Category Archives: AdMob Blog

News, tips, and information on the AdMob developer platform

Charge your game monetization with a winning combination of in-app purchases and ads

Predictions estimate that by 2017, 94.5% of app downloads will be free [1]. As a developer, you are probably juggling creating great content for your game and finding ways to monetize it. It’s important to develop a robust monetization model that takes into consideration the spending preferences of all users. That’s why today we are unveiling a new white paper with insights and ideas on building effective monetization models: A Winning Combination - How using in-app purchases and ads together can maximize mobile game revenue.

Today, in-app ads and freemium (free download with IAPs*) fuel the growth of mobile app revenue, growing at 71% and 72% respectively from 2013 to 2014 [2]. Through an analysis of over 10,000 top Android apps, we found that for games, using IAP and ads together can potentially generate 117% more revenue than just IAPs alone.

However, a hybrid approach is more than simply bundling ads and IAPs together; it’s about targeting the right users at the right time with the right monetization opportunity. The goal of our white paper is to help you accomplish that easily and effectively.

In this white paper, you will learn the following:

  • What an effective hybrid monetization model looks like and the benefits it can deliver;
  • The principles and frameworks for building an effective hybrid monetization strategy;
  • Best practices from developers around the world.

You can download the white paper here. Find out what AdMob’s IAP solution can do to help you build a strong hybrid monetization model.


We’d love to hear what you think of the white paper. Please share with us on Twitter and Google+ what other tips you have in building a strong hybrid monetization strategy.

Sean Meng
AdMob Product Marketing

* In-app purchases
[2] - IDC/App Annie: Mobile App Advertising and Monetization Trends 2013-2018


    Source: Inside AdMob


    January is the Black Friday for Apps

    Shoppers are on the hunt for gifts in countless moments throughout the holiday season. In between going to festive parties, sipping eggnog, and making the required visits to see extended family, millions of shoppers will be buying new mobile devices. In fact, Gartner reports that 30% of all smartphone sales worldwide happen in the last three months of the year.

    As people unwrap those shiny new phones and tablets, you can bet that many of them will be downloading apps -- and not just one or two. Our research shows that the average smartphone user has 36 apps installed on their device. Games, messaging, news and shopping apps all rank highly as the first kinds of apps people download within a week of purchasing their phones.

    We looked at AdMob data from last year and found that ad impressions spiked across apps by nearly 30% between the months of October and January, with the largest spike occurring in January. This is perhaps due to people trying out their phones and downloading new apps with the added free time during the holidays. Developers should take advantage of the January Black Friday by promoting their apps, but also understand the monetization opportunities that lie beyond installation.

    Check out our new infographic, put together in collaboration with App Annie, which features strategies to help get your app ready for the holiday (and post-holiday) app explosion. Let us help you ‘deck the installs!’
    For additional holiday app monetization tips, download our free Holiday App Performance Guide. It features data and tips tailored to several countries that do very well during the season–Brazil, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Also, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter and Google+ page.

    Posted by Arun Balaraman
    Product Manager, AdMob

    _______________________________________________
    1Gartner, Smartphone Sales Worldwide, Q1 2012 - Q2 2015
    2Google & Parks Associates, Global Apps Consumer Study, Q1 2014

    Source: Inside AdMob


    Updated Guidance on Implementing AdMob Interstitial Ads

    We’ve recently made some updates to our AdMob Help Center to help provide further guidance on implementing interstitial ads. These best practices, along with examples of what you should and shouldn’t do, are designed to help developers implement interstitial ads.

    Mobile devices have limited screen size, which means that careful planning for your ad placement is especially important. Improper implementation can lead to accidental clicks, and our goal is to build a strong ecosystem that benefits users, advertisers and developers in the long term.

    Our goal is to provide examples which help developers create positive user experiences.  Users should not be overwhelmed with interstitial ads. Repeated interstitial ads often lead to poor user experiences and accidental clicks.

    Additionally, users should not be surprised by interstitial ads. Placing interstitial ads so that they suddenly appear when a user is focused on a task at hand (e.g., playing a game, filling out a form, reading content) may lead to accidental clicks and often creates a frustrating user experience.

    Finally, ads should not be placed in a way that prevents viewing the app’s core content, nor in a way that interferes with navigating or interacting with the app’s core content and functionality.

    More examples and details, along with additional visual examples of best practices can be found on the AdMob Help Center. Here you will find disallowed implementations and recommendations on how to fix interstitial implementations, as well as general interstitial ad guidance.

    Subscribe to app development insights from AdMob by Google here.

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    Posted by John Brown
    Head of Publisher Policy Communications

    Source: Inside AdMob


    Megabit: Building a dream with AdMob

    Growing up in Jordan, Ahmad Jarrar knew that he was going to start his own company. After working in the tech industry, Jarrar decided to quit his job to work on Android apps. Starting out wasn’t easy but he refused to give up, building a successful company in Megabit. Having grown a large user base, Megabit shifted its focus to retention and that’s when they turned to AdMob. Megabit used Analytics to gain valuable insights into their users, enabling them to optimize their apps for higher returns. Megabit also adopted an ad-supported model with AdMob, generating 5X revenue while achieving a 100% fill rate. To find out more, check out Jarrar’s story here.
    Megabit’s popular app, Wallpapers for Chat, reached 4.2 million downloads in just 3 months. Wallpapers for Chat lets users customize their wallpapers on chat apps by choosing from a large wallpaper collection.

