Push Ads: Why They Are Your Best Bet in 2025 and How to Use Them

46 – that’s how many push notifications an average US citizen receives (and most likely opens) per day. That’s twice more times than they open the fridge searching for food and twice more times than they touch their face to remember they’re real.

Yeah, push notifications have come a long way. But what about their derivatives – push advertisements? Industry trends hint that push ads are coming into their renaissance, and it’s about time to bet on this ad format in 2025.

How so? How do push ads even work? What are their benefits? How to launch a push ad campaign in 2025? No time to waste – let’s find out!

What is a Push Ad?

A push notification is a clickable message that people receive even if they don’t use their device.

A push ad is an ad delivered through a push notification.

Push is the first thing a user sees when they lift their phone. You know that I know that, and most importantly, the advertisers know that.

And since it’s physically impossible not to unlock your phone every 10 minutes, push ads have become one of the fastest and most convenient ways to reach the audience. They’re almost like the new form of native advertising.

What’s better is that the more we get hooked on our devices year by year, the more effective the push becomes.

How Did Push Ads Come to Be?

Push notifications aren’t the latest technology. They spread the roots back into the 2000s when the grass was greener, and TikTok didn’t exist. Like most things at the time, it was first pioneered (for mass use) by Apple with the release of iOS 3.0.

The company introduced Apple Push Notification Service which allowed the devs to send real-time messages to users. Updates, news, and messages appeared on the user’s screen and there was no need to unlock the phone to see them – cool! Android followed soon after with Firebase Cloud Messaging.

Push Ads Enter the Scene

The update was a hit, and soon after, the businesses started noticing how strongly the push notifications grabbed the users' attention. The tech base was already there, so the idea was simple – instead of being reminded about an update, the user got an ad.

This is practically the main difference between the two. Push notifications are typically informational, while push ads are promotional. But that’s not the only division between pushes that you can find online.

Types of Push Ads

To be honest, you’re unlikely to “choose a push ad type” in your DSP or ad server, since the main difference is all about the ad settings. But 1 - we can’t physically check every ad tech solution on the market, and 2 - it’s handy to know common marketer’s terms.

That’s why four basic types of push ads are:

Web Push Ad

These are ads sent through web browsers to users who have consented to it. They appear even when the user isn’t doing activities on the website. The important thing is that web notifications can be delivered to both desktop and mobile browsers.

That’s what makes web push ads stand out. They can reach users without requiring an app, as long as they are allowed to. Thus, news sites and e-commerce resources often use these.

In-Page Push Ad

In-page push ads are interactive ads that appear directly within the webpage content. “Wait, what? How is it different from web push ads?”

Firstly, in-page push ads appear within website paragraphs, being a seamless part of your doomscrolling experience. Webs appear as separate notifications outside of the browser window.

Secondly, in-page push ads are implemented directly into the website using HTML and Javascript. Web push ads require a push notification service (later on that).

And finally, in-page ads serve their own purpose. They are non-disruptive and are more like native ads, more than traditional push ads. That’s why they are so beloved by pubs with content-rich sites like blogs and geek media.

In-App Push Ad

An in-app push ad is delivered within the app. The user has to actively use the app to get it. An in-app gets triggered by an app-specific event, so yeah, the experience is deeply contextual and not really disruptive (though it depends on personal preference).

In-apps stand out because of high personalization based on in-app behavior and are widely used by mobile gaming publishers.

Mobile Push Ad

On the other hand, mobile push ads don’t require active user involvement to be sent. They are delivered across the device notification system and appear even when the phone is locked or idle.

Mobile pushes are a bit less personalized than their in-app counterparts, but they allow for broader targeting types and are just perfect for general brand awareness and re-engagement, that’s why retail apps often pick those.

What Does A Push Ad Consist of?

Depending on what you’re trying to do, there are many variations to the formula of push ads. But what does a typical push ad look like?

Push is sent as a payload, a JSON object containing the ad content and metadata. From your user’s POV, the ad will consist of:

• Notification Title: The text that appears in the header;
• Body Text: The message to be shown;
• Icon/Image URL: The URL of the image or logo associated with the ad;
• Action Buttons (Optional): Configurable buttons for additional actions;
• Click Action: The URL or deep link the user is taken to when they interact with the push ad;
• Sound/Alert Type: Custom sounds or vibration settings for the notification;

How Do Push Ads Work?

Now, let’s get to the blood and bones of push advertising.

#1. Choose Your Services

As you’ve probably figured, push ads use the same infrastructure as push notifications. Some major, well-known platforms include:

• Apple Push Notification Service: for iOS devices
• Firebase Cloud messages: for Android devices
• Web push protocol: for most web-browsers

If you’ve read the push ad type section carefully, you’ve noticed that not all of pushes need the above services.

Well, don’t worry too much about these; in most DSPs (including ours), all you have to do is pick the desired user browser and device, and the rest aligns automatically.

#2. User Consent

Yeah, before starting all sorts of push campaigns, the user needs to agree to receive these notifications. Otherwise, they simply won’t show up.

This is a hassle on the publisher’s side since, technically, they are the first to gather user data.

#3. Ad Tech Stack

You can start a push ad campaign with either an ad server or DSP. We’ve talked so much about ad server vs DSP that it hurts to write this sentence right now.

In short, an ad server is for direct push ad campaigns, while the DSP is made for programmatic ones. Push ads have to be numerous, diverse, and, hopefully, cheap, so we’d advise a demand-side platform for the case. Both are good, though.

