Mobile banner ad networks are third parties that assist advertisers with gaining new customers. But they also enable publishers to monetize their apps using mobile ad banners. And as a long-standing form of display advertising, mobile ad banners are a reliable source of revenue generation.
Top Mobile Banner Ad Networks
So, whether you want to drive brand awareness, increase user acquisition, or improve CTRs on mobile banners, mobile banner ad networks can help you to reach those goals.
In this guide, we’ll offer you a rundown of what mobile banner ads are and show you how to access some of the top mobile banner ad networks to help reach your goals.
What are mobile banner ads?
Mobile banner ads are small, rectangular banners that cover sections of a device’s screen to display advertising images or text. By advertising products and services to mobile users, mobile ad banners invite clicks from users and redirect them to a site or a landing page.
Mobile ad banners are usually static or dynamic and can show up at the top or bottom of a device’s screen. And this makes them different from interstitial ads which cover the full screen. Classed as a form of display advertising, mobile ad banners are a form of in-app advertising. But they’re also an in-app monetization tool for publishers.
They’re the original internet ad format deployed via SDK or through programmatic where they often include an option to self-refresh if users don’t interact for a certain period.
Top Mobile Banner Ad Networks
Mobile ad banners can be classified in different ways, for instance, static image banners, video banners, and interactive banners. They remain one of the more foundational monetization tools for mobile app publishers. And mobile ad spending in this area shows consistent year-on-year growth, particularly over desktop spending which has generally plateaued.
Average Ad Spending Per Internet User
Why should you use mobile banner ads?
Due to their longevity, some have dismissed mobile ad banners as no longer effective. But this is not the case. Or at least, it’s likely that the proliferation of lower-quality banners has saturated mobile audiences’ attention spans and reduced the number of click-throughs over time.
When executed well, the majority of banner ads do have a great impact. And their continued popularity reflects this. They’re proven to increase visibility, but they also remain a solid and reliable form of advertising with a large cut of market share. So, here are some other reasons why they’re a good idea:
Boosts post-install engagement better than video
According to a report by Liftoff, banner ads outperform native ads for post-install engagement on Android. So for app owners, banner ads may offer specific, targeted benefits.
Tends to be less expensive than other forms
In the same report by Liftoff, mobile banner ads proved to be 20% less expensive than native ads. And as a reliable, long-standing format, a mobile ads banner could help with targeting more specific app metrics such as post-install engagement at a lower cost.
Relevant advertising method
According to a 2021 PWC report, banner advertising makes up over 30% of total global ad spend. So, despite the benefits of video advertising, mobile banners remain a popular and relied-on format.
2020 Advertising Format By Market Share
Drives traffic to a website
Mobile ad banners can be effective at driving traffic to a site as part of a larger marketing ecosystem. And while some visits may come via clickthroughs, banner ads will go a long way toward increasing brand recognition. Special offers, discounts, or previews can all assist in boosting CTRs and awareness.
What makes a good mobile ad banner?
Mobile ad banners have been around for a long time. And most app users will see them show up often as part of their in-app experience.
The best mobile ad banners are eye-catching and stand out from the competition. But they also feature original content and attractive images.
The most popular use of mobile ad banners comes via Google Display Ads. And these can reach around 90% of users via apps such as Gmail and YouTube. So, if you want users to click on your mobile ad banner, you’ll need to make them creative, strategic, and relevant to the audience’s needs.
Plus, your ad will need to work within some standard mobile banner sizes, outlined below.
What size should a mobile ad banner be?
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) created a set of standard banner formats for advertisers to use. To help you decide which ones to try out, here’s a list of the most popular.
- Leaderboard banner (728×90): This is also known as the horizontal banner and is the second most used ad size. It also works well on the Google Display Network.
- MREC – Medium rectangle (300 x 250): Medium rectangle banners often appear in the middle of content. And because they’re bigger in size, they often include more information.
Medium rectangle (300 x 250):
- Skyscraper (160 x 600): This vertical ad looks like a skyscraper and runs from the top of the screen to the bottom.
Some other sizes include:
- Mobile Leaderboard (320 x 50): This is also a very popular type of mobile banner ad size but is very small. It usually runs across the bottom of a mobile screen.
- Large (320 x 90 or 100): This variant is larger than most standard banners and allows room for videos or animations that may better engage users.
Large (320 x 90 or 100):
How can you create a mobile banner ad?
