Native Ads

Native ads are ads formatted to fit the surrounding content and visual design, making them more likely to be viewed and clicked by users. Native ad inventory is available on mobile apps as well as desktop and mobile websites. For more information on native ads, see Overview of native ads.

Native ads are supported for both Authorized Buyers and Open Bidding.

Here's the workflow for native ads:

1. A call for a native ad is made to Google. The call specifies one or both of the following native ad templates, each specifying the preferred native fields.
2. Google sends buyers an RTB bid request containing a list of the fields being requested.
3. Interested buyers respond with the requested fields.
4. Google runs an auction to select the winning bid and sends the buyer's supplied creative assets to the publisher.
5. The publisher assembles the assets into a native ad and styles them to fit the site's design.

Message formats

Google supports the OpenRTB specification in both JSON and Protobuf.

For OpenRTB Protobuf native ads, the following fields differ from the specification:

JSON	JSON type	Protobuf	Protobuf type
BidRequest.imp[].native.request	string	BidRequest.imp[].native.request_native	NativeRequest
BidResponse.seatbid[].bid[].adm	string	BidResponse.seatbid[].bid[].adm_native	NativeResponse

The OpenRTB Protobuf fields are Protobuf messages rather than strings.

If you use the OpenRTB Protobuf implementation, your endpoint receives bid requests containing BidRequest.imp.native.request_native rather than BidRequest.imp.native.request. Additionally, your endpoint must return bid responses that populate BidResponse.seatbid.bid.adm_native rather than BidResponse.seatbid.bid.adm, otherwise it will be filtered from the auction.

If you use a buyer SDK to render native ads, you must include an image type in the declared_ad when you submit creatives for review.

Native ad templates

Native ad templates describe the components of a native ad, and determine the contents and structure of the NativeRequest in the bid request. Google supports the two most common native ad templates for non-video and video native ads:

• App install ad template - Promote and drive mobile app installs.
• Content ad template - More generic combination of text and images for brand or web ads.
• Video app install ad template
• Video content ad template

Other templates exist, and may have a different set of requirements for fields, dimensions, and sizes.

App install ad template

Required and recommended fields

The following tables show fields labeled Required or Recommended. The following rules apply:

• Fields marked Required are required by the bidder.
• Fields marked Recommended are not required by the bidder, and the publisher may or may not display them if supplied (for example, star rating).
• Call to Action (CTA) is always marked as Recommended because a default is assigned if one is not sent by the bidder, but it will always be displayed if sent.

The following table lists the fields of an app install ad template. Mobile apps use these fields to create native app install ads.

Field	Description	Required or Recommended?	Always displayed?	Recommended image size/max number of chars	Example
Headline	The app title	Required	Yes	25 chars	Flood-It!
Image	A screenshot from the app, or another relevant image	Required	No	1,200px x 627px or 600px x 600px depending on the aspect ratio required by the publisher.	<A screenshot from the game Flood-It!>
Body	Main text of the app	Required	No	90 chars	Deceptively simple + tantalizingly challenging = delightfully addictive!
App icon	The app icon	Required	No	128 x 128 px	<Flood-it! app icon>
Call to action	Preferred user action	Recommended	Yes	15 chars	Install
Star rating	Number of stars (0 - 5) representing the app's rating in the app store	Recommended	No	0 - 5	4.5
Price	The cost of the app	Recommended	No	15 chars	Free

Notes about text length

If a buyer sends a text asset (body text, for example) longer than the suggested maximum number of characters, the text may be truncated and ellipsized by Google or the publisher. Note that the truncation limits are half the size in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. For example, the headline limit is 90 for English and 45 for Chinese.

Notes about image size

Publishers are allowed to:

• Crop the main image symmetrically by up to 20% in one dimension (height or width).
• Scale the image without changing its aspect ratio.
• Images that have aspect ratios substantially different than those implied by the height and width may be filtered.

Content ad template

The following table lists the fields of a content ad template. Publishers use these fields to create native content ads.

Field	Description	Required or Recommended?	Always displayed?	Recommended image size/max number of chars *	Example
Headline	The ad header	Required	Yes	25 chars	Lowest mortgage rates
Image	The ad's primary image	Required	No	1,200px x 627px or 600px x 600px depending on the aspect ratio required by the publisher.	<Ad's main image>
Body	The ad content	Required	No	90 chars	Your home sweet Brooklyn home - cheaper and sooner than you think!
Logo	Advertiser's logo or another relevant small image	Recommended	No	128 x 128 px	<NY Mortgage Inc.'s logo>
Call to action	User's preferred action	Recommended	No	15 chars	Get a quote
Advertiser	Text that identifies the advertiser or brand	Required	No	25 chars	NY Mortgage Inc.

