Inside AdMob
Google’s official blog for news, tips, and information on the AdMob developer platform
Appkruti, creator of Crazy Helium Booth, doubles income with AdMob by Google
December 7, 2015
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
Charge your game monetization with a winning combination of in-app purchases and ads
December 1, 2015
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
[1] - Gartner:
http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2648515
[2] - IDC/App Annie: Mobile App Advertising and Monetization Trends 2013-2018
January is the Black Friday for Apps
November 20, 2015
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
_______________________________________________
1
Gartner, Smartphone Sales Worldwide, Q1 2012 - Q2 2015
2
Google & Parks Associates, Global Apps Consumer Study, Q1 2014
Megabit: Building a dream with AdMob
October 22, 2015
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
Gram Games: Growing revenue 7X with AdMob’s in-app advertising
October 20, 2015
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
AdMob Banner Ad Implementation Guidance
September 22, 2015
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
More examples and details, along with additional visual examples of best practices can be found on the
AdMob help center
.
Posted by John Brown
Head of Publisher Policy Communications
Bring users back to your app with push notifications
September 18, 2015
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
*
U.S. Consumer Mobile Apps Study, 2014, Google/Ipsos MediaCT
Go local to go global
September 17, 2015
Making your app and store listing available in the right local languages could improve your app’s discoverability and lead to further download growth. Get your app ready for worldwide users with these simple steps.
Decide where to focus
Check
where your traffic is coming from
in AdMob geography reporting. If you have users from the
top 5 markets
downloading apps, you could also focus there.
Translate those text strings
Translation doesn’t need to break the bank. Get your text strings localized with one of these easy options:
Free
Google Translate
:
For simple words or phrases, Google Translate is a quick and free option.
Affordable
Google App Translation Service
:
Purchase professional translations through Google Play’s Developer Console.
Of course, you can always find your own translation vendor, or see more options in
this guide
.
Consider the culture
Considering cultural contexts is important when fully localizing your app. Start with your title, description and icon, then
test what works best for your users
.
How to localize
Title
Make sure your app title fits the local market. Keep your title focused: it should be unique and accessible, avoid common terms, and reinforce what your app is about.
Description
Descriptions should be short and sweet, with the first sentence summing up what your app does and what users will get from it.
Icon
Take a look at different examples in each market you want to target. Users in Asia tend to prefer the cute and the colorful, while for US and European users, keep icons simple and focus on one or two features.
To learn more about app localization, visit
Localization Checklists
on the Google Developer website. You can find more tips to grow and retain your users by reading
App Best Practices
series.
Good luck! Bonne chance ! ご幸運を祈ります! 행운을 빌어요 ¡Buena suerte! Удачи! Boa Sorte!
Posted by Amelia Walkley
Marketing Communication Specialist, AdMob
Re-engage your users with an app update
September 15, 2015
When was the last time you updated your app? According to a VentureBeat study, 60% of apps are never updated after release
1
. Plus 4 in 5 app users prefer updates at least weekly or monthly
2
. A new, improved version of your app could re-engage inactive users and reignite your app’s success.
App Update Checklist
Features
Read your app reviews
Ask your users for feature ideas
Understand where users are dropping off or exiting your app
Key report:
Google Analytics Behavior Flow
Fixes
Identify technical errors in your app
Key report:
Google Analytics C
rashes and Exceptions (
Android
/
iOS
)
It’s good practice to
update your app
as often as your schedule permits – aim for once a month at the very least. Once your update is released, remember to
describe what’s new in your app
.
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
1 Source:
Mobile User Acquisition: How the most successful developers get better users for less money
, VentureBeat, 2014
2
Source: AdMob & Parks Associates Research, 2014
Shoot for the stars: 6 principles to optimize app quality
April 30, 2015
As an app developer, you know that improving your app’s rating to 4 stars or more could increase discoverability and convince more users to download it.
