Written by: Pedro Campos, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Native advertising platforms were the best secret of experienced, high-spending affiliate marketers. But word has got out, with a spend on native ads of almost $80 billion last year.
Are native ads suitable for your business? And what's the best native advertising platform on the market at the moment?
We have the answers right here. Read on as we explore the native advertising network in detail by introducing you to some of the top ad platforms.
What Is Native Advertising?
You might have heard the term native advertising, but it's worth understanding what it means in the context of all online marketing strategies.
First, here is a bit of background for you. There was a time in the early internet when advertising was mainly on banners and, in some cases, in popups.
Browser companies improved their technology to help users avoid these ads when viewing a website (such as popup blockers), but that came at a cost to publishers (and advertisers).
It wasn't the only technology that created a problem. Most savvy internet users developed "banner blindness," meaning their brains scanned a website page and avoided paying attention to these ads.
Native ads were born from these problems. The idea behind native ads is to publish advertisements that look like part of the website content.
For example, after you've read a blog post, you might see a headline and description of a recommended article underneath. If you look closely for a label to say promoted content, that could be an ad. It's both subtle and relevant.
That means it helps the publisher by keeping their page quality high, and it helps advertisers get more high-quality clicks to their branded ads.
Outbrain
The first native platform we'll explore is one you've probably heard about before. Here's a little look at Outbrain native advertising.
An Introduction to Outbrain
Outbrain has a long history relative to native advertising, which is one of the reasons it's
well-established and a familiar brand name. Outbrain started way back in 2006 (for context, that's the same year Twitter launched!).
Outbrain is one of the most prominent native advertising platforms globally, with over 300 billion ad impressions every month. They connect advertisers and publishers wanting to monetize their site through a central platform.
Features of Outbrain
Why should you choose to work with Outbrain? Here are some of the most compelling reasons why this native ad platform is the right choice for you:
They work with only the most prominent publishers with a minimum of a million page views per month
The platform offers advanced targeting, including a similar feature to Facebook (lookalike audiences)
Many marketers find the platform easy to install and easy to use
Since Outbrain has strict publisher criteria, it means your ads will always appear on high-quality content websites
Outbrain is undoubtedly an excellent platform to consider if you want to reach a large audience. The easy user interface also makes it an attractive platform for new businesses and beginner marketers.
Taboola
Another familiar name in the native ad community is Taboola, which boasts the title of being the original native platform to emerge on the internet. Here's what you need to know about this native advertising platform.
An Introduction to Taboola
After reading an article online, have you ever seen the heading "Content You May Like"? What you are looking at is probably a Taboola ad, which serves up sponsored content to blogs and news platforms globally.
Taboola has over 9000 publishers on its platform and over 500 million users worldwide. Like Outbrain, Taboola is relatively old in internet years. Engineer and entrepreneur Adam Singolda launched Taboola way back in 2007.
Features of Taboola
Before you choose Taboola, it's worth understanding some of its main features and why it might be a good choice for your website. Here are some of the plus points of this ad company:
Taboola publishers include some big household names like USA Today and Bloomberg so that you can advertise your business on top websites with loyal readers
Taboola offers advanced targeting options to narrow your advertising to the audience that matters most to you.
Taboola advertising includes in-feed ads, which act like natural content listings instead of more traditional (and sometimes intrusive) banner ads
They have good quality reporting, which will allow you to monitor your campaign performance and ad spend
With thousands of publishers and a feature-rich ad platform, it's easy to see why some businesses like Taboola.
Suppose your advertising approach fits neatly into the content-heavy in-feed ads that Taboola delivers. In that case, it could be the right option for you.
Yahoo Gemini Native
Yahoo might be a more familiar name in other internet arenas. But did you know that Yahoo also has a large and well-established native ad platform? Here's an overview of Yahoo native advertising.
An Introduction to Yahoo Gemini Native
As the famous name implies, Yahoo is a big native ad platform with as many as two billion ads served worldwide every day.
Like Taboola, Yahoo has many famous names on their list of publishers, including ESPN and Apple News, so your ads could potentially appear on some big websites.
One of the differences between Yahoo and other native platforms is that Yahoo also offers search advertising.
That's helpful to businesses who want to expand their traffic referrals from search, which consistently offers many companies highly relevant and high-quality traffic.
Features of Yahoo Gemini
How does this platform compare with other native advertising? Here are some of the features that help Yahoo stand out from other advertising options:
There are flexible ad platforms to suit all types of advertising goals, including app downloads or eCommerce purchases
You can import your Google ads into Yahoo native advertising, saving you time and improving targeting
Geographically, the US, France, and the UK host most Yahoo native ads
The platform will give you a traffic estimate when setting up a new campaign
You'll get lots of ad formats to choose from, including video and carousel
Yahoo is undoubtedly a well-known and trusted name, so it's a reassuring platform for those new to advertising. It is unique in its joint search capability, so that's something to keep in mind when choosing an ad platform for your campaign.
Revcontent
Revcontent is emerging as one of the most exciting and fast-growing native ad choices. That might be down to their rigorous quality control when reviewing publisher and advertiser applications.
An Introduction to Revcontent
Revcontent has some impressive names on its list of publishers, including Forbes and Nasdaq.
