Run Ads Beyond Google and Facebook
Everyone's fighting over the same Google and Facebook ad space. Costs keep going up, results keep going down. Meanwhile, native advertising platforms reach billions of people on news sites, blogs, and content platforms where your competitors aren't looking. Here's how to set up your first native ad campaign.
Tools You'll Need
| Tool | What It Does | Cost | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taboola | Native advertising platform — places your ads as recommended content on news sites and premium publishers | Ad spend varies (typically $500+/month minimum for meaningful results) | Get it → |
| Canva | Creates ad images and thumbnails | Free | Get it → |
| Claude or ChatGPT | Writes ad headlines, landing page copy, and A/B test variations | Free | Get it → |
The Walkthrough
Step 1: Understand What Native Ads Are
What to do: Before you spend money, understand the format. Native ads appear as “recommended content” or “sponsored stories” at the bottom and sides of news articles. You’ve seen them — “You might also like…” with thumbnail images. They look like editorial content, not banner ads.
Why you’re doing it: Native ads work differently than search or social ads. People aren’t searching for your product — they’re browsing content. Your ad needs to blend in and offer value, not scream “BUY NOW.”
What to expect: 10 minutes of browsing CNN, Fox News, or any major publisher to see native ads in action. Notice what makes you click vs. what you scroll past.
Step 2: Create Your Campaign in Taboola
What to do: Go to Taboola and create an advertiser account. Set up your first campaign: choose your objective (traffic, leads, or conversions), set your daily budget ($20–50/day to start), and target your audience by location, device, and content categories.
Why you’re doing it: Taboola reaches over 500 million daily active users across premium publisher sites. Your ads appear alongside content from CNN, NBC, Business Insider, and thousands of other sites.
What to expect: Campaign setup takes 30–45 minutes. Approval typically takes 24–48 hours.
Step 3: Create Your Ads
What to do: Each ad needs a thumbnail image and a headline. Create 5–10 variations using Canva for images and AI for headlines. Prompt: “Write 10 native ad headlines for [product/service]. The target audience is [description]. Headlines should be curiosity-driven and feel like editorial content, not traditional ads. Examples of good native ad headlines: informational, surprising, or problem-solving.”
Why you’re doing it: Native ads live or die on the headline and thumbnail. You need to test multiple combinations to find winners. The best-performing ads often look nothing like what you’d expect.
What to expect: 30–60 minutes to create your ad variations. Upload all of them — Taboola automatically allocates budget to the best performers.
Common mistakes: Making ads that look like ads. The whole point of native is to blend in. Avoid “BUY NOW” and “LIMITED TIME” language. Think editorial, not promotional.
Step 4: Set Up Your Landing Page
What to do: Don’t send native ad traffic to your homepage. Create a dedicated landing page that matches the tone of your ad. If your headline promises information (“How small businesses are cutting costs by 40%”), deliver an informational article that naturally leads to your product.
Why you’re doing it: Native ad visitors are in content-consumption mode, not buying mode. An informational landing page that educates first and sells second converts far better than a hard sales page.
What to expect: 1–2 hours for a landing page. Use your existing website builder or a tool like Leadpages.
Step 5: Monitor and Optimize
What to do: After 3–5 days of running, check your Taboola dashboard. Pause ads with low click-through rates (below 0.1%). Double down on the winners. Adjust targeting based on which publisher sites and audience segments are converting best.
Why you’re doing it: Native ads require optimization. Your first round of ads establishes baselines. Your second and third rounds improve on them. Most campaigns need 1–2 weeks of optimization to find profitability.
What to expect: Check performance daily for the first week, then 2–3 times per week once you’ve found winning combinations.
Confidence Level
This workflow is Beta — Based on Best Available Knowledge. Taboola is one of the two largest native advertising platforms (alongside Outbrain). This workflow covers the standard campaign setup process. Results vary significantly by industry and offer.
What to Do If It Doesn’t Work
- Low click-through rate: Your headlines aren’t compelling enough. Test more variations. Study what headlines work on major news sites.
- Clicks but no conversions: Your landing page isn’t matching visitor expectations. Align the page content with the ad headline.
- Spending too fast: Reduce daily budget or narrow targeting. Start with your highest-converting geographic areas.
- Need more help? Taboola Help Center or email us at hello@thenewsbakery.com.