In-feed ads are a highly effective method of native advertising. These ads are inserted seamlessly into the feed of an app or e-commerce site, taking the appearance of posts without disrupting the user experience. The result? Engaged users and higher conversions.

There are many types of in-feed ads and a bit of confusion about how to use them right. In this post, we’ll take a deep dive into today’s in-feed advertising. We’ll explore the main-feed ad types of the leading e-commerce platforms and address common misconceptions about this versatile ad type. Let’s start.

What are In-feed ads?

In-feed is a type of ad format you place inside your feed to monetize your site and enhance your visitor’s user experience. It is one of the methods of native advertising that delivers branded content among other content on a digital property.

What makes an in-feed ad? 

• The ad is delivered as part of the user experience.
• It matches the format and aesthetics of the ad to the publisher’s content.
• Discloses the ad as sponsored or promoted content.

What is a feed?

There are different types of feeds:

CONTENT FEEDS	PRODUCT FEEDS	SOCIAL FEEDS
Content sites and news aggregations like Forbes, Yahoo, CNN.	Ecommerce sites and app listings like Amazon and eBay.	Social networking and media apps like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

You can place an in-feed in a news site or related to a product listing on an e-commerce site. This type of ad is native thus customizable to match the aesthetics of your content. Usually, you would want to place the in-feed ad between two content units on your feed or at the beginning or end.

When visitors scroll through the feed, they see the ad, but their experience is not interrupted by it. Therefore, in-feed ads don’t break the user flow and complement the content.

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Types of in-feed ads

In-feed ads are often placed between content that appears on news sites and social media that use the infinite scroll format. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)  explains in-feed ads according to the type of feed.

In the Native Advertising Playbook, the IAB defined the different types of in-feed native ads. Here are the two most common:

• A summary of the sponsored content

These ads are placed in a normal content feed, written in partnership with the publisher’s team to match the rest. The performance of this sponsored content is measured on brand metrics. Since the ad is inside the publisher’s site, the user remains on the website.

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• Static in-feed ads

Static ads link to the website of the brand being promoted. Therefore, static in-feed ads take the user off-site to a brand’s landing page. The performance of this type of ad is measured in click-through rate and conversions.

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The IAB mentions four critical types of ads that can be served in-feed: 

• The story ads: these are written ads inside editorial content pieces,

• App install ads: these type of ads directs you to download a mobile app.

• Product ad: this in-feed ad links to a landing page for a product on an e-commerce site.

• Video ads: these ads direct the user to video, which can be in short or long format, Vimeo or GIF.

Examples of In-feed Ads:

As you are indeed noticing, in-feed ads are more diverse and versatile than we thought. Here are two examples of how in-feed advertising can be different in terms of integration and function.

British airways in Mashable

Sites like BuzzFeed, Forbes, and Mashable serve in-feed ads that blend into the content. This type of ad mimics page content behavior appearing like part of the content.

Take this example of  British Airways ads as a sponsored content piece inside Mashable:

 

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When a user clicks on the link, it takes them to an article written by the British Airways team with an ad reminding users that British Airways has a direct flight from London to Silicon Valley.

In-feed promoted post in LinkedIn

Here we have an example of a good match. LinkedIn is the go-to platform for B2B advertising. So, with most decision-makers in there, an ad for a cybersecurity platform appears natural. When the viewer clicks on the ad, it leads to a landing page for the product. The disclosure appears right below the company name.

Are In-feed Ads a Type of Native Advertising?

Native ads are paid advertisements. that match the look, function, and aesthetics of the page or app where they appear. They are usually found in social media feeds or as sponsored content on a web page. As you may see below, the IAB includes in-feed ads in the main types of native ads.

The thing with native ads is that they don’t look like ads. They look like part of the content on the page they are to prevent disrupting the user experience.

 4 Types of Native Ads

1. In-feed ads 

As we mentioned before, ads appear in your feed, such as news, social, or e-commerce.

• Paid search

Search ads are listing that appear primarily at the top of your Google search results or in the sidebar. They can be text or include images and product descriptions.

• Recommendation widgets

Content pieces, such as recommended articles, sponsored posts, usually appear on the screen after the article the user is reading.

• Promoted listings

This type of paid content typically appears in e-commerce platforms, such as eBay. Promoted listings are served with priority in front of more and higher intent buyers, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.

In-feed Ads in E-Commerce Platforms

The global retail e-commerce market has grown exponentially in 2020, a whopping $4.28 trillion, according to eMarketer.

Ecommerce platforms can enhance their visitors’ experience by implementing in-feed ads. For example, adding “articles you may like” or “recommended products” paid content. This type of sponsored content doesn’t appear like an ad, but a recommendation, so the user is more likely to click on it.

Today, with the help of adtech, in-feed ads include video, carousel catalogs, and mobile in-feed ads.

This ad appears on the side of a product page for a set of pots and pans. When you scroll down, you find “similar items to consider” and the sponsored ad. Notice how it blends seamlessly with the aesthetics of the page.

