Posted by If you’re reading this, then the chances are that you’ve already heard of mobile game ads. The concept isn’t new, and it has been around since the early days of mobile gaming. However, it has evolved and continues to change for the better since then.
As a result of this constant evolution, many people are now turning toward mobile game ads to make money from their games. If you have ever considered earning money from your games or maybe even starting one from scratch, then this article will be helpful for you.
I will show you the different ad types you can use to make money from your mobile game in this piece.
What Are Mobile Game Ads?
Mobile game promotions and ads are a game application adapting technique that game designers have used to increase their income. Taking a gander at the progress, and growth of mobile game advertisements, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well, have gotten into the in-application famous game promotions and advertisements for better client commitment, engagement, and user experience.
Each gaming application designer anticipates maximizing their revenue, profits, and better ways of utilizing mobile game advertisements. Those mobile game advertisements are well-known promotions and ads that act as part of the gaming application.
Why Are Mobile Games Monetized With Ads?
Mobile game developers are looking for ways to monetize their games, which have become more and more complex and expensive to develop. Ads can be an excellent way to monetize games as they allow users to play the game for free but still get paid for it.
The money from these ads can be used to pay for making the game itself or just for running costs (since ads cost money). Mobile gaming companies also need to abide by various policies and regulations set down by governments to run this kind of business in their jurisdiction legally.
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How to Create Ads for a Mobile Game
It’s important to remember that ads will look different on each platform. The ad’s size and placement are different for every game, so there is no one-size-fits-all way to create an ad. The best way to learn how to make ads for a mobile game is to start with what you know, the game itself.
If you’ve researched this aspect, you may have seen some images of banner ads or interstitials (also known as full-screen ads). These ads work well because they blend in with the rest of your app’s design and don’t interrupt gameplay.
But what if your game doesn’t incorporate these formats? Maybe it has more complex art assets or UI elements that are difficult for an ad network engineer to manipulate without breaking other aspects of your game’s layout. In this case, the banner text might be better suited than images or video clips without sacrificing engagement levels for players who see them.
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Types of Ads to Monetize Your Mobile Game
There are several types of mobile game ads.
1. Banner Ads
Banner ads are ubiquitous in mobile games and can be static or animated. They tend to be large enough to cover the entire screen, so they’re typically used at the top or bottom of the screen.
Banner ads have been around since the early days of the internet (as far back as 1993), so they’re familiar to users and well tested by advertisers over time. The main reason banner advertisements have persisted over time is that they’re easy to implement from an infrastructure standpoint.
There’s no need for additional coding or integration beyond what’s already built into modern browsers like Chrome or Firefox. That makes setting up banners extremely straightforward and thus ideal if you’re starting with mobile game advertising but want something that works right away without any fussing around configuring things first.
When Should You Use Banner Ads?
Banner ads are a great way to make money from mobile game ads when your game is relatively simple and targeted toward a general audience. Banner ads can be used in both free-to-play games and premium games. However, banner ad revenue is generally not as high per user as interstitial and rewarded video ads, making them better suited for monetizing less expensive games.
Tips for Implementing Banner Ads
To help you get more from your interstitial ads, consider implementing the following tips:
- Usually, banner ads can be placed at the bottom or the top of your application screen, and they should be made to be distinguished from your game content. You can separate ads from interactive content, e.g., place border lines next to the banner ad.
- Use the “smart banner” feature if the banner ad is located at the bottom of the top; the feature will have AdMob fit the banner size automatically to match screen size to give a great experience across devices, i.e., tablets, PCs, and smartphones and orientations horizontal and vertical.
- If you choose to set banner ad manually, instead of the smart banner feature, you can choose the typical 320×50 banner for a fixed ad display space. Use 728×90 for larger devices like PCs and tablets.
- Place a larger banner in splash or title screens if you have space for these placement forms. You can use a 300×250 banner to get the best large banner performance.
- Lastly, you can use the ‘optimized refresh rate’ feature to allow AdMob to maximize your revenue by picking the best available frequency based on performance history.
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2. Interstitials Ads
Interstitials are full-screen popups that appear between levels or other content inside a game. They usually ask you something like, “Do you want to continue playing?” before giving you an option to accept or decline an offer (like paying for more coins). Interstitial ads are a great way to make money from your game. They’re relatively easy to implement, and they can be very effective at increasing revenue.
Interaction is critical with interstitial ads. The user should be able to click or tap through the ad without hindering their progress in the game or being too disruptive of the overall experience. If you can get that right, you’ll likely see an increased number of clicks on your interstitials and, therefore, more revenue.
