Unleashing App Revenue Potential: Expert Tips and Tricks

How does an ad ecosystem work?

Many things run in the background before an ad is served as part of an app/website. The five main entities that come into play are as follows.

1. Publisher
2. Publisher ad server/ supply-side platform (SSP)
3. Ad network/ exchange
4. Advertiser ad server/ demand-side platform (DSP)
5. Advertiser/ Agency

The following steps provide a detailed account of how an ad ecosystem functions.

• Step-1:The first leading player is the publisher, who seeks to monetize their content. When a user visits an app/ webpage, the page loads. The ad request is sent to the SSP.
• Step-2:The ad request then moves from SSP to the ad exchange. The ad exchange will decide if the content that is available and the bids that are placed can be worked with.
• Step-3:The DSP is responsible for asking the bid requests to the advertiser. The bid responses are sent back to the ad exchange by the DSP.
• Step-4:The ad exchange sends these responses as ad responses to the SSP, and the publisher determines the best fit by determining the highest bid.
• Step-5:The winning bidder gets to serve their ad on the publisher's domain.

All of this happens in a matter of milliseconds.

How to increase app revenue through mediation stack

What is ad mediation?

A digital advertising strategy where multiple ad networks are managed through a single SDK.

In mediation, the SSP or the publisher's ad server is connected to more than one ad network. So if an ad request is initiated, SSPs have multiple partners to fill that request.

How will ad mediation help publishers?

• Publisher's fill rates will improve if your user base is distributed across multiple geographies since you can access numerous ad networks.
• This will, in turn, improve advertising revenue. Publishers will gain access to and make money from users they were not harnessing initially.
• Increases efficiency for available ad space. This refers to the revenue a particular placement or ad unit gives for an app. If one speaks to 4 or 5 ad networks, there is competition between the ad networks interested in showing your ads. This will lead to a bidding war; the highest bid is chosen, increasing efficiency and revenue.
• This will lead to increased CPMs. The highest CPM is chosen, and the ad is shown for that bidder.

Types of mediation:

1. Waterfall mediation:

   Waterfall mediation is the traditional method of bidding. It is a serial way of reaching out to any ad network. The working of waterfall mediation is as follows.

   1. An ad request is created on your app and goes to a supply-side platform (SSP).
   2. The SSP is connected to different networks. Now, how to choose which ad network to collaborate with?
   3. If the request is sent to Deman A and they do not have a relevant ad for this request/ or the price they wish to pay is insufficient, they will not get a response.
   4. If the mediation platform sends the same request to demands B or C, one after the other, and finds that demand B cannot afford the ad. But demand C can both afford the ad and has relevant ads. The ad mediation platform will then choose demand C to serve the ad.
   5. Essentially, the waterfall method is sequential. The mediation platform does not move to the next bidder till it decides if the previous bidder is/ is not the ideal demand source.
   6. In waterfall mediation, the publisher can also put a floor price on the bids and request that the bidders comply with the minimum price. The demand partner matching the floor price or bidding higher can get the ad request.
   Limitation:

   Every ad network will have some latency period before it gets the request. The next partner will be approached only if the previous partner refuses the bid. So the number of demand partners and their present yield must be considered.

2. In-app header bidding:

   Header bidding, by default, comes from a web publisher's space where there are headers on the website.

   1. While dealing with in-app header bidding, parallel ad requests are sent to all demand partners simultaneously. The partners, will send their responses and their bids to the mediation platform.
   2. The mediation evaluates the ad content, its revenue and relevancy and picks the bidder accordingly.
   3. The In-app header bidding method gives better yields since it happens parallel. This will help improve CPMs and placements.
   Limitations:

   Publishers do not wait for a partner to respond before asking another partner. Several ad requests are also sent to solicit bids from demand partners, which consumes browser resources and adds to page latency. Mobiles are resource constrictive- you can only have a few SDKs as part of your mediation stack. If it is client-side header bidding, the time it takes for requests to go can also cause performance issues.

Most used mediation platforms:

1. Google AdMob:

   • It is easy to integrate with your app
   • Google AdMob has hybrid header bidding and waterfall methods for partners to learn what suits them best
   • It provides detailed metrics like users, revenue, DAU and MAU. This will help identify your user's origin and take steps as required.

2. IronSource

   • Easy to run direct campaigns
   • Offerwall as an additional format

3. Applovin

   • It supports multiple ad formats, like playable ads
   • It can host rich media ads

How to increase app revenue through Offerwalls

Offerwalls are in-app ads that help developers reward user engagement and create a revenue stream for paid and free users.

