In the world of online advertising, there are many terms thrown at you all the time. As a consequence, we often come across a new term that generates lots of positive noise and traction. Right now, that term is native ads.

More and more businesses are turning towards the idea of native advertising - but what exactly is this? How does it differ from some of the more traditional online advertising methods, like display ads? Why are businesses seeing native advertising as the next big thing? 

After looking deeper into this concept, it quickly becomes very clear why they are so popular. Before we get into that, let’s explore native ads in more detail, helping you understand exactly what we’re talking about. 

What is native advertising?

The key element behind native advertising lies in its name; native. 

Here, you have adverts that are designed to blend in with their surroundings as naturally as possible. At first glance, it’s almost impossible for someone to identify that they’re looking at an advert. They are so cohesive and blend so well with the page content that users don’t feel annoyed or intimidated by them. 

The best way to explain native advertising is through some examples. Every single one of you has experienced this form of advertising at some point in your life, probably multiple times a day. One great example is in-feed advertising on social media. You scroll through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and you are met with advertising periodically.

The ads don’t jump out and scream at you; they are designed to look like posts on the social media platform. Another common example is when you search for something on Google. Take a closer look at the top results and you will often see they are actually ads. Again, they are designed to look like normal search results, making them non-invasive. 

These are perhaps the two forms of native advertising most people will recognize, but there’s another that’s also used all the time. Sponsored content at the bottom of blog articles or news posts is also considered native advertising. These ads are made to seem like other news stories, but they are typically adverts to get people to visit a separate site. 

How does native advertising work?

You know what native advertising is, but how does it actually work. How do the adverts get placed where they are, what determines this? In essence, it is all to do with publishers and advertisers. As a business owner, you fall under the advertiser category as you are trying to promote your business.

The publisher is simply the individual or corporation that has space for adverts to be posted. In the search engine example, Google is a publisher as they are offering ad space via their search results for businesses to use. 

Thus, the first step in making native advertising work for your business is by finding the relevant publishers. Search engines and social media sites will often have their own networks to help people advertise via their platforms. But, there are also lots of other advertising networks that you can use to publish your ads on sites across the internet. 

The precise logistics behind how things work can vary from advertising platform to platform. However, in a lot of cases, native advertising operates on a PPC basis. This means that you pay per click - if nobody clicks on your advert, you won’t have to pay a penny. There is typically a bidding process involved to determine how much you’ll have to pay, which is why many businesses use PPC management companies to keep tabs on everything.

Of course, there is also a lot of technical shenanigans relating to where your ads are shown and to whom. This usually means a business has to create a profile for the type of user they want to see their ads. As a result, your adverts will only be seen by people that are considered part of your target market. 

How is native advertising different from display ads?

Many people will look at native advertising and argue that it is just another type of display ad. While this might technically be true, there is a big difference between native and traditional display advertising. 

What is it? 

Rewind back to the definition of native ads and you will find it. They are designed to blend in and look natural. Display ads are more focused on jumping out at the user and drawing them in. They’re a more invasive form of advertising, but they do still work in many cases. Native advertising is all about being subtle and encouraging users to naturally read things or click on a link. 

What are the benefits of native ads?

So, why are businesses turning towards native advertising as their go-to advertising method? 

Well, it’s very easy to see why this is such a tempting idea. For starters, native ads have 53% more views than more traditional forms of advertising. This is because they blend in so naturally that you can’t help but read them.

Think about the adverts you see on social media; how many times have you looked at and read/watched a native Instagram advert? It’s so immersive and non-invasive that you just engage with them naturally as though they are part of your feed. 

To go alongside this, native adverts are clicked more than other forms of advertising. Once again, it all revolves around this idea of them being very natural. In fact, they are so natural that 77% of consumers don’t even interpret native ads as advertising. There’s always a tense relationship between consumers and advertising because people don’t like having things shoved in their faces.

Native advertising takes care of this in a way that other types of advertising are unable to do. Of course, you still legally have to have something that demonstrates a native ad is an ad. It’s just that the ad itself looks so natural that people don’t take notice of the little ‘ad’ symbol or ‘sponsored’ lettering. 

Moreover, this links to another point: native advertising offers the best user experience. In the online realm, user experience means absolutely everything to businesses. If users aren’t having a good time, they’re unlikely to convert to leads and customers. Constantly seeing your ads bombarded in their faces will make consumers hate your business.

But, with the simplicity and non-invasive nature of native ads, they don’t have to worry about this. They won’t feel bombarded or overwhelmed - it’s like you’re giving them more of a say in the matter. As a result, they are more likely to actually be interested in the advert because it’s not too pushy. 

Clearly, there are some big benefits to adopting native ads as part of an advertising strategy. So, it’s no surprise that so many businesses are turning towards this approach! 

In conclusion, native advertising is the next big thing in the advertising/marketing game. Businesses love the idea of using adverts that blend into their surroundings and don’t jump out at the user. This is what sets native ads apart from other forms of advertising and makes them a far less invasive approach to something more traditional, like display ads.

Ultimately, if you’re a business owner that wants to generate more traffic and create more leads, this is the way forward. Make sure you do more research into the topic before you start spending any money - or work with an advertising agency to help you reap the most rewards from native advertising.