#4. Ad Delivery

Once configured, push ads are delivered directly to a user's device, either as a desktop or mobile notification. The notification contains a short promotional message with a link or CTA (call to action) to visit a landing page or take another desired action.

The ad delivery, however, has some nuance to it. You see, push ads can be scheduled to be delivered at specific times or sent in real-time based on user activity. Based on that, the process includes:

• Push Queue: Notifications are placed in a queue and are awaiting distribution;
• Push Dispatch: Push notification services like FCM or APNs send the notification to the user’s device once queued;
• Device Wake-up: The device receives the notification even when it’s locked or asleep, thanks to low-power mechanisms built into our phones;

#5. Failure Scenarios

Tracking and reporting don’t differ much from other ad formats and have standard ad server metrics. Failure scenarios are more interesting since a lot of factors could disrupt a push ad, including network errors and device settings. What happens in this case? The system usually includes mechanisms like:

• Retry policies

If a notification fails to deliver, platforms usually attempt to resend after a predefined period.

• Expiry Time

Push ads can have an expiry timestamp, after which they won't be delivered if the device is offline.

What Are the Benefits of Push Advertising?

As you can see, the world of push is deep and diverse, and there’s much more to it than “annoying *dings* on your phone.” But it gets even better when you’re an advertiser or a push ad network in 2024.

#1. Affordability

Let’s face it, post-COVID environment, all-out wars, and economic recession aren’t the best circumstances for profiting from ads. In this day and age, push ads shine with their affordability.

For instance, push ad CPM models generally range from $0.50 to $5. This is significantly lower compared to display ads, where CPMs can range from $2 to $20. Same goes for CPA ($1 to $5) and CPC ($0.01 to $0.10).

#2. Consent-Driven Marketing

Despite everything, cookies are alive and well, but that doesn’t mean that the industry hasn’t changed in the past few years. The trend for user privacy is as strong as ever, so an ad that requires consent to be shown will be a great addition to your campaign.

#3. Real-time Relevance

Once again, third-party advertising still thrives, but its accuracy remains low (sad, but true). Push ads are dynamic and can be tailored in real-time based on user behavior and external factors. So, no matter who you target, you can always stay relevant.

#4. Direct Engagement

Be honest; when you see a push notification, you either click or close it and rarely leave it on seen. Push ads aren’t completely invincible to banner blindness, but they are far more effective in capturing the audience than traditional display ads.

#5. Permissive Policies

Betting, adult, crypto – we haven’t forgotten about you guys. Unlike strict video and banner policies, you can promote virtually anything with push advertising, as long as the user is okay with it.

What Are the Best Practices for Push Advertising?

Okay, you know almost everything there is to know about the push action. You’re almost prepared for your own sailing, but before you go - let us give you a few quick tips.

Industries

Virtually any push ad network will gain from these nice and simple ads. The graph below illustrates just that.

The most beneficial would be:

• eCommerce and Retail (in-page, web);
• Mobile gaming (in-app);
• Travel (mobile, web);
• Streaming services (in-app, mobile);
• Health and Fitness (in-app, mobile);
• News and Blogs (web, in-page);

Budgets

We highly recommend allocating 30% of your ad budget for testing push ads (called NATIVE on our platform), and this is the main reason:

With a lower budget, you can bring to your landing pages more live users and test them out. All clicks are already engaged with your Call-To-Action.

Specifications

Surely, the specs depend on the platform, but here’s the standard for our ad tech stack:

Icon: 192x192
Main image: 492x328
Title: 36 symbols max.
Description: 75 symbols max.
Formats: jpg

Content

The content advice might sound familiar if you’re a veteran advertiser, but still:

• Avoid complicated images;
• Utilize clean user-generated images instead of boring stock photos (if it makes sense);
• Try using emojis (if it makes sense);
• Add a sense of urgency to the title;
• Mind your CTA;

Generic? Maybe, but it’s never too late to remember the basics.

Delivery Time

There’s no ideal timing for every type of push ad. If you’re advertising “normal” content, people on the web recommend sending it between 1 am and 3 pm and between 5 pm and 11 pm. If you are “Hi, sweetie, I’m Ashley💋💋💋”, then late night hours could prove to be effective as well.

How Do You Launch Push Campaigns? Epom DSP - Guide for Push Ad Networks

Both our DSP and ad server (in the tab “NATIVE “) support push campaigns. As we tipped you to use programmatic advertising, let’s look at setting up push ads in Epom DSP. That’ll be easy.

1. Create a new campaign.

2. Choose Push.

3. Set up basic parameters like Name, Pricing Models, and Auction Types.

4. Apply all of your knowledge gained from this article to set up who you want to target and how. For example, we chose Phone as a Device Type and Android as OS.

5. Don’t forget about the Advanced Options. Here, you can customize parameters like age, geo, language, and even stores.

6. The last screen is all about bidding. If you don’t know what you’re doing – leave it as is, and don’t forget to set Max Bid Price. If you do – then you don’t need further explanation.

7. Once you hit Save, the platform will ask you to upload the creative. Do this, and you’re done!

What Is The Future of Push Ads in 2025?

The potential of push advertising looks as bright as ever. The stars of ad tech seem to align just right for Push to have its second album, and this time, we’re probably getting “Nevermind” instead of “Bleach.”

Use our advice from this article to be deeper in the context than the fan of “Smells like Teen Spirit,” and see you later!