Traffic Cardinal
wrote September 07, 2023
Traffic Cardinal
wrote September 07, 2023
Native ads are sneaky little things. Native advertising dresses like content, walks like content and before people realise it, it’s all done – they’ve clicked and paid, whether for a lifesaver or a future landfill candidate. Marketers call native advertising quiet persuasion with a killer conversion rate and they are not wrong.
But there’s more: the networks behind those ads – that’s the puppet masters. And not all of those native ad platforms know how to pull the strings without snapping them. Some native ad platforms promise reach and deliver recycled views. Some native ad platforms swear by advanced targeting settings and instead hand you a dashboard that looks ancient. Some native ad platforms pay well… until they don’t. And some native advertising platforms are actually worth your traffic and marketing budget. Your sanity? Oh yeah, that one’s sorted too!
This isn’t a listicle. It’s both a filter and a guide to the native advertising networks that won’t waste your time or your money. We did all the digging so you don’t have to, read on!
What is Native Advertising?
Native ads closely resemble the content of the website they are posted on, so the user doesn't immediately understand this is native advertising, treating it as valid information. As you can see, this native ad format quickly builds and solidifies trust in the target audience as it does not force potential customers to buy an item: it is a non-intrusive offer, which works way better than lackluster hucksterisms screaming at clients from their screens.
Still, such native ads, disguised as content, come out marked as an advertising piece: there are regulations and laws controlling the sphere, so an attentive eye can spot a teeny-tiny asterisk with a warning.
However, affiliates are nonetheless relatively free in terms of the native advertising design: there are no restrictions regarding the format or type of native advertising, so focus on consistency, and tailor your native advertising for the needs of your target audience, making sure that it does not divert attention from content consumption. There's a logic behind it: users uninterested in the content they browse will leave.
Common Types of Native Ads
Let us explore the types of native ads before we fully switch to the topic of the best native advertising platforms.
Articles. More than 80% of native advertising consists of articles: reviews, expert materials, case studies, or even reports and detailed feedback. Such articles don't normally require immediate action from the user. Usually, this native advertising format implies a detailed overview of the problem, intangibly interweaving information about promoted products.
Social media. Native ads organically fit into newsfeeds: users flip through the feeds, not understanding that a post they've just seen is native advertising. The rest is paperwork: an offer that piques curiosity will inevitably be checked out by the user clicking the link attached to this “native ad” post.
Recommendation lists. Such native ads are placed on the same page with the material of interest: they represent a set of links to other articles on similar topics. For example, if there's a detailed overview of Berlin, the site can offer a Munich-related text or an instruction on how to get your Schengen clearance approved. As you can see, native advertising is cleverly dressed up as content, and it cannot be distinguished from the recommended material: if the reader is interested in this native ad banner and headline, they will click the link.
Videos. Native advertising has grown popular in the last 2-3 years, and you sure as hell can bump into it watching your favorite YouTube blogger, no matter if you're into Markiplier or Good Mythical Morning. Approximately 70% of users prefer to learn about products and services via videos.
Tests and additional services. This native advertising format also organically fits into the structure of the site where it is located. This approach takes time and effort: games, for example, require several months and quite a few people who can find out and eliminate all bugs before release.
Benefits of Native Advertising
Before you write off native advertising as just another ad format, take a look at what it can do:
Native advertising doesn't trigger the usual defenses. People read these native ads without flinching or scanning for the sales pitch. Native advertising content feels like it belongs, so it gets attention avoiding resistance. The real secret – it's just not annoying, that’s it.
You are not stuck with do-it-this-way-or-else rules. You can choose native advertising formats, tone and placements (ads showing up in social media feed, search results, product pages, whatever fits).
Native ads spread well because people find them worth passing along. Sometimes it’s a full story, sometimes it’s just one line. Either way, it starts bouncing through chats and forums without a dollar spent on reach.
These native ads get clicked. Is that because they are well-disguised? No, because they are relevant. Here’s the proof: AppNexus tracked nearly NINE times the CTR compared to display. That’s not a brag, but rather a reminder – people respond to what feels useful, not what flashes at them.
How to Choose a Native Ad Network
There are affiliate platforms that help you place native ads. Hundreds of those native ads. It doesn’t really matter whether you are choosing native advertising platforms for small publishers or simply browsing through a native ad platforms list — either way, you’ll need some guidance to continue, and we are happy to share our observations to give you a helping hand with native advertising.
Key Selection Criteria
Targeting settings. This is an affiliate's major tool: the more flexible the settings, the better your campaign customization. Consequently, the native ad will hit the right audience. In some native advertising platforms, settings include regions and age; in others, you can discover an additional perk — interests. State-of-the-art native ad networks resort to machine learning technologies for better customization.
