Category Archives: AdMob Blog

News, tips, and information on the AdMob developer platform

How Using Firebase Can Help You Earn More

Are you a developer building the next great app? Do you wish you could better analyze your app and its users, so you can monetize without compromising the overall user experience? If so, you’re at the right place!

Not only can these questions be addressed simultaneously, but there is already a solution in place: Firebase. Firebase can help you build your app, understand and grow your user base, and link with AdMob to help you better monetize.

Developing your app

Firebase can provide a Realtime Database, Authentication, Cloud Messaging, Storage, Hosting and Crash Reporting to aid you in developing your app. Forget about infrastructure - you can focus on building your masterpiece and leave the operations to Firebase.

Analyze your audience

At the heart of Firebase is a 100% free analytics solution built specifically mobile apps. With unlimited reporting on up to 500 distinct events, you can set up multiple measurements to know exactly what your users are doing in your app, how they’re engaging with your app, and what they love most about your app. With this data, you can focus your efforts to drill down and sustain the best features of your app, while at the same time improve newly surfaced areas of needs.

Grow your audience

After you’ve launched your app, Firebase can help you grow and re-engage users with powerful growth features. Using Firebase Notifications console you can re-engage users, run marketing campaigns, and target messages to Audiences in Firebase Analytics. Dynamic Links can survive the app install process and take users to relevant content whether they're a brand-new user or a longtime customer. There is also the Firebase Invites feature, an out-of-the-box solution for app referrals and sharing, which lets your existing users easily share your app, or their favorite in-app content, via email or SMS. Finally, Firebase can also track your AdWords app installs and report lifetime value to the Firebase Analytics dashboard and Firebase Audiences can also be used in AdWords to re-engage specific groups of users. For example In-app events can be defined as conversions in AdWords, to automatically optimize your ads, including universal app campaigns.

Monetize your product

With AdMob by Google, Firebase can also help you monetize your app by linking your Firebase Analytics with monetization. By combining these two products, you gain deep insights into usage data, which you can then use to optimize your user experience and monetize your app. Do your users have trouble progressing past certain levels? Help them progress with Rewarded Video. Are certain users spending all day endlessly scrolling through your content? Help them discover other cool apps with Native Express. Do a few users spend heavily on your IAPs and you want to keep their experience ad free? Segment them with Firebase, and exclude them from the ad experience.

Want to learn more? 

Check out the above video, where Andrew Brogden, Mobile Ads Developer Relations and David East, Developer Advocate, walk you through what benefits there are to using AdMob and Firebase together, and how to get your Android and iOS projects set up with both SDKs.

Ready to start exploring the true power of Firebase and AdMob? Sign up for a Firebase account and an AdMob account and link the two accounts.

Stay tuned for our next blog on Firebase in the coming weeks, where we will deep dive even further on user behavior analytics (of which you now have deep insights thanks to Firebase) and how this can help you increase those 5-star reviews!

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

Posted by Alex Fan, Business Development Executive, Mobile Partnerships.

Source: Inside AdMob


Mobile Ads Garage: Episode 10 – Ad Events

Episode 10 of The Mobile Ads Garage is live on YouTube! If you haven't seen it before, the Mobile Ads Garage is a video tutorial series that covers how to use the Mobile Ads SDK to display ads from AdMob and DoubleClick for Publishers. Each episode covers one aspect of the SDK, breaks down the feature, and shows screencasts of real implementations on both Android and iOS – all in a friendly format.

Knowing what's going on with your ads is a big part of maintaining a great user experience. In the latest episode of the Mobile Ads Garage, you'll see how to tap into the ad lifecycle so your app's informed of loads, clickthroughs, and other key events. You'll also get a detailed breakdown of the steps that occur in the life of an ad, info about which classes and callbacks to use for common tasks like pausing game engines and muting audio, and a real world example of how to put it all together.

If you like the video, save the Mobile Ads Garage playlist to your YouTube Playlist collection and you'll never miss an episode.

