Key takeaways
- An advertorial is an advertisement laid out as an article, and it should say so on the page.
- It works as a step between the ad click and the product page. It does the explaining that a product page does not.
- Each marketing angle should be its own advertorial, so you can test angles against each other.
- Short paragraphs, a matching image per section and a clear ADVERTORIAL label are design requirements, not polish.
- Build from the product page and real customer reviews, not from a blank page.
If you run paid social, you already know the problem: a cold visitor lands on a product page and has to decide in seconds. An advertorial gives that visitor a different kind of page. It is an advertisement laid out as an article, with a headline, a story and a reason to care, before it asks for the click to the product. Native networks such as Taboola and Outbrain are built around this kind of content. This guide covers the advertorial definition and meaning, how it works, the parts that matter for a DTC brand, a worked example with steps, and the mistakes that cost the most.
What is an advertorial? Definition and meaning
An advertorial is an advertisement laid out as an article. It has a headline, body text and images like editorial content, but it is paid for by the advertiser and labelled as an ad. In DTC, it is a landing page that sits between a click on an ad and the product page.
If you searched to define advertorial, the short answer is in the box above: an advertisement laid out as an article. The word is a blend of advertisement and editorial. That blend is the whole idea. The format borrows the look and reading flow of an article, while the content is a paid message from a brand.
The advertorial meaning has one condition that is easy to miss. It is an ad, and the reader should be able to tell. An article-style page that hides who paid for it is not a clever advertorial. It is a disclosure problem, and we cover that below.
Advertorial vs. native ad vs. landing page
These terms get mixed up, so here is how they relate. A native ad is the unit in the feed: usually a headline and an image that sits among other recommended content. An advertorial is the page the click lands on. A landing page is the general term for any page built for ad traffic. An advertorial is one type of landing page, written as an article.
| Term | What it is | Where the reader sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Native ad | A headline and image placed in a content feed | On a publisher site or content network, before the click |
| Advertorial | An advertisement laid out as an article | After the click, on a page the advertiser controls |
| Product page | The page where the product is listed and bought | After the advertorial, when the reader clicks through |
For examples of the ad units themselves, see our post on native advertising examples. For finished pages, see advertorial examples.
How an advertorial works
The path has four steps. Understanding them tells you what each piece of the page has to do.
- The reader sees a native ad in a feed on Taboola or Outbrain: a headline and an image.
- They click, and land on the advertorial instead of a product page.
- The advertorial makes one argument in short sections: a problem, why it happens, what changes things, and what other customers say.
- A call to action sends the reader to the product page, where they can buy.
The advertorial has one job: to prepare the reader so the product page is not a cold first meeting. A product page lists features and a price. An article can start from the reader's problem, which is where most cold readers are.
This is also why the headline matters so much. It appears twice: once in the ad that earns the click, and again at the top of the page that has to keep the reader there. If you are coming from Meta, the shift is that the reader is browsing content, not scrolling a social feed, and the message has to fit that mindset. Our guide to Taboola ads covers the network side in more detail, and facebook ads for ecommerce covers the Meta side.
The parts of an advertorial that matter for a DTC brand
1. One angle per advertorial
An angle is a distinct reason to care: a different problem, audience or story. Two angles for the same product might be, for example, back pain from desk work and a gift for a parent. Put each angle in its own advertorial. If you mix them, you cannot tell which one worked.
2. A headline set, not a single headline
Write many headlines, then cut. Compare them, keep the strongest, and check each against the character limit of the platform it will run on. A headline that gets truncated in the feed loses its point.
3. The sections: headline, preview, body, call to action
A headline, a one-line preview, the body and a closing call to action. Decide the writing style and the target reader before you write. If you do not, the copy drifts towards generic.
4. Short, separate paragraphs
Most readers will be on a phone. One block of text on a phone screen is read by nobody. Keep paragraphs short and separate, and give each section one idea.
5. Images that support the paragraph
Choose or make an image per section so that it backs up what the paragraph says. A random stock photo next to a specific claim weakens it. The product photo and logo should be the same across every angle, so every version shows the same product.
6. The label
Put an ADVERTORIAL label bar at the top of the page. Saying what the page is belongs in the design from the start.
7. Disclaimers only where they apply
If the product is a health product, the page needs a health disclaimer. If it is not, leave the disclaimer off. Printing it on everything makes pages look odd and does nothing for you.
How dependent is your brand on Meta?Get your Native Ads Readiness Score and Platform Dependency Score in 2 minutes. It is free.
Take the testLabelling: what the FTC guidance says
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published guidance on native advertising on December 22, 2015, including an Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements and a business guide.1
The FTC will likely find a violation if commercial content misleads consumers into believing it is impartial, independent, or from a source other than the advertiser. Two questions apply: is the content clearly an advertisement, and if not, have sufficient disclosures been included?2
The FTC's Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the time, Jessica L. Rich, put the principle this way: people browsing the web have a right to know if they are seeing editorial content or an ad.1
This is not legal advice, and you should check the current rules for your markets with a lawyer. The practical takeaway for a DTC brand is simple. Do not make the page pretend to be a news story from an independent publisher. Label it clearly at the top.
How Nativize builds an advertorial
Nativize builds and runs native ad campaigns on Taboola and Outbrain for e-commerce brands. This is the method it follows to build the advertorials.
- Nativize builds from the product page URL. The builder reads the product page itself, not a summary of it.
- It collects customer reviews from the product page and from review sites. It can also take competitor pages or free-text instructions, for example "mention the 30-day guarantee".
