What Is Native Traffic in Affiliate Marketing and How to Run It Right

Hello, community! Native advertising is one of the most popular formats and it hasn’t lost steam for many years. For some verticals it’s almost the only format that delivers high ROI. But do you really know everything about native traffic? We bet not — but you will today!

Before we begin, a quick reminder that we’ve already compared push vs. native ads. Worth a read too!

What is native traffic in affiliate marketing?

Native advertising is a leading traffic source used not only by affiliates but also by many big brands.

The core idea of native ads is to make a person not even realize they’re being advertised to. Paradoxical, perhaps — but this approach can convert far better than “in your face” ads, especially for certain products and verticals.

There are many native formats. In digital marketing, “native” most often means ads disguised as the primary content on the page a user is viewing. But in reality, formats range much wider: from product integrations in movies to various forms of UGC. This lets you serve different needs:

Affiliates drive traffic to nutra
Large companies build brand equity this way

Here’s a simple example of how it works:

Someone googles how to find and fix a roof leak.
They find an article that casually mentions a company that “does great roof repairs,” plus a link and phone number the article’s “hero” says they personally used.
The person will likely click the link and, if the article was helpful, use the service.

One key point: the quality of the content directly affects how the native ad is perceived. If a movie flops, it can hurt the featured brand. But there are cases where a native placement made a product iconic — think Nokia phones in The Matrix.

One of those phones was even revived in 2018. To gauge how great that idea was, try to remember the last time you saw someone with a Nokia.

Any traffic we acquire via this ad format is considered native traffic — or just “native,” if your пьорфект інгліш вері вел (perfect English is very well 😉), or if you prefer the technical phrasing.

Features of native advertising

It’s not hard to guess: making users engage with native ads is tough, because they:

Must be seamlessly integrated into the main content so users don’t feel like someone is ~~scamming them~~ showing an ad. Even when labeled “Sponsored,” it’s still not a blunt ad.
Should be crafted by a pro. If it’s a YouTube integration, it’s best when the creator/their team designs it — they know how to speak to their audience.
Can’t be pushy. Once it feels intrusive, it stops working.

It’s a demanding format — especially for beginners. But as affiliates, we’ll mostly be buying it, so what matters is finding quality placements — via native networks or by reaching publishers directly.

It’s also attractive for publishers: it doesn’t harm their reputation and usually costs more than standard ads — while converting far better. For websites, native can convert up to three times more than banners (banner blindness is real — a topic for another day).

Plus, AdBlock won’t “skip” native. Another solid win.

Finally, there are tons of inventory options: from the sites you visit daily (hello, yellow YouTube) to bloggers and everyday users you follow. And Pornhub isn’t mentioned just for laughs — even that pastime is hard to enjoy without ads these days, often for RU casinos: from branded clothing to pillows in the background.

A bit of stats

The native ad market keeps growing in absolute dollars. Each year, more money flows into the format. But as a percentage of total ad spend, native’s share has gradually decreased. For example, eMarketer data shows the US market:

Despite native spend nearly doubling from 2019 to 2023, its share dropped from 31.8% to 12%. Other formats are crowding it out.

But! Note this is through 2023. In 2024, User-Generated Content peaked — often deployed as native. Business Insider reports that in 2024, US native spend grew ~15.2% on average (varies by state). So the format is very much alive.

Which verticals fit native best?

Native is versatile, but some verticals particularly shine with it:

E-commerce / Physical goods. A “review” that’s really a sales piece? About as native as it gets.
Gambling. “By the way, I won 40 UAH yesterday at this casino — here’s the link, they have a bonus.” Classic — and it works.
Finance. This audience dislikes aggressive ads, so native + good retention is a great combo.
Games / Mobile apps. More specific, but also pairs well with native.

Again, the format is universal — you can make it work in plenty of other verticals too.

What to watch when optimizing?

Native campaigns can — and should — be optimized. It’s not just about the creatives, but the entire funnel. To make native bring traffic and money, you need to:

Track your metrics. Quick reactions to negative shifts save money you can put into scaling.
If CR is low, try different approaches: change copy, placement on the page or within the video, etc. A/B testing is your best friend.
Optimize the funnel: from first touch to the “Complete Order” button. Everything must run smoothly so you don’t lose users along the way.

Most important of all: continuous tracking. You need to respond to dips — but also avoid breaking campaigns that are already performing.

Conclusion

Native is a classic format that’s been around for years. It’s evolved — especially with the rise of digital — but the core concept stands: advertise in a way that doesn’t feel like advertising or trigger audience aversion.

Finding placements to buy native is easy — they’re everywhere, as we’ve noted. What you’ll need most is communication and negotiation skills. And money, of course — can’t forget that.

Have you ever bought native ads? Share your campaign results in our Telegram community, the top affiliate hub in Ukraine!

As always, with respect — Your Geek!