Your Guide To The Debate: Native Ads vs. Display Ads
Native and display ads are two of the most popular forms of digital advertising. Both ad formats aim to communicate information about a product or service in the online space.
Although both types of advertising share similarities, they have their respective differences. This article will explain the similarities and differences between native ads and display ads to help you decide which option could work best for your brand.
What is Native Advertising?
Native advertising embeds adverts and promotions within the main content of a web page. Instead of having a different look and feel, native ads tend to match the website’s structure that they appear on. And they are not as intrusive as other kinds of digital advertising.
Native ads appear in the form of listings on search engine result pages (SERP), as news feeds on social media or in the feed of news publishers.
Today, we will focus just on digital native ads that appear in-feed on web publishers vs digital display banner ads.
What is an in-feed native ad?
The difference between an in-feed native ad and other kinds of native advertising is that it’s situated within the feed of free, editorial content rather than presented as a banner above.
Benefits of Native Advertising
High engagement
Native ads tend to have a higher click-through rate (CTR) than display ads and efficiently drive traffic to your website.
According to a survey, 53% of consumers view native ads more frequently than display ads. Our agency experience found that native ads can deliver a higher brand uplift and consideration than display ads. In a recent campaign we conducted with a leading tourism board, we saw a notable uplift in consideration.
Less affected by ad blockers
Native ads are less likely to be blocked by ad blockers because they are less intrusive.
Bypasses banner blindness
Banner blindness is a phenomenon where users visiting a website quickly scroll past any graphic ad banners without noticing it. This is because humans are often in “Skim Mode” when they visit web pages and have learned to ignore banners, but as native ads feel more like the content on the page, users may be less inclined to ignore native ads.
The human brain takes in visual information very quickly, but this information is processed with different parts of the brain at different speeds. The eyes tend to take in the entire picture on a page first – but it’s not until our minds process what’s actually happening that we notice anything.
Time to market & cost
Native ads are simpler to produce, generally consisting of an image and some text, therefore they are significantly cheaper. This means you can be in-market faster, allowing your team to produce more messages that could also be more tailored, allowing you to do more a/b testing of different themes and potentially see higher engagement rates and ultimately get higher performance, sales and a stronger ROI.
What is Display Advertising?
Display ads are a visual-centric form of online advertising that delivers and superimposes a commercial message through images, animations, videos, logos, or other graphics.
Display ads help promote brands and businesses whenever users browse the internet, check their emails, watch videos on YouTube, or use mobile apps.
Initially, display ads were called “banner ads,” They used to be hyperlinked and image-based ads shaped as strips and usually placed at the top of a web page.
Banner ads later evolved into display ads, which now appear in different sizes and shapes, and have different interactive elements such as pop-ups, videos, and more.
Benefits of display ads
Although display ads have lower click-through rates than native ads, they still have some benefits that can’t be overlooked.
If you’re considering running an advert online, but you’re not yet convinced to use display advertising, here are some benefits of using display advertising:
Display Ads are visually pleasing
Humans can be enticed by the things they see, and it’s hard to ignore a well-designed display that is appealing to the eye.
Potential for interactivity
Display advertising can include interactive elements and videos to make the experience more entertaining and eye-catching.
Which ad format to choose
One of the goals of these formats is to increase engagement or to present a more complex message. Advant Technology has run many campaigns on behalf of its advertisers, creating rich, interactive and immersive banners that allow the users to interact with the brand and not simply be a passive consumer in the digital environment.
Smart marketers will leverage the advantages of both native and display advertising to create an effective content strategy.
Ben Myers
Free Paid Media Review
We are a world-class programmatic marketing agency that can generate more sales and leads for you. Leave your email address, we will contact you for your free paid media review.
