Native Ad

A native ad is a mobile ad formatGlossaryAd UnitA specific ad placement or format inside an app — banner, interstitial, rewarded video, native, app-open, or offerwall — the container an ad renders in and the unit... designed to visually match the surrounding app UI — same font, layout, color scheme, and visual design as native content. Native ads are disclosed as advertising (required by Apple, Google, FTC) but blend in visually rather than appearing as obvious interruption ads. Common in content-feed apps (news, social), product-list apps (shopping, marketplaces), and increasingly in casual gamesGlossaryCasual GamesA broad genre of easy-to-learn, short-session mobile games — the highest-volume segment of mobile gaming, monetized through a hybrid of ads and in-app purchases and....

Native ad performance vs other formats

• eCPMGlossaryeCPM (Effective Cost Per Mille)The revenue a publisher actually earns per 1,000 ad impressions — the publisher-side counterpart to CPM, after auction dynamics, fill rates, and floor prices.: typically $2-8 on US iOS. Below interstitialGlossaryInterstitial AdA full-screen ad format shown between app sessions, level transitions, or natural break points. Forced-view (unlike rewarded video), so timing and frequency are crit... ($5-15) and rewarded videoGlossaryRewarded VideoA video ad format that users opt-into voluntarily in exchange for an in-app reward (currency, lives, extra content). The highest-eCPM mobile ad format because the us... ($10-25), but above bannerGlossaryBanner AdA small persistent ad shown at the top or bottom of the app screen — the lowest-attention and lowest-eCPM mobile ad format, but high in impression volume. ($0.50-2).
• CTRGlossaryCTR (Click-Through Rate)The percentage of ad impressions that resulted in a click — a creative-quality metric and one of the inputs to ad-platform bidding optimization.: 2-4× higher than banner — the integrated look drives more engagement (users sometimes interact with native ads thinking they're content).
• Engagement quality: somewhat lower than the CTR suggests — users who tap accidentally have lower downstream conversion. Net positive but not as strong as voluntary engagement (rewarded video).

Where native ads work best

• News / content feeds — sponsored articles within content streams. Highest natural fit.
• Social feeds — promoted posts within social timelines (Meta's bread and butter).
• Product list / marketplace — sponsored product placements within search results.
• Casual game between-level screens — sponsored "recommended games" on transition screens.
• App Store / Play Store — sponsored app suggestions within the store's own browsing experience.

Design discipline matters: native ads only work when the integration is high-quality. A native ad that visually clashes with the surrounding UI performs no better than a banner — it just looks bad AND fails to convert. Mature native-ad implementations let publishers customize the ad template per slot, matching surrounding content's exact visual style. Disclosure ("Sponsored", "Ad") is mandatory but typically visually subtle.