Custom native ad formats

Custom (user-defined) native ad formats allow you to define your own variables for traditional native ads. A native ad format is a set of variables and styles that comprises a native ad. Variables can be values such as headline, image, body, app icon, call to action, etc. These variables have no associated rendering or styling information. Traffickers provide values for the variables in these native ad formats, and Ad Manager uses these values for the content of native ads.

The standard (system-defined) native ad formats cover many use cases for trafficking native ads. Also, only standard native ad formats are supported for programmatic native ads. However, there may be times when you need the flexibility to create your own native ad format. With custom native ad formats, you select the variables you want to include.

Add a custom native ad format

You can add a custom native ad format when defining the ad settings using the HTML & CSS editor or Android & iOS app code option. When adding variables for a custom native ad format, you first select the type of variable a trafficker can enter, such as a File, Number, or URL. Ad Manager then displays the settings related to that type.

Variable type

Header	Header
File	Trafficker will click the Choose file button and upload a file.
List	Trafficker will pick from a list of options.
Number	Trafficker will enter an integer.
Text	Trafficker will enter a string.
URL	Trafficker will enter a URL.

Variable settings based on the type

Setting	Available for these variable types	Description
Require entry when trafficking	All	Select whether it will be required for the trafficker to add a value for the variable.
Variable name	All	Enter a name for the variable.
Help text	All	You can enter the text for a custom help pop-up. When the trafficker hovers over the question mark next to the variable, a help box with this text will appear.
Default value	List Number Text URL	Enter the default value that will appear for the field. If you don’t enter a value, the field will be empty until the trafficker enters a value. For the "Number" variable type, the system sets 0 as the  default if you don't enter a value.
Sample value	List Number Text URL	You can enter a value for the variable so it will appear in the native style preview.
Only allow certain file types when trafficking	File	You can restrict the trafficker to upload only the file types you select here: jpg, png, and gif. Note the Google Mobile Ads SDK doesn't support animated GIFs for native ads.
Options	List	These are the options that traffickers will pick from when adding a creative. If you select “Allow other options when trafficking,” traffickers will be able to add text in a box.
URL type	URL	The first three options are used for special behaviors. Note that all custom native ad formats automatically have a variable for “Click-through URL”; you don’t need to add this yourself. Third-party impression tracker: Allows advertisers to track an impression if the ad is displayed. The URL can call an image or HTML code. If you’re using native styles, you can include the tracker in your style HTML with a macro. If you're using custom rendering, the tracker will be called by the Google Mobile Ads SDK when an impression is registered. Third-party click tracker: Allows advertisers to track an ad click. This URL can call an image or HTML code. If you’re using native styles, you can include the tracker in your style HTML with a macro. If you’re using custom rendering, the tracker will be called by the Google Mobile Ads SDK when a click is registered. Standard: A regular URL. Deeplink: The destination URL when a user clicks on an ad if the URL is supported by an application on the user’s device. For example, a user clicks an ad and lands in another app (the deep link click action URL). If you’re using custom rendering, the Google Mobile Ads SDK will attempt to send the user to each deeplink before falling back to the native creative’s traditional destination URL.  Ad Manager does not accept Custom Schemes. App links and Universal Links: Unlike traditional deep links, App Links and Universal Links will fall back to the browser if the app is not installed. Learn more about deep links. Self Universal Links: Allows advertisers to direct users back to the same app on iOS. Requires the URL Type “Self Universal Link”. Learn more about deep links.