We’d love to hear which AdMob features you’d like to learn more about. The comment sections for the videos are open, and you're welcome to toss out ideas for new episodes and examples you'd like to see. If you have a technical question relating to something discussed in one of the episodes, you can bring it to our support forum.

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

 - , Mobile Ads Developer Relations

Source: Inside AdMob


How Gaming Apps Can Increase Monetization Through Creative Strategies

Many game developers use other successful titles (whether their own or from another developer) as examples of how to best design a game or monetize. This can be a smart move, especially when it comes to user interface elements like control scheme, player progress, and currency economics. However, when it comes to knowing what is the best way to monetize your app, copying other apps may leave you with money on the table.
It's tempting to look at how successful titles in the app market are making money and mimic it. If it works so well for those games, you might say, it should work just as well for my game. While true in some cases, not all titles can bank on the exact same rhythm of in-app purchases and a sprinkle of rewarded video ads to meet revenue targets.
So what can you do? Focus on what makes your game different-- from the art design to the leveling-- and experiment with in-app purchase and ad placements to fit to amplify this experience. Oh, and here’s where a little out of the box thinking can come in handy-- new ad formats can be very effective in holding user attention without breaking the core loop.  Be sure to test how these work in your game-- they could offer a whole new level of return for ads, and even build the suspense for the player journey.
Fantasy world; real solutions - 4 steps to get you started
Let’s travel to a parallel dimension, a place where a strategy game called Collision of Tribes is not doing that well from a monetization standpoint. In fact, it is just one more app in the store. Its core mechanics have great balance, the user base is engaged, but for some reason the revenue isn’t quite there. Here are some steps to consider as to how an uplift in revenue can be achieved using AdMob:

  • Consider new ad formats - the transition point between a battle report and town management screen is a perfect spot to use an interstitial ad. An even better practice would be to target only users that had success on their raid. Combining an ad with a positive experience in-game will increase it’s effectiveness.
  • Test it - there is no need to release the new ad feature to all users. Developers can choose a small segment of their user base (say 10%) to make sure the effect in revenue is positive. 
  • Gauge user response - just as you would when changing a game mechanic or implementing a new one, look at your engagement metrics to see if there is any wanted or unwanted effect. Reading store reviews will give a more personalized understanding of how users perceive the change.
  • Back to the drawing board - even when things are going well, there’s always room for improvement. Use the data you have to balance and rebalance frequency capping, floor prices and placements. On the other hand, if interstitial ads don’t bring the expected results, how about trying native ads or other formats instead?

Following the above steps can help not only for Collision of Tribes’ developers, but hopefully you as well. If following the leader only got you so far, try something new to take that extra step forward.
Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.
Posted by Omri Dolev, Strategic Partner Manager, AdMob.

Source: Inside AdMob


Time to Share Your Feedback on AdMob

To improve our product and service, we send out a survey to our developers every 6 months.

Thanks to previous suggestions, we’ve launched new features to improve our product and help you grow your earnings. These included offering expanded frequency capping, support for new mediation networks, and updating reporting capabilities.

You may have received a survey by email over the last few weeks, if so please take the time to respond to it as we value your input.

To make sure that you're eligible to receive the next survey email, please:

Whether you’ve completed this survey before or you’re providing feedback for the first time, we’d like to thank you for sharing your valuable thoughts. We’re looking forward to feedback!

Posted by Susie Reinecke - Developer Happiness Team

Source: Inside AdMob


How to Resolve Google Play Policy Issues

From time to time, you may encounter Google Play policy issues with your apps. The Google Play policy team has been working hard to provide you with the resources and support you need to resolve policy issues.

If the app review team notices a policy issue with your app or app update, you’ll receive an email with the subject line “Notification from Google Play.” (If you didn’t receive this email, make sure to update your email address on the account details page in your Developer Console.)

