Ad mediation is one of the most helpful tools for Publishers to increase ad fill rates and eCPMs while managing their ad network partners all in one platform. It is something we have always wanted to share: what’s about it, how ad mediations help increase your income, and tips on how to utilize the technology.
1. What is ad mediation?
Ad mediation is considered as a one-stop platform for Publishers to manage and optimize their ad network partners with just one SDK integration. It connects Publishers with multiple ad networks, giving ad networks different accessibilities to the Publishers’ app inventory.
Ultimately, an app ad mediation plays the role of optimizing ad networks for the Publisher. They do that by initiating tighter competition between ad networks, which eventually results in higher eCPM.
2. How do ad mediations work?
Bids happening on an ad mediation typically follows the waterfall bidding diagram. The ad mediation sends ad requests to ad networks one by one until there’s a bid for the inventory. The order of ad networks can be decided by the Publishers, or automatically by the ad mediations based on different criteria (average eCPM, performance,..). An ad mediation decides the rank renewal typically after every day, some in real-time, or after some hours. This model ensures the inventory is not left vacant and has the highest eCPM possible.
3. Why should Publishers work with an ad mediation?
Most Publishers don’t work solely with just one buyer, but have multiple advertisers, and ad networks wanting to buy their impressions. Therefore, a platform to manage all of those and set prioritized orders can be a lot of help for these Publishers.
Ad optimization goes hand in hand with ad mediation. An ad mediation can also work programmatically to set up a ranking order to bring the highest revenue and maximum fill rate possible for the Publisher.
By working with an app ad mediation, a Publisher can bring their revenue up to 3 times.
4. The benefits of ad mediations
The above has somewhat listed out some of the benefits of an ad mediation, let’s dig deeper in this part:
Higher eCPM
Higher eCPM is one of the most important criteria for a monetization partner. Ad mediations bring your inventory a more intense competition where the higher eCPM offerer gets a higher rank. Its algorithm frequently and programmatically brings the highest bidding ad network to the top. Hence, Publishers can benefit the most in terms of revenue.
Higher fill rate
One of the biggest reasons for Publishers to entrust the waterfall model is its higher fill rate. Ad mediations will keep sending ad requests to each ad network until there’s a bid that meets the floor price. This ensures the highest fill rate for the Publishers’ inventory.
Easy – Single SDK integration
Lesser SDK integration means a lesser chance of latency. Single SDK integration doesn’t affect the app performance, then user experience. With just one SDK, Publishers can connect with many ad networks/buyers, this makes the work lighter for them without adding SDKs one by one.
Programmatically optimization
Ad mediations can automatically analyze and change the ranking order to relocate the highest to lowest bidders after a period of time (day/hours). All to ensure a higher chance of a higher bidder getting the impression. Publishers won’t have to set the order manually but can rely on ad mediations to do the optimization work for them.
5. Tips to maximize your revenue with an app ad mediation
First, when you’re setting up an ad mediation manually, get the ad networks with the highest performance for your GEOs to the top tier. The second tier could be the lower-performance ones but still, need to pay reasonably for your GEOs. The last tier is ‘the leftovers’ who are there only to make sure your ad slots get filled.
Next, set CPM floors for each ad network. This is to make sure you get your wanted CPM, the ad networks will only serve the ads if their bids meet the floor price. Although, you need to keep in mind the balance between the fill rate and eCPM. Too high CPM floors won’t give out a high fill rate and low CPM will not satisfy your expected revenue.
Finally, find a partner who can optimize even higher revenue by incorporating a larger pool of demand. Ideally, partners with demands from ad mediations (like AppLovin MAX, Unity LevelPlay by ironSource,…), direct demands, DSPs, and other ad networks. They are called monetization partners, like PremiumAds.
App ad mediation can truly be a great helper for Publishers to capitalize on their advantages. If understand it right, publishers can also increase user satisfaction and ROI. Setting the optimal ranking order, finding the balance between eCPMs and fill rates, and wisely choosing the right monetization partner are essential for ensuring ongoing monetization success.
About PremiumAds
We help Publishers gain their highest revenue possible from our pool of global, direct, and premium demands, and being a partner of 35+ media buying networks. As a Google Certified Publishing Partner, we can not only give you access to the exclusive Google AdX demand but also shield your mobile apps/games against policy violations.