Video app install ad template

Field	Description	Required or Recommended?	Always displayed?	Recommended image size/max number of chars *	Example
Video	The video VAST response containing all necessary assets to play back a video ad.	Required	No	-	A URL to VAST XML containing a Flood-It! Video ad
Headline	The app title	Required	Yes	25 chars	Flood-It!
Image	Image (thumbnail) shown in the player before the video ad is clicked or while it is loading.	Required	No	Should match aspect ratio of video (for example: 1280x720 for 16x9 video, 4x3 for 640x480 video).	A screenshot from the game Flood-It! Or from the video
Body	Main text of the app	Required	No	90 chars	Deceptively simple + tantalizingly challenging = delightfully addictive!
App icon	The app icon	Required	No	128 x 128 px	Flood-it! app icon
Call to action	Preferred user action	Required	Yes	15 chars	Install
Star rating	Number of stars (0 - 5) representing the app's rating in the app store	Recommended	No	0 - 5	4.5
Price	The cost of the app	Recommended	No	15 chars	Free

Restrictions

• Video: All video must be in the form of a VAST URL or a VAST Tag. A raw video file such as a WebM, MP4, etc cannot be specified.

• Text length: If a buyer specifies a text asset such as the body in the response, it may be truncated and ellipsized by Google or the publisher. Note that truncation limits are half the size in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. For example, the headline limit is 90 in English and 45 for Chinese.

• Image size: Publishers are allowed to:

  • Crop the main image symmetrically by up to 20% in one dimension (height or width.
  • Scale the image without changing its aspect ratio.

App install ad example

Video content ad template

Field	Description	Required or Recommended?	Always displayed?	Recommended image size/max number of chars *	Example
Video	The video VAST response containing all necessary assets to play back a video ad.	Required	Yes	-	A URL to VAST XML containing a Flood-It! Video ad
Headline	The ad header	Required	Yes	25 chars	Lowest mortgage rates
Image	Image (thumbnail) shown in the player before the video ad is clicked or while it is loading.	Required	No	Should match aspect ratio of video (for example: 1280x720 for 16x9 video, 4x3 for 640x480 video).	A screenshot from the video
Body	The ad content	Required	No	90 chars	Your home sweet Brooklyn home - cheaper and sooner than you think!
Logo	Advertiser's logo or another relevant small image	Recommended	No	128 x 128 px	NY Mortgage Inc.'s logo
Call to action	User's preferred action	Required	No	15 chars	Get a quote
Advertiser	Text that identifies the advertiser or brand	Required	No	25 chars	NY Mortgage Inc.

Meta fields

The following meta fields are shared by all supported ad templates:

Field	Description
BidResponse.seatbid.bid.{adm/adm_native}.link.url	The URL of the final landing page that the user will be directed to after they click the ad. It is required to use this field in the case of dynamic landing pages.
BidResponse.seatbid.bid.{adm/adm_native}.link.clicktrackers	Optional. Additional URLs that allow advertisers to track user clicks on the ad.
BidResponse.seatbid.bid.{adm/adm_native}.privacy	Link to an ad preferences or opt-out page. If present, a standard AdChoices icon is added to the native creative and linked to this URL.
BidResponse.seatbid.bid.{adm/adm_native}.eventtrackers	Impression tracking can be performed by including eventtrackers in the native response, where event is set to IMPRESSION.

Representation of the native ad template in the bid request

When receiving a bid request containing native inventory, it will contain the native ad template represented with OpenRTB's NativeRequest message. It provides the following information about the native ad inventory:

• Assets that are optional or required.
• Dimensions for images, logos, and app icons.
• Specifications for the style in which the ad is rendered.

Note: For BidRequest.imp.native.{request/request_native}.ext.style_layout_type, PIXEL indicates that the native unit is of a fixed size, while FLUID means it scales to fill the width of the enclosing column and adjusts the height to retain the aspect ratio. When FLUID is specified, the height and width may come through as 1x1.

Optional and required assets

You can find the optional and required assets for a native ad impression in BidRequest.imp.native.{request/request_native}.assets. This describes components of the native ad–such as the headline, body, or logo. Each asset included in the request has a distinct id, and populates required as True for those that must be included in the bid response.

Representation of a native ad in the bid response

When bidding on native inventory, you must include a NativeResponse populated with the required assets indicated in the bid request, and may also include any optional assets that were specified. You can include these in a bid response with BidResponse.seatbid.bid.{adm/adm_native}.assets. When you populate assets in the response, each must include the id corresponding to that asset from the bid request.

