Have you ever tapped on a flashy mobile game ad, only to discover the actual game is nothing like what was shown? If so, you’re not alone. When ads mislead or fall short in quality, you might find yourself losing potential players, facing frustrated users, and watching your game’s reputation take a hit. As someone involved in developing or marketing mobile games, you need to recognize just how much poor advertising can cost you.
Perhaps you’ve noticed an increase in people uninstalling your game, leaving harsh reviews, or simply not engaging as much, all because the ads didn’t meet expectations. In this post, you’ll get a clear idea of what makes an ad low quality, how these ads affect your players’ experiences, and what practical steps you can take to fix the problem and boost user acquisition for your mobile game.
What Constitutes a Bad-Quality Ad
User acquisition is significantly influenced by the quality of the ads you run. Poor-quality ads can frustrate users, cause them to abandon your game, and ultimately hurt your acquisition funnel. Here’s a breakdown of key bad ad traits from an advertiser’s perspective:
Inappropriate Content: Ads featuring mature, violent, or offensive material that clash with your game’s audience and violate platform guidelines. For instance, an ad showing inappropriate material in a children’s game could lead to a flood of complaints and negative reviews, damaging your game’s reputation.
Irrelevant Ads: Creatives that don't align with your game's theme or the player's interests, leading to disengagement and fewer game installs.
Ads Misrepresenting the Games They Advertise: Ads that promise features or mechanics your game doesn’t deliver, resulting in player trust issues and high uninstall rates.
For publishers, bad-quality ads not only affect user experience but also impact your monetization efforts, as they can drive away users and reduce long-term revenue. Here are the key bad ad traits from the publisher’s perspective:
Inconsistent Ad Frequency: When ad durations or frequency vary too widely, such as one ad being 15 seconds and the next over a minute, it breaks the gaming experience and can lead to session abandonment. This unpredictability increases frustration, which in turn lowers ad engagement rates and, consequently, revenue.
Intrusive Ads: Ads that disrupt gameplay with unskippable video formats or misleading close buttons decrease player satisfaction, which can directly impact retention. A poor user experience reduces the potential for ongoing ad views, leading to diminished earnings over time.
Understanding what makes an ad of poor quality is only the first step; now, let’s take a closer look at the significant impact these subpar ads can have on your game’s user acquisition and overall success.
The Consequences of Bad-Quality Ads
In mobile gaming, user acquisition is paramount. However, poor-quality ads can significantly hinder these efforts. Misleading, intrusive, or irrelevant advertisements not only frustrate potential players but also damage the game's reputation, leading to increased uninstall rates and negative reviews.
Decreased Conversion Rates: Users who encounter deceptive or low-quality ads are less likely to install the game, resulting in lower conversion rates.
- Ad-Driven Churn: Irrelevant ads can lead to user churn, with some ads causing a loss of 8 users per 1,000 impressions.
- Negative Reviews: Frustrated users often express their dissatisfaction through low ratings and negative reviews, which can deter potential new players and impact your game's visibility in app stores.
Understanding these consequences underscores the importance of maintaining high ad quality to ensure a positive user experience and successful user acquisition.
To mitigate the negative impact of low-quality ads, it’s essential to take proactive steps that enhance the user experience and safeguard your game’s reputation and user acquisition efforts. Let’s explore how you can effectively combat these issues.
How to Combat Bad Ads
Ensuring a seamless and engaging user experience in your mobile game requires proactive measures to prevent bad-quality ads. Here's how you can effectively combat these issues:
1. Work with Reputable Ad Networks
Partnering with established ad networks is crucial to maintain ad quality and relevance.
Choose Trusted Networks: Opt for well-known ad networks like AdMob, Unity Ads, ironSource, and Meta Audience Network. These platforms offer robust content filtering and transparency tools that let you maintain control over the ads displayed in your game.
Utilize Blocking Options: Explore each network's blocking capabilities to exclude problematic ad categories, such as gambling, dating, or political content. Proactively contacting support can further filter out undesirable ads before they appear in your game.
2. Use Ad Filtering Tools and Controls
Implementing advanced filtering tools lets you monitor and control the quality of ads.
Leverage Mediation Platforms: Mediation platforms like Unity LevelPlay and AppLovin MAX let you pinpoint and block specific advertisers, creative IDs, or ad categories that may frustrate players.
