Mobile ads are one of the most popular forms of advertising today. There has been a staggering increase in mobile users all over the world in the past decade. According to Statista, mobile devices generated 54.4 percent of global website traffic in Q4 2021.
One of the prevailing reasons is that mobile technologies are more accessible and affordable than desktops. Especially, in mobile-first markets such as Asia, and Africa has a much higher number of webpage visits through mobile. The ad tech industry has seen a prominent shift towards a digital conformed culture in the last few years. Naturally, mobile advertising has become a preferred advertising medium among advertisers and publishers alike.
Choosing the right ad network for mobile advertising can be challenging. We have compiled a list of the 5 best mobile ad networks in 2023. You can directly navigate to the list if you’re in a hurry.
If your website’s audience is mainly from the desktop, you can read about the best ad networks here.
These facts above are convincing enough for publishers to opt for mobile advertising. Finding the right mobile ad network can be challenging for publishers to effectively publish ad campaigns and track ad campaign performance. In return, you can opt for various pricing models such as CPC, CPM, CPA, CPI, etc.
Features |
AdMob |
Media.net |
InMobi |
Start.io |
Amazon Publisher Services |
Ad Formats |
Banner, video, interstitial, reward, native |
Contextual ads, Display ads, Native ads |
Display, native, video, Interactive Rich Media Ads, Experiential Playable Ads, Dynamic Carouse, Interstitial Ads |
Native, video, rich media, Splash Ad, Return Ad, Banner |
Display, video, audio ads |
Platforms |
Android, iOS, WebOS, Flash Lite, mobile web browsers |
Mobile web browsers |
Android, iOS, Windows Phone |
Android, iOS |
Android, iOS, mobile web browsers |
Pricing Models |
CPC, CPM |
CPC, CPM |
CPC, CPM, CPI |
CPC, CPM |
CPM |
Pros |
Easy to use, syncs with Google Adsense, provides analytics and mediation tools |
High-quality ads from Yahoo and Bing network, good customer support, multiple ad sizes |
Large global inventory of DSPs and programmatic buyers, supports header bidding and mediation, provides user insights and analytics |
Provides mobile data insights and monetization solutions, supports multiple ad sizes and placements, easy integration with SDK or API |
High-quality ads from Amazon and other premium advertisers, transparent auction process with no fees for publishers, fast loading ads with low latency |
Cons |
Low eCPM rates, strict policies, delayed payments |
Requires high traffic from US, UK and Canada, slow approval process, low fill rates |
High minimum payout threshold ($50), low eCPM rates for some regions |
Requires approval for each app or website, limited customer support options |
Requires high traffic volume and quality content, limited ad formats and sizes |
Pricing |
Free for publishers (Google charges 40% of the revenue share) |
Free for publishers (Media.net charges 10% of the revenue share) |
Free for publishers (InMobi charges a variable percentage of the revenue share) |
Free for publishers (Start.io charges a variable percentage of the revenue share) |
Free for publishers (no fee), Amazon charges $0.01 CPM to bidders on Transparent Ad Marketplace |
Google AdMob is the mobile equivalent of Google Adsense. It is one of the easiest mobile ad networks to use. Hence, it is a great fit for beginners who want to display mobile ads. If you’re already running web campaigns, it is very convenient to sync your mobile ad campaign with Google Adsense. It provides a variety of ad formats including Banner ads, Video ads, Interstitial ads, Reward ads, and Native ads. Moreover, it is very flexible in terms of mobile platforms and offers ads on Android, iOS, WebOS, Flash Lite, Windows phones, and all mobile web browsers.
AdMob provides a seamless experience with the latest technology and robust reporting and measurement features that deliver deeper insights into ad performance.
Media.net provides comparatively higher CPM rates and better conversion rates due to its highly contextual ads. The ads can be customized to blend with the overall look and appeal of your website so that it gives the impression of native content.
Media.net was the first platform to come up with the display-to-search (D2S) method. D2S filters the user’s intent which results in better targeting of ads on your site. This ultimately gets you higher revenues because advertisers prefer to pay more for clicks (cost per click model) where user intent is clear and qualified as compared to CPM (cost per mile) based ads that only focus on impressions.
When it comes to mobile app/ website monetization for publishers, InMobi is a great option. It offers a variety of ad formats including display, native, and video ads as well as a huge inventory of 200+ DSPs and over 5,000 programmatic buyers representing top brands from around the globe. Many popular publishers like Shazam, abc, Blackberry, and Wattpad partner with InMobi for their advertising needs.
They support ads on Android, iOS, and mobile web and offer pricing models like CPC and CPI. They use Appographic targeting which means users see highly contextual ads which are relevant to the app/ website they are on. For example- a shopping app can be promoted to users who engage with other apps offering any deals and discounts, selling men's or women's apparel, or any product the user is interested in.
Publishers also have a dashboard that gives them access to daily, weekly, or monthly reports to track performance. They can also choose to get a dedicated account management service.
Using APS is beneficial for publishers that want to bring in Amazon to bid as that will allow them to publish Amazon ads on their site/ mobile app. This is why APS is considered the best fit for large publishers worldwide. They also provide the in-app header bidding facility that allows publishers to display ads without any compromise on user experience. They also present a transparent interface with auction-level reporting to show the highest bid.
These 5 parameters can help you make your decision efficiently while choosing the best mobile ad network for your site as a publisher. Apart from revenue, these parameters can help you maintain a stable income from ad revenue.
If your ad is inappropriate or disrupting, your website/ app visitor might have an unsatisfactory experience and might not become a returning visitor. So do consider these factors apart from revenue for your mobile app/ website as a publisher.