Key Points

  • Mobile apps need a healthy ad revenue stream to survive, and an increase in mobile ad revenue over time to grow and thrive.
  • Mobile app ad revenue tends to stagnate after the initial push to establish the app's audience base.
  • However, several tried-and-true methods can help you take your mobile advertising revenue to the next level.

Only a few app publishers are fortunate enough to not have to earn revenue from their apps. Those fortunate few can pour hours into a hobby project with no expectation of a return. That's nice for them, but it's not a reality for the rest of us. If we're going to devote our days to building a mobile app, we need to see revenue coming in.

You need some revenue to justify what you've spent so much time on. And you need a lot more revenue to actually grow your business and turn this into a real living. Sadly, countless mobile app developers throw in the towel a year or two in because they just can't get their revenue to where they need it to be.

Not you, though – you're about to read six ways to increase your mobile ad revenue. Read on to learn more, or reach out to Playwire to learn how we can help.

Revenue generation is no easy task - especially in the app space. But we've built a proprietary revenue amplification platform that uses AI algorithms and human intelligence to grow publishers' revenue to previously unseen highs. Contact us to learn how!

-- Article Continues Below --

New call-to-action

The Complete Ad Revenue Resource Center

Grow Your App's Audience

A bigger target audience is never a bad thing for a publisher or their ad revenue. The more active daily users your app has, the more revenue potential it has. That's regardless of which ad tech tools you use, the specific demand sources you choose, whether you're doing header bidding, and many more common considerations.

It's the simplest way to grow your mobile ad revenue: Get more eyes on your mobile app advertising. How do you do that, exactly? There are several ways, the chief of which is making sure your app is incredible. Some other ideas for growing your app's audience include the following:

  • Paying for an ad campaign that reaches users on mobile apps similar or related to yours
  • Promoting your app on social media
  • Setting up an affiliate marketing program for your app
  • Creating a website for your app and ensuring that it is search-engine-optimized
  • Temporarily reducing the app store download price of your app (if your app isn't free)

These strategies can help increase user engagement and potentially boost in-app purchases, providing additional revenue streams beyond advertising.

Increase and Improve Demand for Your App's Inventory

Let's say you have an enormous number of daily active users of your app and more users are coming in all the time. But you're still not happy with the revenue you're bringing in compared to the size of your audience. This is a common problem, and it's often happening because you haven't incorporated the right amount or quality of demand needed for your ad space.

Don't make the mistake of integrating too few OR low-quality software development kits (SDKs) for header bidding partners or mobile ad networks. We get it - these integrations can be frustrating and time-consuming (they don't have to be). But they are worth it if the result is broadening the demand for your mobile app's ad inventory to more quality demand sources.

Keep in mind, while the simplest way to increase CPMs for your website or mobile app is to incorporate more sources of ad demand, in 2024, not only is the antiquated mindset of “more is more” shifting but it’s actually leading to more failure than success. 

Because of this seismic transformation in the programmatic landscape, where publishers and advertisers alike are demanding more transparency into the programmatic pipeline, you not only need to consider the quantity but more so than ever before, the quality of the demand sources you are incorporating.

-- Article Continues Below --

New call-to-action

Read The Publishers' Guide to Ad Revenue

Add In-App Video Ads

If you're only running tiny banner ads in your app, you have an untapped gold mine directly under your nose. There's nothing wrong with banners, but they simply do not bring in the revenue that video ads can bring in for apps.

It may seem obvious, but a surprising number of app developers will shy away from video because of the technical lift involved. The good news is that plenty of ad tech tools have made implementing video ads in your app much simpler than it once was.

Whatever the investment you have to make in adding video ads, it will almost certainly be worth it. Mobile video ads boast impressive performance metrics that will have advertisers paying top dollar for your video ad inventory. In-stream ads, for example, can be particularly effective in mobile games or apps with natural breaks in content.

Try Premium, High-Impact Ad Units

Why stop with video ads? If you're only doing basic ad formats, you're not getting those "premium" brand dollars you hear so much about. The good news is that partners like Playwire make adding premium units to your monetization strategy easy.

You might see huge in-app advertising revenue benefits from implementing a premium ad format like rewarded video ads, in-app interstitial ads, native ads, and gamified ads. These formats not only generate more revenue but can also enhance user experience when implemented thoughtfully.

Implement In-App Header Bidding

One of the biggest developments in the history of advertising revenue, in general, was header bidding. This new way of running programmatic auctions gave publishers access to the highest bids on every ad impression, rather than just the first acceptable bid. When header bidding came to apps, the results were similarly impressive, and digital ad spend in this arena has been growing by leaps and bounds ever since.

In other words, if you're not doing header bidding in your app, you haven't yet maximized your revenue. Adding header bidding to your app advertising strategy is not the technical challenge it once was, but you can make it even more doable by partnering with an app revenue partner who will set it all up for you.

RI-Header Bidding-1-1

Work with a Leading App Revenue Partner

This final way to increase mobile ad revenue is your all-in-one solution: Work with an app expert like Playwire. We are a leading app revenue partner to publishers of all kinds, and we will implement all of the app monetization methods described in this article and more to ensure your revenue scales the way it needs to.

We take care of everything - SDK implementation and integration, demand sourcing, integrating premium ad units, in-app header bidding, direct ad sales, and much more. Ready to put your revenue woes in the rearview mirror? Reach out to Playwire.

New call-to-action