GEO. Most native advertising platforms are adapted for the English-speaking part of the Internet: Europe and North America. Options for Asia and Russian-speaking native advertising platforms are also available, but Europe and the USA, and/or Canada are top-priority as their users are the most expensive. Choose a native advertising platform based on the main target audience of the promoted product.
Restrictions. Native advertising niches are worth mentioning: some of them do not allow you to promote crypto or adult-related products, so you'll have to do a little digging if this is your primary vertical. To each their own, anyway, so there are different requirements for different native ads in different networks.
Replenishment. Have you ever heard of wireless service providers? Have you ever used your smartphone to replenish your balance? Then you're good: native advertising platforms operate similarly. Users replenish their accounts and can work with it until it's finally empty. Keep in mind, though, that the amount of replenishment varies depending on the native advertising network. In some cases, the minimum deposit is $100; in others, the deposit is at least $500.
Considerations for Small Publishers
Some sites offer a ready-made set of guides to help you set up your native advertising campaign. In most cases, you can also count on a personal manager ready to answer all your questions. Of course, such native advertising platforms are more expensive, but in the end, beginners can get the best of it, learning and acquiring new knowledge without splurging their budget. Tinker-with-it sort of native advertising platforms exist too, so if you are confident enough or do not want to register another expense line in your expenditure list, go for this option.
Top 10 Native Advertising Networks
You could spend hours digging through native advertising platforms. Or you could start with the ten that affiliate marketers use without regret:
Taboola
You’ve definitely seen it, even if you didn’t realize it. Taboola, one of the biggest native advertising platforms, runs on sites like NBC News, USA Today and Business Insider, pushing native ads to over a billion users every month. Their targeting is handled by AI (it constantly adjusts based on how people actually behave), which helps affiliates win over better leads and get higher CTRs (usually around 0.4%–0.6%). As for native ad formats, they offer in-feed placements, native videos and those “you might also like” widgets. CPCs tend to fall between $0.30 and $0.60. Though you won’t get much room to play with creatives on this native advertising platform (not its strongest suit), the reach and performance usually make up for it.
Outbrain
Outbrain’s native advertising reach is also huge – over 1.3 billion users globally – and the fact that they’ve partnered with publishers like CNN and The Washington Post says plenty about their scale. Native ad formats here are similar to Taboola’s: in-feed, in-article videos and recommendation widgets. CTRs are generally 0.3% to 0.5% and CPCs – somewhere between $0.20 and $0.50.
They also have their own ad-serving system called SmartFeed which can reshuffle native ads in real time based on user behaviour. Pair that with lookalike audience tools, and you’ll have the sharpest targeting ever. Besides, thanks to fraud-free inventory, you are not stuck filtering out garbage traffic, which helps. However, costs run higher than some other native advertising networks. Still, for affiliates who care about clean traffic and real conversions, this native ad platform is worth testing.
MGID
MGID is a native ad platform with global reach and a habit of showing up everywhere (185 billion impressions a month, give or take). You get access to formats like native, push, display and video, all inside a dashboard that lets you set things up without begging for help. Targeting is flexible and automation does its thing – what more could you ask for? Native ads blend into content well enough, assuming your creatives make it through approval (which isn’t always a given). The system leans on content recirculation and some attention-based placement logic – not perfect, but it keeps your native advertising from feeling spammy. Support is available 24/7 and there is a referral program if you are into that.
Revcontent
Revcontent is another big native ad network with reach that’s hard to ignore – 250 billion monthly content recommendations, mostly through big-name publishers like Forbes. It’s picky about where native ads show up, which means fewer junk sites and less fraud to babysit – good news for those who want to keep their affiliate traffic clean. The dashboard gives you targeting by location, device, interests, even time of day, plus built-in A/B testing and user-friendly analytics tools. CPCs can run high, but the traffic is decent and the native ads don’t shout over the content. Affiliates get what they need to run profitable native advertising campaigns, without turning their traffic sources into a clickbait circus.
Nativo
To be honest, it’s built more for advertisers than affiliates – but it’s not off-limits if you know what you are doing. It runs native ads through 7000+ publishers and popular media sites like Time and Motortrend in article, video and story formats which blend well into editorial layouts. CPCs and CPMs run higher than Taboola or Outbrain, so you’ll need to watch your spend. On the upside, Nativo skips cookies, which means fewer tracking headaches and smoother approvals. Your native ads will get seen, but only if your creatives match the tone of your traffic sources. Does your funnel start with clever native content and warms up the click? Then, Nativo can work. Otherwise, skip it.
