Tag Archives: #TheRewardedWay

How to test your rewarded ads

Have you started using AdMob rewarded video, but feel like you could be getting more out of it?

We know it can be hard to get it right the first time, so we recommend A/B testing when implementing rewarded video in your app. Why? Because rewarded video gives you so much more flexibility and even the smallest tweaks can make a huge difference in your app revenue or give you peace of mind that you’re improving your user experience. With that in mind, here are four steps to help you run an effective A/B test.

1. Start with a defined goal and a hypothesis: Step back and decide on a single hypothesis that has the most potential to improve your business and start there. So where should you start testing?  One good place is the design elements in your ad template and how it can impact greater user ad engagement.For example, if you have a hypothesis that font sizes impact clarity and user engagement then you could create two variations with different font sizes (10pm and 13pm) to test key metrics like click through rates, ad revenue and of course, app exit rates. Meanwhile, key metrics to look for would be click through rate, ad revenue, and app exit rates.

Example variables that you could test are:

  • Font size
  • Ad size
  • Reward settings
  • Ad placement within app

2. Remember to test only one variation at a time for it to be a true A/B test: The testing stage will require two variations of your app screen – the current version and your re-designed version. When creating these variations, using an A/B testing platform will make it easy to design, run, and monitor your tests.

3. Run the experiment: Time to test your results. Set up your app to randomly show your original set-up to half of your users (i.e., the “control group”) and the second variation to the other 50% (i.e.,  the “experimental group”). By using a control group, you’re collecting baseline data to compare against your results. Without it, you can’t tell the difference between the response to your new designs or other variables, like seasonal chance.

4. Make a decision: Once the experiment is done, it’s time to crunch the data. First thing to do is to revisit your initial goal and hypothesis, and make that all-important final calls on whether the new variation is worth changing. Don’t be too hasty to lock in a new look. If the changes are significant, it’s smart to run the experiment over several time periods to ensure the results aren’t due to seasonality, or other variables.

As you continue to run more tests, remember that even with helpful tools, testing takes time and resources. Don’t waste time testing elements that won’t significantly impact your goal. Use app analytics data to help uncover spots in your app with a lot of opportunity and potential (think: screens with high traffic, high engagement, or large user drop off, for example). A good idea might be to have a devoted team member spend 25% of their time on monitoring analytics, identifying ad optimization ideas, and testing them.

Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.

The AdMob Team

Source: Inside AdMob


Winning with rewarded Video: Two app success stories

AdMob’s rewarded video is a quick and simple way to monetize your app effectively. Two developers share their learnings and success stories of using rewarded video ads to grow their revenue and business.

1. JOYCITY: Game of Dice

JOYCITY, a leading mobile-first developer of games and entertainment for iOS and Android, released Game of Dice, a fast-paced, quirky game that has amassed a legion of fans worldwide.

How they use rewarded ads

JOYCITY aimed to monetize non-spending users in the in-app-purchase (IAP) heavy game without cannibalizing IAP revenue. By implementing AdMob’s rewarded video ads demand and by including multiple third party demand sources via the AdMob mediation feature, JOYCITY were able to incorporate rewarded video ads into their gaming app and increase revenue.

Results

JOYCITY saw overall revenue of Game of Dice increase, with their IAP revenue in particular increasing by 10%, while also maintaining their daily active user rates.

Somin Oh, Ad Monetization Manager for JOYCITY said -

“Implementing AdMob rewarded ads helped us not just monetizing non-spending users but increasing overall revenue of the game, including IAP revenue. Also, AdMob mediation made it easy to compare our ad performance across ad networks.”

2. Cheetah Mobile: BADLAND 2

BADLAND 2 is the brainchild of, one of the world’s leading developers, Cheetah Mobile, and won the "Most Beautiful" reward of Google Play "Best of 2016" in Great Britain, Australia and India!.

How they use rewarded ads

Cheetah Mobile aimed to monetize BADLAND 2 without interrupting user’s gaming experience. They were able to implement AdMob’s rewarded ads at natural breaks in the game and offer a valuable reward in exchange for the viewer watching a video. This allowed Cheetah Mobile to ensure a great user experience while monetizing the app effectively.

