Native ad options

Native ads have many advanced features that allow you to make additional customizations and make the best possible ad experience. This guide shows you how to use the advanced features of native ads.

Prerequisites

Integrate the Native ad format.

Asset controls

Preferred media aspect ratio controls

Media Aspect Ratio Controls let you specify a preference for the aspect ratio of ad creatives.

Set GADNativeAdMediaAdLoaderOptions mediaAspectRatio with a GADMediaAspectRatio.

When unset, the returned ad can have any media aspect ratio.
When set, you will be able to improve the user experience by specifying the preferred type of aspect ratio.

The following example instructs the SDK to prefer a return image or video with a specific aspect ratio.

GADNativeAdMediaAdLoaderOptions *nativeOption = [[GADNativeAdMediaAdLoaderOptions alloc] init];
nativeOption.mediaAspectRatio = GADMediaAspectRatioAny;

GADAdLoader* adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc] initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
                                           rootViewController:self
                                                      adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                                                      options:@[ nativeOption ]];

Image download control

Image download control lets you decide if image assets or only URIs are returned by the SDK.

Set GADNativeAdImageAdLoaderOptions disableImageLoading with a BOOL value.

Image download control are disabled by default.
When disabled, the Google Mobile Ads SDK populates both the image and the URI for you.
When enabled, the SDK instead populates just the URI, allowing you to download the actual images at your discretion.

The following example instructs the SDK to return just the URI.

GADNativeAdImageAdLoaderOptions *nativeOption = [[GADNativeAdImageAdLoaderOptions alloc] init];
nativeOption.disableImageLoading = YES;

GADAdLoader* adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc] initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
                                           rootViewController:self
                                                      adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                                                      options:@[ nativeOption ]];

Image payload controls

Some ads have a series of images rather than just one. Use this feature to indicate whether your app is prepared to display all the images or just one.

Set GADNativeAdImageAdLoaderOptions shouldRequestMultipleImages with a BOOL value.

Image payload controls are disabled by default.
When disabled, your app instructs the SDK to provide just the first image for any assets that contain a series.
When enabled, your app indicates that it is prepared to display all the images for any assets that have more than one.

The following example instructs the SDK to return multiple image assets.

GADNativeAdImageAdLoaderOptions *nativeOption = [[GADNativeAdImageAdLoaderOptions alloc] init];
nativeOption.shouldRequestMultipleImages = YES;

GADAdLoader* adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc] initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
                                           rootViewController:self
                                                      adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                                                      options:@[ nativeOption ]];

AdChoices placements

AdChoices position controls

The AdChoices position controls lets you choose which corner to render the AdChoices icon.

Set GADNativeAdViewAdOptions preferredAdChoicesPosition with a GADAdChoicesPosition value.

If unset, the AdChoices icon position is set to the top right.
If set, AdChoices is placed at the custom position as requested.

The following example demonstrates how to set a custom AdChoices image position.

GADNativeAdViewAdOptions *nativeOptions = [[GADNativeAdViewAdOptions alloc] init];
nativeOptions.preferredAdChoicesPosition = GADAdChoicesPositionTopLeftCorner;

GADAdLoader* adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc] initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
                                           rootViewController:self
                                                      adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                                                      options:@[ nativeOptions ]];

AdChoices custom view

The AdChoices custom view feature lets you position the AdChoices icon in a custom location. This is different from AdChoices position controls, which only allows specification of one of the four corners.

Set the GADNativeAd.adChoicesView property with a GADAdChoicesView prior to rendering and the AdChoices content will render inside the GADAdChoicesView.

The following example demonstrates how to set a custom AdChoices view. The AdChoices icon will render inside the GADAdChoicesView.

Objective-C

- (void)adLoader:(GADAdLoader *)adLoader didReceiveNativeAd:(GADNativeAd *)nativeAd {

    ...

    
    GADAdChoicesView *customAdChoicesView =
        [[GADAdChoicesView alloc] initWithFrame: CGRectMake(..., ..., ..., ...)];

    [nativeAdView addSubview:customAdChoicesView];
    nativeAdView.adChoicesView = customAdChoicesView;

    // Associate the native ad view with the native ad object. This is
    // required to make the ad clickable.
    // Note: this should always be done after populating the ad views.
    nativeAdView.nativeAd = nativeAd;
}

Swift

func adLoader(_ adLoader: GADAdLoader, didReceive nativeAd: GADNativeAd) {
    refreshAdButton.isEnabled = true

    ...
    // Define a custom position for the AdChoices icon.
    let customRect = CGRect(x: 100, y: 100, width: 15, height: 15)
    let customAdChoicesView = GADAdChoicesView(frame: customRect)
    nativeAdView.addSubview(customAdChoicesView)
    nativeAdView.adChoicesView = customAdChoicesView

    // Associate the native ad view with the native ad object. This is
    // required to make the ad clickable.
    // Note: this should always be done after populating the ad views.
    nativeAdView.nativeAd = nativeAd;
}

Video controls

Start mute behavior

The start muted behavior lets you disable or enable a video's starting audio.

