3 Underused But Highly Effective Ad Formats for Local Publishers

July 16, 2020

If you’re like most local publishers, you probably have a couple of ad formats that are guaranteed winners. Advertisers love them, and so do readers. It’s a win/win for everyone. 

What if we said there are other ad formats that could be just as effective? Some of the most highly effective ad formats for local publishers are also woefully underused. 

When we looked into which ad formats offered publishers the biggest bang for the buck, even we were surprised by the results. Back in February, we wrote about the three all-time most popular ad formats for local publishers. It turns out, our most highly effective ad formats for local publishers aren’t necessarily our most popular.

Why is this important? By steering advertisers toward highly effective ad formats, local publishers increase their odds of creating satisfied clients. Advertisers who see great engagement and click-through rates on their ads are more likely to renew their campaigns, and that kind of repeat business is what local publishers need to succeed.

According to BIA Advisory Services, local advertising revenue in the U.S. is expected to reach $161.3 billion by the end of this year. That’s up from $152.5 in 2019. Local publishers will be fighting tooth and nail for their piece of that spending. Having the insight to guide advertising clients towards the ad formats that are going to generate the greatest results gives local publishers a leg up. 

Here are the ad formats we’ve identified as being both underutilized and highly effective for local publishers.

3 Highly-Effective Ad Formats

1. Google Reviews Listing

Sometimes it’s unclear why an ad format gets skipped over by local publishers or their advertising clients. If an ad format is highly effective, why aren’t more publishers recommending it to their clients? In the case of the Google Reviews Listing ad format, the answer is simple. The Google Reviews Listing is a brand new ad format at Broadstreet. Since it has only been available for a few weeks, most of our local publisher clients haven’t had time to learn about its uses or understand just how beneficial it can be for their clients.

The Google Reviews Listing ad format is great for showcasing a business’ positive reviews. With this format, the top five reviews from Google Reviews are shown in the client’s ad. The ad populates automatically, so publishers don’t have to worry about manually pulling in new reviews at regular intervals. This ad format also includes a filter to hide reviews that don’t meet a given threshold. 

For businesses with positive online reviews, the Google Reviews Listing is a highly effective ad format that’s already shown exceptional levels of engagement. 

2. Featured Articles Listing

With more businesses investing in content marketing, we’re expecting the Featured Articles Listing ad format to start rising in popularity within the next few months. With the Featured Articles Listing ad format, clients can bring traffic to the articles they’ve written for their blogs or other publications. This ad format displays a YouTube video and several links to external articles, as well as multiple branding and social options. 

We’re finding that the Featured Articles Listing ad format is working exceptionally well for healthcare clients, attorneys, and other advertisers who wish to tell a story or demonstrate expertise.

3. Gallery Slideshow with Captions 

Local publishers know the importance of a good visual. As internet speeds get faster, and page load times decrease, there is becoming a clear split in engagement among ads that do have visuals and ads that do not. 

The Gallery Slideshow ad format is one of the most visually stunning ad formats a publisher can offer. A prominent and elegant photo gallery can be designed for in-story or between page modules. Photos can be customized to any size, but when it comes to maximizing effectiveness, we like to tell clients that larger is better.

Do you know of a highly effective ad format that we missed? Reach out and share what ad formats are performing best at your publication.