Tips for Implementing Interstitial Ads
To help you get more from your interstitial ads, consider implementing the following tips:
- First, you need to consider your game flow; interstitial ads can be inserted at the end of a game’s stages, levels, or tasks.
- Interstitial ads should be preloaded to ensure the creative content is cached in time and ready for the show when the user reaches a stage-end level.
- Factor in the mindset of your users when inserting an interstitial ad. Inserting these ads wrongly may get them annoyed and frustrated. You do not want to place an ad at the beginning because, at this stage, all your users desire to do is play the game.
Finally, make sure your users are not bombarded or overwhelmed with too many ads. Use AdMob’s frequency capping feature to water down the number of ads a user can see. A good strategy for frequency capping is starting low and gradually increasing it to find the right ad volume for your game. This way, you can increase ads without annoying users.
3. Video Ad Format
Video ad formats are similar to banner ads, but they play video rather than static images while they load in your phone’s browser window. These links open up another browser window where users can watch short clips related to gaming, like gameplay videos from popular titles. And then go back into their original video game once it completes playing automatically after five seconds have passed without any user interaction happening on their end during this period.
4. Native Ads
Native ads are a great way to monetize your game. They blend in seamlessly with the rest of the content on your game’s screen, so users feel like they’re engaging with a natural part of the app experience.
Native ads can be implemented in various ways: as banner ads at the top or bottom of your game, within in-app purchases or upgrades that allow players to buy more hearts or coins for their character (e.g., Candy Crush Saga), and even as interactive clickable ad units that keep players engaged by giving them opportunities to win prizes such as gift cards or discounts on products from sponsors’ websites.
5. Reward Ads
Rewarded ads are a great way to monetize your mobile game. They offer the user an incentive, usually in the form of an in-game item or some other reward, in exchange for watching a video ad. The player can then choose whether or not they want to watch the ad and, if so, will receive their reward after it completes.
These types of ads are best suited for games that lack any IAP system (e.g., no store) and those that don’t require extensive tutorial levels before getting into gameplay proper. You’ll want to make sure your users understand what they’re getting from these ads. And either has an easy way for them to get their rewards when they view videos or show them after downloading an app update.
Combining different Ad formats
The best way to maximize your revenue is by using a combination of different ad formats. This includes banner ads as a teaser, interstitial ads to get the user to download the app, native ads to get the user to spend money, and rewarded videos or banners that reward your players with in-game currency for watching them.
General Mobile Game Ad Tips
Several practices can affect your ads negatively:
1. Length of Ad
Ads that are too long can negatively affect your mobile game, especially with users. If you have an ad that is longer than five seconds, it’s likely to catch the attention of users who want to skip it. Keep them short and sweet if you’re looking for a high CTR and CVR for your ads.
2. Disruptive or Intrusive
Let’s face it; ads are naturally disruptive since they interrupt play. If this occurs frequently, you are bound to lose users, and your ratings can drop.
Similarly, loud or disruptive sound effects can piss players off as well. If a user has their sound turned on, they’ll hear your ad anyway. But if the volume is so loud, it causes them pain or makes them jump in their seat.
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Pros of Monetizing Mobile Games with Ads
Making money from mobile game ads is easier than you think. You can monetize your game even if you are not a game developer, do not have a large budget, and do not have an idea for a game. Mobile games are growing in popularity, so there is no need to invest time or money into creating an original product.
Instead of spending months working on coding the next great mobile app or designing the next blockbuster title to hit the market, all it takes is some basic HTML knowledge and a few minutes of setup time to get started with in-app advertising.
Cons of Monetizing Mobile Games with Ads
There are some disadvantages to this process. Ads can be intrusive, annoying, and inappropriate. If you’re not careful about selecting the right ad networks and monitoring their performance, you could end up with many ads that are deceptive or disruptive to your user’s experience. They might also be a distraction from the purpose of your app.
Mobile Game Ads Regulation
There are concerns from both governments, parents, and several groups about the impact of ads on children. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued guidelines for the use of mobile game ads, but it does not regulate them. FTC looks at the marketing practices of all businesses that advertise to children under 13 years old and makes sure they follow their guidelines. In general, these guidelines include:
1. Not targeting children with ads
2. Not using unfair or deceptive practices when marketing products to children
Conclusion
In this article, you learned how to make money from mobile game ads. However, as lucrative as this ight sound, its important to take care when placing ads into your mobile games. users signed up to play games and not view ads, if you have to many, you stand to hurt your earnings in the long run.
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