Definition
The IAB's Native Advertising Playbook groups native into in-feed units, recommendation widgets, promoted listings, in-ad native and custom units. What they share is that the publisher's template renders the ad: the advertiser supplies an image, a headline and a brand name, and the page decides the fonts, the size and the position. That is the opposite of a banner, where the advertiser ships a finished image and the page only reserves the slot.
How native ads work on an ad network
- The advertiser uploads an image (square or 1.91:1), a headline of up to 60 characters and a brand name, and sets a CPC bid.
- The publisher's native widget asks the network for cards that match the visitor's GEO, device and language.
- The network returns the best-paying matching cards; the widget renders them in its own style with a "Sponsored" label.
- A click is billed at the CPC bid and lands on the advertiser URL.
Because the headline carries most of the weight, native campaigns are tested with several headlines per image and the network rotates them toward the best click-through rate.
Where native ads appear
Below and beside articles on news and entertainment sites, inside content feeds, on video pages next to the player and on tools sites in the results area. Native is the format publishers accept most readily on premium pages because it does not break the layout, which is why its inventory skews toward longer-form content and desktop-heavy GEOs compared with pop formats.
Who uses native advertising
Advertisers whose offer needs a sentence of context before the click: iGaming brands, finance and trading apps, games, streaming services and e-commerce. The headline does the pre-selling, so native clicks convert at a higher rate than pop or push clicks on the same landing page, at a higher price per click.
Related terms
| Term | Relation | Where defined |
|---|---|---|
| Banner ads | Display alternative with a fixed creative | Term page |
| CPC | Pricing model | Term page |
| CTR | Headline performance metric | Term page |
| Media buying | Where native fits in a plan | Term page |
FAQ
Does native advertising have to be labelled?
Yes. Consumer-protection rules in most markets and the publishers' own policies require a visible marker such as Sponsored, Promoted or Ad on every native unit.
How is native advertising priced?
On ad networks, per click. Some premium publishers sell native directly on a flat fee or CPM, but programmatic native is CPC with a minimum bid per GEO.
What makes a native headline work?
Specificity and a reason to click: a number, a place or a question outperforms a generic brand line. Test three to five headlines per image and let the rotation favour the winner.