Advertorials: Examples, Structure, and Measurement

Updated September 20, 2026· 8 min read

An advertorial is paid content that uses the structure and pacing of an article or video. It gives a brand room to explain a problem, compare approaches, show how a product works, and support the next step with evidence.

Bring advertorial tests into paid media planning next to native advertising and cost per acquisition. They are especially useful when a product needs more explanation than a short ad can provide.

Common advertorial formats

Format	Useful for	Evidence to include
Product explainer	Teaching how a product solves a specific problem	Demonstration, specifications, and substantiated product claims
Comparison guide	Helping readers evaluate approaches or alternatives	Consistent criteria, current facts, and fair limitations
Customer story	Showing how a real customer used the product	Verified experience, material-connection disclosure, and permission
Expert interview	Adding technical or category context	Named credentials, accurate quotations, and disclosed relationships
List or how-to	Connecting the product to a practical task	Useful steps that stand on their own, with the product’s role stated clearly

The format should match the question a prospective customer needs answered. A customer story can build context for a considered purchase, while a product explainer is often better for a feature that is difficult to show in a display ad.

Paid editorial, earned editorial, and native

Format	Who paid	What it resembles	What readers need to know
Earned editorial	Nobody paid the publisher to run that story	Independent news or review	The publisher’s ordinary editorial process
Direct response ad	The advertiser	Offer, price, and a product or landing page	That they are clicking an ad, which is usually obvious
Native ad	The advertiser	The host feed, widget, or template	That the unit is commercial when it would otherwise look like ordinary content
Advertorial	The advertiser	A long article, list, or video in editorial style	The same commercial identification, because the format is built to look like editorial

The FTC’s Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses (December 2015) treats native ads as content that resembles the news, features, reviews, or entertainment around it. An advertorial is that idea in article or video form. Native advertising is the wider set of in-feed and in-content paid units.

The FTC’s December 22, 2015 business blog, FTC issues Enforcement Policy Statement and business guidance on native advertising, explains why identification matters: knowing content is an ad can change whether someone opens it and how much weight they give it.

Disclosure: before the click, on the page, on mobile

FTC staff guidance says a disclosure needed to prevent deception must be clear and prominent. For advertorials, that means the paid relationship should be understandable before the click and on the destination itself:

Before the click. If a headline and thumbnail in a publisher feed, recommendation widget, search result, or social post resemble ordinary editorial, identify the commercial nature before the tap or click.

On the page or in the video. Repeat a clear commercial identifier near the headline or at the start of the video because readers can arrive without seeing the original placement.

On mobile. Keep the label readable, high-contrast, and visible without hiding it below a large image. In video, display it early and long enough to read.

The Guide gives “Ad,” “Advertisement,” “Paid Advertisement,” and “Sponsored Advertising Content” as language likely to be understood. It treats “Promoted” and “Promoted Stories” as ambiguous in this context. A logo or sponsor name can add context, but it should not carry the entire disclosure job.

If the piece uses customer stories, expert quotes, or influencer-style narration, the FTC Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking say material connections should also be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.

Publisher platforms may add their own paid-content labels and placement rules, so include those requirements in the creative brief.

Example advertorial structure

Here is a practical outline for a paid product explainer:

Pre-click unit (publisher feed or paid social):

1. Label in front of or above the headline, for example Paid Advertisement, in a contrast color, not tucked under the image.
2. Headline that states the topic without pretending to be a staff news exclusive.
3. Thumbnail that does not mimic the publisher’s breaking-news crop if that would hide the commercial source.
4. Sponsor name next to the label when the host template allows it.

On-page advertorial:

1. Repeat Advertisement from [Brand] immediately under the headline, visible at a 390-pixel-wide viewport without scrolling past a hero image.
2. Problem the reader actually has, in specific terms.
3. What people usually try, including the strengths and limits of those approaches.
4. Where the advertised product fits, written as the advertiser’s case rather than an independent editorial verdict.
5. How it works, with claims the advertiser can substantiate.
6. Social proof only with a real, disclosed relationship (customer, employee, paid endorser).
7. Offer and next step, with the destination URL matching the promise.
8. Repeat the paid-content label near the call to action.

Pair headline, hook, and call-to-action tests with A/B testing on the labeled unit. A cleaner story can raise time on page and still fail on qualified conversions. Read both.

The conversion funnel after an advertorial is often a product page or lead form. Measure that step with conversion rate, CPA, and conversion quality. A longer article may produce fewer clicks with more context, so the downstream result matters more than click volume alone.

How to measure advertorial performance

Compare the advertorial with a relevant direct-ad or landing-page control using the same audience, offer, qualified-conversion definition, and measurement window where possible.

Check	Why it belongs on the test plan
Label noticeability	Confirm the paid label remains visible and understandable on mobile
Click quality	Compare bounce, scroll, and form start with a direct-to-offer ad
Qualified conversions	Leads or sales that pass the same sales definition as the control
CPA and conversion value	Format can move both the cost and the mix of buyers
Volume	A higher conversion rate on a trickle of clicks can miss the volume plan

The strongest advertorial gives the reader useful information, supports product claims with evidence, identifies the sponsor clearly, and earns its place in the media plan through qualified results.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an advertorial?

An advertorial is paid content written or produced in an editorial style to promote a brand, product, or service. It can look like a news story, explainer, or personal account, but the advertiser paid for it.

How is an advertorial different from earned editorial and native ads?

Earned editorial is unpaid coverage the publisher chose. An advertorial is paid. Native advertising is the broader paid format that matches the host platform. An advertorial is one native-like form: a long article or video that reads like editorial. All paid formats still need to be identifiable as ads when the format would otherwise mislead.

Where should advertorial disclosures appear?

If a disclosure is needed, FTC staff guidance says it must be clear and prominent: before the click when the teaser looks like ordinary editorial, and again on the page or video where the full ad appears, in a place and size people will notice on the devices they use, including mobile.

Do advertorials lower CPA?

An advertorial can give readers more context before a product page, but the format does not guarantee a lower CPA. Compare it with a direct ad using the same qualified-conversion definition, then read CPA beside conversion quality and volume.

Sources

• FTC, Native Advertising: A Guide for Businesses, December 2015, accessed September 20, 2026.
• FTC, FTC issues Enforcement Policy Statement and business guidance on native advertising, December 22, 2015, accessed September 20, 2026.
• FTC Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, accessed September 20, 2026.