Native advertising is a controversial subject. There are some people – mostly app makers – who think that it is a great way to monetise their products. Then there are others who feel that this kind of advertising is little better than spyware, being too invasive for their tastes. However, when native advertising is used tastefully and in a user-friendly way, it is a good way of promoting products to a highly targeted audience. The fact is that side-bar ads and banner ads don’t really work that well any more – most people are either ad-blind when it comes to those little images cluttering up the screen, or have installed some form of ad block, so they don’t see the ads at all.
Display Ads are More Visible
Like it or not, native advertising is more visible. When someone installs an app, they will see the ads that it is wrapped in or that are embedded in it. There’s no getting around that. The question is, how can you ensure that while they see the ads, they aren’t annoyed by them? Well, native ads have one advantage over things like pop-ups, long duration interstitials and push downs. They don’t usually interfere with the user experience. An ad on a loading screen (That genuinely doesn’t make the app take longer to load) is not going to upset anyone. Native ads that are clearly labeled as ads tend to generate higher CTRs, from people who have stronger purchase intent. They are viewed more often than banner ads, and they generate more ‘brand lift’ too. So what makes good native advertising? Well, the best advertising adds value other than just ‘telling someone a product exists’. The challenge for brand owners is to try to find the balance between being an impartial service or content provider and making enough money to keep their service going. Go too far in one direction, and you will lose visitors because you alienate them. Go too far in the other, and you will not have enough money to keep your doors open. Neither is an ideal solution. Find partners that you really trust and would recommend even if you didn’t get money from them. Be transparent about what you get money from, and what you do not, and work to provide clear ads that are not invasive, and that don’t impair the user’s experience on your site.
