Inside AdMob: September 2015

Find answers fast with the new AdMob Help Widget

September 23, 2015

AdMobhelp center content Sep 22, 2015 17:38.gif

If you've been to the help center recently, you may have noticed a little box at the bottom of some of the pages. We've listened to your feedback and added a little human touch. In that box, you’ll find a picture of the “androidified” author of the article so you can get to know more about the people who worked on creating this content. Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 5.33.25 PM.png

Screen Shot 2015-09-22 at 5.33.25 PM.png

Omar Kassem

AdMob Support Specialist

AdMob Banner Ad Implementation Guidance

September 22, 2015

Mobile devices have limited screen size, which means that careful planning for your ad placement is especially important. Improper implementation can lead to accidental clicks, and our goal is to build a strong ecosystem that benefits users, advertisers and developers in the long term.
Close proximity of banner ads to other elements within an app is one of the biggest causes of accidental clicks. To avoid accidental clicks, banner ads should not be placed next to interactive navigational buttons, such as a “next” button or on a game play screen where users are continuously interacting with the app.
For example, separating the banner ad from app interactive elements helps reduce user confusion and the likelihood of accidental clicks. Poor ad implementations often cause high levels of invalid activity due to the proximity of the ad to app clickable elements:

Do This	Don’t Do This

More examples and details, along with additional visual examples of best practices can be found on the AdMob help center.

Posted by John Brown

Bring users back to your app with push notifications

September 18, 2015

push notification
It’s easy to design a push notification experience that your users look forward to. Follow these 3 principles and you’ll be pushing in the right direction.

1. Valuable
Users love your app for a reason: you took the time to craft a great experience. Extend that experience outside your app by using push notifications to alert users to something of value, like a special offer, to bring them back again and again.
2. Personal
Rather than broadcasting one message to all users, be data-driven. Send different notifications according to the user’s time zone, location or past behaviour. Get permission from users: let them control what notifications they’d like to get and how often they’ll receive them. Sending notifications too often could bother users.
3. Actionable
Keep title and text short, with one action per notification. Test and measure which notifications result in the most app opens.
Bonus tip: You can manage push notifications and more for free with the powerful Google Cloud Messaging API.

% of app users that would start using an app again given prompts*:

30%

Discount or coupon

24%

Exclusive or bonus content

16%

Notification of new features

You can find more tips to grow and retain your users by reading App Best Practices series.

Marketing Communication Specialist, AdMob

*U.S. Consumer Mobile Apps Study, 2014, Google/Ipsos MediaCT

Go local to go global

September 17, 2015

Decide where to focus
Check where your traffic is coming from in AdMob geography reporting. If you have users from the top 5 markets downloading apps, you could also focus there.

Translate those text strings

Translation doesn’t need to break the bank. Get your text strings localized with one of these easy options:

Free			Google Translate: For simple words or phrases, Google Translate is a quick and free option.
Affordable			Google App Translation Service: Purchase professional translations through Google Play’s Developer Console.

Of course, you can always find your own translation vendor, or see more options in this guide.

Consider the culture

Considering cultural contexts is important when fully localizing your app. Start with your title, description and icon, then test what works best for your users.

		How to localize
	Title	Make sure your app title fits the local market. Keep your title focused: it should be unique and accessible, avoid common terms, and reinforce what your app is about.
	Description	Descriptions should be short and sweet, with the first sentence summing up what your app does and what users will get from it.
	Icon	Take a look at different examples in each market you want to target. Users in Asia tend to prefer the cute and the colorful, while for US and European users, keep icons simple and focus on one or two features.

To learn more about app localization, visit Localization Checklists on the Google Developer website. You can find more tips to grow and retain your users by reading App Best Practices series.

Good luck! Bonne chance ! ご幸運を祈ります! 행운을 빌어요 ¡Buena suerte! Удачи! Boa Sorte!

Posted by Amelia Walkley

Marketing Communication Specialist, AdMob

Re-engage your users with an app update

September 15, 2015

12App Update Checklist

Features	Read your app reviews Ask your users for feature ideas Understand where users are dropping off or exiting your app
	Key report: Google Analytics Behavior Flow
Fixes	Identify technical errors in your app
	Key report: Google Analytics Crashes and Exceptions (Android / iOS)

It’s good practice to update your app as often as your schedule permits – aim for once a month at the very least. Once your update is released, remember to describe what’s new in your app.

You can find more tips to grow and retain your users by reading App Best Practices series.

Posted by Amelia Walkley

Marketing Communication Specialist, AdMob

1 Source: Mobile User Acquisition: How the most successful developers get better users for less money, VentureBeat, 2014

2 Source: AdMob & Parks Associates Research, 2014

Celebrate 30 years of Super Mario Bros.!

September 11, 2015

This Sunday marks 30 years since the launch of Nintendo’s iconic platform game, Super Mario Bros. The game, first launched in Japan in 1985, became one of the most popular video games in the world and influenced a generation of game players and game developers!
Think you know all about Mario and his epic battles with Bowser? Test yourself with our Super Mario Bros. infographic, which tells the story of the game, and its enduring popularity, powered up by Google data. It’s part of our new infographic series, Game Stars (#AdMobGameStars), which takes a look at classic titles through a Google lens.

For more Game Stars, and to stay connected on all things AdMob, follow our Twitter and Google+ pages.

Posted by Mike Schipper

Product Marketing, AdMob

AdMob helps Etermax crack the global games market

September 8, 2015

Máximo Cavazzani, founder and CEO of Etermax, describes his business as ‘a great ideas company’. One of those great ideas led to the creation of a game called Trivia Crack, and the company’s laser focus on user experience catapulted it to the top of the Google Play Top Apps list.
Based in Buenos Aires, the team worked closely with Google to build a global business, starting with Google Play to grow their users. Initially focused on Latin America, nowadays 60% of people who play the game are in the US. With so many users spending time in the app, Etermax needed an ad platform that could help them maximize the revenue opportunity with reliable fill rates and innovative ad formats. In May 2015, Etermax announced an exclusive ad monetization partnership with AdMob for iOS and Android versions of the app. Sneak a look into how Etermax builds great apps and works with AdMob in the video below. You can download the PDF of the Etermax case study from the AdMob success stories page, and stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Twitter and Google+ page.

Posted by Mike Schipper Product Marketing, AdMob

Inside AdMob

Find answers fast with the new AdMob Help Widget

AdMob Banner Ad Implementation Guidance

Bring users back to your app with push notifications

Go local to go global

Re-engage your users with an app update

Celebrate 30 years of Super Mario Bros.!

AdMob helps Etermax crack the global games market

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