Augment with Analytics: Incorporate third-party ad-quality analytics tools to detect low-resolution, broken, or poorly sized creatives at scale, ensuring that only high-quality ads are served to your users.
3. Implement Frequency Capping and Ad Pacing
Controlling the frequency and timing of ads can enhance user experience and reduce annoyance.
Set Frequency Caps: Limit how often a user sees the same ad (e.g., two impressions per session) to prevent ad fatigue and annoyance.
Schedule Ads Strategically: Display ads at natural breaks in gameplay, such as after level completions or on menu screens, and ensure that any unskippable ads end promptly (e.g., within 15 seconds) to maintain the game's flow.
After implementing these strategies, to ensure a more seamless and engaging user experience, it's crucial to implement best practices that balance ad quality with player satisfaction. Here are some best practices that let you achieve that balance.
Also Read: Creative Analytics Explained: How To Track, Measure, And Improve Ad Performance
Best Practices for a Balanced Ad Experience
For advertisers, the primary objective is to attract high-quality users who engage with the game and have a high lifetime value (LTV). Implementing the following practices can enhance user acquisition efforts:
Optimize Ad Creatives for Performance: High-quality and engaging ad creatives are crucial for successful UA campaigns. Investing in captivating visuals and compelling narratives can significantly increase click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates. Regularly optimizing ad creatives ensures they resonate with the target audience, leading to improved performance metrics.
Leverage A/B Testing for Ad Creatives: To ensure your ads perform at their best, run A/B tests to compare different creative variations. Testing elements like messaging, visuals, and calls to action allows you to identify the most effective combinations. By continuously refining your creatives based on these insights, you can maximize user acquisition efforts.
For publishers, the focus shifts to generating revenue without compromising the user experience. The following strategies can help achieve a balanced and effective ad approach:
Integrate Ads at Natural Flow Points: Position ads during natural breaks in gameplay, such as after level completions or on menu screens, to prevent disrupting the player's experience. This approach maintains immersion and reduces frustration.
Offer Skippable Options for Longer Video Ads: For video ads exceeding 15 seconds, provide a skip option after 5 seconds. This respects the player's time and enhances their overall experience, leading to higher engagement rates.
Maintain Consistent Ad Placement: Ensure that ad placements are consistent throughout the game. Consistency enables players to anticipate and adapt to ads, reducing annoyance.
Tailor Ad Frequency and Types to Player Segments: Analyze player behavior to segment your audience and tailor ad frequency and types accordingly. For instance, casual players prefer fewer frequent ads.
By adopting these best practices, you can create a balanced ad experience that enhances user acquisition efforts and fosters player trust.
Also Read: Implementing Effective Ad Strategies in Mobile Games Without Hurting User Experience
Conclusion
When you’re trying to attract new players to your mobile game, the quality of your ads can make or break your success. If you put out ads that miss the mark or feel misleading, you risk losing the trust of your audience. You might notice more players leaving, negative feedback piling up, or your reputation taking a hit—all because of a few poorly crafted ads.
So, how can you turn things around? Start by focusing on what your players want to see. Deliver honest ads that are engaging and truly reflect your game. When you do this, you’ll not only keep your current players happy but also make it easier to bring in new ones.
If you’re looking for a way to step up your ad game, you might want to check out Segwise. With Segwise, you can automate creative tagging, track the performance of your campaigns, and gain insights that help you make more informed decisions. Essentially, Segwise provides you with the data and feedback you need to refine your strategy and expand your player base.
Curious to see the difference for yourself? You can start a 14-day free trial with Segwise and find out how much your ad strategy can improve when you have the right tools at your fingertips.
FAQs
1. What are the risks of using intrusive ads?
Intrusive ads, such as unskippable videos or misleading close buttons, can lead to increased uninstall rates and negative reviews. It's essential to prioritize user experience to maintain a positive reputation.
2. How can I handle user complaints about ads?
Actively listen to user feedback regarding ads and make necessary adjustments. Implementing user suggestions can improve ad quality and demonstrate responsiveness, fostering user trust.
3. How can Segwise help improve ad quality in my game?
Segwise offers an AI-powered platform that provides creative analytics and performance monitoring. These features enable you to identify and address ad quality issues promptly, enhancing user acquisition.