Results

By using AdMob rewarded video ads and other rewarded local networks, within one week Cheetah Mobile saw a 40% increase in eCPM and a fill rate in the US of over 93%. Rewarded video also had a positive impact on monthly user retention rates.

Chen Yong, SVP of Cheetah Mobile said -

“AdMob rewarded video showed excellent performance among all networks on fill rate and eCPM in our main marketplaces. With rewarded video ads implemented in suitable scenarios in our games apps, we even see better user engagements.”

Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.

Source: Inside AdMob


Three ways AdMob make UX a priority with Rewarded video

At AdMob, we know how important user experience is to creating a great app. Non-intrusive ads make for happy users and higher ad engagement rates, and we think rewarded videos are the next step in meeting and exceeding a users expectations for a great experience. Here are three ways AdMob can help improve your user experience with rewarded video ads.

1. Consistency

With reliable UX patterns, you’ll form clear breaks in your apps where users are expecting to see engaging ads. And when it comes to rewarded video, ads that appear at just the right moment will provide a mutual benefit to both user and publisher. For example, in a gaming app, you might want to reward your user with extra lives in exchange for watching a video at a moment when the game would otherwise end. Your users will thank you for it!

2. No tricks

A rewarded video is still an ad, so it is important to make the value exchange between user and publisher transparent. Users are presented with a clear description of the action required from them and what they will get in return, before choosing whether to opt-in to view the rewarded video. And while advertisers pay for an install, the option to install an app as a result of watching a rewarded video is not incentivized: the user is rewarded for viewing the message and the action to install is optional.

3. Optimum engagement

We use Firebase Analytics to help you understand your audience better. With Firebase, A/B testing is simple and can ensure you are getting the most out of your exchange with the user. Optimizing reward value, frequency of ads, and ad placement in app all contribute to a successful rewarded strategy that results in happy users.

Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.

Source: Inside AdMob


3 reasons to use AdMob rewarded video demand and mediation

Implementing in-app ads can be time-consuming and complicated, but with AdMob you can start integrating rewarded ads quickly and simply. Aside from making rewarded ads easy to set-up and available to everyone, we also incorporated other features that are unique to AdMob. Here are 3 reasons why you should be using AdMob rewarded video demand and mediation.

User Experience
Google’s rewarded video ad format is focused on delivering a great user experience. Rewarded ads offer users the choice to watch a video in exchange for an in-app reward, like a new life in a game. To do this successfully, this experience needs to complement rather than interrupt a user’s flow. With intuitive user prompts and clear options to opt-out, our rewarded ad format puts your user in control of their in-app experience.

Yield optimization
In order to ensure an optimal user experience and avoid ad blindness due to repetition, you need to ensure that you have a diverse set of ads to show users. Rewarded mediation allows you to manage multiple third party demand sources via one platform, in addition to Google demand. This helps ensure there is always an ad available to show and that the ad shown is also the most valuable. By choosing to work with multiple demand sources and managing them optimally, publishers can increase revenue through competition between sources.

Beyond that, our rewarded mediation solution gives publishers maximum control over their users’ rewarded ad experiences. Experimenting and optimizing the rewarded setup is easy with ad unit level configuration, which lets publishers try different, customized rewarded settings at different places in their apps. Server side settings mean there’s no need to republish the app after changes are made, so experimenting is easy.

Firebase Analytics
Using Firebase Analytics to analyse the effectiveness and impact of your rewarded ads is unique to AdMob. The first step is to check out the Firebase Audiences tab to segment your users in ways that are important to your business. It’s then possible to analyse the impact on the experiences of these different user segments.  Experimentation and understanding what resonates with your high value users is key to the success of rewarded.

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Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.