In-feed advertising can greatly support e-commerce platforms. Why? Because in-feed ads meet the main goal of an e-commerce site: keep consumers engaged as they go down the funnel of their customer journey.

In-feed ads are flexible and can meet every stage of the journey.

Advantages of in-feed ads

There are many benefits both for publishers and advertisers implementing in-feed ads. Let’s review a few.

Improved user experience

In-feed ads give users a better, non-disruptive user experience. Since they are part of the user’s flow, they don’t interrupt the journey or alter the look and feel of the website.

Better monetization

In-feed ads provide publishers the opportunity to monetize new spaces in their pages, inside their feeds.

Great for mobile

In-feed ads are ideal for mobile because they help monetize small screen spaces such as mobile devices.

Better reach 

For advertisers, in-feed ads offer an opportunity for reaching highly engaged audiences.

In-feed vs. standard ads

Standard ads, such as display, banner, or the like, are placed around the website content. In the case of pop-up ads, they spring right in the center of the screen. They disrupt the customer experience, and their customization is limited.

In-feed ads, on the other hand, are part of the user’s flow. They are also highly customizable and geared to high intent users.

How CodeFuel Drives Engagement with In-Feed Contextual Ads

CodeFuel uses in-feed ads to deliver a seamless user experience that meets the intent of the consumer. The user engages with the ad because it provides an added value to the ad content and answers the user’s queries.

 

CodeFuel leverages AI and machine learning capabilities to offer intent-based advertisements that match the user requests every time. Our complete monetization platform thus drives engagement and maximizes the publisher’s yield.

Start delivering the best user experience with intent-based ads. Sign up here.

Banner ads have been around since the 1990s, but they haven’t changed much since then.

You would think with advertisers’ insistence on using banner ads that they would be bringing in massive clicks and sales. But they’re not.

Actually, the conversion rates for banner ads are abysmal. So why do advertisers continue to invest in them?

Part of the reason is that they don’t know what else to do. Part of the reason is that they are just used to banner ads, and they don’t know how to effectively translate their strategies into other formats.

Native advertising has emerged as an excellent alternative for reaching audiences in the age of ad blockers and consumer dissatisfaction with online advertising. Yet relatively few brands have embraced this form of advertising, despite its proven effectiveness.

That is changing. The programmatic market for native advertising, especially, has been on the rise. Here’s a little more about this market and why it is growing:

What Are Native Ads?

Perhaps the reason why there is some confusion about native ads and how to use them is that they are designed to not look like ads.

Instead, they are designed to look like editorial content or like other elements originating on the site, such as navigational graphics. The ads are designed to have the same look and feel as elements on the rest of the site, such as having the same font or colors in them.

Most often, native ads are sponsored content, such as articles that are about a topic related to the advertiser and that include a link to the brand or a plug for one of its products. Some native ads can also be reviews or tutorials.

Native ads can also be videos, photos, and infographics. There really isn’t a limit on the format other than that it must take the same look and functionality as the items already on the site.

Why Native Ads Work

Native ads are likely to be here for a long time after banner ads are dead and gone, primarily because they are so effective.

Editorial native ads offer real content for users beyond the basic sales pitch. They give people real answers and real solutions to their problems. They tell stories. They inspire. They provoke emotion.

Therefore, users are much more likely to pay attention to native ads and to stop and read them. They are more likely to feel engaged – and as any advertiser will tell you, if you have engaged your audience, you’ve won half the battle. When your audience is engaged, they are more receptive to your message and more likely to act.

Native ads also draw people in just by virtue of not turning them away. They don’t set off most people’s radar for advertising, so people can actually give them a chance. Perhaps even more importantly, they don’t set off the radar of ad blocking software, which can make it so that users never even see ads on the page.

Growing Market Share

The rise of native advertising programs has contributed to the growing market share of native ads.

Experts have said at industry conferences and in articles that the share for programmatic native is growing rapidly as advertisers have realized its effectiveness. Some say they expect spending to double in the coming year.

In particular, programmatic native is growing in popularity. Programmatic native is the automatic placement of native ads based on user-intent signals. Not only are these programs successful because they are using native ads that are already primed to get more attention and more engagement from users, but also because they deliver ads that are highly targeted.

In-Feed from CodeFuel is the optimal solution for programmatic native. In-Feed is powered by a proprietary technology that taps into the same science driving artificial intelligence.

In-Feed is designed to quickly process reams of data about users and turn it into actionable insights for the best match between the native ads and the users seeing them. It takes into account things like browser history, device being used, language, location, and more.

In-Feed also provides solutions for mobile advertisers. Right now, the mobile market does not have many solutions, so this option provides a needed service for advertisers looking to connect with the growing mobile population.

The comprehensive services provided by In-Feed are designed to increase profits with a smaller investment. The program is designed for both advertisers and publishers. Those who use In-Feed to publish ads on their site can increase their advertising revenue by getting more clicks and conversions from the highly targeted ads.

Programmatic native is only going to become more important as the online advertising landscape becomes more challenging. Now is the time to start adopting native ads if you have not already, and then to incorporate programmatic native advertising in your outreach. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results you get.