Apr 08, 2016 | 2 minute read Native Gmail Ads are now Available to Advertisers
Google has released a new native advertising format for Gmail advertisers. These are considered an update to their previous native advertising, which placed ads at the top of user inboxes and blended with their emails. They weren’t considered terribly obtrusive, but some users found them to be a nuisance.
Online advertisers can buy these native ads from AdWords, allowing them to further connect their Google accounts, and they will only be charged for the ads when someone clicks and expands them. Gmail users who view these ads will see them displayed on both desktop and mobile versions of their inbox.
The native ads’ default position is collapsed, only expanding once a user clicks on them; this style expresses Google’s effort to help advertisers connect with their markets in less intrusive ways. Google has said the ads are designed to recreate the richness of a landing page. This will undoubtedly keep the ads from feeling too intrusive.
The native ads also have a forwarding function, encouraging Gmail users to treat them as emails. Each ad contains both “forward” and “save to inbox” buttons to help users keep them organized.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the new ad format is its viewing function; users won’t have to worry about being taken out of their inbox upon clicking.
Gmail tests have shown that users respond well to ads that are high quality yet fewer in number. Google see this new ad format as a way to connect with users where they are while avoiding the low quality gimmicks of pop up ads.
Online advertisers have the ability to use the targeting options from AdWords in their Gmail ads. They will be able to structure these ads with extensions such as images, video, phone numbers and call-to-action options.
Google developers said they would allow Gmail users to control what type of ads they would see, or they can choose not to view ads based off interest. In addition, Google Apps for Work users will continue to block these ads.
For more information about Google’s new native Gmail ads, please read this article.