Example bid requests

OpenRTB Protobuf

Show me the example

Serialized request

id: "l6210s8bS8Uc726V81B821"
imp {
  id: "1"
  tagid: "3019814809"
  bidfloor: 0.06
  bidfloorcur: "USD"
  secure: true
  native {
    ver: "1.2"
    request_native {
      ver: "1.2"
      assets {
        id: 1
        required: true
        title {
          len: 25
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 2
        required: true
        data {
          type: DESC
          len: 90
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 3
        data {
          type: CTATEXT
          len: 15
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 4
        required: true
        img {
          type: MAIN
          wmin: 1200
          hmin: 627
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 5
        img {
          type: LOGO
          wmin: 100
          hmin: 100
        }
      }
      eventtrackers {
        event: IMPRESSION
        methods: IMG
      }
      privacy: true
      [com.google.doubleclick.native_ext] {
        style_id: 497439
        style_height: 1
        style_width: 1
        style_layout_type: FLUID
      }
    }
  }
  exp: 3600
  metric {
    type: "click_through_rate"
    value: 0.0006697923527099192
    vendor: "EXCHANGE"
  }
  metric {
    type: "viewability"
    value: 0.05
    vendor: "EXCHANGE"
  }
  [com.google.doubleclick.imp] {
    billing_id: 50577321529
    dfp_ad_unit_code: "/3711494/google/test"
    ampad: AMP_AD_ALLOWED_AND_NOT_EARLY_RENDERED
    buyer_generated_request_data {
      data: "Test Data"
    }
    excluded_creatives {
      buyer_creative_id: "EXCLUDED_BUYER_CREATIVE_ID"
    }
    excluded_creatives {
      buyer_creative_id: "EXCLUDED_BUYER_CREATIVE_ID"
    }
    open_bidding {
      is_open_bidding: true
    }
    creative_enforcement_settings {
      policy_enforcement: POLICY_ENFORCEMENT_PLATFORM_POLICY
      publisher_blocks_enforcement: PUBLISHER_BLOCKS_ENFORCEMENT_OVERRIDDEN
    }
    auction_environment: SERVER_SIDE_AUCTION
    ae: SERVER_SIDE_AUCTION
  }
}
site {
  page: "https://www.google.com"
  publisher {
    id: "pub-1111111111111111"
    [com.google.doubleclick.publisher] {
      country: "FR"
    }
  }
  content {
    livestream: false
    language: "fr"
  }
  [com.google.doubleclick.site] {
    amp: DIALECT_HTML
    page_visibility: VISIBILITY_STATE_VISIBLE
    inventorypartnerdomain: ""
    ntype: NAVIGATION_TYPE_NAVIGATE
  }
}
device {
  ua: "OMITTED"
  geo {
    lat: 0.0
    lon: 0.0
    country: "FRA"
    region: "FR-C"
    zip: "63120"
    type: IP
    utcoffset: 120
    accuracy: 6948
    [com.google.doubleclick.geo] {
      geo_criteria_id: 9112278
    }
  }
  ipv6: "2a01:cb14:8183::"
  os: "Windows"
  devicetype: PERSONAL_COMPUTER
  lmt: false
  pxratio: 1.0
  sua {
    browsers {
      brand: "Chromium"
      version: "130"
      version: "0"
    }
    browsers {
      brand: "Microsoft Edge"
      version: "130"
      version: "0"
    }
    platform {
      brand: "Windows"
      version: "15"
      version: "0"
    }
    mobile: false
    architecture: "x86"
    bitness: "64"
    source: CLIENT_HINTS_HIGH_ENTROPY
  }
}
user {
  [com.google.doubleclick.user] {
    consented_providers_settings {
      consented_providers: 1712
      consented_providers: 2316
      additional_consent: "OMITTED"
    }
    consent: "OMITTED"
    eids {
      source: "OMITTED"
      uids {
        id: "12JD92JD8078S8J29SDOAKC0EF230337"
      }
    }
  }
}
at: FIRST_PRICE
tmax: 350
cur: "USD"
regs {
  gpp: "OMITTED"
  [com.google.doubleclick.regs] {
    gdpr: true
  }
}
source {
  schain {
    complete: true
    nodes {
      asi: "testssp.com"
      sid: "pub-1111111111111111"
      hp: true
    }
    ver: "1.0"
  }
  [com.google.doubleclick.source] {
    schain {
      complete: 1
      nodes {
        asi: "testssp.com"
        sid: "pub-1111111111111111"
        hp: 1
      }
      ver: "1.0"
    }
  }
}
[com.google.doubleclick.bid_request] {
  google_query_id: "ANy-zyo598-4J62UYQ5J70Wm78t166uKD8322K98ik4X5496cn305Sp16t94Mhegp514jh1v"
  fcap_scope: FREQUENCY_CAPPING_SCOPE_NONE
}

