Our third annual Appodeal Mobile In-App Ad Monetization performance Index (2019 Edition) is now out!
In one of the mobile ad industry’s most expansive reports focused on in-app ad revenue, the new 54-page report provides insights for mobile app publishers on the top earning mobile ad networks, ad exchanges and DSPs, along with their eCPMs, the average eCPM of each country globally and the eCPM trends of mobile ad formats on both iOS and Android devices.
The index draws analysis from the eCPM performance of 150+ billion ad impressions delivered globally through Appodeal’s ad mediation of 60+ ad demand sources in over 40,000 apps during the first half of 2019.
Some of the key findings show that:
- The U.S. market’s eCPMs remained top in most ad formats, with East Asia and Australia catching up. For rewarded videos on iOS, the U.S. reached an eCPM average of $15.82, followed by China, Taiwan, Japan and Australia, with eCPMs ranging from $11.86 to $13.65.
- The eCPM gaps between iOS and Android devices showed significantly wider margins in developing markets than mature markets. In mature markets, such as the U.S., Japan and the U.K., the eCPMs of rewarded videos were 21-34% higher on iOS than on Android devices. However, in developing markets, such as Russia, Brazil and India, the eCPMs were 98-352% higher on iOS than on Android devices.
- DSPs were winning more ad impressions in the new in-app header bidding environment. Since header bidding made its debut in the mobile in-app world in mid 2018, DSPs gained new opportunities to compete with ad networks in real-time for ad impressions. DSPs that bidded through Appodeal’s built-in header bidding powered ad exchange, BidMachine, collectively won significant ad impressions, and even surpassed historically top earning ad networks in the rankings. One DSP in particular, Liftoff, performed especially well.
Furthermore, the performance index dives deeper into the eCPM trends of rewarded videos, interstitials and banners and ranks the top earning ad demand sources in Appodeal’s top three monetizing regions: the U.S., Western Europe and Eastern Europe (including Russia).
The key findings for these regions show that:
- Rewarded videos’ eCPMs continued to climb up but at a more modest pace than the previous year. For example, the U.S.’s rewarded videos on iOS and Android both saw their eCPM increased by 13% to a high average of $15.18 and $12.68 respectively from H2 2018 – H1 2019 compared to the same period the previous year. Some of the top earning ad networks from the three regions analyzed for rewarded videos were AdMob, Facebook, AppLovin, Unity Ads, BidMachine and MyTarget.
- Interstitials’ eCPMs increased significantly on Android in U.S. and Western Europe. Interstitials, which includes static, video and playable variants, showed impressive eCPM growth on Android by 27% to an average of $6.35 in the U.S. and by 21% to an average of $2.38 in Western Europe from H2 2018 to H1 2019 compared to the same period the previous year. Some of the top earning ad networks for interstitials were AdMob, Facebook, AppLovin, Unity Ads, BidMachine, Ogury, and Yandex.
- Banners were still important for revenue base but their eCPMs showed signs of decline. Banners accounted for around a quarter of the ad revenue share. However, on Android in Western Europe, its eCPMs decreased by 27% to an average of $0.16 from H2 2018 to H1 2019 compared to the same period the previous year, and decreased by 15% on iOS. Interestingly, in the U.S. its eCPMs actually increased by 13% to an average of $0.62 on iOS. Some of the top earning ad networks for banners were AdMob, MoPub, BidMachine, Amazon Ads, AppLovin, Yandex and MyTarget.
Check out the full index for even more insights to help you monetize even smarter in 2019 and beyond!
