MonetizeyourappsTTOW0610MobileApplicationDevelopment
Autumn2017/PasiManninen
Freewithads
• thesimplestwaytomonetizeafree app• ideaisthatyouofferyourappforfreeanddisplayadvertsintheapptogenerateincome• usertaps ontheadthenyouearnmoneyorevenwhenadisvisible• sinceusersdon’ttaponeveryadvertthenyouwon’tgeta100%click-through-rate(CTR)• theCTRisthenumberofadswhicharetappeddividedbythenumberofadsdisplayed(impressions),expressedasapercentage• themorepeoplewhouseyourappandthemoreadsthataredisplayed,thegreaterthechanceofahigherCTR
1.Banner
• banneradsarerectangularimageortextadsthatoccupyaspotwithinanapp'slayout• stayonscreenwhileusersareinteractingwiththeapp• refreshautomaticallyafteracertainperiodoftime• CTRsaidtobe0.1percentto0.2percent
• tomake$1000amonthyouneedhalfamillionimpressionspermonth• forleadingapp->verypossible,inrealonly1%ofapps
• ifyou'renewtomobileadvertising,they'reagreatplacetostart
2.Interstitial
• fullscreenadsthatcovertheinterfaceofanappuntilclosedbytheuser• aredisplayedbetweentwodifferentsectionsoftheappscontent(betweenonelevelandthenext)• haveagreaterCTR,evenashighas5%
• iftheappisgetting50,000impressionsperdaythenthepotentialearningscouldreach$3500permonth
3.Native
• component-basedadformat• givesyouthefreedomtocustomize• choosingfonts,colors,andotherdetails• canaddtoarichuserexperience• componentcanbelikeapartoflistview
4.RewardedVideo
• fullscreenvideoads• short,usuallyaround15secmax• usershavetheoptionofwatching(usuallynotskippable)• allowyoutorewarduserswithin-appitems(forexample)• Userdoesn'tneedtospendrealmoney• 52%ofmobilegamedevelopersthoughtofvideoadsasprovidingthehighestrevenueperusercomparedtoanyothertypeofin-gameadvertising:link
Freewithads- overall
• itisalsoimportantwheretheadsaredisplayed• ifyouonlydisplaythebanneradontheOptionspage->thenyouaren’tgoingtogetmanyimpressions• ifyoudisplaytwobannersontheappsmaincontentthenusersaregoingtoquicklygetannoyedwiththeintrusivenessoftheadsanduninstalltheapp
• balancebetweenmaximizingtheprominenceofadsandirritatingyourusers
popularadplatforms
• Admob• InMobi• MillennialMedia• Tapjoy• Smaato• Media.net• StartApp• Flurry
• Leadbolt• Chartboost• AdColony• Apploving• Vungle• Kimia• Airpush• ….
Freemium
• https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/topgrossing• atleastthefirst40appsareallfree• freetodownloadanduse,offerin-apppurchasesthatcostrealmoney• buythingslikeextralevelsorvirtualcoins• hardertoimplement(programming/administration),needsgoodplanning
• Ifhandledwrongly->userswontplay->uninstall
• ItemsarehandledforexampleinGooglePlay,notintheappitself
• Thefreemiummodelisthemostsuccessfulmodelandgenerateslargeamountsofincoming
Freemiumcase:Supercell
• $2.3billionin2016revenue(andsamein2015):HayDay,ClashofClans,ClashRoyaleandBoomBeach• 213employeesandonlyfourgamesonthemarket• storyofthemodernmobilegameindustry
• Supercell’sgamesarefree-to-play,whereyoucanplaythemforfreeandspendrealmoneyonin-gameitems.Supercell’sfanscompetewitheachotherviaclans,andtheyspendmoneyatinsanelevels
Paid
• MinecraftisoneofthetopgrossingAndroidappsanditisalsoastandardpaidapp• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mojang.minecraftpe• todownloadapaidapp,theuserneedstohaveacreditcardregisteredwithGoogle(forexample)
• googleplayappcancostfrom$0.99to$400(Finlandupto350€)• monetizationviathePaidmodelisverysimple
• uploadyourapptoGoogle• settheprice• selecttheregions• publishtheapp
• thedownsideisthatyouwillneedtopromote(market)theappheavilyasusersaren’tkeenonpartingwiththeirmoneyforanunknowncommodity
Othertacticsandnotes
• freeappwithadvertsandofferanin-apppurchasetoremovetheads• yourappwillbebrandedinstoresas“OffersIn-AppPurchaces”• itcanreducedownloads
• storesarenowlabelingwhichappscontainads• itcanreducedownloads
• …
Case:Admob byGoogle
• “advertisingonmobile”• oneofthemostpopularmobilead networks• thenetworkwasacquiredbyGooglebackin2010• goodnumberofadvertisers• alotofdifferentstatistics• cross-platformcapability:Android,iOS,WindowsPhone,webOS,…• https://www.google.com/admob/• https://developers.google.com/admob/android/quick-start
Admob - Exercise
• goto:https://developers.google.com/admob/android/quick-start• followgetstartedinstructions• createanandroidproject(selectemptyactivity)• addGooglePlayServicesforAdsinbuild.gradle dependencies• createanAdMob accountandregisteranappOR useyoucanusetestadidsfortestingads• modifyMainActivity toinitializeMobileAds• addabanneradtoyourMainActivity (xmllayoutandcode)• runandseeatestad• testotheradformats:smartbanner,interstitial,rewardedvideo