Tired of display ads getting ignored? Discover the top-performing native ad networks for publishers in 2024. Boost your website revenue and improve user experience with this in-depth guide

Let’s face it: Ads are an interruption, they always have been. Advertising executives have tried their best to hide that fact by making advertisements funny, amusing, and occasionally even downright controversial. But audiences are wise to these strategies, leading to phenomena like “banner blindness” where display ads are simply ignored. This is why native advertising comes into the picture, offering a potential solution.

The basic philosophy of native advertising revolves around making ads appear less like ads. Let’s understand this with a native advertising example, while browsing through the food section of BuzzFeed, you may come across a story titled “The Evolution of Pizza”, which has been sponsored by Pizza Hut.

Before diving into the list of native ad networks, let’s see what native ad networks are, what all they can offer to an online publisher, and why should they choose them.

What Exactly Are Native Ad Networks?

Why is Native Advertising a Good Choice for Publishers?

Online advertising often comes off as annoying and intrusive to users. Native ads take care of the problem by being so unintrusive and adaptable to the user that they are more at comfort interacting with these ads.

They connect to the audience, presenting themselves in a format of the user’s choosing, thus adding to their non-intrusive nature. It opens up space for creativity and provides unique content that the audience finds more appealing than a traditional ad, thus driving up the publisher’s eCPMs.

Native ads take a soft interactive approach to their audience and have an automatic higher foundation of trust among their audience, making it a safe for publishers than introducing other aggressive marketing alternatives. Thus, this results in a larger loyal user base who are at a lesser risk of unsubscribing and backing out.

Next, native advertising mostly leaves the control over to the publishers, who can manage the content that is being displayed over their Website or application. This isn’t the scenario with most traditional ad formats, which lets the advertiser take control and how they interact with your audience. In fact, according to Outbrain, native advertising is exploding in popularity, projected to reach a staggering $400 billion globally by 2025.

And here’s how the ad spend on this format has been for the video ads so far, take a look:

4 Native Advertising Types Worth a Publisher’s Attention in 2024

With an ever-evolving landscape of Native Advertising, new formats are introduced regularly to integrate promotional content into the user experience with ease. If you’re unaware of those formats, we’ve listed some that are worth your attention in 2024: 

Content Recommendations (Widgets)

When reading an online blog, you’ll often find some similar recommendations given at the end of the page or on the side panel. However, not all recommendations are ads, if the link given takes you to another website, it’s an ad.

Promoted Listings

If you’ve ever searched for a specific product, you must have seen some recommendations surfaced by Google. Similarly, all eCommerce websites do the same, they offer you recommendations based on the product you searched for. These recommendations are called promoted listings.

Native Search

Native search is visible on a simple Google search. When you search for something, the first two or three links appearing with the “Sponsored” tag are promoted and counted in Native search. This is how Google combines search and native advertising.

In Feed Social Media Ads

Among the various native advertising formats, in-feed social media ads stand out as a highly effective tool for driving purchase intent. These ads combine with the editorial (informative, non-promotional posts) content on social media feeds and imitate the style and format of regular posts.

You’ll often find these ads in an Instagram story, a tweet on Twitter, or a TikTok video. Whatever the platform is, these ads simply appear as organic content.

Before, we we jump to the native ad networks, let’s have a look at the types of programmatic native advertising platforms.

Types of Programmatic Native Ad Networks

There are different types of programmatic native ad networks based on certain capabilities and advantages they offer to marketers. To understand a bit more about them, here’s a detailed description of the three types:

1. Demand Side Platform

A Demand Side Platform (DSP) is one of the key components in programmatic native advertising that only uses a single interface and helps advertisers automate the purchase of ad inventory from various sources.

In addition, DSPs make it easier to target a specific audience base. It uses advanced algorithms and data analytics to analyze different demographic factors of the target audience. As the targeting process is pretty accurate, the relevancy of ads increases and the overall efficiency of the campaigns is boosted.

