Native ads generate clicks at up to 40 percent higher rate than other mobile ads

When it comes to clicking on mobile ads and spending money in mobile games, native ads come out on top. In fact, user-acquisition campaigns run by YouAppi’s OneRun platform this year show that native ads generate clicks at a 30 percent to 40 percent higher frequency and convert at double the rate compared to other kinds of mobile ads.

San Francisco-based YouAppi said the figures are based on research with hundreds of mobile-acquisition campaigns in 2016. It’s always challenging to customize an ad so that it is “native” — or matches the look and feel of the app or mobile Web content. But clearly that effort pays off.

“Over the last three years, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the acceptance of native ads on the part of publishers while our app marketing clients can now run the same or moderately customized creative ad units across tens of apps and mobile websites,” said Julie Ben-nun, vice president of media management at YouAppi, in a statement.

Native ads are successful for a few reasons. First, mobile apps and web design have standardized and accepted design guidelines. For example, the 1200 x 627 pixel image makes it possible to run the same creative across multiple apps and websites with minimal or no customization.

Second, the improved performance of native ads has made app and mobile web publishers increasingly open to accepting them because of the greater revenue per ad unit they provide. Third, the growth of content marketing has provided app marketers with more material ready for a native ad format.

“Native ads are providing a win-win opportunity for all players in the mobile ecosystem,” said Leo Giel, YouAppi’s chief revenue officer, in a statement. “Mobile apps and publishers are generating more revenue thanks to higher engagement rates and cost per action while app marketers are also benefitting from better conversion rates.”

YouAppi’s matching technology leverages three years of historical data and a pool of 1.5 billion mobile profiles. It matches the right app to the right user. The company’s media management team employs the power of the company’s OneRun platform to understand key performance indicators, optimizing each campaign to ensure that clients pay the right price for the right conversion.

YouAppi offers one single point to streamline mobile media buying based on results achieved running more than 15,000 campaigns for more than 450 leading advertisers in more than 200 countries around the world over the last four years. YouAppi launched in 2011, and it has more than 100 employees. Competitors include AppLovin and IronSource. YouAppi has raised $18.1 million from Hawk Ventures, Global Brain, Click Ventures, Digital Future, Emery Capital, Altair Capital, along with existing investors Glilot Capital Partners, 2B Angels, Flint Capital, and private groups.