The policy notification email includes the policy your app violated and the steps you need to take to resolve the issue. If your app is rejected, you can fix the issue and submit the app again for another review - you don’t need to reach out to the policy support team.

If you disagree with a policy violation, or if you’d like help resolving your policy issue, you can always contact our support team. Simply use the contact details in the notification email or click on the question mark at the bottom of each page in the Developer Policy Center.

For the quickest response, make sure to include your package name. As soon as you submit the form, you’ll receive an automated response with a case number in the subject line. This means your appeal has been submitted successfully. A specialist will review your case and respond to you within 72 hours.

If you’d like to learn more about Google Play policy, check out the “10 tips to stay on the right side of Google Play policy” video on the Android Developers YouTube channel or below.

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

Posted by Chris Jones, Social Team, AdMob.

Source: Inside AdMob


10 Tips to Stay on The Right Side of Google Play Policy

In a previous blog post, we introduced the Google Play Developer Policy Center. To go along with making the policies more accessible and useful to developers, the policy team has created an engaging video to help developers stay on the right side of Google Play policy.

Here are the 10 tips to stay on the right side of Google Play policy;

Review the Policy Center: It’s recommended that you review the Policy Center whenever you're unsure if your app violates policy.

Describe your app appropriately: Take the time to describe your app appropriately in order to avoid metadata policy violations. Remember that every translation of your app description needs to be compliant with the metadata policy.

Use images you have the rights to: Your app icon and any graphic assets in your Store Listing should only include images you have the rights to use. If you have been granted permission to use assets owned by others, you can notify the app review team using this form. Make sure that all text and images used in your Store Listing are appropriate for app lovers of all ages.

Rate your app accurately: When answering the content rating questionnaire, it’s important to provide accurate responses in order to receive an accurate rating.

Handle user data with care: User data can include information provided by a user, collected about a user, or collected about a user’s interactions with the app or device. If your app is collecting personal or sensitive user data, you’ll need to handle it securely and include a privacy policy in your Store Listing and in your app.

Make sure ads in your app are policy compliant: Ad behavior should be straightforward - it’s against policy to show ads that are disruptive or deceptive, including ads that pose as system notifications, ads that aren’t dismissible, or ads that appear after a user closes the app. Additionally, ad content in your app should not include adult images, violence, or anything else that would violate the restricted content policy. You may want to check with your ad provider to learn about filtering options.

Don’t forget the restricted content policy: Check your app and your Store Listing for any restricted content, such as adult content, violence, or drugs. If you're concerned about any content in your app, read through the restricted content policy for more details and examples. If any content in your app is user-generated, you’ll need to take additional precautions in order to provide a policy compliant app experience. Check out the user generated content policy to learn more.

Update your email preferences: Make sure to update your email address on the account details page in your Developer Console. That way, if a policy issue does come up, we can contact you with the steps to address it.

Fix any policy issues found in review: Even though you’ve checked your app against the policies, it’s always possible that your app gets rejected or suspended after review. If your app or app update gets rejected, keep in mind that many violations can be fixed! Just follow the steps in the “Notification from Google Play” email you received.

Reach out to us for support: If you disagree with a policy violation, or if you’d like help resolving your policy issue, you can contact our policy support team.

In the next blog post, we’ll talk more about our enforcement process and policy support resources.

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

Posted by Chris Jones, Social Team, AdMob.

Source: Inside AdMob


Explore the Google Play Developer Policy Center

To maximize your app’s revenue potential, you’ll want to make sure your app is compliant with Google Play policies. If your app violates Google Play policy, ad serving can be disabled, so it’s a good idea to regularly review policy updates.

The Developer Policy Center (found at play.google.com/policy) was launched earlier this year and includes:

  • Policies organized by themes, such as Monetization & Ads, Privacy & Security and Restricted Content
  • Visual examples and detailed guidelines for the most common violations
  • A simplified layout to help you navigate more intuitively on mobile or desktop
  • An Updates section to help keep you informed of recent additions to Google Play policy 

You can select a specific policy to learn more about it.