So what should you be doing to create your own mobile banner ad? Here’s a quick rundown of the key considerations:
- Determine your goals and objectives: Be clear on what you want to achieve. While CTRs are an obvious metric, many marketers use banner ads to focus on retargeting to raise brand awareness or increase social media activity.
- Identify your audience: Mobile banner ads work best when they target a specific audience. So be clear on the type of audience persona you want to attract.
- Develop the right CTA: What do you want your audience to do with the ad? Include a strong Call-To-Action to ensure they click through.
- Choose the right content: You’ll want to include images that grab attention. But stats show that close to 30% of marketers are turning to video banner ads for the first time since short-form videos on TikTok are so popular.
Top trends marketers plan to leverage in 2022
How much do mobile ad banners make?
Alongside driving metrics for advertisers, mobile ad banners are a good choice for mid-market publishers. In-app mobile ad banners offer something more targeted than Google AdSense, where publishers can drive brand awareness in other markets.
To provide you with an example, average eCPM rates for mobile ads banners on iOS range from between $0.16 to $0.38.
So, while they may not offer the same rates as something like incentivized ads, they’re still a vital component of a mobile advertisers ecosystem.
What do mobile banner ad networks do?
Mobile banner ad networks offer integrated platforms that help to connect mobile app advertisers with app developers, or publishers, who need to sell their mobile ad inventory.
By acting as a bridge between the two, mobile banner ad networks help app developers benefit from increasing app monetization and give advertisers access to new audiences.
Mobile banner ad networks offer a wide range of support to publishers and help them to monetize their content. Some of the key ways that mobile banner ad networks help advertisers and publishers include:
Split testing
A/B testing is the standard, well-worn route of ensuring your mobile banner ads are having the targeted impact. But there are many other forms such as A/B/n testing, multivariate testing, and multi-funnel page testing.
So whichever split test you engage in, make sure you understand what you’re testing. And that could be the wording, imagery, CTA, or banner size.
Safe ads
App developers and publishers who seek to target younger audiences may want to ensure their ads are appropriate. The last thing they’ll want is to compromise their brand by exposing younger audiences to unsuitable ads. And Safe Ads is one way that mobile banner ad networks can support this.
Banner ad production
Many platforms have the in-house creative talent to support with creating bespoke banner ads. But some may also enable users to create their own using pre-loaded templates.
What are the benefits of working with mobile banner ad networks?
Access
Mobile banner ad networks have access to vast pools of both advertisers and publishers. Acting as a gateway between the two, when advertisers or publishers work with mobile banner ad networks they can access huge scale and gain billions of impressions across many programmatic ecosystems.
Expertise
Partnering up with a mobile banner ad network enables both publishers and advertisers to benefit from a wide range of expertise. Many networks and platforms include a full-service team of managers, user acquisition specialists, customer success specialists, and cutting-edge technical support.
Analytics
Many ad networks offer DSP or SSP solutions, giving you a single dashboard to review and analyze your programmatic advertising campaigns. Other providers can provide a granular review of your mobile ad banner campaigns and give you a greater depth of strategic insight.
Flexibility
Most providers offer the flexibility to adapt their platforms to suit your needs. So if you need higher levels of customization, many networks can offer you better control over sources that drive traffic.
What should you look out for when working with mobile banner ad networks?
Variations in CTRs
Clickthrough rates often vary based on the ad format, content, and placement. Often, traditional full-banner mobile ads tend not to perform as well as skyscrapers or the more common MREC formats.
Advertisers and publishers will most likely need to experiment with video formats and use A/B testing if they want to drive the highest possible CTRs.
Variation in online average CTRs by ad format
Risk of ad blockers
Publishers usually want their users to have an enjoyable experience using their app. And if app users feel that the banner ads they see are intrusive, they can install ad blockers.
For this reason, advertisers must work hard to ensure any mobile ad banners they produce work to enhance the user experience and not disrupt it. And this is another key reason to consider working with a mobile banner ad network.
Why should you work with mobile banner ad networks?
Now you have a good idea of what mobile ad banners can do for you as an advertiser or publisher. But also, you should have a clearer sense of how mobile banner ad networks can help you to design and execute effective mobile banner ads.
Some other key reasons to consider working with mobile banner ad networks include:
- All the latest trends and stats on the formats that work
- Creative skills to design bespoke video or non-video based campaigns
- Real-Time Bidding support
- In-depth analytics reports to inform your strategy
- Performance-based marketing tools that target your KPIs (CPA, CPM, etc)
To find a mobile banner ad network to suit your needs, take a look through our curated list of the best providers around.
