How to Supercharge Your Mobile Ad Revenue

This post was originally published on Appodeal Blog. 

Is your mobile ad revenue barely chugging along? The road to success doesn’t have to be charted at a snail’s pace. To maximize your revenue from ads, you’ll need a defined plan of action.

We’ve compiled a list of must-have tips to make building and implementing that strategy a painless experience. Each one has been carefully selected to supercharge your revenue stream.

Monitor User Behavior

As a developer, you know that an ad popping up seconds after activation is an easy way to annoy and lose users. The whole idea behind effective mobile advertising is to maintain the flow and function of the app. But how do you determine the best moment to display those ads?

Start by centering your strategy on these two peak periods of user behavior.

Achievement Moments

What’s an achievement moment? Good question. There comes a point where users feel satisfied and enthusiastic when using your app. They’ve completed an important task (hence the achievement part) whether it’s leveling up in a game or finishing a chapter in a book.

At this stage in the game, users are typically more receptive to a short break from the app’s core functions.

High Engagement Hours

Engagement hours tend to vary by country. Whether you’re working with one single region or an international market, knowing when your users are most active is important part of maximizing ad revenue.

While users may engage with their apps throughout the day, click-through rates peak during the early a.m. in the United States. In this case, the early ad gets the click with optimal rates from 6 to 9 a.m.

Who knew people would be so click happy before their coffee had even kicked in?

Consider Essential Visual Elements

There’s a fine line to walk between effective and intrusive advertising. Make your ad too big and you risk blocking out core functions of the app. This technique only serves to irritate users and reduce the overall UX.

Make your ad too small and users may not realize it’s there at all. While this technique doesn’t affect UX directly, it does make your ad completely ineffective. And that’s probably not what you’re looking for.

So, how do you find the sweet spot?

For a cohesive look, choose designs and colors that mimic the app’s overall theme while adding enough contrast to be eye-catching.

Go Beyond the Banner Ad

This brings us to our third tip. If you’re stuck on banner apps, you’re limiting your ability to increase mobile ad revenue. At this stage in the mobile ad game, there’s a whole host of formats to play with.

Native ads present users with content related to the information they’re already consuming. This allows the ads to come across as a natural and valuable suggestion rather than a useless blast of undesired information.

Bottom line–native ads get views. Research shows that they receive a whopping 53 percent more views than banner ads.

Select a Mobile Ad Network with a High Fill Rate

Low fill rates can be the stuff of nightmares for developers. Think of this way—store owners don’t leave their best inventory in the basement where it never makes them a penny. If you’re working with low fill rates, you’re essentially losing your best inventory and minimizing ad revenue.

So, to maintain a constant stream revenue, focus on high fill rates, as close to 100 percent as possible. That way you’ll ensure that your ads are always working for you and maximize the opportunities for click-throughs.

Still on the hunt for the right mobile ad network? Then head on over to our how-to guide. 
 

Programmatic ad mediation has quickly progressed from being “the next big thing” to being “the thing,” and can help you get more out of your ad inventory than any ad network alone.