Earning $ from Ads

Slayre77

Hello.
I want to ask those people who have released games with ads - do you actually earn a decent sum of money from them, or would you advise others (unless they have created the next hit) to not go to the trouble of setting them up at all?

rvantilborg

i can't see my revenue at the moment because of an issue, but making an AD banner in your game is like the easiest thing to do…
i always make my apps in 2 versions, a 'lite version' and a 'paid version' at the same time this does also increase the chance to get noticed in the appstore.

Gnarly

Money. Very little. Possible to make a profit yes. Unlikely to make much. Do it because you enjoy doing it.

Moik

I don't think any Game Salad dev has reached the point where they consistently make thousands a month off ads. I believe a select elite few have made consistent hundreds a month off ads by pulling with several games. Most people make only tens a month off ads.

If you can find a point in your game where it makes sense to show an ad in a way that won't annoy the user (ex, at the end of an action loop like when completing a stage, or by opt-in such as 'watch an ad for a free power-up'), then you should add them in. The cost in time to set up your ad publisher account with the ad provider, and the insert mechanics via game salad, is very low.

Games with an up-front cost are hard to move. Games with IAP need to be high quality to get real numbers as well. Ads are the most reliable way to make what money can be made on the kind of game that can be put out by an individual as a hobby.

Lovejoy

Game+Ads (iAd/admob banner)&(Chartboost video/static interstitial) + IAP to remove ads = Profit

freneticz

What has happened to chartboost , all my bid settings is gone @Dan_Chartboost

MentalDonkeyGames

The minimum bid option is removed. You should've gotten an email about it. Check your emails spam folder if you didn't see it.

bizextreme

unless you get millions of downloads ads will not make you any decent money maybe enough for beer money.

BigDave

nah you don't need millions of downloads
it depends on the ARPU you manage to create from your banner,interstitial and in-app purchases.

My lowest game ARPU right now is $0.03 Average revenue per user
My highest $ 0.15 ARPU

So for 10000 downloads I get

$300
or
$1500

depending on the game.

A nice thing would be to achieve a ARPU above $0.50 then you can start to think about advertising it with your own interstitials to get more traffic.

So its key to make them stay in your game along as possible and make them come back.
If you manage to do that also the in-app purchase sales kick in.

freneticz

I have not seen that mail and cant find it, so what does it mean? how do you set it up now?

justpro5

Hi mates
Don't you think that we are cheating people by scattering ads here and there and force people and especially children to click on Ads. I thinks using in-purchase is the best strategy to earn money if you are looking for ( good) money, otherwise , you can use ads and ads or the formula pf Lovejoy (Game+Ads (iAd/admob banner)&(Chartboost video/static interstitial) + IAP to remove ads = Profit) .

Moik

One downside about non-consumable IAP like Remove Ads is that it's basically a cap. Your Average Revenue Per User pretty much can't or won't exceed that value. If you want to bring up the average, you should also have a consumable IAP. Generally that's done by offering a secondary currency IAP (coins, gems, hearts). Generally, it's best to create something users can spend it on as they play. This would be things like boosts and upgrades.

Then, if someone comes along and wants to show a lot of support to the game*, they aren't blocked at five dollars for removing IAP. They can keep buying gems for boosts and upgrades, bringing the Average Revenue Per User up.

• As an example, my habit is to spend 10$ on a game for every 40 hours I play. If there's only Remove Ads for two bucks, I want to spend more, but can't easily. That's a missed opportunity.

BigDave

Jeah. Selling consumable in a not backed up game feels very cheat like to me as they lose it alls if they de-install the game or can't move their progress to another device.

Selling consumables is something i will touch for a bigger game fully backed on server side with user accounts and their data stored.

http_gamesalad

You can make millions of dollars but you do need a LOT of downloads at least maybe 10 million downloads or more. BUT it is worth it if you're willing to put the time and money into getting to that stage