Author Archives: Chris Jones

[New eBook] Download The No-nonsense Guide to App Monetization

There are many questions to answer when developing a new app. One of the most important being, “what’s the best way to make money?”.

Research firm Canalys predicts that by 2019, there will be 6.9 billion mobile phones in the world, in the hands of nearly 75% of the Earth’s population.* With growing demand in new markets and so many options for monetization, answering this question can be complicated.

Today we’re launching a new ebook “The No-nonsense Guide to App Monetization”, the latest in our No-nonsense series. This guide is designed for app developers starting to consider how to monetize their app. It provides a comprehensive overview of app monetization and shares helpful examples and practical tips to get you started.

In 10 minutes you’ll learn:
  • What the seven primary app monetization models are and the pros and cons for each
  • How to choose the right monetization strategy for your app
  • Important considerations to keep in mind when implementing your monetization plan

Download a free copy here.

The No-nonsense Guide to App Monetization

Also, within the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing blog posts with app developers sharing candid stories and helpful tips on app monetization. Our next post will highlight the tactic Christoph Pferschy, the app developer behind Hydro Coach, used to scalably release 22 localized versions of his app.

Until then, for more tips on app monetization, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter and Google+ pages.

Posted by Joe Salisbury, Product Specialist, AdMob

* Canalys 2015, “Worldwide smart phones forecast overview 2015-2019”


Source: Inside AdMob


New partners added to the AdMob Mediation platform

Showing ads from multiple ad networks increases competition in your app and can help you earn more revenue. AdMob Mediation offers you a way to manage many different networks to maximize your fill rate, all from a single interface. We’ve been adding new features to our mediation solution, such as ad network optimization, which dynamically generates the highest CPM for each ad from the ad networks in your mediation stack. And we’ve been continually adding ad networks, giving you more choice when selecting ad networks.
Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve added Vungle and Vpon as our newest mediation partners, with Vungle also supporting ad network optimization.




Here’s what developers have to say about AdMob mediation:

After integrating AdMob mediation and opting into ad network optimization, Bangkok-based company Sinoze saw its AdMob revenue grow by nearly 70% and overall revenue by 175%. To learn more about Sinoze’s big revenue uplift with their popular music app Thapster, check out their case study here.

“AdMob delivers extremely high fill rates – up to 99% in some cases, which other platforms simply cannot match and the built-in mediation feature makes it convenient and effective to manage ads from several demand sources to maximize yield. What is more, the ads are varied, and the formats are high quality so the ads that our players see are perfectly in keeping with the premium feel of the app.”
- Chishima Shigeru, Manager, Sinoze

Digitalchemy went global with its popular calculator apps, enabling them to grow from a team of two part-time developers to a full-time app business with a staff of seven. To learn more, check out their growth story here.

“We’ve seen a 30% to 40% bump in revenue since we started using mediation in AdMob. AdMob offers a simple way to work with multiple ad partners to maximize fill rates and revenue. The way AdMob automatically optimizes across multiple ad networks is fantastic.” 
- Micah Koffron, Founder, Digitalchemy

Not mediating yet? It’s easy to set up and takes very little time to manage. With AdMob, you can focus on building great apps while we do the hard work for you. Here’s how you can get started.

For more about AdMob Mediation, visit our help center, and to stay connected on all things AdMob, follow our Twitter and Google+ pages.

Posted by Henry Wang
Product Marketing, AdMob

Source: Inside AdMob


Appkruti, creator of Crazy Helium Booth, doubles income with AdMob by Google

Founded in 2012 in India, Appkruti Solutions’ mission is to put smiles on faces and bring families together through fun, engaging apps. Their popular app, Crazy Helium Video Booth, lets users create videos with funny video and sound effects, and has garnered over 15M downloads worldwide. To monetize its massive user base, Appkruti turned to AdMob because of its global reach. Using AdMob mediation, Appkruti was able to tap many different networks without integrating additional SDKs, helping them to double their income. Watch how Appkruti is growing their business with AdMob by Google.