Offerwall is a higher-value ad format that best suits gaming apps. It can be a separate part of your app and appear as a survey, or video. It could also appear as a part of your app (in the form of an app review, for instance). The user gets rewarded as and when they complete the task.

They offer higher value than rewarded video ads. Statistically it is observed that if users engage with Offerwall, they will be loyal users for an extended period because they see value in your app.

Offerwall workflow:

The ads come when the user needs a currency or prize. When a user is on the app, they are presented with Offerwall when they need a reward. Once the offer/ task is completed, they will get the reward.

What is the difference between Offerwall and a rewarded video ad?

1. With rewarded video, there is instant gratification. One will get points and rewards immediately. With Offerwall, the cycle is longer since users are rewarded only after completing the task.
2. The rewarded video has a single price a user can choose to pay or not. In Offerwall, users can choose between a range of prices. Offerwall, though time-consuming compared to rewarded video ads, gives the users long-term value.

Which apps and games are best suited for Offerwall?

• We need to have an in-game solid currency
• You need to have an excellent 30-day retention

• Have a wallet or in-app coin system
• Have IAPs for their content
• Already monetizing some parts with rewarded ads

Why choose Offerwall?

• They are user-initiated and are not disruptive like traditional ads
• They grant users the opportunity to earn virtual currency for free
• Increased retention

Advantage of Offerwall

1. Improve IAP

   Offerwalls can give a taste of how your app could look with an IAP. For example, you could buy a seven-day subscription for 10 Rs and, for an offer, get one day free unlock. It also works as a way of stopping ads for some time as well

2. Alternate stream of Income

   Provide an alternative stream of revenue other than ads

3. Run Currency Sales

   You can run currency sales and drive more engagement, especially during holidays. Currency sales can also have sustained uplifts

4. Loyalty rewards

   Reward users with long-time loyalty as well

Offerwall platforms

1. Hang My Ads

   • Monetization on different models
   • New offers daily

2. Tapjoy

   • Strong presence in multiple geographies
   • Backed by iron Source

3. Adjoe

   • Instant Gratification
   • Customized offer list for users

Key tips and tricks

Here are some relevant tricks you can leverage to help you monetize your app effectively.

1. A/B testing:

   It is important to test all your learnings via A/B testing. Since every app, user base, and ad space is different, testing your app regularly is crucial. This will help you understand the best strategies for you and eliminate those that do not.

2. Note down key metrics:

   To test your app, it is imperative to jot down the metrics you want to test or scale. Some basic metrics to look at from a monetization standpoint are fill rates, eCPMs, impressions, etc. Other metrics which require you to dig deeper are user-level analytics. If your ad requests increase, but your revenue goes down, or if you get more revenue for low CPM, you need to track metrics like DAU or MAU, ARPDAU, and DAV.

3. Advertiser performance:

   Advertisers trying to get your ad inventory also need to be incentivized for them to keep bidding on your ad slots. So, it is crucial to build your ad placement strategy so that the advertiser can also get an optimal ROI for spending on your app. Accidental clicks can cause advertisers to perceive users as short-term users and may not bid on your inventory, causing the eCPMs to decrease.

4. Formats and placements:

   It is essential to consider various standpoints while deciding which ad format or placement to host. It is vital to stay policy compliant and consider advertisers. A banner with a splash screen is an ad format that is highly recommended by Google off late. Load time for banner ads is less as well. Backfilling ads with native formats is also a good strategy for an ad to be well received. It is also crucial to experiment with different placements to gain access to the users’ preferences.

5. Monitoring render rate/ show rate:

   It is vital to observe the render rate and show rate frequently. If there is a low render rate, it means that a user who has sent an ad request is not shown an ad. This will directly impact your revenue. If the render/ show rate continues to be down, the advertiser will likely think that your ad inventory is not functioning well. It also increases the advertisers’ server cost since their effort to showcase the perfect goes to waste since it is not being rendered.

The ad you serve on your ad slot will ultimately benefit/ hinder the advertiser's efforts. If the advertiser finds value in your efforts, your fill rates and revenue will increase. If that does not happen, your CPMs and fill rates will also decrease. So, it is essential to factor in the advertisers as well.

Conclusion:

We hope you gathered actionable strategies and valuable insights from this excerpt. We are coming up with many webinars to interact with adtech enthusiasts and discuss various sought-after concepts. So, keep watching this space for more exciting content!