user has searched for.
What’s the difference between Native Ads and Display Ads?
You may be wondering are native ads are the same as display ads?
The main difference between native ads and banner ads is how they are promoted.
Banners ads are usually placed on a website using an ad network, whereas native advertising has more of a focus on being relevant to the content on that site.
Native advertisements have different goals than traditional advertisements do. They are meant to be a part of the user’s online experience rather than an interruption.
Here is a simple infographic that shows all the differences between native ads and banner ads.
One other difference is how they are priced.
Display ads have been sold based on impressions to this point, while native advertising is placed more strategically so that it doesn’t end up being irrelevant.
For example, if a user goes to read an article about hiking in the mountains, then it probably won’t make sense for them to see an ad for beach cruises.
Sources: match2one.com
How Can Entrepreneurs Benefit from Native Ad
Native ads benefit entrepreneurs in many ways.
If you remembers the sales funnel cycle which is a funnel starting from awareness, to interest, to desire and culminating in the user taking an action.
Native ads are crucial in every stage of the sales cycle because they help generate brand awareness, increase relevance among consumers and get people interested in products or services.
The main reason why native advertising is so effective is that it feels like part of the experience.
It doesn’t feel like you’re being sold to since it’s more of a recommendation than an interruption.
Native ads also allow you to reach new customers who don’t typically see display ads because they are designed for a specific audience or context.
For example, if your product or service is about hiking in the mountains, then you can use native ads to reach people who are interested in that topic.
Even though native advertising helps increase brand awareness and relevance among consumers it still does not guarantee them action.
That’s why it’s crucial for entrepreneurs to measure the results of native ads and understand the best time to use them.
When should entrepreneurs use Native Ads?
Every entrepreneur and brand is different and there isn’t a specific time or day of the year that you should use native ads.
However, some general guidelines include:
- A new product launch
- The start of a new season
- End of a season
- New trends such as new products or design ideas
- Early in the day when consumers are on their way to work and browsing social media
- Late at night when people are relaxing and not at office working.
Also, you should use native ads if there is a great offer that will help generate more sales.
How do entrepreneurs measure the results of native ads?
Every business with a goal wants to improve their performance, and everything that you want to optimize in your business should drive more revenue.
For most traditional online advertisements it’s easy to measure because you can track user behavior through analytics tools.
With native advertising things get a bit complicated.
Since native ads are designed to fit in with the rest of the experience, it’s important that they don’t stand out too much or disrupt things.
It may be difficult for entrepreneurs to measure the results of their native advertising campaign unless you put some structure around it.
One easy way is to use a spreadsheet and document all your campaigns. You can keep track of all the success metrics such as impressions, clicks and social shares to see how successful it is over time.
The biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make when measuring native ads is not having a consistent process in place.
If you’re going into it thinking “I’ll figure out the perfect way to measure things once I’ve started” then you’ll waste a lot of time and resources.
If you don’t have any process around measuring things, then it’s going to be hard for entrepreneurs to know whether they’re doing well or not.
In fact, there are at least seven steps that entrepreneurs can follow in order to set up their own measurement process:
1. First of all, you need to understand what success looks like for your business and the metrics that you want to track.
2. You also have to take into consideration if there are any legal restrictions or regulations on what you can measure.
3. The next step is to develop a consistent process for measuring things.
4. You also need to decide if you want to measure monthly, quarterly or annually.
5. What tools are you using? If you’re using third party analytics tool then this should be easy but if it’s not the case, then you will have to do some work on your own.
6. If you are using any kind of ad network, do they have their own analytics tools?
7. Finally, make sure that the data is reliable and accurate in order to be meaningful.
Understanding how they work will give you an idea of best times to use them, who your target consumers are, and when to measure the results.
With patience, persistence and consistency entrepreneurs can find success in their native advertising campaigns.
Final Thoughts
I hope that this article has given you some food for thought on how to use native advertising in your business.
Keep these key points in mind as you create and manage ads, and remember that it’s up to your customers what they click through or purchase.
As long as you’re doing your best to create a great user experience, then you should have no problem finding success with native advertising.
Best of Luck!
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