Native Ads vs Display: what are the differences?

Internet advertising has come a long way in recent years. Banner ads” were once the best and often the only way to promote products or services online. Today, the majority of advertising investments are made in “native” formats.

Why are Native Ads so popular today? And what are the differences between traditional display ads and Native Ads?

What is Display advertising?

Often, as you browse the web, you may see banner ads at the top of the page or next to the main content. These are Display ads. They are clearly of a commercial nature and have no connection with the content you are viewing.

Many companies use Display because it’s easy to reach large audiences without being very expensive. The banner format is highly standardized and easily recognized by digital professionals and web users alike. It generally consists of the advertiser’s logo, a call to action (buy, discover, etc.), a branded product and sometimes an explicit commercial offer.

However, while Display is an excellent way of achieving visibility, it also has a number of drawbacks. On the one hand, many advertisers use it, so there’s strong competition for this format, which increases average display costs. On the other hand, as this format is clearly associated with advertising, it is at best ignored by web users (increasingly so), or even considered negative, as it hinders browsing without offering any added value (hence the development of AdBlockers). It’s partly for this reason that the click-through rate on the display format is quite low, at around 0.05%.

What is Native Ads?

Have you ever clicked on a publication that looked like it belonged to the site you were visiting, but then redirected you to content on another site? If so, you’ve probably clicked on a native ad.

Instead of looking like a traditional ad, like Display banners, native ads take up the style and format of the site’s content. The only difference is that they are marked “sponsored” or “promoted” to distinguish them from the editorial content published by the site.

As the advertising format is similar to the site’s content, it is less intrusive and more appreciated by web users (80% of web users consider native advertising to be a form of content). Nevertheless, certain practices need to be applied, in particular to ensure consistency between the ad and the experience on the site to which the user is redirected.

In a nutshell

Native advertising represents a real opportunity to stand out from the competition and reach prospects in a different way. This is one of the advantages of affiliation for media start-ups. If you’re interested in running Display or Native Ads campaigns, or would like advice on what’s best for you and your business, please contact us! Our affiliate agency experts can guide you in choosing the format best suited to your needs.