Publishers need at least 50,000 visits per month to qualify for the platform, which means you'll be able to advertise on a mix of big names and more niche (but still popular websites).
Perhaps that's why the platform is performing well: advertisers are getting great results, and publishers saw a rise in earnings in recent years.
Most traffic comes from so-called "Tier-1" countries, generally high GDP (and high spending) countries, including the US, Canada, Germany, France, and the UK.
Features of Revcontent
What are the core features of Revcontent? Here is how it compares to similar native ad platforms:
Ad targeting doesn't require cookies
Some premium advertisers can make direct deals with their preferred publishers
There are various targeting options, including country targeting and retargeting (showing the same ad to people who have already visited your website)
The ad targeting without cookies is an exciting prospect. Governments globally are clamping down on how businesses use cookies to track website users.
When deciding on the best platform for your business, that's something worth contemplating.
Nativo
A small but powerful native ad platform called Nativo is making an impact on the marketing world. Here's what you need to know about Nativo.
An Introduction to Nativo
Nativo hosts around 400 publishers and about 600 advertisers, but those numbers are growing. Famous publishing names include Time and Reuters.
Like other native ad platforms, Nativo offers content-style article ads that sit comfortably and naturally on any website.
Feature of Nativo
Do you want to know how Nativo differs from other advertisers? Here are some key points:
Nativo don't use cookies for their ads
Ad optimization within their platform using data and reports
Nativo partners with other ad networks to give their technology a broader reach
They provide traffic estimates when you run a new campaign
The lack of cookies and the partnership with other networks are two attractive propositions from Nativo. That will help explain why this is a platform that's growing in popularity.
TripleLift
TripleLift brands its business as a programmatic native advertising platform. Here's what you need to know about their business.
An introduction to TripleLift
Buzzfeed and the BBC are two names you might recognize. These brands partner with the TripleLift platform, thanks to their strict rules on quality and sophisticated technology.
TripleLift aims to provide the most advanced ad technology, and they do this through three differentiators: direct relationships, diverse products, and well-designed technology.
Feature of TripleLift
What TripleLift features could offer value to your business? Here's what TripleLift does:
Connection to high-quality and premium websites
Optimized bidding technology to help reduce your ad costs
Automated analysis of the advertisers' creatives to help improve your ad quality
TripleLift certainly stands out for its advanced technology. If that's important to your business, they could be a good fit.
MGID
Next on our list is a company called MGID. Here's what you need to know about this native ad platform.
An Introduction to MGID
MGID boasts some impressive advertising numbers, with over 800 million monthly visitors and over 30,000 publishers. They focus on entertainment and lifestyle websites.
They are prominent in Tier 1 advertising countries, including the USA and Europe. Well-known publishers on their platform include MSN and The Week.
Features of MGID
Is MGID right for you? Here are some of their most exciting features:
Advanced targeting options, including geo-targeting
Retargeting to a warm audience to help you maximize your ad spend
They work with affiliate advertisers, which is worth knowing as not all native ad platforms accept affiliate companies
Ads appear within content or as a more traditional sidebar placement
MGID could be a good match for you if your customers are relatively active on entertainment and lifestyle websites. It's also one to explore if you want to do affiliate marketing.
Microsoft Audience Network
The last native ad network on our list is part of the giant Microsoft family. Here's everything to know about the Microsoft Audience Network advertising platform.
An Introduction to the Microsoft Audience Network
If you haven't heard of the Microsoft Audience Network, you probably aren't alone.
Most people are more familiar with its previous name: Bing. But this network offers more than search ads, as they have expanded into native advertising.
Being such a massive name in the advertising world, Microsoft has plenty of well-known publishers to offer to advertisers. That includes Fox and CBS, plus their branded publishing sites, including Outlook.
So they have plenty of prestigious businesses advertising on their platform, such as the car company Volvo.
Features of the Microsoft Audience Network
You probably already know about the Bing search platform for advertising, but what are the key features of the Microsoft Audience Network? Here are some of the things that stand out:
Certified "safe" sites meaning your ads will only ever appear on high quality, trusted publisher websites
AI-powered technology to optimize your ad placement and delivery
The ability to extend an existing search campaign to a native ads campaign without starting from scratch
If you already use paid search on the Microsoft platform, their audience network is a natural next step. The advanced technology means they are delivering competitive results for advertisers too.
Native Advertising Platforms: Next Steps
Are you ready to get your brand featured on native advertising platforms? It's the natural next step for any business with ambitious growth plans online. It will keep your brand fresh in the mind of your target customer.
We can help you get there faster. Connect with our native advertising agency today for a free ad strategy. Let's start a conversation about how our experts can help you set up high-performing and professional native ad campaigns.
Pedro Campos, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Pedro is a Portuguese-born who fell into the media buying world by chance after watching an ad online. Despite being mentored by some of the best advertisers in the world early on, his first attempts to succeed at digital media left him bankrupt three times. He then realized in this industry, there was a bigger price to be paid to obtain mastery. That's the price he's helping companies avoid. He's the founder of Advertongue, a native advertising agency helping global brands grow and scale efficiently online. Over the years, he's been responsible for million-dollar budgets and made appearances in publications such as Content Marketing Institute, G2, and Funnel Magazine, to name a few.
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