OpenRTB JSON

Show me the example

{
  "id": "l6210s8bS8Uc726V81B821",
  "imp": [
    {
      "id": "1",
      "tagid": "3019814809",
      "bidfloor": 0.06,
      "bidfloorcur": "USD",
      "secure": 1,
      "native": {
        "ver": "1.2",
        "request": "{\"ver\":\"1.2\",\"assets\":[{\"id\":1,\"required\":1,\"title\":{\"len\":25}},{\"id\":2,\"required\":1,\"data\":{\"type\":2,\"len\":90}},{\"id\":3,\"data\":{\"type\":12,\"len\":15}},{\"id\":4,\"required\":1,\"img\":{\"type\":3,\"wmin\":1200,\"hmin\":627}},{\"id\":5,\"img\":{\"type\":2,\"wmin\":100,\"hmin\":100}}],\"eventtrackers\":[{\"event\":1,\"methods\":[1]}],\"privacy\":1,\"ext\":{\"style_id\":497439,\"style_height\":1,\"style_width\":1,\"style_layout_type\":1}}"
      },
      "exp": 3600,
      "metric": [
        {
          "type": "click_through_rate",
          "value": 0.0006697923527099192,
          "vendor": "EXCHANGE"
        },
        {
          "type": "viewability",
          "value": 0.05,
          "vendor": "EXCHANGE"
        }
      ],
      "ext": {
        "billing_id": [
          "50577321529"
        ],
        "dfp_ad_unit_code": "/3711494/google/test",
        "ampad": 3,
        "buyer_generated_request_data": [
          {
            "data": "Test Data"
          }
        ],
        "excluded_creatives": [
          {
            "buyer_creative_id": "EXCLUDED_BUYER_CREATIVE_ID"
          },
          {
            "buyer_creative_id": "EXCLUDED_BUYER_CREATIVE_ID"
          }
        ],
        "open_bidding": {
          "is_open_bidding": 1
        },
        "creative_enforcement_settings": {
          "policy_enforcement": 1,
          "publisher_blocks_enforcement": 2
        },
        "auction_environment": 0,
        "ae": 0
      }
    }
  ],
  "site": {
    "page": "https://www.google.com",
    "publisher": {
      "id": "pub-1111111111111111",
      "ext": {
        "country": "FR"
      }
    },
    "content": {
      "livestream": 0,
      "language": "fr"
    },
    "ext": {
      "amp": 0,
      "page_visibility": 1,
      "inventorypartnerdomain": "OMITTED",
      "ntype": 1
    }
  },
  "device": {
    "ua": "OMITTED",
    "geo": {
      "lat": 0.0,
      "lon": 0.0,
      "country": "FRA",
      "region": "FR-C",
      "zip": "63120",
      "type": 2,
      "utcoffset": 120,
      "accuracy": 6948,
      "ext": {
        "geo_criteria_id": 9112278
      }
    },
    "ipv6": "2a01:cb14:8183::",
    "os": "Windows",
    "devicetype": 2,
    "lmt": 0,
    "pxratio": 1.0,
    "sua": {
      "browsers": [
        {
          "brand": "Chromium",
          "version": [
            "130",
            "0"
          ]
        },
        {
          "brand": "Microsoft Edge",
          "version": [
            "130",
            "0"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "platform": {
        "brand": "Windows",
        "version": [
          "15",
          "0"
        ]
      },
      "mobile": 0,
      "architecture": "x86",
      "bitness": "64",
      "source": 2
    }
  },
  "user": {
    "ext": {
      "consented_providers_settings": {
        "consented_providers": [
          "1712",
          "2316"
        ],
        "additional_consent": "OMITTED"
      },
      "consent": "OMITTED",
      "eids": [
        {
          "source": "OMITTED",
          "uids": [
            {
              "id": "12JD92JD8078S8J29SDOAKC0EF230337"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "at": 1,
  "tmax": 350,
  "cur": [
    "USD"
  ],
  "regs": {
    "gpp": "OMITTED",
    "ext": {
      "gdpr": 1
    }
  },
  "source": {
    "schain": {
      "complete": 1,
      "nodes": [
        {
          "asi": "testssp.com",
          "sid": "pub-1111111111111111",
          "hp": 1
        }
      ],
      "ver": "1.0"
    },
    "ext": {
      "schain": {
        "complete": 1,
        "nodes": [
          {
            "asi": "testssp.com",
            "sid": "pub-1111111111111111",
            "hp": 1
          }
        ],
        "ver": "1.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "ext": {
    "google_query_id": "ANy-zyo598-4J62UYQ5J70Wm78t166uKD8322K98ik4X5496cn305Sp16t94Mhegp514jh1v",
    "fcap_scope": 1
  }
}

