In-app advertising offers a quick and easy way to incorporate a monetization option into both your freemium, premium, and subscription apps.
Using AdMob and the Google Mobile Ads SDK included in Google Play Services, you’re able to add advertising into your apps, with just a few lines of code.
When including ads in your apps you should consider:
Placement within your apps — Well placed ads will optimize your revenue by making it more likely that users will ‘click through’. Poorly placed ads can result in low click-through rates, and in the worse cases poor rating and users rapidly abandoning your apps. You can get advice on how to best place ads from the developer training on using ads.
Ad formats — Every app offers a different type of experience for users, so it’s important to consider the format of ads you’re using to ensure it’s compatible with the experience. While banner ads may work well for a flashlight utility app, an immersive gaming app may benefit more from a video interstitial. Mismatched ad formats may negatively affect your users’ experience and ad revenue, so try to select formats that fit well with the content and flow of your apps.
Maximizing your performance — Ensure you’re optimizing your advertising revenue by maximizing your CPMs and fill rate. Often ad providers will cite very high CPMs but will have a low fill rate that can severely decrease your effective CPM, so look at both of these figures. Also consider using a mediation solution if you’d like to use multiple ad providers in your apps. Look for solutions that offer yield management or network optimization features to serve the highest paying ad for each impression.
Exercising control options — A variety of ads promoting a broad selection of other services or apps may show up within you apps. Depending on your goals and the type of experience you want to provide your users, it may make sense to block certain advertisements from appearing. Some developers don’t want apps in a similar category showing to their users, but some don’t mind.
Cross promoting your other apps — Ads can be used for more than just earning revenue. Consider using house ads within your apps to create awareness and promote your entire portfolio of apps. When launching new apps, an easy way to quickly attract users is to promote directly to your existing customers.
To start monetizing with ads sign up for AdMob and integrate the Google Mobile Ads SDK into your apps. If you also need to manage direct deals with advertisers, consider using DoubleClick for Publishers Small Business.