- Sending cold Meta traffic directly to product pages and seeing high drop-off rates
- Have products that require explanation or have many variants to choose from
- Want to know the difference between an advertorial and a listicle, and when each is appropriate
- Want to know how these pages are built, positioned, and measured
- Advertorial: An ad written and structured like an article. It leads the reader through a single, cohesive argument: problem, explanation, proof, and only then the product. The reader gets answers to their doubts before the product is introduced.
- Listicle: A page with numbered reasons, for example, "5 reasons to...". Each reason is a short argument. The page is quick to skim and requires less commitment to read.
- The brand's own landing page: A page in the brand's own voice tailored to a specific persona, often featuring an offer or a bundle.
What they all have in common is that they bridge the gap between the ad and the product, ensuring the reader encounters a page that matches exactly what they need to know.
A product page is written for someone who already knows the product. Cold traffic from Meta often doesn't. This is especially true for products that require explanation, or catalogs with many variants where the reader first needs to figure out what to choose.
This is where an advertorial or a listicle makes all the difference: it answers questions, sets expectations, and removes doubt before the catalog even enters the picture. It’s a way to lower the cost of acquiring your first customer because more of those who click through are already qualified.
Choose based on how much the reader knows, not just on whether the traffic is cold:
- The reader doesn't know the problem or the product: Use an advertorial. It explains the problem and the solution first.
- The reader knows the problem and is looking for a solution: Use a listicle that starts with the problem. It’s quick to skim and an easy step to take.
- The reader knows your brand or has visited before: Send them to a listicle featuring your best-selling products and social proof, or directly to the product page.
- The product requires a choice: Use an advertorial that guides the reader to the right choice, for example, "which one should I choose?".
This means the same brand can have two flows: one for cold traffic with a problem-focused angle, and one for retargeting with best-selling products and social proof. Give each flow its own ads.
- Start with the angle. Choose it based on research and customer data, for example, the customers' own answers regarding what made them buy. We use up to three angles at a time and don't build the page until the angle is chosen.
- Use the same angle in the ad and on the page. The ad and the page should feel like one universe, visually as well. This maintains the trust that the format creates.
- Choose your voice based on placement. On your own brand site, write in your brand's own editorial voice. A publisher frame feels dishonest there. On an external publisher site, a "top 5" should feature five competing products in the category with yours at number 1, not five of your own items.
- Mark the page as an advertisement.
- Ensure the page features the same offer or bundle, as the rest of the funnel. See Volume Discounts and Bundles.
- Direct users to the product page with clear links so the reader knows what the next step is.
An ad, an advertorial, and a shop mean two clicks and two pages. Tracking can go blind between them, preventing Meta from linking a purchase back to the original ad.
- Pass the Meta signal forward from the ad to the advertorial and on to the shop. This is done, for example, by passing Meta's click ID along with the outbound links.
- Run the ad from the brand's own ad account, and let the pixel fire only on the brand's own site.
- Use consistent UTM parameters. They help, but they do not pass Meta data on their own.
- Test before the page goes live.
Without this setup, it looks like the advertorial isn't working, even when it is.
DVISIONMEDIA's approach
We don't choose formats based on gut feeling. We find the angle through research and customer data, build one to three pages based on that same angle, and ensure they carry the same offer. We make sure the ad and the page feel like one cohesive universe and that tracking follows the user all the way from the ad to the purchase. This is part of the approach we build into our work with Meta advertising and through E-COM OS.
1. What is an advertorial?
An advertorial is an advertisement written and structured like an article. It guides the reader through a cohesive argument before introducing the product.
2. What is the difference between an advertorial and a listicle?
An advertorial is a single, cohesive article. A listicle consists of numbered points, making it faster to skim and less of a commitment to read.
3. When should cold traffic be sent to an advertorial instead of a product page?
When the product requires explanation, or when the catalog has many variations and the reader first needs to figure out what to choose.
4. Should I use an advertorial for retargeting?
Not necessarily. For retargeting, a listicle featuring best-selling products and social proof, or a direct product page, is more suitable.
5. How do I measure if an advertorial is working?
Ensure that the Meta signal is carried over from the ad to the advertorial and then to the shop, and that the pixel is running from the brand's own ad account. Otherwise, your tracking will be blind.
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