2. Supply Side Platform

Supply Side Platform (SSP) serves publishers aiming to maximize the value of their ad inventory. SSPs allow publishers to manage, sell, and optimize their available ad space in real time. By connecting to multiple ad exchanges and DSPs, SSPs also enable publishers to access a broader range of demand sources, thus increasing competition and driving up ad prices. 

Moreover, the use of SSPs ensures that native ads are seamlessly integrated into the content, providing a better user experience and higher engagement rates. 

3. Ad Exchange

Ad Exchanges function as digital marketplaces where DSPs and SSPs converge to facilitate the buying and selling of ad inventory. These platforms operate in real-time, allowing for instantaneous transactions between buyers and sellers. 

When it comes to the role of Ad Exchanges, they ensure that the right ad is delivered to the right user at the optimal moment. Furthermore, they provide a transparent and efficient environment for both advertisers and publishers, enabling dynamic pricing and real-time bidding.

That said, let’s now cut to the chase and take a look at the list of best native ad networks.

Top 15 Native Ad Networks for Publishers

In a highly competitive landscape, here are the top 8 native ad networks you can trust:

1. MGID Global Native Advertising Platform

MGID has been on its journey for over a decade now, and today it has a strong worldwide reach, with its top audience being from US, India, and Vietnam. Thus, as a publisher, you won’t have trouble bringing in advertisers.

Moreover, this is one of those native ad networks that lets you take complete control of the audience interaction. Thus you don’t have to worry about retaining your users and can count your revenue that directly streams from your advertisers.

With their creative solutions and robust analytics to help with your monetizing strategies, MGID is vouched for the world’s leading publishers, whether it’s Opera, the Bank of America itself, or Dominoes.

Features & Benefits

• With access to over 850 million monthly users, MGID’s platform seamlessly distributes your message to the right user at the right time.
• Innovative Ad Formats
• Automatic & Manual Optimization
• Push Retention
• Internal Recirculation
• Instant Article/AMP Compatible
• Integration Types: OpenRTB, API/Json, JS/iframe

2. Outbrain

Want your hands on the world’s leading DSPs? Outbrain is the way to go. Used by leading publisher names such as the BBC or The Guardian, Outbrain is a network for big dreamers.

The platform offers a greatly flexible and well-tailored user experience which lets you, publishers, optimize the user experience carefully according to your business goals. It offers a large range of Smart ad formats which lets you keep your users engaged and on their toes, driving up higher click-through rates.

Publishers get paid proportionate to the traffic that they’re able to divert to the advertiser’s website. Outbrain employs behavioural targeting to increase user engagement and provides recommendations for several media types, including online, video, and mobile.

Features & Benefits

• Outbrain analyse your headline and image to attract the eye of the reader. 
• You can promote videos, articles and infographics, among other types of media content.
• Outbrain Amplify helps you to optimize your content by featuring it on the top media websites.
• Outbrain can help your content to gain more visibility, deeply engage your customers and attract new targets.
• Analytics dashboard, A/B Testing, and recommendations on what to do next.

3. Taboola

Learn what’s new in the world of web content and better your monetizing strategies with Taboola‘s Native ad network. With a billion users, Taboola is the home for leading publishers such as Business Insider, USA Today, and Fox.

Taboola offers fresh and exciting ways for publishers to bring in revenue, grow their audience, and scale in profits. This network offers advanced opportunities for monetization, for publishers, and also highly receptive, fresh faces in the audience to drive up your CPMs.

With robust analytics, optimal audience, and revenue acquisition personalizing the user experience, there are plenty of reasons why Taboola is prioritized by digital properties all across the world. 

Features & Benefits:

• Taboola power personalized content recommendations and in-feed native ads across popular publisher websites.
• Meet your marketing objectives – build awareness, generate high-value leads and encourage customers to take action online.
• Create unique and relevant ad experiences using Taboola’s user behaviour data and flexible, creative formats.
• Find and engage over one billion relevant users across premium publishers at a massive scale on the world-leading native ad platform.

