How to choose the best app monetization platform in 2023

What is an app monetization platform

An app monetization platform is a programmatic advertising tool that enables app developers to earn money by running high-quality ads on their app ecosystem. It helps them aggregate premium demands, top-performing ad formats, and advanced ad mediation technology.

Publishers first need access to a Google AdX account, either directly through Google Ad Manager (GAM) or by partnering with a trusted Google AdX partner. The former option of getting an AdX account is complicated since you have to manage everything by yourself. The latter allows app publishers to focus on other crucial aspects of app development while their AdX partner takes care of everything.

How does it work

Simply put, the app monetization platform is integrated with AI-enabled features to automate ad monetization processes such as header bidding, ad mediation, and ad serving. With the best ad monetization tool, app publishers get high eCPM, 100%fill rate, policy-compliant ad units, and optimized ad revenue. The following are the main functions of an ad mediation platform:

Provide requested ads to the ad slots

Ad monetization platforms receive ad requests from the server and send these to the ad networks for ad distribution. The ad network then matches the requests with the demand from supply sources and provides ads to the ad slots. All these processes happen in a fraction of the time.

Supports direct, inhouse, and publishers ads

Using the best app monetization platform, publishers can fill their ad slots with a range of ads, including ads from direct advertisers, in-house ads (from the platform’s advertisers' network), and ads that come directly from bidders. This way, it ensures 100% fill rates.

Provide policy-compliant ads units your app

Running Google ads policy-compliant ad units is important to avoid issues like ad limitations, restrictions, and policy violations in GAM AdX. Knowing this, app monetization platforms ensure 100% policy-compliant ad units. Further, the platform resolves existing violations and maintains compliance for the future.

Determines the best space to position your ad

With an ad monetization tool, publishers identify the best-performing place for your ad on an app. While there are tons of tools available to determine the best ad positioning space, publishers should make decisions based on ad performance analytics, data, and layout suggestions from AdOps experts.

Track ads performance for a detailed report

App monetization platforms offer an integrated real-time dashboard to show insights on ad performance. It helps publishers stay updated with what’s happening on their apps and the revenue status. Note that the dashboard should show past, current and predictive metrics for greater transparency.

13 features of the best app monetization platform

1. Free access for everyone

   Offering a free version along with paid version is an attractive feature of an ad monetization solution. Such platforms allow users to get started and onboarded for free while they need to agree with the revenue-sharing model introduced by the platform.

2. Easy onboarding

   User onboarding on an app monetization platform must be smooth and uninterrupted as it strengthens the customers’ relationship with the platform, encourages them to remain loyal in the long run, and contributes to higher App LTV. Some companies keep a dedicated team to handle onboarding and support for new users.

3. Multi-ecosystem support

   Demand for app monetization solutions with multi-ecosystem support is higher than individual app, website, or game monetization platforms. Users feel more comfortable accessing different tools on a unified platform rather than juggling with multiple logins and dashboards.

4. Real-time bidding

   App monetization platforms support real-time bidding that facilitates automated buying and selling of digital ad inventory based on a per-impression basis. RTB takes place on an open ad exchange or supply-side platform. Similar to real-world auctions, many bidders bid on ad inventory, and the highest bid wins.

5. Premium demands

   Ad monetization tools must offer access to premium demands through Google Ad Manager and GAM 360. Also, it should allow you to put your ad inventory before premium advertisers, demand-side platforms (DSPs), top ad networks, and direct advertisers, driving maximum revenue on each ad impression.

6. Policy compliance and violations fix

   An app monetization platform with 100% Google Ad policy compliance keeps you from juggling challenges like ad serving limits, restrictions, and unfilled inventory. Most platforms even offer a dedicated QA support team to identify existing violations in your app and ensure future compliance.

7. Efficient ad mediation

   Although app monetization solutions are independent tools, the ad mediation feature in a platform acts as a mediator between app publishers and ad networks. With effective ad mediation, publishers can interact simultaneously with multiple ad networks and choose the one that offers the highest bid. As a result, publishers get higher eCPM, fill rate, and increased ad revenue.

8. Fair revenue-sharing model

   Fair revenue-sharing is one of the top attributes. Publishers typically need to share 20-30% of their ad revenue with their publishing partner. However, a good ad monetization platform is always open to negotiations based on the publishers' revenue concerns.

9. No Ad serving limits

   App monetization platform with zero ad serving limit is rich in user experience and has more satisfied users. Although Ad serving limitation is necessary to ensure a safe and fraud-free ad ecosystem, the platform should not put ad limitations unjustly for any publishers who abide by the advertising and publishing policies.

10. Backfilling technique

    Knowing that most publishers (from small to medium-sized publishers) struggle to leverage a 100% ad fill rate, backfilling allows app monetization solutions to fill ad impressions left unsold through ad servers. It usually adopts any of the following three methods in Google Ad Manager:

    • Using Google AdSense.
    • Using Google Ad Exchange.
    • Via header bidding approach.

11. Ad Revenue Optimization and support

    Ad revenue optimization is another essential feature that is highly demanded across publishers. Not every publisher has a full-fledged app that they can monetize. Hence, the best app monetization platform should offer effective revenue optimization through ad format suggestions, segmentation of highest-paying networks, and blazing-fast resolution to issues.

12. Multiple Ad Format support

    In addition to standard ad formats like banner and video ads, the best app monetization tool supports a variety of highly viewable ad formats, including interstitial, pop-up, native ads, and in-stream/out-stream video ads. Multi-ad format support makes a monetization solution feasible for a larger group of publishers.

13. Granular insights & ad analytics

    A real-time dashboard in the app monetization platform allows publishers to see what’s happening with their campaigns, how their ads perform, and where improvements are needed. Metrics on the dashboard should be decluttered and analytics-backed so publishers can trust the data for further strategy formulation.

GreedyGame AdX - A reliable monetization solution

GreedyGame AdX is an app monetization platform with access to GAM AdX and Google MCM. It offers a robust platform for app publishers. Following are the features integrated into GreedyGame AdX that set it apart from other monetization solutions:

• Higher Fill rate and eCPM
• Premium demand through GAM 360
• Policy-compliant ad units
• Google MCM approved monetization
• Resolution of policy violation in GAM AdX
• Real-time dashboard for analytics
• 24/7 account manager support
• Dedicated QA team

Conclusion

By choosing the best app monetization platform, you meet your app's precise monetization and growth needs. While there are many parameters to determine the reliability of a monetization platform, you should focus on the relevant features according to your business model.