Hey, everybody, and welcome back to the "Mobile Ads Garage"
where we get into mobile ads code the way
I get into pie eating contests.
Elbow deep.
So last time out we, coded up a simple banner ad
implementation.
Today we're going to expand on that by talking about the best
ways to use banners-- where to put them,
how they should behave, and how you
can monetize while maintaining a great user experience.
With me as always Gary The Graphics Guy who's still
a little mad I took the last slice of pizza at lunch,
but we're ready to have some fun.
We get a lot of questions on our forum
and in person about AdMob policy, things like can I
put my ad view in a list view, or is it
OK for this banner to be next to this UI button?
We'll talk about those kind of specifics in a second,
but first, I think it'll help of everybody
understands why we have those policies in the first place,
where they come from.
So let's bring it in and have a serious moment.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
The main purpose of AdMob's policies
regarding where to put ads and when to show them
is to make sure that every ad impression-- that
means every time an ad is displayed--
is a good, honest impression, and that every clickthrough is
a good, honest clickthrough.
We do this because when ads are shown,
when a user taps on an ad, an advertiser gets charged for it.
Somebody, somewhere-- could be a big company,
could be Aunt Betty's Sweater Shop
For Beautiful Cats-- somebody has to write a check.
And we need to be able to tell Aunt Betty that every ad
impression she paid for was an honest chance for somebody
to see her ad and that every clickthrough came from someone
who was genuinely interested in getting a sweater for Little
Miss Whiskerson.
So if you're ever in doubt about whether a particular layout
or behavior is likely to conflict with AdMob policy,
a great first step is to ask yourself
would it interfere with honest impressions
or honest clickthroughs, and then put yourself
in Aunt Betty's shoes.
[MEOW]
Exactly.
So, there's our serious moment.
Now let's talk specifics.
Let's start with an app like the one
from our first episode, just a banner ad across the bottom.
Perfect.
This is a great layout used buy a ton of apps.
The banner's visible, it's not near any other controls,
and there's lots of room for content.
Plus the user has plenty of opportunity to see the ad,
and it's unlikely that they'll tap on it
for any reason other than being interested.
Excellent.
But watch what happens when I add a button right down here.
Those are really close.
If you're going for the button, you
might hit the ad by accident, especially if you're like me,
and you have these big, stupid caveman hands.
Gary, the last slice is fair game.
Everyone knows this.
So this layout runs the risk of a bad clickthrough, someone
accidentally tapping on the ad when they really
want the button.
It's a common problem but it's easy to fix.
You could just add a little space or move the button.
Whatever you need to do to make sure
the user isn't going to tap the ad accidentally.
I've used buttons in this example
but the principle applies to any UI elements that accept input.
Another issue we get questions about
is whether it's OK to ask users to tap on ads, and it's not.
For example, if I were to drop a UI label or a text view
in here, I'm giving my users a reason
to click the ad even if they're not interested,
and every clickthrough costs money.
That means Aunt Betty is going to end up
paying for clickthroughs by people who aren't
interested in her cat sweaters.
That's going to hurt her small business.
All right, let's get rid of that and add
something else, a second ad.
Whoa!
In addition to crowding out content and annoying our user,
we've also got bad impressions.
With two ads on the screen at once,
they have to split the spotlight, which isn't what
our advertisers signed up for.
The fix for this?
Just stick with one banner.
Ah, nice and simple.
That's what I like.
Hey!
I eat an appropriate amount of pizza for an active person!
As I think we all learned during off-site miniature golf team
building day, this is an athlete, all right?
This is what sports looks like.
Moving on, some types of content can also cause bad impressions.
Displaying a banner while the user is actively playing
an action game, for example.
If I'm saving the world from the forces of evil,
I'm probably too busy to consider an ad even
when I might be interested in it.
Just move the banner to the menu or pause screen,
or consider using interstitials between levels instead.
Another good thing to avoid is loading banners
that aren't on screen yet.
This is a big reason why we recommend
you don't place banners inside list view or other scrolling UI
elements.
Every time an AdMob banner is loaded,
an impression is recorded for it even if it's off screen
or the user was scrolling so fast they couldn't see it.
All right so that's some stuff to avoid,
but you might be wondering what are some things I should do?
What are the good practices?
One of the best things you can do for your user experience
is to keep in mind that ads should
live alongside your content rather than being
mixed in with it.
Dedicate a spot for them in your layout
away from UI inputs and outside of scrolling content regions.
Doesn't matter if it's the bottom or the top.
That way, you can be fair to your advertisers
and make sure you don't annoy your users by covering up
content.
Yes, thank you, Gary.
That's a great example of how poor ad placement takes away
from the user experience.
Very funny.
Seriously?
You're going to body shame in front of YouTube?
What's next, an ad for the Pudgy Redhead Dating Network?
Oh, you can go--
[BLEEP]
Hey, everybody.
Sorry for blowing my top like that.
Gary and I eventually patched things up,
but it reminded me of one more thing I wanted to mention.
There are types of content that shouldn't
be included in any app that displays AdMob ads.
Stuff like drug or tobacco references,
racist hate speech, adult content, and so on.
You can see this Help Center article for more information
on prohibited content, and the one below it
covers layouts and some of the other things we talked about.
You might also like AdMob's "No Nonsense Guide
To App Monetization."
It's an overview of monetization strategies
it includes code and tips other engineers.
As always, if you've got a technical question relating
to anything you've just seen, stop by our support forum.
And if you've got a question about this video series
or an idea for something we could cover,
leave a comment below, and Gary and I will see you next time.
[MUSIC PLAYING]