$3.91 billion – that’s how much the gaming market in India is projected to reach by 2025, with over 657 million gamers. (Source: The Economic Times). Gaming is definitely here to stay and presents a great opportunity for game publishers looking to increase the revenue they generate from their products.
Although there are multiple ways to earn revenue, such as in-app purchases and sponsorships, advertising remains one of the most effective methods for mobile game publishers to generate profits.
Yet, for publishers, the question remains:
How can you leverage advertising effectively to drive revenue without compromising the player experience?
The challenges aren’t a mystery to anyone
We’ve all been there. There we are, hitting ‘Continue’ to move on to the next stage after completing the previous one and BOOM – an ad that you cannot get rid of. Or an ad where the ‘close’ button is deviously hidden. Or an ad that has sound and SHOUTS out its message, making you fumble for the volume button.
And unless you have a game that attracts a large and dedicated user base, such ad experiences are going to severely detract from your user’s experience.
But it needn’t be that hard. We all know these, but it bears repeating:
Balance ad revenue with player loyalty: It’s essential to strike a balance between retention, ads per session, and ad revenue. Understanding the correlations between these metrics and their impact on Daily Active Users (DAUs) and Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) is crucial for maximizing long-term success. In other words, get really familiar with the data.
Choose the right placements: Ads, especially rewarded ads, could be highly profitable, but over-relying on them can hurt player engagement. It’s important to be selective with placements to avoid negatively impacting the overall gameplay experience.
Explore new placements: Always experiment with different ad placements. Run A/B tests and conduct controlled rollouts to see which placements drive the best eCPM rates and player engagement.
Allow branding opportunities: As your game grows and attracts more and more users, one key challenge is ensuring your advertising resonates with your audience. Identifying the right brands, formats, and geographies to target can be tricky. But by leveraging smart in-game advertising and affiliate links tailored to user interests, you can attract meaningful brand partnerships.
Maximize Your Game’s Ad Revenue Through Some Simple Guidelines
Placing ads in your game is like trying to balance a stone on a leaf floating on water – it has to be just right, or the leaf will sink.
As tempting as it is to spray the user with ads wherever possible, that’s not the route to optimization. Go with these guidelines instead:
Optimize Ad Placement
Place ads where they fit naturally, like during loading screens or between levels. Avoid interrupting gameplay or suspenseful/exciting moments to keep players engaged.
Diversify Ad Formats
Mix up your ad formats to appeal to different players. Use playable ads, in-stream videos, audio ads, and branded content to keep things fresh. There’s nothing worse than seeing the same ad in the same format over and over again.
Boost Revenue with Programmatic Ads
Programmatic advertising can help you automate ad sales to get higher CPMs. Use header bidding, private marketplaces, and dynamic pricing to maximize revenue.
Use Rewarded Ads
Players love earning rewards, and rewarded ads drive higher engagement and retention. Offer in-game boosts in exchange for watching ads.
Test and Optimize Regularly
Keep improving by tracking key metrics like eCPM and engagement rates. Test different ad placements and formats to see what works best.
First-Party Data to Make Ads More Relevant and Effective
Research by eMarketer highlights that 61% of US gamers prefer ads that align with the themes or context of the game they are playing. This clearly emphasizes the importance of relevance in capturing player attention and enhancing the overall gaming experience.
To deliver highly relevant ads, you can harness the power of first-party data for behavioral and contextual targeting (For instance, an ad in a game at 11pm would perhaps be better if it were “Late night gaming? Perfect time for a pizza” rather than “Get our cream for moisturized arms.”).
Gaming publishers can also use data points like user behavior, peak activity hours, and purchase trends to create personalized ad experiences that feel seamless within the gaming environment.
This not only enhances ad relevance but also improves player engagement and drives higher CPMs.
Publishers who effectively utilize first-party data can deliver ads that resonate with their audience, striking a good balance between monetization and player satisfaction.
There’s no one-size fits all approach
The opportunities in the gaming world are vast, but it’s the smart, strategic approaches that make all the difference.
By focusing on ad placement, data-driven insights, and player-first strategies that are tailored to your user base, context and dynamics, you can scale revenue and maintain a loyal player base.
The game plan is clear: optimize, innovate, and engage. As you make these moves, you’ll see not just better ad performance, but a more rewarding experience for both you and your players.