    Posted by Henry Wang
    Product Marketing, AdMob

    Source: Inside AdMob


    Catch what you missed at Casual Connect SF

    We had a blast at Casual Connect this year. We enjoyed meeting with game developers, chatting about the best ways to monetize their apps. If you weren’t able to make it, below is a video recording of one of our talks.
    This talk was given by Alejandro Manchado, Google's US Gaming Partnerships Lead. He covered how AdMob is bringing the unique scale and innovation of its solutions to help game developers figure out the right monetization strategy for their audiences, whether that's IAP, ads, or both. This talk discussed monetizing games effectively through tools like ad mediation, plus adding value through new formats like native ads.

    For more information on monetization, and to stay connected on all things AdMob, follow our Twitter and Google+ pages.

    Posted by Mike Schipper
    Product Marketing, AdMob

    Source: Inside AdMob


    Gram Games: Growing revenue 7X with AdMob’s in-app advertising

    While building engaging games was never an issue for Gram Games, promoting and monetizing them was a challenge. Turning to Google, Gram Games found success with AdMob. By switching from a premium model to an ad-supported model through AdMob, Gram Games generated $5K earnings in a single day, increasing their revenue sevenfold. Thanks in part to AdMob, Gram Games is now one of Turkey’s fastest growing startups, producing original mobile games ranging from strategy to casual, mid-core and more. Check out their full story here.


    Gram Games’ highly addictive game 1010! Puzzle has over 5 million downloads on Google Play alone. A challenging but simple puzzle game,1010! Puzzle lets users piece together puzzles within 30 seconds and compete with their friends in the process.

    Posted by Henry Wang
    Product Marketing, AdMob

    Source: Inside AdMob


    A new look for the AdMob logo

    We’re making a few changes to the AdMob logo which you’ll see appearing on the AdMob website, UI and our social channels over the next few days. We’re introducing a larger font and a bolder design that makes it easier to see across devices of all different sizes. Check out the new logo below.

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    Posted by Mike Schipper
    Product Marketing, AdMob

    Source: Inside AdMob


    Find answers fast with the new AdMob Help Widget

    To make it easier for you to access help while you're using AdMob, we've added a new, built-in Help Widget. The Help Widget lets you easily search and read help center articles directly from within AdMob.
    To use the widget, click the “Question Mark” icon .
    A pop-up will appear displaying help center content related to your current location in AdMob. You can also use the widget to search for other articles. Click any article you’re interested in, and it will still be shown inside the widget, all without leaving AdMob! Once you find your answer, you can leave the widget open on the side to easily follow the steps listed in the article. If you’re done using the widget, you can close it by clicking the “X” in the corner.
    Sep 22, 2015 17:38.gif

    If you've been to the help center recently, you may have noticed a little box at the bottom of some of the pages. We've listened to your feedback and added a little human touch. In that box, you’ll find a picture of the “androidified” author of the article so you can get to know more about the people who worked on creating this content.Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 5.33.25 PM.png
    Next time you’re reading a help center article, don’t forget to scroll down to take a look at the author and maybe give them any feedback you might have. They'll be able to use your feedback to keep improving the article's content.



    Omar Kassem
    AdMob Support Specialist


    Source: Inside AdMob


    AdMob Banner Ad Implementation Guidance

    We’ve recently made some updates to our AdMob Help Center to help provide further guidance on implementing banner ads. These best practices, along with examples of what you should and shouldn’t do, are designed to help developers implement banner ads.

    Mobile devices have limited screen size, which means that careful planning for your ad placement is especially important. Improper implementation can lead to accidental clicks, and our goal is to build a strong ecosystem that benefits users, advertisers and developers in the long term. 

    Close proximity of banner ads to other elements within an app is one of the biggest causes of accidental clicks. To avoid accidental clicks, banner ads should not be placed next to interactive navigational buttons, such as a “next” button or on a game play screen where users are continuously interacting with the app.

    For example, separating the banner ad from app interactive elements helps reduce user confusion and the likelihood of accidental clicks. Poor ad implementations often cause high levels of invalid activity due to the proximity of the ad to app clickable elements:


    Do This
    Don’t Do This
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    badAdjacent.png



    More examples and details, along with additional visual examples of best practices can be found on the AdMob help center.
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    Posted by John Brown
    Head of Publisher Policy Communications

    Source: Inside AdMob


    Bring users back to your app with push notifications

    With one simple sentence, a push notification can bring users back to your app more often. If you design notifications with your users in mind, you’ll build loyalty, increase your regular active users and earn more revenue.

    It’s easy to design a push notification experience that your users look forward to. Follow these 3 principles and you’ll be pushing in the right direction.

    1. Valuable

    Users love your app for a reason: you took the time to craft a great experience. Extend that experience outside your app by using push notifications to alert users to something of value, like a special offer, to bring them back again and again. 

    2. Personal

    Rather than broadcasting one message to all users, be data-driven. Send different notifications according to the user’s time zone, location or past behaviour. Get permission from users: let them control what notifications they’d like to get and how often they’ll receive them. Sending notifications too often could bother users. 

    3. Actionable 

    Keep title and text short, with one action per notification. Test and measure which notifications result in the most app opens.

    Bonus tip: You can manage push notifications and more for free with the powerful Google Cloud Messaging API.

    % of app users that would start using an app again given prompts*:
    30%
    Discount or coupon
    24%
    Exclusive or bonus content
    16%
    Notification of new features

    You can find more tips to grow and retain your users by reading App Best Practices series.












    Posted by Amelia Walkley
    Marketing Communication Specialist, AdMob

    Source: Inside AdMob