Advertising Challenges Facing Mobile Apps Developers

Smartphones everywhere! Nowadays, I don’t see anyone who doesn’t have a smartphone or doesn’t desire to have one. With the plethora of functions that smart phones are able to perform, the world will be able to do away with desktop PC’s and laptops. What led to the popularity of smartphones is the need to use the internet on the go. No wonder marketing guys want to make the most of this trend by using mobile advertising.

However, mobile advertising is still in the evolution phase and there is still a lot to be discovered. Unfortunately, mobile application development is struggling to meet the challenges of both advertisers and publishers in this regard. Below are some of the major concerns that keep pestering mobile apps developers till date:

1. Fill Rate: The Ad inventory is one of the most perishable commodities for a developer. However, there are times when part of the inventory remains underutilized.  If a developer is unable to serve ads to visitors,  impressions can never be acquired. As a result of this, the fill rate continues to be one of the top challenges for app developers.
2. Trade Off: There is an increased emphasis on enhancing user experience. However, it is a deep concern for developers and apps publishers if inserting ads for monetization can place ideal user experience in trouble. Who would want to show an ad for a Valentine’s day gift to a man who has lost his fortune to pay alimony for a late divorce.
3. Retention: Mobile apps publishers often whine about the revenue generated from mobile ads. However, I am of the view that they are giving up the criteria for ideal user experience just to incorporate ads. This could result in loss of users.