4. Revcontent

Another one of the high-performing native ad networks in the list, Revcontent brings in a diverse crowd from all around the world, promising around 150mm -500mm impressions every day. Partnering with top publishers like Forbes and LA Times, this network offers around 250 billion fresh and innovative content recommendations, which publishers can leverage. 

As a publisher who promotes quality, you’ll be greatly benefitted joining the Revcontent journey. Although it doesn’t welcome all its applicants, once you do get into Revcontent, you can enjoy some of the highest eCPM you’ve had, which is supported through multiple channels.

Its transparency and accuracy are also something to enjoy, but Revcontent is the perfect option only for advanced publishers. 

Features & Benefits

• Lightweight, so your site loads faster, and you earn more revenue.
• Happier readers, thanks to non-interruptive ad formats.
• Flexible contracts because we want you to be here, not force you to be here.
• ROI-boosting, converting clicks into customers with affordable native advertising options.

5. Adyoulike

The European connoisseur of native advertising, Adyoulike welcomes over 50 billion impressions every month. Operating worldwide, Adyoulike brings to your plate accessibility to over 50 DSPs, great alternatives to monetization, and limitless integration.

This network helps you reach your business goals through advertising and supporting your story. Once you join the Adyoulike experience, you don’t go back, and their network of publishers who have been there for around 5 years now can vouch for the same.

Maximum value per impression, extreme transparency, and real-time statistics, there are many reasons why Adyoulike today is the large loyal network that it is. 

Features & Benefits

• Component-based native video ads that match the layout & design of every site for maximum engagement.
• Use the AYL Clipr platform to replicate and amplify your Social posts
  on the Open Web.
• Create your component-based ad that brings an infinite range of customization and supplier engagement.
• Access inventory from worldwide known publishers and specific themed websites.
• Programmatic or SaaS platform.
• Reach the right audience with precise criteria such as IAB categories, devices, data profiles and more. 
• Auto-templating technologies fit your campaigns into seamlessly integrated placements, matching the look and feel of any website and device.
• Interactive Creative 2.0 formats will enhance your campaigns’ visibility, respect your users’ online experience with clear labelling and zero intrusion, and engage them through clever design and call-to-action.

6. Yahoo Gemini

One of the top native ad networks housed in the USA, Yahoo Gemini is cherished by publishers all across for its flexibility and utilities. It offers a large array of options in native ad formats, helping keep your audience refreshed and highly engaged.

Gemini also brings before you a great range of optimal targeting options so that you can reach out to the right, receptive audience. Optimize your campaigns and get closer to your business goals with Gemini.

Features & Benefits 

• Insightful data, brand-safe premium content, and advanced technologies to deliver engaging advertising campaigns.
• Choose from a variety of ad formats to help you get your message across in a non-intrusive way.
• Choose from a variety of engaging extras, from interactive elements like Augmented Reality, carousel, and click-to-expand, to commerce-driven features like Mobile wallets and coupon downloads.
• With Yahoo’s array of DOOH options, you’ll reach consumers at scale and on the go.

7. Nativo

Content recommendation systems are great and serve as a smart way for publishers to supplement revenues generated by traditional display advertising networks such as AdSense, but thankfully the native advertising ecosystem is much more diverse.

Forward your story with one of the most advanced technology-equipped networks in the world of native ads – Nativo. It brings before you next-generation ad formats and an overall comprehensive publisher experience to bring in higher revenues than ever.

Nativo offers exclusive publisher advantages like not redirecting the audience elsewhere upon clicking, high monetizing rates, contextual and engaging ads, real-time reporting, highly engaging and quality inventory, and so on.

Features & Benefits

• A turn-key enterprise ad platform to a robust suite of APIs that can jump-start your ad platform build.
• With Nativo, Hearst improved campaign delivery, efficiency, and ultimately, sales – resulting in a 6x return on investment.
• Contextual targeting to help usher in a better era of digital advertising.
• Creative Workflow Management.
• Content Builder.
• Easy-to-use campaign and creative management tools.
• Enterprise-Level Security.