Google Play research
also shows that higher rated apps earn more revenue:
* Revenue includes all app business model on Play: IAP, paid app, ads advertising
But how can you achieve that 4+ star score? Once you have set up your regular cycle of collecting, reviewing and actioning feedback from user reviews and ratings, the next key strategy is to optimize the quality of your app.
6 principles to improve app quality
1. Stability: no crashes.
Read user error reports often, and take action quickly to help you improve stability and eliminate bugs.
2. Responsiveness: speed matters.
Minimizing the complexity of your layouts is a simple way to improve your app speed.
3. Usability: be thumb friendly.
Two common, easy-to-fix problems are addressing small tap targets and fonts that are too small. Make sure links are easy to tap.
4. Appearance and aesthetics.
If you don't have the luxury to work with a designer, try using Photoshop, GIMP and other image editing tools to make your app look better.
5. Less is more: launch the right features.
Listen to your users by collecting and responding to feature requests, but remember, you don’t always need to build every suggestion.
6. Integrate with the system and third-party apps:
make users happy by including system features like
Home screen widgets
,
rich notifications
,
global search integration
, and
Quick Contacts
; or leveraging other apps’ functionality.
Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our
Google+
page and
Twitter
page.
Posted by Amelia Walkley
Marketing Communications Specialist, AdMob
3 steps to earn higher user ratings
April 20, 2015
Need to raise your app’s ratings and increase downloads? Gimmicks and hacks to get higher ratings and more reviews won’t get your app meaningful long-term growth. Instead, the best way to get better ratings is to build authentic relationships with your users–truly listening and responding to their feedback. This leads to a better product experience, loyal users, and ultimately sustainable growth.
Here are three steps to use reviews and ratings to improve your app and increase user engagement.
Step 1: Read and address ratings comments
Book an hour in your calendar each week to read through ratings comments.
Reply to user reviews to help address their concern or gather more detailed feedback.
Pay extra attention to those who gave you 1 or 2-star ratings as their comments will give you more insights for improvement.
Step 2: Create user friendly opportunities to collect feedback
To make sure you’re getting feedback from the most appropriate users, define the signals that prompt your target audience like “reached Level 10”, “completed the first booking”, or “opened 3+ times in a week”
Choose a placement in your app where you don’t interrupt user experience. Unexpected pop-up messages asking for a rating can bother users. Instead, place the review request after a user has had a positive interaction with your app, like successfully completing a task or level.
Ask about the user’s happiness level first. Depending on their happiness level, provide different channels to escalate their feedback:
Step 3: Analyze and act on user feedback
Apply filters to see feedback by rating, written language, app version, and/or device.
Understand your user better by interpreting comments against user-related metrics such as download sources, retention rates, and in-app behavior.
Update your app with users’ feature requests and fix issues they have raised. Be sure to respond to the comment directly in the Play Store, sharing the positive changes you’ve made.
The hard work of building relationships and responding to user’s concern won’t pay off instantly, but it can lead to longer term success. Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our
Google+
page.
Posted by Amelia Walkley
Marketing Communications Specialist, AdMob
Translate
Labels
Ad Network Optimization
AdMob
App Advertising
App Best Practices
app growth
app optimization
Audience Builder
Black Friday
Events
Feedback
Game Developers Conference
Game Development
Going Global
Google Analytics
Google Startup Launch
Help Centre
In-App Purchase
Interactive Interstitials
interstitial ads
mediation
Mobile App Development
Mobile App Development Tips
Monetization Strategy
Native Ads
Product Announcement
Student App Challenge
Trial Run Ads
User Acquisition
user engagement
Archive
2015
Dec
New partners added to the AdMob Mediation platform...
Appkruti, creator of Crazy Helium Booth, doubles i...
Introducing new interactive ads to drive app insta...
Charge your game monetization with a winning combi...
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Feed
Subscribe by email
Useful links
Sign up for news and insights from AdMob
Google Ads Developer Blog
Sign in to your AdMob account
Follow @admob
