What Is Native Advertising?

Native advertising has been defined as a form of paid media that seamlessly integrates with the form and function of a site to contribute value to the user experience.

By way of example, a native ad might be an ad for energy-efficient light bulbs that appears within or next to an article on types of energy efficient light bulbs and their uses. In short, native advertising is contextually relevant to the website page.

As more and more web users become “banner blind” advertisers are striving for a new way to reach viewers. While banner click through has dropped to 2%, its lowest rate ever, native advertising is proving to be more effective.

• 52% of people who click on native ads have purchase intent, compared to only 34% for banner ads.
• 70% want to learn about products through content rather than traditional advertising.
• 75% of publishers already offer some type of native advertising, with 90% saying they either have or will consider it.

Native Ads Receive More Reader Attention than Banner Ads

A recent study conducted by Snarethrough and Nielsen showed that during videos simulating content scroll through, EEG and eye-tracking testing showed that in-feed native ads received 25% more attention that in-feed banner advertising. On tablets the native advertising received nearly 50% more attention.

For more information, see the study results at MarketingProfs.