8. Paved

Unleash the power of programmatic ads through Paved’s Ad Network – one of the best native ad networks. Brands can precisely target their coveted customer profiles across an expansive array of newsletters with a single impactful ad.

Paved revolutionizes the advertising landscape for Dropbox, Bright Cellars, and HubSpot, facilitating effortless execution of email sponsorships on autopilot. Unlike conventional placements within social media feeds or web search results, Paved’s native ads command attention within the very heart of email inboxes.

Features & Benefits

• Craft your audience with precision, tapping into parameters such as job titles, B2B/DTC companies, demographics, and more.
• Embark on CPC sponsorships free from concealed charges or binding subscriptions.
• Showcase your brand across a spectrum of premier email newsletters including Newser, MSNBC Daily, and Flipboard.
• Effortlessly conduct A/B tests and seamlessly expand the reach of your ads.
• Experience the seamless fusion of technology and strategy, as Paved’s Ad Network propels your brand’s narrative into the receptive inboxes of a vast, engaged audience, all with the ease of a few clicks.

9. Sharethrough

Sharethrough is one of the leading native ad networks that serve multiple channels and multiple formats. It provides publishers with extensive reach and advanced monetization options.

Moreover, this platform leverages cutting-edge technology and data-driven insights to help publishers maximize their ad revenue without compromising on user experience.

Features & Benefits

• Helps in making the ads engaging and non-intrusive so that they infuse naturally with the content.
• Uses accurate insights for a precise audience targeting procedure. 
• Optimizes ad delivery across different devices.
• Provides well-detailed reports and analytics to redefine monetization strategies.
• Caters to a diverse audience that belongs to regions located in North America, Europe, and Asia.

10. TripleLift

TripleLift is another one of the top native ad networks, which is renowned for its innovative and accurate approach to native advertising, combining high-impact visuals with seamless content integration. It has worked with some giants like BuzzFeed, eBay, and BBC. 

Moreover, TripleLift’s technology prioritizes visual appeal and user engagement, ensuring that ads enhance the content experience rather than disrupt it. Its advanced programmatic capabilities allow for precise targeting and real-time optimization that maximize revenue potential for publishers.

Features & Benefits

• Helps you create visually appealing ads that blend perfectly with the content.
• Gives you an opportunity to scale up ad revenue by offering real-time bidding and optimization.
• Ensures seamless delivery of ads on different devices that include desktops, smartphones, and tablets.
• Works with an extensive network that helps publishers serve a diverse set of audience. 

11. EngageYa

EngageYa is a SaaS platform that specializes in user retention and native advertising but keeps its focus on non-English territories. It works with premium publishers and top media houses.

Moreover, the platform is designed to deliver relevant and engaging content recommendations that naturally blend with the publisher’s site, driving higher user interaction and retention. In terms of numbers, it generates over 40 billion impressions each month across over 4000 websites. 

Features & Benefits

• Increases user engagement by delivering relevant and engaging content recommendations.
• Uses precise and well-tested algorithms to target various sets of audiences.
• Works effectively on UX that enhances interaction and increases the retention rate.
• Provides pinpoint reports to make the required changes in monetization strategies.
• Has a robust presence in almost every continent to cater to a diverse audience.

12. AdUp

AdUp is a German-based, travel-oriented ad network that provides customized native advertising and works effectively if you’re dealing with German-speaking traffic. With top-notch technology, it will make sure that your content is displayed appropriately, regardless of the context, which will eventually increase the relevancy of your ads. 

Moreover, AdUp’s focus on transparency and optimization enables publishers to track performance and adjust their strategies in real-time for optimal results.

Features & Benefits

• Automates campaign optimization and provides required assistance for traffic targeting.
• Places ads directly and even provides detailed reports to help you make any necessary changes.
• Maintains a positive UX with each ad targeting the right audience base.