- From the page and the reviews, it pulls out the customer's pain points and the benefits people actually mention, in their own words.
- It proposes several marketing angles for the product, normally five or more. Each angle becomes its own advertorial, so angles can be tested against each other.
- For one chosen angle, it writes the advertorial as short sections: headline, one-line preview, body and a closing call to action. Writing style and target reader are set before writing.
- Headlines are generated in sets and graded. Only the strongest are kept, and each is checked against the character limit of the platform it will run on.
- Ad copy for Meta is audited for wording that is likely to cause policy problems before it is used.
- The product photo and brand logo are uploaded once per product and reused for every angle. Images are made or chosen per section.
- The layout is chosen separately from the copy. The two most used are a sidebar layout and a centred layout with a sticky call to action. Brand colours are taken from the product page.
- Every page carries the ADVERTORIAL label bar. Health products also carry a health disclaimer, only where it applies.
- The finished page is exported as a self-contained page, published on the advertiser's own domain. Tracking tags (Google Tag Manager, Meta Pixel, GA4 or the advertiser's own script) are added at export only, so reviewing drafts never fires real tracking.
- Before publishing, a person can edit single paragraphs in the finished page, so a small copy fix does not mean regenerating everything.
- Several angles can be built in one batch for the same product, and the finished advertorials are then connected to Taboola campaigns.
A worked example: building an advertorial in steps
The product below is a made-up lumbar support cushion for desk workers, not a client case. The steps are the same for any product.
- Start with the product page URL. Read the page itself: what the product claims, how it is described, what the guarantee is.
- Gather reviews from the product page and review sites. Look for the words customers use, such as "my lower back aches by 3 pm" or "I stopped slouching". Those phrases are your raw material.
- Add any instruction that matters, such as "mention the 30-day guarantee", and any competitor pages you want the advertorial to position against.
- List pain points and real benefits from the reviews. For the cushion, pain points might be back ache after sitting and a poor office chair. A benefit might be that people notice it only when they stop using it.
- Pick several angles. For example: back ache at a desk, working from home on a kitchen chair, and a gift for a parent. Each gets its own advertorial.
- Choose one angle and set the target reader and writing style before drafting. For the first, it might be a remote worker in their thirties, written in plain, conversational language.
- Draft the sections: headline, one-line preview, short body paragraphs and a closing call to action. Keep each paragraph to a few lines.
- Generate a set of headlines, grade them, keep the strongest, and check each fits the character limit of the network it will run on.
- Add the same product photo and logo as the other angles, and choose an image for each section that matches what the paragraph says.
- Choose a layout, for example the centred one with a sticky call to action, and apply brand colours from the product page.
- Check the ADVERTORIAL label bar is at the top. Add a health disclaimer only if the copy makes health claims that need one.
- Edit any single paragraph that needs a fix, then export the page, add your tracking tags at export and publish it on your own domain.
- Repeat steps 6 to 12 for the next angle, then connect the finished advertorials to your campaigns.
Common advertorial mistakes
- Writing from the product's features. Start from the reader's problem, in the words customers use.
- Putting several angles in one page. You will not learn which reason to care actually worked.
- Treating the page as a long product page. An advertorial reads as an article first: one argument, in order.
- Long blocks of text. On a phone, they get skipped.
- Hiding the fact that it is an ad. Beyond the regulatory risk, readers who feel tricked do not buy.
- Mismatched images, such as a stock photo that has nothing to do with the paragraph beside it.
- Headlines that overpromise or get cut off in the feed, and that the page then fails to deliver on.
- Firing real tracking while drafts are still being reviewed. Add tags only at export.
- Copy that breaks the ad platform's policies. If the ad copy runs on Meta, check wording before launch.
Frequently asked questions
What does advertorial mean?
An advertorial is an advertisement laid out as an article. The word blends advertisement and editorial. The page looks and reads like an article, but it is paid for by the advertiser and should be clearly labelled as an ad.
How do you define advertorial in a DTC context?
It is the page between an ad click and the product page. It uses article structure (headline, short sections, images) to explain one angle on a product, then sends the reader to the product page through a call to action.
Is an advertorial the same as a native ad?
No. A native ad is the unit in the feed, usually a headline and an image. The advertorial is the page the reader lands on after clicking it.
Do advertorials have to be labelled?
They should be. The FTC's guidance says commercial content that misleads people into thinking it is impartial or from a source other than the advertiser is likely to be a violation. Nativize puts an ADVERTORIAL label bar at the top of every page. Check the rules for your markets with a lawyer.2
How many advertorials should I build per product?
Build one per angle. Nativize normally proposes five or more angles for a product, so you can test them against each other. Building several in one batch saves time.
Can I use an advertorial with Meta ads as well?
The page itself is just a page, so it can be the destination for different ad sources. If the ad copy runs on Meta, Nativize audits it for wording likely to cause policy problems before use.
Where should the advertorial be hosted?
On your own domain. Nativize exports the finished advertorial as a self-contained page for the advertiser to publish on their domain, with tracking tags added at export.
The bottom line
An advertorial is a simple idea: an advertisement laid out as an article, labelled as one. The work is in the details: a real angle, headlines tested against a character limit, short paragraphs, images that match, and a clear label. Start with one product and your customers' own words from the reviews. Pick several angles, build each as its own advertorial, and test them against each other. If you want to know what running that costs, read our post on native advertising cost. If you would rather have someone build and run it, that is what Nativize does as an ecommerce advertising agency for native networks.