Tag Archives: interstitial ads

Using Splash Pages to Avoid Unexpected Launch Interstitials

In this post, we’re going to discuss an easy way to help avoid violating our policy against interstitial ads that unexpectedly launch (Layout Encourages Accidental Clicks - Unexpected Launch Interstitials): implementing a splash page (Loading/Title Screen) in your app. A splash page is a static screen, containing no clickable content, which launches before the user gets to the ‘Home Screen’ of your app.

First, we’ll talk about the violation itself. If you choose to implement interstitial ads in your app, you need to ensure that your implementation won’t encourage users to click on it accidentally. An example of a violating implementation can be found below (Fig.1):

Fig.1: This interstitial ad implementation violates our policies, as an interstitial launches on the ‘Home Screen’ of the app without any action by the user.

In the example above, an interstitial ad launches while the user is idle on the ‘Home Screen’ of the app. This implementation is in violation of our policies, as interstitial ads should only be implemented at logical breaks in between your app's content . One potential way to fix this violation, without removing the interstitial ad altogether, would be to implement a splash page that launches as the first screen of the app, before the ‘Home Screen’. This page will show while the interstitial ad pre-loads. The Interstitial ad should then launch in the transition between the splash screen and the ‘Home Screen’. You can find an example of this correct implementation below (Fig.2):

Fig.2: This implementation does not violation policy. The first screen the user sees is a splash page, followed by an interstitial. Then, when the user closes the interstitial, they are shown the ‘Home Screen’ of the app.

Now that the user sees that content is loading, they won’t be encouraged to accidentally click on the interstitial ad once it launches. Then, when the user closes the ad, they are shown the ‘Home Screen’ of the app.

NOTE: When the user closes the interstitial ad, they must be shown a new screen. Interstitial ads are only to be implemented at logical breaks in between your app's content, so you can’t have the splash page still be there when the user closes the ad. That would be a policy violation.

To have the interstitial ad trigger at the right time, you may need to preload it. You can find more information about preloading interstitials here. As mentioned, as the developer of your app, the design of your splash page is up to you. The only requirement is that the screen doesn’t contain any elements that might encourage users to accidentally click on the interstitial ad once it launches.

It is important to note that, as a developer, it is your responsibility to ensure compliance with our policies. You can consult our Help Centre for even more helpful information regarding our policies and best practices.

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

Posted by: Tom Ambrose, AdMob Publisher Quality Team

Source: Inside AdMob


Preloading Interstitial Ads

In today’s topic, we’re exploring how you can help stay compliant with AdMob policies when using the AdMob interstitial ad format. If you have ever received a policy message for “Layout encourages accidental clicks - Interstitial Ads”, or have had trouble with implementing interstitials to trigger on time, read ahead for our best practices.

App layouts that encourage accidental clicks are a common policy issue for publishers. When implementing interstitial ads within a mobile app, there may be a slight delay in when the ad gets triggered after a user selects an action. In the example below we can see that an interstitial ad launches unexpectedly with a delay on the second screen after the page has already loaded. This delay can occur due to carrier latency when requesting the interstitial ad.

Carrier Latency causing a delay in the interstitial ad

Pre-loading your interstitial ads will allow you to avoid latency when the ad is displayed to the user.
In the corrected example below, the user now clicks on a transitional button and an interstitial ad is shown immediately on action. Once the user closes the interstitial ad they will now be on the next loaded page.

Pre-loading the interstitial ad to trigger on action

To learn more about how to preload your interstitial ads, please follow the AdMob Interstitial Ad developer guidelines for apps developed for Android and iOS.

Implementing these ads in the right way is better for your users, advertisers and for you. AdMob policies are designed to create a positive user experience. For further tips on AdMob Interstitial Ads and Best Practices, check out our official best practices video.

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

Posted by: Zac Campbell, AdMob Publisher Quality Team

Source: Inside AdMob


Mobile Ads Garage: Episode 4 – Interstitials

The Mobile Ads Garage is a new series that covers how to use the Mobile Ads SDK to display ads from AdMob and Doubleclick For Publishers. Each episode will cover one aspect of the SDK, break down the feature, and show screencasts of real implementations on both Android and iOS – all in a friendly format.

With two episodes on banner ads on the books, the Mobile Ads Garage now turns its focus to interstitial ads.

Andrew and Gary the Graphics Guy are back this week with a detailed explanation of the interstitial ad lifecycle, how to load ads, and how to display at just the right time. Along the way you'll get screencasts of Android Studio and Xcode, plus links to guides, samples, and other resources.



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.

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


Beautiful New Designs for Full-Screen In-App Ads

Nearly 60% of smartphone users expect their favorite apps to look visually appealing. We’ve always believed that in-app ads can enhance an app’s overall experience by being well designed. So today we’re announcing a completely new look for our interstitial in-app ad formats - also known as full-screen ads - that run on apps in the AdMob network and DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

Inspired by Material Design, the new app install interstitial comes with a beautiful cover photo, a round install button, and matching color schemes. Technology called “color extraction” makes the ads more consistent with the brand's look and feel -- we extract a dominant color either from the cover photo or app icon and apply it to the footer and install button. We found that having a greater variety of designs and colors can improve conversion rate.

Other features include the app’s rating, and a screenshot gallery which appears when a user taps ‘More images’, so users can learn more about the app without leaving the ad.
New Version of Full-Screen In-App Ads
The previous design of our app install ads on the left, and our new version on the right.
Different Examples of Color Matching for Full-Screen In-App Ads
Different examples of color matching.             
Our app install formats have driven more than a billion downloads across Android and iOS. You can use these new designs automatically when you run a mobile app install campaign on the AdMob network in AdWords. That’s right, no extra work required!

Next, our new text-based ads are easier to read, and contain a larger headline and a round call-to-action button that clicks through to a website.
prev_wayfair.png               new_wayfair.png


On the left, the previous text ad interstitial design, and the new version on the right. 

As with other ad format innovations, our ads UI team test multiple designs - ten in this case over the course of a year - to find final versions that increase clicks and conversions for advertisers, and a positive experience for users. Both app install and text ad formats appear within the app and can be closed easily, so users can return to what they were doing with a single tap.

As we announced at Google I/O this year, the volume of interstitial impressions has more than doubled across AdMob since last July, so now’s a great time to get your business in front of more app users.

If you’re a developer looking to learn more about earning with in-app interstitial ads in your app, visit AdMob now. These new designs will also be available to developers monetizing their apps with DoubleClick Ad Exchange.















Posted by Pasha Nahass, Product Manager

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1) Mobile App Marketing Insights: How Consumers Really Find and Use Your Apps, Google & Ipsos Media CT, May 2015

Source: Inside AdMob