Set GADVideoOptions startMuted with a BOOL value.

The start muted behavior is enabled by default.
When disabled, your app requests the video should begin with audio.
When enabled, your app requests that the video should begin with audio muted.

The following example shows how to start the video with un-muted audio.

GADVideoOptions *nativeOptions = [[GADVideoOptions alloc] init];
nativeOptions.startMuted = NO;

GADAdLoader* adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc] initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
                                           rootViewController:self
                                                      adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                                                      options:@[ nativeOptions ]];

Custom playback controls

This lets you request custom video input controls to play, pause, or mute the video.

Set GADVideoOptions customControlsRequested with a BOOL value.

Custom playback control are disabled by default.
When disabled, your video will show SDK rendered input controls.

When enabled you can then use GADVideoController play , GADVideoController pause , and GADVideoController setMute to control the video ad.

If the ad does have video content and custom controls are enabled, you should then display your custom controls along with the ad, as the ad won't show any controls itself. The controls can then call the relevant methods on the GADVideoController.

The following example shows how request a video with custom playback controls.

GADVideoOptions *nativeOptions = [[GADVideoOptions alloc] init];
nativeOptions.customControlsRequested = YES;

GADAdLoader* adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc] initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
                                           rootViewController:self
                                                      adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                                                      options:@[ nativeOptions ]];

Check if custom controls are enabled

Because it's not known at request time whether the returned ad will allow custom video controls, you must check whether it has custom controls enabled.

Objective-C

- (void)adLoader:(GADAdLoader *)adLoader
    didReceiveNativeAd:(GADNativeAd*)nativeAd {

  GADVideoController *videoController = nativeAd.mediaContent.videoController;
  BOOL canShowCustomControls = videoController.customControlsEnabled;

}

Swift

func adLoader(_ adLoader: GADAdLoader, didReceive nativeAd: GADNativeAd) {
        let videoController = nativeAd.mediaContent.videoController
        let canShowCustomControls = videoController?.customControlsEnabled() == true
}

Render custom video controls

Render custom video controls using the following best practices:

Render the custom controls view as a child of the native ad view. This approach ensures that open measurement viewability calculations considers the custom controls as a friendly obstruction.
Avoid rendering an invisible overlay over the entire media view. Overlays block clicks on the media view, negatively impacting native ads performance. Instead, create a small overlay that is just large enough to fit the controls.

Custom click gestures

Custom click gestures is a native ads feature that enables swipes on ad views to be registered as ad clicks. It is designed to work with apps that use swipe gestures for content navigation. This guide shows how to enable custom click gestures on your native ads.

Initialize a GADNativeAdCustomClickGestureOptions instance with your selected swipe direction. You also need to indicate whether you want taps to be allowed as clicks.

Custom click gestures is disabled by default.
When disabled, only taps will count as clicks.
When enabled, swipe gestures will be counted as clicks, and you can specify whether taps can still count as clicks.

The following example shows you how to implement a custom swipe gesture to the right and preserves normal tap behavior.

GADNativeAdCustomClickGestureOptions *swipeGestureOptions = [[GADNativeAdCustomClickGestureOptions alloc]
        initWithSwipeGestureDirection:UISwipeGestureRecognizerDirectionRight
                          tapsAllowed:YES];

// The following sample ad unit ID has been enabled for custom click gestures
// and can be used for testing.
self.adLoader = [[GADAdLoader alloc]
        initWithAdUnitID:@"/21775744923/example/native"
      rootViewController:self
                 adTypes:@[ GADAdLoaderAdTypeNative ]
                 options:@[ swipeGestureOptions ]];

Listen for swipe gesture events

When a swipe gesture click is recorded, the Google Mobile Ads SDK invokes the nativeAdDidRecordSwipeGestureClick: delegate method on GADNativeAdDelegate , in addition to the existing nativeAdDidRecordClick: delegate method.

#pragma mark - GADNativeAdDelegate implementation

// Called when a swipe gesture click is recorded.
- (void)nativeAdDidRecordSwipeGestureClick:(GADNativeAd *)nativeAd {
  NSLog(@"A swipe gesture click has occurred.");
}

// Called when a swipe gesture click or a tap click is recorded, as configured in
// GADNativeAdCustomClickGestureOptions.
- (void)nativeAdDidRecordClick:(GADNativeAd *)nativeAd {
  NSLog(@"A swipe gesture click or tap click has occurred.");
}

Mediation

Custom click gestures only work on native ads that Google Mobile Ads SDK renders. Ad sources that require third-party SDKs for rendering, don't respond to the custom click directions setting.