Are your native ad campaigns falling flat?
At a recent Affiliate World event, a panel of native ad experts—Accelerated Agency co-founder Carl Weische, Kayzen Growth and Revenue Lead Idan Mevasem, Maverick Media Head of Media Buying Giuseppe Buscema, and PropellerAds Head of Business Development Renz Gonzales—shared crucial insights for maximizing native ad campaigns.
Their wide-ranging discussion covered current trends and effective strategies, creative tactics, landing page optimization, funnel development and more—and we’ve got their exclusive insights here just for you.
Creative Strategies: Balancing Intrigue & Precision
The core of effective native ad creatives lies in striking a balance between attracting user attention and maintaining credibility.
Avoid overly sensational headlines that promise unrealistic outcomes. These lead to high bounce rates and wasted ad spend. Instead, focus on sparking genuine curiosity through a combination of compelling visuals and precise, informative headlines.
“People are baffled” or “doctors say that” style headlines can work well, as they mimic the feel of editorial content.
The panel also advised against overthinking the creative. Testing is essential, and ad buyers should embrace the unpredictable nature of ad performance. Unexpected visuals and headlines often yield the best results.
You can also leverage AI tools to accelerate the testing process and iterate quickly. Remember, the image draws the eye, and the headline clarifies intent.
Landing Page Optimization
Landing pages must seamlessly continue the narrative begun in the ad creative throughout the sales funnel.
One way to do this is to use first-person storytelling to establish a personal connection with the user and highlight their specific pain points. Strategically place CTAs, typically after a 30-40% scroll rate, to guide users through the conversion funnel. A sticky CTA that remains visible as the user scrolls can also be effective.
Like your ad creatives, continuously test landing page headlines, images, and copy variations to optimize performance. Ensure the landing page feels like a natural continuation of the user’s reading experience, not a jarring or inauthentic advertisement.
Engaging Through Narrative Storytelling
Storytelling is the foundation of successful native ad campaigns. Advertorial funnels have proven highly effective, especially for problem-solving products like health supplements and pain relief.
Craft relatable stories that address your target audience’s pain points, using first-person narratives to build trust and credibility. Guide users through a logical progression, from problem identification to solution presentation.
The panel agreed that advertorials should always focus on education as much as selling. They should present a relevant scenario with a factual foundation and address pain points before introducing the product as a solution.
Campaign Creation & Data-Driven Optimization
Account managers and data analysis are vital for successful campaign management.
Start with broad targeting and segment campaigns by operating system (iOS vs. Android), as user behavior differs significantly between platforms. Use automated bidding for most campaigns, as algorithms have become increasingly sophisticated.
The panel recommends beginning with 3-5 creatives per campaign and focusing on one geographic region (e.g., the US) initially. They also suggest leveraging whitelists to ensure quality traffic and avoid low-performing publishers.
Don’t be discouraged by initial losses; they are a necessary part of the testing process. Remember to split campaigns between desktop and mobile and to separate normal traffic from in-app traffic due to different CPCs and performance.
Establishing Realistic Benchmarks for Conversions
Setting realistic expectations based on your vertical and average order value (AOV) is important. Ecommerce conversion rates for native ads typically range from 3-6%, depending on the AOV. Video sales letter (VSL) offers usually see around 1% conversion rates, while lead generation campaigns can achieve 5-6%.
Monitor and analyze conversion rates, and focus on earnings per click (EPC) to assess overall campaign effectiveness. For advertorials, aim for a 10-20% click-through rate to the sales page.
Future Trends and Challenges: Adapting to the Landscape
Looking ahead, the panel expects continued growth in ecommerce and health supplement offers and a potential resurgence of mortgage lead generation campaigns if interest rates decline.
Influencer marketing and in-app advertising will become increasingly important. As native ad performance can be volatile, the panel advocated for a “portfolio approach” to your campaigns that will mitigate the risks associated with campaign fluctuations.
Finally, the panel also noted that search arbitrage is declining, and ad buyers should focus on evergreen verticals.