To check out other success stories, visit us at at the AdMob website. Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter and Google+ pages.

Posted by Henry Wang and Deborah Fray-Chaudhuri
Product Marketing

Source: Inside AdMob


Introducing new interactive ads to drive app installs

Cross-posted from the Inside AdWords blog.

We’re launching two new immersive ad formats to help advertisers drive app installs. As an AdMob developer you may start to see these new formats appear in your apps. If you opt into ‘Image’ as an ‘ad type’ in your account, you’ll be eligible to show the Interactive Interstitial format, and if you opt into ‘Text,’ your app can begin to serve the Trial Run format. At this time, Interactive Interstitials show on Android and iOS apps, and Trial Run Ads show on Android apps only.


Developers are constantly looking for new ways to bring users to their apps. But because people’s attention on mobile is becoming shorter and more intent-rich, finding engaged users of your app is an ongoing challenge — both before and after an install. In fact, we found that one in four installed apps is never even used. We’ve focused our efforts on offering developers advertising tools that engage users and showcase an app at its best. We recently redesigned one of our in-app ad formats, and are building on our desire to create beautiful app ad experiences. That’s why today we’re introducing two new rich, immersive ad formats to our growing suite of creative app install solutions.

Play a game within an ad with Trial Run Ads
Trial Run Ads are an app ad format that lets a user play a game for up to 60 seconds by streaming content from the app before downloading. The immersive demo increases the likelihood that an install is coming from someone who enjoys playing the game. Users get a taste of the game before going through the download process,  and the app developer attracts better qualified users who’ve chosen the game based on their experiences in the app.

Trial Run Ads provide:
  • Ultra-immersive and delightful ads designed for games
  • The opportunity for gamers to trial before download 
  • More relevant ad clicks, app downloads, and pre-qualified app users
Cookie Jam's Trial Run Ad
Get ultra-creative with customized mobile ads
We’re also launching a beta for Interactive Interstitial ads, which are HTML5 ads that offer a completely customized user experience tailored to each advertiser's app. They give advertisers creative freedom to use HTML5 instead of standard templates and pull in data dynamically. Diversity potential is high with this format and it's not limited to just gaming apps. Interactive Interstitials offer a truly custom experience that can include your app’s value proposition and the functionalities you want to highlight, all painted in your personal branding strategy. This is particularly valuable for advertisers who are looking for higher user engagement in installers.

Interactive Interstitials provide:
  • A beautiful and flexible canvas for the advertiser to become truly creative
  • Unique testing and optimization capabilities
  • The opportunity to bring a piece of the app experience to the user before download
  • Unique brand building possibilities
Marketers are already taking advantage of these engaging ads to drive app installs. Zalora built a an ad that allowed users to swipe to discover an exclusive offer.
Zalora's Interactive Interstitial allows users to use a finger to
swipe a screen to discover a special promotion.
Customization can be as big or small as you want — from adjusting standard templates to developing a fully custom creative. Marketers can also use their live app content to create compelling, real time ad formats. With more control over layout and interaction, you can A/B test creatives and try various CTAs to increase conversions. Rather than just telling a user about your app, you can offer them an experience unique to your app that inspires them to want to spend time with your app.

Advertisers can use Interactive Interstitials to showcase their latest product offerings through galleries, highlight elements of their personal branding, and to more powerfully demonstrate the value of their app before someone installs.
Zalora showcases a gallery of products that users can
swipe through in its Interactive Interstitial ad.
We understand that experiences on mobile need to be made for mobile, and an ad is no different. We’re continually exploring new and better ways to build out interactive formats for the small screen.

Trial Run Ads and Interactive Interstitials are currently in beta and available to a limited set of advertisers. Reach out to your account manager if you are interested in joining the betas.

Posted by Sissie Hsiao, Director of Product, 
Display and Pasha Nahass, Product Manager, Display

Source: Inside AdMob


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


    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