Source: Inside AdMob


A beginners guide to implementing AdMob rewarded ads

With faster devices and more bandwidth come richer apps with more immersive ads. AdMob has cutting-edge formats to help you deliver high quality ads that load fast. AdMob can help you build audiences by integrating rewarded ad formats into your app mechanics. Using the right technology you could earn money and enhance your user experience. Here’s a quick guide to help get you started, it’s easy – we promise.

Before you get started, make sure your SDKs are updated (Android v9.0 or higher and iOS v7.9.1 or higher), then…

  1. Sign in to your AdMob account
  2. Create a new AdMob rewarded interstitial ad unit
  3. Configure your ad unit settings (this is where you can tinker with the reward amount, the reward itself, and set an ad frequency cap to ensure your users don’t see the same ad too many times).
  4. Implement the rewarded interstitial ad unit and ad unit ID where the ad will be shown in the app. Take a look at our Android implementation guide and iOS implementation guide for help.
  5. Optionally integrate the SDKs of third-party demand sources


That’s it! Once your ads are fully integrated, we recommend experimenting with Firebase Analytics to analyse the effectiveness of your rewarded ads. Experimentation and understanding what resonates with your high value users is key to the success with rewarded. With Firebase, A/B testing is simple and can ensure you are getting the most out of your exchange with the user: optimizing reward value, frequency of ads, and ad placement in app all contribute to a successful reward strategy.

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Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.

The AdMob Team

Source: Inside AdMob


Rewarded 101: Important things you need to know about rewarded video

Rewarded video is changing the way publishers monetize their content. We’ve seen advertising evolve to become mutually beneficial to both the user and the publisher, while also providing a better, richer experience. This is a huge potential opportunity for app developers, but how can you use rewarded video to augment your user experience and monetize your app?  Here’s a quick overview of what rewarded advertising is, and some of its important features.

What’s rewarded? Rewarded video is a non-intrusive, short-form video that creates a value exchange between a publisher and a user: user’s voluntarily give their time to watch an ad in exchange for a reward, or in-app currency.

Rewarded video isn’t a new thing. Gaming publishers have been taking advantage of user opt-in video for several years, but we’ve recently seen rewarded video gaining traction across several different verticals. Publishers are exploring the potential of leveraging premium features, exclusive content, or upgraded services to incorporate Rewarded video ads seamlessly into their apps.

Focus on the user and all else will follow. A positive user experience is key to the success of rewarded video. Each ad should complement the user experience by appearing at an appropriate time offering a valuable reward (like gaining an extra life in your favorite game instead of the level ending, or an hour of uninterrupted listening time when streaming music) in exchange for watching a video. With AdMob, the user controls their experience by choosing to watch a video and receive the reward, or to not watch the video and forfeit the reward. It’s also easy to set a frequency cap to ensure that a user doesn’t see the same ad too many times.

You can earn more by doing less with AdMob mediation. Our ad unit level configuration allows you to try different advertising networks, network order, and reward settings at different points in your app. Our ad network also automatically fetches CPM values from these networks, and optimizes accordingly: expect high fill rates and maximum revenue. The best part? Thanks to our server-side settings you can keep tinkering in the background until you’ve got your reward settings nailed, minus the hassle of changing your code or re-releasing your app.

The most important thing to remember about rewarded video? When done well, it adds value to all parties. Users explicitly choose to opt-in and engage with an ad that complements their game or app in exchange for a reward. Publishers benefit from a non-interruptive high CPM monetisation format, increased retention, and potentially more ARPU (rewarded users play more and spend more). And advertisers reach valuable, engaged users that are more likely to complete an ad view. Everyone’s a winner!

Integrating rewarded ads into your apps is easy. Follow these simple steps to get started...
  1. Create a new AdMob Rewarded interstitial ad unit
    1. Make sure your SDKs are updated (Android v9.0 or higher and iOS v7.9.1 or higher)
    2. Implement the rewarded interstitial ad unit and ad unit ID where the ad will be shown in the app. Take a look at our Android implementation guide and iOS implementation guide for help.
    3. Optionally integrate the SDKs of third-party demand sources

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    Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.
    The AdMob team


    Source: Inside AdMob