TripleLift
If your funnel depends on visuals doing all the hard work, TripleLift might be a good choice. It supports the following native ad formats: in-feed images, carousels, cinemagraphs and other scroll-stoppers designed to blend with your content. Their tech auto-adjusts creatives across devices, so you won’t get broken layouts or awkward crops. Eye-tracking studies back it up – people actually notice these native ad placements, which means your traffic isn’t just bouncing past. CPCs are on the higher side of the market, so weak angles won’t survive. But if the offers you promote are sharp and your visuals match the feed, this native advertising platform can help you drive quality clicks.
Sharethrough
This native ad platform serves up 350 billion monthly impressions across 12000+ sites. Moreover, their native ad formats go far beyond desktop – that is, mobile, CTV and even street-level screens. Features that’ll definitely make you happy are dynamic captions and auto-matching – they help your native creatives blend in without extra legwork. Sharethrough leans on first-party data and smart bidding to get your native ads seen. As a result, you get the reach you deserve – and what’s more, you don’t have to explain where your clicks came from.
Adyoulike
Adyoulike uses AI to scan keywords, topics and even tone to place your native ads where they fit. No more scattershot placements, you get context that works for the offers you promote. It reaches 200 million monthly visitors and serves 50 billion impressions through popular formats. Native stories, carousels and boosted social posts – these ones are bound to slide into the feed without raising suspicions! This native advertising platform also handles the build and launch, so your native campaigns go live without extra maneuvering and you can focus on performance. It works well for both mobile and desktop, which is especially useful when you want reach that doesn’t come with a side of chaos.
Yahoo Gemini
Gemini is a part of Yahoo Native now, but the setup is familiar: you get access to Yahoo’s search and content network, plus a decent chunk of mobile traffic. Advertising formats include native and search and targeting is flexible enough (GEO, keywords, device, OS). The native ad placements don’t feel forced and the CPCs won’t wreck your budget. What gives Gemini its edge is the built-in search intent. Why is it so cool? Because you don’t have to guess anymore what users might want – they’ve already dropped the clues. This extra layer of context makes it way easier to match offers without wasting too much of your native ad spend.
Adsterra
Adsterra is known for native ad banners that dodge AdBlock and blend into web and mobile content. Word is, they pull up to 8x higher CTRs than standard display (no joke). You’ve got all the bidding models you’d expect (CPC, CPM, CPA, CPI, CPL, RTB) and targeting that goes deep: browser version, carrier, IP, all the good stuff. Minimum deposit is just $100, so even fresh affiliates can get in the game. Adsterra’s reach is legit and the fraud filters aren’t just for show. Support is quick and you’ve got room to tweak your native ad campaigns the way you want (not the way the native ad platform thinks you should).
Best Native Ad Networks for Small Publishers
Running a small site? Most native advertising platforms make you jump through hoops before you even get a shot: traffic minimums, clunky dashboards, setups that mess with your UX and what not. But some native advertising networks get you! They let affiliates start small and test smart – just what beginners need.
Top Picks for Small Sites
Some of the native ad platforms mentioned earlier also play nice with small publishers. MGID, Revcontent, Adsterra and Taboola don’t ask for endless traffic or a tech team to get started. Their native advertising platforms are self-serve and targeting is sharp. Besides, the revenue potential isn’t bad (if you know how to work your angles).
Beyond those familiar names, a few native ad networks are created with smaller sites in mind and offer decent native advertising setups:
Ezoic. Great for small sites thanks to automated ad testing and native formats that don’t mess with your layout or require big traffic.
Monumetric. Perfect choice if you don’t want native ads to kill user experience, plus real support ready to help you set things up right.
Sovrn. Offers native ad units naturally fitting into content and gives you affiliate tools to stack extra revenue.
Media.net. Nice pick for publishers with modest traffic running contextual native ads – setup takes minutes and the money doesn’t flake.
Native Advertising Best Practices
Native advertising is a long-running type of content, so shocking, flashy, and catchy creatives are certainly out of place, and experiments with banners are strictly prohibited. Still, beginners are welcome to disguise their native ads as informational content.
The click-through rate is not too high in native advertising: this phenomenon can be explained by its similarity to ordinary informational posts. If this thought pushes you to the CPC model (cost-per-click), you are on the right track.
Native advertising normally requires a pre-lander to warm up the audience. Driving traffic directly to the offer is a mistake you want to avoid: in this case, people will be scared away by the pressure they feel, and they won't accomplish the target action.
Conclusion
Native ads aren’t exciting. Native advertising is just one of those things you try because someone said it worked, and then (if you are lucky) these native ads start earning without wrecking your layout or annoying your viewers. Honestly, you don’t need a big audience or a funnel. You just need content worth reading and a native ad network that doesn’t waste your time. Most of it is trial and error. You drop a few in, see what works, cut the ones that feel off. We hope this article helped you get a better handle on native ads and pointed you toward native advertising platforms created to earn, not exhaust. Good luck!
