iAd vs Revmob – Which is Better?

With the number of Smartphone users increasing day by day, it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that mobile app development companies are on a war to make their own app the best selling one in the marketplaces. As per the current scenario, apps are those that sell like hot cakes next to the mobile devices. The warm welcome for apps in the global market has created a potential space for networks which help in popularizing the mobile apps and paves way for apps to generate revenue as well. With a list of ad networks providing such services, it is quite hard for you to pick the one that would suit you the best. To help you out we’ve briefly discussed about the features of two widely popular mobile ad networks iAd and Revmob.

iAd:

iAd mobile advertising platform owned by Apple is exclusively meant for third-party iOS application developers to promote their apps and earn revenues by embedding advertisements into their applications sold on iOS App Store.

How does iAd pay?

According to Apple’s terms and conditions, developers will be receiving 70 percent of the revenue generated through the ads which run in their applications. The revenue is calculated based on two key values which are ad impressions and taps. Ad impressions are the number of times an ad appears in an app, while the taps are the number of times a user clicks an ad banner to go through its content.

Advertising in iAd:

iAd workbench is platforms created for developers to design their own ad marketing campaign for the apps they have developed. Using iAd workbench one can choose the target audience, set the budget and run the ad campaign on various iTunes store approved apps. It also provides the detailed metrics to help you track the performance of you ads and improve your campaigns accordingly. You can set the target audience for your ad campaigns either manually based on time of day, device, age, location, context etc or automatically by allowing iAd to choose the target audience for you.

Creating ads using iAd workbench:

Creating ads using iAd is too easy using the iAd workbench. The ready-made tools can help you construct your ads in minutes. Moreover, you can also make use of your previously conceptualized ad designs. Pre-designed templates can be used to create ad banners or you can make use of your own ideas to build a new one. When users tap your ad banners, they will be directed to the itunes store where they can download the content and return back to where they left. You can also specify the URL to which the user should be directed. Videos can also be generated for your app advertisements which can be viewed by the users either in portrait or landscape orientation. For producing rich media contents for your ads, you can make use of iAd Producer which allows you to produce videos, animated ads with easy-to-use design templates, blue-prints, button controls and animation tools.

Dashboard:

The integrated dashboard gives you detailed insights of how your ad campaign is performing. Metrics based on the expenditure, ad impressions, taps, conversion ratios, average CPM, CPC and CPA will help you to refine your campaign to generate the best results.

Ad testing:

You can also test your ads by using iAd producer’s preview to make sure that you ad is has come out in the way you wanted it to and is implemented with a flaw. You Could have a look at our, Video Sharing iPhone app “Tube Plus” with which we have also integrated iAd

REVMOB

Revmob is a brainchild of Best, Cool & Fun Games (BCFG). The parent company’s founder GUI Schwartzman started Revmob ad network which allows developers to embed ads in their Android, iOS and Amazon (web) applications and advertise their own apps in other applications too.

Ad units of Revmob:

Revmob provides four different ad units which include Full screen, Banner, Popup and Link. ‘Full screen’ is considered to be the best ad unit of Revmob when it comes to generating high eCPMs. The ‘Banner’ ad unit is a complement to the Full screen ad unit which will help you make some earn some extra income. The ‘Link’ can be designed by the developer himself in order to ensure the ad replicates the look and feel of his app while Pop-up can be used as an alternative to full screen ads.

How does Revmob pay?

Revmob is arguably the highest paying ad network. Most of the users of Revmob have boasted about its highest eCPM yields but still there is a trick hidden in its payment method. eCPM of an app is the result calculated based on the revenue generated by the clicks and installs of the app, divided by the total number of impressions and finally this figure is multiplied by 1000. This final figure is considered as eCPM per 1000 impressions. Revmob pays per clicks or installs and not for the impressions. In other words, Revmob is a CPI networks which pays you for every download you provide for the advertiser. The monthly revenue earned by a developer will be received by him/her 30 days after the end of the month.

Dashboard:

The dashboard of Revmob allows developers to analyze the performance of their apps by provided detailed information and statistics of impressions, clicks, installs, CTR and eCPM. The real-time dashboard (max 10 minutes delay) can be used to follow the app performance easily which will help in making adjustments to your campaign to earn better revenue.

Here is a straightforward briefing of the key terms on Revmob’s dashboard:

Installs: It represents the number of times your advertised app has been downloaded, installed and opened (once at the least)
IR: IR which stands for Install Rate is a calculation based on Number of installs divided by the number of clicks. It can also be said as the percentage of people who have seen ad and ended up downloading it.
CTR: Number of clicks divided by the number of impressions.
Revenue:The total amount earned by your application. You get paid whenever a user of your app clicks and ad or installs one of the advertised games.
eCPM(effective Cost-Per-Thousand impressions):revenue generated by 1,000 impressions.

Advertising in Revmob:

Revmob also allows developers to advertise their own applications into global marketplaces. You can also manually specify the placements of your mobile and web apps based on GEOs, cities, connection type, version of operating system used, support for Android, iOS and Amazon, specific devices (smartphones, tablets) etc. The analytics system will provide you with information on your app’s traffic, installation rate and real time update on your app’s performance. Developers can use their own creative ideas or pre-built designed templates to create their ad banners.

Ad testing:

Developers can test their app system even if their apps are not listed in the iTunes store or Google Play store.

Conclusion:

Well, after a running through the insights of these two mobile ad networks it is time for us to conclude which one is the best on a universal basis. Both ad networks favor the developers equally in terms of ad creation, ad campaign targeting and report analysis. The key distinguishing factors are discussed below: First thing is that iAd caters only to the needs of iOS based apps while Revmob supports iOS, Android and Amazon platforms. Considering this fact, Revmob will be useful for app developers who are looking out to bring out an app in both these mobile operating systems. Moreover, web app developers can also reap benefits out of this ad network. Secondly, despite Revmob, paying only for clicks and downloads, unlike iAd which pays for impressions, clicks and downloads, the former seems to provide more revenue for the developers. Of course developing an app is about making some good money at the end of the day. So the ultimate winner is Revmob which benefits the developers with its support for multiple mobile operating systems and high paybacks.

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