Advertising is an essential part of any marketing strategy. While there are countless methods out there, there are two highly profitable techniques that are used often: native advertising and display advertising. While they have both been proven effective, these two approaches have several different benefits and drawbacks that are worth noting. The best way to determine which of these methods is the right fit for your business is to learn the functions and characteristics of each one, as well as their pros and cons. Take a look at this comparison of display advertising and native advertising to help you decide the next steps for growing your business.

What Is Native Advertising?

The official definition of native advertising (also called sponsored content) according to Sharethrough is “a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed.” They can appear in many different forms throughout websites or social media platforms (either on desktop or mobile) and can include images, video, audio, text, and more. These ads have experienced a significant increase in popularity over the past few years, mainly because of how relevant they are to the user and their overall effectiveness.

The Pros and Cons of Native Advertising

Native advertising has many benefits that are worth taking into consideration. Their placement is ideal since they appear in popular spots that users are already visiting frequently. Native ads also perform extremely well – almost ten times better than traditional ads. However, there are some downsides to this form of advertising as well. Sponsored content is expensive and isn’t always top-quality, which could potentially cause negative feelings from users. Last but not least, native advertising doesn’t provide any SEO benefits, so you’ll miss some opportunities to grow your website traffic.

Display Advertising

A display ad, or banner ad, is simply defined as advertising that incorporates text, logos and pictures or images positioned on a website or search engine (Issues Ink). This type of advertising also refers to billboards, newspapers, posters, and magazines and has been around for a long time. These ads can be static (meaning their content is created before being displayed) or dynamic (meaning the content can change based on the preferences of its audience).

The Pros and Cons of Display Advertising

The most prominent advantage to display advertising is its affordability. Display ads are priced based on their size and placement, so they’re more flexible and easier to work around your budget. These ads also reach a much wider audience; in fact, display ads reach approximately 90% of users worldwide. Since they can reach such a wide audience, there isn’t as much competition for display ad placement. However, these ads have some weaknesses as well. Display ads are frequently regarded as spam – and therefore ignored. It’s also hard to control where display ads will appear, which can ultimately cause negative feelings towards them over time.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the question of native advertising or display advertising; it all depends on the needs and goals of your business! At Vehicle Media, we provide marketing solutions for both digital and traditional platforms – all based on what will bring the most success to our clients. Contact us today if you’d like to hear more about our approach to marketing.