The top advantages and disadvantages of using native advertising

The hype around native advertising is real. Though traditional advertising does have an important place in the media landscape, non-disruptive marketing tools are gaining popularity, especially when it comes to reaching and engaging a wide audience.

Native advertising is a fast-growing segment. An oft-cited report from AdYouLike predicts the global native advertising market to be worth $400 billion by 2025 (a 372% jump from 2020). Consumers are more open to learning about brands through these advertisements than via traditional ads.

Whether you are a marketer new to native ads or a blogger who aims to make money while leveraging this effective marketing tool, it’s worth considering the benefits and disadvantages of native advertising.

New to native advertising? Check our out ultimate guide to native advertising here. 

What Makes a Native Ad Successful?

A successful native ad goes beyond simply blending into the surrounding content—it provides value to the reader. To achieve this, advertisers must focus on a few core elements:

• Relevant Content: Native ads that align with the reader's interests and provide useful information are more likely to engage audiences. Advertisers must conduct audience research and deliver content that resonates with the reader's needs and preferences.
• High-Quality Visuals: Incorporating striking visuals, such as images or infographics, can help native ads stand out and attract attention while still blending into the page. Visual appeal encourages users to engage with the ad and retain the message.
• Seamless Integration: The native ad should naturally fit into the editorial environment without disrupting the user experience. The more seamlessly the ad integrates with the platform, the more likely readers are to view it as valuable rather than intrusive.

Top benefits of native advertising

1. Native ads allow you to capture audience attention 

Native ads by nature aren’t intrusive or interruptive. Further, the content tends to be highly engaging and suited for all devices. Hence, it is better received by site visitors. 
People are used to seeing and ignoring usual aggressive ads that push their way through the main content. Because native ads aren’t pushy in nature, they attract attention and encourage viewers to consume the content.

Recommended: Here are a few great examples of native advertising in 2024. 

2. Native ads perform better than many other types of ads

Native ads are highly engaging; hence, they get high views, click-throughs, and conversions.

In fact, recent research by Outbrain and CMI shows that native ads that employ a softer, trust-based approach achieve 5-10x higher average CTR than push marketing tactics.

3. Native ads enjoy high credibility

One of the biggest challenges advertising professionals face today is winning customer trust. Customers are repelled by advertisements because they do not trust the marketers’ intent behind them.

However, native ads are customized to a person’s search intent, thus making them more credible. Customers value the content shared through native ads because they carry empowering information that’s useful to them. When this trust is won, brands are rewarded with customer loyalty.

Read more about the types and formats of native ads (updated 2024) 

4. Native ads help optimize your targeting capabilities

Native ads are usually contextually targeted to the audience that will be interested in the content. For example, a cosmetics brand can launch its content on a beauty blog or a fashion website where people have already consumed similar content. Similarly, a sports brand can share native advertising content on a fitness website, targeting fitness enthusiasts.

This way, the marketer can drive traffic to their website while the audience gets a seamless and personalized experience.

Disadvantages of native advertising

1. Native ads can be tough to measure outcomes

How can you measure whether or not native advertising is working for you? Because of their unique nature, measuring the effectiveness of native ads is tricky.

You need to find the right tools and metrics to measure your native ad performance. Consider metrics like impressions, time on site, scroll depth, re-engagement rates, CPA, and CTR. The metrics you choose will also depend on your campaign goals and audience behaviour.

RELATED: “How to measure brand lift"

2. Native ads are time and labour-intensive 

Native ads are much more engaging and tailored than traditional ones. Hence, creating them is labour-intensive and time-consuming.

The ad needs to blend with the surrounding content depending on where it’s placed. At the same time, you need to ensure that the ad offers immediate value to the reader.

Further, creating a native ad may involve a whole team of advertising professionals, marketing team, copywriters, publishing partners, and more.

3. Native ads carries an element of deception

As mentioned above, few advertisers are able to stay on top of the native advertising game. There’s a fine line separating creativity and deception.

As an advertiser, you do not want your ad to appear as something that tricks the user. You want your ad to be creatively placed among the other pieces of content while not appearing as deceptive to the user.

That’s one reason why native ads are always labelled as paid, sponsored, or ad.

How to Overcome Native Advertising Challenges

While native advertising has its share of disadvantages, there are ways to overcome them:

• Use Analytics Tools: To address the challenge of measuring outcomes, use analytics tools designed specifically for tracking native ad performance. Platforms like Google Analytics, along with dedicated tools like AdYouLike or Sharethrough, can help track engagement metrics and attribute conversions to native ads.
• Streamline the Production Process: To mitigate the time and labor involved in creating native ads, streamline the process by using templates, automation tools, and content management systems. Pre-built frameworks can reduce the time needed to produce high-quality native content while still allowing for customization.
• Maintain Transparency: Combat the perception of deception by ensuring that your native ads are clearly marked and that the content offers real value. Always be upfront with your audience, and ensure that the line between editorial and paid content is respected.

Conclusion

Native advertising has several benefits and advantages. It is up to you how you leverage it to boost engagement, optimize targeting, build trust, and drive traffic to your website. With the right native advertising platforms and the information shared in this post, we are sure you will be able to craft a good native ad strategy for your business and make the most of what native advertising has to offer.