Example bid responses

OpenRTB Protobuf

Show me the example

Serialized response

id: "22i22S9494PQl819H7Ld5K"
seatbid {
  bid {
    id: "2GTnPXOn76gg1C6574T"
    impid: "1"
    price: 0.24
    adid: "test_creative_id_713312"
    adomain: "google.com"
    crid: "test_creative_id_713312"
    exp: 300
    language: "xx"
    adm_native {
      ver: "1.2"
      assets {
        id: 1
        title {
          text: "Luxury Mars Cruises"
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 2
        data {
          value: "Visit the planet in a luxury spaceship."
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 3
        data {
          value: "Book today"
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 4
        img {
          url: "https://native.test.com/image?id=123456"
          w: 1200
          h: 627
        }
      }
      assets {
        id: 5
        img {
          url: "https://native.test.com/logo?id=123456"
          w: 1200
          h: 1200
        }
      }
      link {
        url: "https://www.google.com"
        clicktrackers: "https://native.test.com/click?id=123456"
      }
      eventtrackers {
        event: IMPRESSION
        method: IMG
        url: "https://test.com/event?id=123456"
      }
      eventtrackers {
        event: IMPRESSION
        method: IMG
        url: "https://test.com/event?id=123456"
      }
      privacy: "https://adssettings.google.com/whythisad?source=display&reasons=OMITTED"
    }
    [com.google.doubleclick.bid] {
      event_notification_token {
        payload: "token"
      }
      billing_id: 50577321529
      third_party_buyer_token: "4G79rr82Ah8r51859j2XT2RBR1BW2808IQrAa2nRjf63oo5w71y8q929t794MO75n4642HmE5HQ2B1jj9a03w6BFxc4D0mVReL1NgZ42aj7l308820m77pg004705U32AC81b7nkghu7"
    }
  }
  seat: "5249:9218:332606"
}
cur: "USD"

OpenRTB JSON

Show me the example

{
  "id": "22i22S9494PQl819H7Ld5K",
  "seatbid": [
    {
      "bid": [
        {
          "id": "2GTnPXOn76gg1C6574T",
          "impid": "1",
          "price": 0.24,
          "adid": "test_creative_id_713312",
          "adomain": [
            "google.com"
          ],
          "crid": "test_creative_id_713312",
          "exp": 300,
          "language": "xx",
          "ext": {
            "event_notification_token": {
              "payload": "token"
            },
            "billing_id": "50577321529",
            "third_party_buyer_token": "4G79rr82Ah8r51859j2XT2RBR1BW2808IQrAa2nRjf63oo5w71y8q929t794MO75n4642HmE5HQ2B1jj9a03w6BFxc4D0mVReL1NgZ42aj7l308820m77pg004705U32AC81b7nkghu7"
          },
          "adm": "{\"ver\":\"1.2\",\"assets\":[{\"id\":1,\"title\":{\"text\":\"Luxury Mars Cruises\"}},{\"id\":2,\"data\":{\"value\":\"Visit the planet in a luxury spaceship.\"}},{\"id\":3,\"data\":{\"value\":\"Book today\"}},{\"id\":4,\"img\":{\"url\":\"https://native.test.com/image?id=123456\",\"w\":1200,\"h\":627}},{\"id\":5,\"img\":{\"url\":\"https://native.test.com/logo?id=123456\",\"w\":1200,\"h\":1200}}],\"link\":{\"url\":\"https://www.google.com\",\"clicktrackers\":[\"https://native.test.com/click?id=123456\"]},\"eventtrackers\":[{\"event\":1,\"method\":1,\"url\":\"https://test.com/event?id=123456\"},{\"event\":1,\"method\":1,\"url\":\"https://test.com/event?id=123456\"}],\"privacy\":\"https://adssettings.google.com/whythisad?source=display&reasons=OMITTED\"}"
        }
      ],
      "seat": "5249:9218:332606"
    }
  ],
  "cur": "USD"
}