13. LiveIntent

LiveIntent is a unique native advertising platform whose operations solely rely upon email communication. It is known for its robust network that reaches more than 250 million users and delivers more than 10 billion impressions each month. Moreover, with LiveIntent, publishers can monetize their email newsletters so that the ad content is delivered directly to the subscribers. 

As it integrates well with email marketing systems, it makes sure that the ads are targeted and personalized to the subscriber’s data. Moreover, when it comes to its reputation, the platform boasts partnerships with over 2,000 premium publishers, including top players like Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and more. 

Features & Benefits 

• Delivers native ads within email newsletters to increase reach.
• Uses advanced targeting options to enhance the ad delivery plus making the ads more engaging than before.
• Integrates seamlessly with any email marketing platform you’re using.
• Ads are only served when the users take an action like opening the email or downloading images.
• Provides detailed reports and analytics to enhance ad performance and subscriber engagement.

14. Adsterra

Adsterra is a renowned ad network that caters to both publishers and advertisers. With over 30 billion monthly impressions and 70% of the smartphone audience, Adsterra ensures that you can monetize the content more effectively than other options.

Moreover, it has built a worldwide reputation for delivering high-quality profit and has partnered with over 18,000 direct publishers all across the globe.  

Features & Benefits 

• Supports video, native, push, and customizable social bar ads.
• Detects fraudulent traffic with its own software.
• Provides effective support using automated onboarding, and live-chat support, and even allows you to manage things yourself.
• The estimate is only provided after analyzing the campaign performance.

15. Teads

Teads has built its reputation after partnering with the some of the world’s most prestigious publishers. It provides a variety of ad formats that namely include video, display, native, and social. However, Teads keeps all the video ads on mute and has high standards for promoting content. 

Features & Benefits

• Includes cookieless targeting, Predictive Audiences, Advanced Contextual targeting, interests, and demographics.
• Ensuring premium ad placements as connected with high-profile publishers.
• Assists you with real-time reporting, analytics, and optimization tools.
• Works on the vCPM principle so that the impressions are only confirmed if the users see the ad which eventually increases traffic quality.

What Should You Consider While Choosing a Native Ad Network?

In the quest for the perfect advertising platform, it’s imperative to meticulously assess a multitude of factors. These crucial considerations encompass your website traffic, the content you intend to deliver, and the very essence of the network you aspire to be a part of. By carefully scrutinizing and integrating these elements, you’re not just selecting an ad platform – you’re crafting a strategic gateway to amplify your brand’s impact and success.

Ease of Setup

Setting the stage for success begins with a meticulous evaluation of the ad network’s setup procedure. It’s paramount to align this process with your specific needs. Take, for instance, networks such as Media.net, which necessitate a manual setup for each website.

The challenge here lies in securing individual approvals from the network for every website, resulting in an arduous and time-intensive ordeal for advertisers. Streamlining this process ensures a seamless journey toward unleashing your advertising endeavors without being weighed down by unnecessary complexities.

Pricing Model

Advertisers also need to make sure that per click pricing is adequate according to your marketing budget. There can be different pricing models including CPC and CPM. However, not all networks offer all of the pricing options. For instance, Outbrain doesn’t have support for the CPC model.

Quality of Ad

Although advertising networks can acquire ads to meet your native ad impressions, you need to keep in mind that ad quality can vary quite a bit. There are fraudulent advertisers who use these networks for purposes of traffic arbitraging which could take your visitors to fake landing pages. That’s why it is important that you review the quality of ads being served.

Ad Network Requirements

Review your stats and numbers before you make a final decision about choosing an ad network. Ensure that you have enough traffic, budget, and access to features you need before signing up for a big name ad platform.

Final Words

These top native ad networks are duly tested for success, and for publishers looking for exciting monetization strategies, these platforms aren’t built to disappoint. Each of them is equipped with features and advantages, which are to exclusively help and benefit publishers so that the only you can go on from here is up and ahead, closer to your business goals.

Frequently Asked Questions: Native Ad Networks

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