Stay tuned to learn more about policy best practices - we’ll be posting a short video highlighting 10 tips to stay on the right side of Play policy.

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

Posted by Chris Jones, Social Team, AdMob.

Source: Inside AdMob


The Importance of Test Ads in Your App

Whether you're just starting out on AdMob or already have several successful apps under your belt, you'll almost inevitably want to test ads on your app to see if they're working properly. Today, we're here to provide helpful tips to help ensure you're compliant with AdMob policies.

Ultimately, it is your responsibility as the publisher to ensure that the activity on your ads is valid. Publishers may not click on their own live ads, even for testing purposes, or use any other means to inflate impressions and/or clicks artificially. During app development and testing, please use test ads.

If you need to render live ads before launch, avoid clicking on them. If you're showcasing your app to friends, family and/or beta testers, ask them to avoid clicking on live ads.

Example of Test Ads

Your AdMob account may be suspended for invalid activity if one or more users are repeatedly clicking on live ads in your apps, including for testing reasons. If, after the designated suspension period has cleared, and invalid activity continues contributing low value traffic to our ads ecosystem, your AdMob account may be disabled.

Reference our developer documentation on how to implement test ads (Android or iOS). Additionally, the ad unit and samples in our developer tutorials (Android or iOS) return test ads. Test ads are always available for use, even if your AdMob account is suspended or disabled.

For more information about account suspensions, visit our AdMob help center.

Posted by Danielle Chang, Ad Traffic Quality team.

Source: Inside AdMob


Mobile Ads Garage: Episode 9 – AdMob Mediation

Episode nine of The Mobile Ads Garage is live on YouTube!

If you haven't seen it before, The Mobile Ads Garage is a video tutorial series that covers how to use the Mobile Ads SDK to display ads from AdMob and DoubleClick for Publishers. Each episode covers one aspect of the SDK, breaks down the feature, and shows screencasts of real implementations on both Android and iOS – all in a friendly format.

In this episode of The Mobile Ads Garage, we discuss mediation, which is a way for publishers to get multiple networks of advertisers competing to display ads in their apps. We’ll show you how AdMob mediation works and what it can do for your business. Learn the pros and cons of mediation, see the details of implementation, and find out whether it’s right for your app. You'll also get screencasts for Android and iOS showing the integration of a third-party SDK, plus links to samples, written resources, and Gary the Graphics Guy acting like his usual, snarky self.

If you like the video, save the Mobile Ads Garage playlist to your YouTube playlist collection and you'll never miss an episode.

We’d love to hear which AdMob features you’d like to learn more about. The comment sections for the videos are open, and you're welcome to toss out ideas for new episodes. If you have a technical question relating to something discussed in one of the episodes, you can bring it to our support forum.

Remember to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages.

 - , Mobile Ads Developer Relations

Source: Inside AdMob


[New eBook] Download The No-Nonsense Guide to Native Ads

Today we’re launching a new eBook called "The No-Nonsense Guide to Native Ads", the latest in our No-Nonsense series. This guide is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of native ads and share practical tips and best practices for implementing native ads in your app.

Over the last several years, app users have raised their expectations for a high quality app UX. To meet these expectations, ad formats have evolved accordingly. The most fitting new format that meets these higher expectations is native ads – ads that match the look and feel of the surrounding app content. And as spending on native ads is expected to grow to $21 billion in 2018, this presents a huge opportunity for publishers to enhance their user experience and tap into new revenues.

In the eBook, you’ll learn:

  • Guiding design principles that will help you better implement native ads 
  • Practical tips and best practices for implementing native ads with lots of examples 
  • Tips on how to set up a proper A/B test to begin testing native ads 
  • How AdMob can help you implement native ads

Download your copy here:

Vishal Kumar, Senior Product Manager, AdMob

Source: Inside AdMob