Maximizing your ad revenue through mobile advertising is not as simple as it sounds. That’s where video ad formats come into play. Here’s why you should monetize your app with mobile video ads in order to increase your mobile’s CPMs

Brainstorming a creative and revolutionary idea for a mobile app was pretty simple, but now that you’re trying to come up with ways of making it a financial success, things tend to get tricky. If you’ve tired of attempting to monetize your app by using ineffective display advertising, mobile video ads are exactly what you need.

By Hubspot’s video marketing statistics, mobile video is on the rise. So much so, that mobile video consumption is rising 100% each year and 87% of online marketers are now using video content. Furthermore, according to Invisia, “30 second in-stream mobile video ads have an 88.3% completion rate,” and Hubspot has even stated that “after watching a video, 64% are more likely to buy a product online.”

Digital video will reach nearly $5 billion in ad revenue in 2016

Video media not only allows for greater engagement than your regular ad banner, but it is also much easier to integrate into your app. Since nearly every person in the western world has access to mobile technology that didn’t exist in the past, video streaming is now available to the masses, and is the best way to increase your mobile’s CPM’s. So much so, that according to Bloomberg, this April, Mashable fired dozens of workers in an attempt to focus more on video. Other digital media companies like BuzzFeed and Vox Media have also shifted their attention to video due to its “massive reach and lucrative advertising.”

According to Business Insider, digital video will reach nearly $5 billion in ad revenue in 2016 due to developing delivery channels, amplified engagement and the highest average click-through rate (1.84 percent) of any digital format. Furthermore, eMarketer have stated that in response to a surge in mobile video, “the US digital video advertising market is on pace to nearly double by 2019.”

“Brands now have the opportunity to reach people anywhere”

Video ads create an engaging experience for consumers, involving many of their senses and using targeted call-to-actions. When targeting the right type of consumer, video advertising generates powerful conversion rates and brands are taking notice. An article in Marketing Land suggests brands keep their videos actionable, “between 16 and 30 seconds long, and develop content that adapts to different screen sizes. Additionally, coding videos in HTML5 VPAID allows marketers to run interactive pre-roll/mid-roll/post-roll video regardless of device, screen size or most in-application environments.”

Furthermore, creating interactive and enjoyable videos is also part of the game, since when it comes down to it they are valued even more than content is. The average user spends over 16 minutes watching online video ads every month, as stated by Hubspot, and the enjoyment of video ads increases purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%. The power of video ads is so incredible, that according to Hubspot’s survey, analyst James McQuivey estimates that one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words.

Think with Google have stated that since smartphones have become an integral part of people’s lives, with mobile becoming as important as a main screen, “brands now have the opportunity to reach people anywhere”, and Google suggests they “deliver in-the-moment, real-time experiences” in order to make the most of people’s full attention.

Monetizing a site through mobile video ads isn’t always simple, and mobile advertising platforms help brands command great CPMs and CTRs by using video ads that blend organically with their clients’ app’s theme. With SearchSafer you can learn more about what to look for in a good mobile video ad network, and watch as your CPMs grow before your very eyes.

There’s a lot of talk about CPM these days. It has become one of the preferred forms of monetization for both online and mobile publishers: In 2015, CPM accounted for more than one-third of all American online advertising revenue. Both advertiser and publisher are cashing in on this format and many want to know how much they can make from it. First we must understand how mobile video advertising works.

Here are a few statistics to understand the scope of programmatic advertising from an eMarketer report from earlier this year:

The chart below lists the biggest reported benefits of mobile video ads:

Increased brand awarenessReach more targeted audienceIncrease favorability of the brandIncrease intent to purchaseDrive consumers to purchase digitally

Marketers and advertisers agree that mobile video ads are on the rise and the benefits are significant. Because consumers are more than ever connected to their mobile devices, advertising on this medium is preferred. And video captures user attention like no other form, so combining the two is a winning formula.

All in all, we can say with certainty that mobile is and will continue to dominate desktop; some even believe desktop will eventually become obsolete. We also see that mobile app iOS CPMs are significantly higher than the rest (see below).

Credit: Marketing Land

We can conclude that advertisers are paying a lot, while mobile and video spend is only growing.

So let’s get real: What Are the Average Mobile Video Ad CPM Rates?

We’ve checked a variety of sources and the most reputable sources we’ve listed below:

1. eMarketer: $24.00

This is the gross amount paid by advertisers. This is clearly a high number, but it is consistent with other video display average CPM rates.

2. Streaming Media: $12.50

In Streaming Media’s in-depth article about the state of mobile video, Irfon Watkins, founder and CEO of Coull says,“The average CPM for preroll on mobile is around $12.50. CPM is the dominant model but buyers are increasingly looking to [other] specific performance metrics to guide their campaign decisions.”

3. AdToApp: $10.52 (in the U.S.)

AdToApp has a real-time dashboard of all eCPM rates differentiated by country, as well as their performance (if they’ve gone up or down) and fill rates. Today’s eCPM for the United States was $10.52. As the AdToApp dashboard shows, eCPM rates in the United States are the highest at the moment, but markets in Latin America and Asia-Pacific are expected to rise.

Another helpful resource worth mentioning is ClickZ’s CPM calculator where you can calculate the cost of a campaign, CPM, or the number of impressions.

These are the most legitimate sources we’ve found for average mobile video CPM rates, however the rates will vary — depending on location and vertical. We found many other rates that were significantly higher and significantly lower, but the sources were not reliable, thus we left them out. In order to make the highest possible return on your investment, choose your ad network wisely. Video ad networks that are transparent, have high fill rates and have a variety of partners are your best bets.

Mobile advertising is the future of digital marketing. With the growing number of smartphone users spending a large portion of their waking hours glued to their mobile phones, these devices are used for everything but making calls! While advertisers have explored a plethora of innovative ways to engage with their target audience on the internet, mobile-specific advertising is still in its nascent stages in comparison.

The Mobile users are there now do something about it!

About one-third of all website traffic now comes from mobile phones, and this number is only set to increase in the future. With more websites being optimized for mobile viewing, people are slowly growing accustomed to conducting online research and looking up information on their phones. Smart marketers are also clued in on these changing trends and are looking to invest in good mobile website ad campaigns. Advertising budgets are tilting decidedly in favor of mobile marketing, and advertising slots on well-managed mobile websites are becoming premium property. Cost Per Impression (CPM) for mobile ads rose by about 30% in the third quarter of 2015 and is expected to continue rising.

Given the click-through rates (CTR) for different kinds of mobile ads, videos present the best opportunity to increase CPMs for websites. The average click through rates for all mobile ads stands at 0.17% while video ads average a CTR of 1.84%, which is the highest across all formats.

Mobile Experience:

Wiser from their PC experience, users are more cautious of clicking through poor-quality ads. Strategically placed, well-made video advertisements for relevant products on your page can be the key to gaining your readers' trust and improving your click through rates (CTR). Better CTR, ultimately, translates to increased CPM and better revenue in the long run. Using a service like SearchSafer helps match your website with advertisements for products and services that would be most relevant to your readers. With three different layout options, you can choose to have in-line video ads, ads at the bottom of the page (sticky ads), or expandable ads.

Mobile Speed:

Having a service that loads videos fast is also essential to engage your audience; 80% of users navigate away from the page if it takes too long to load. SearchSafer solves this problem with superior technology that helps videos load at much higher speeds.

Enabling video advertisements for your mobile website can give you a consistently high CTR which can substantially increase your CPM. A partnership with SearchSafer can help increase your CTR to 500 times the industry average, resulting in an average CPM of about $5. Connect with SearchSafer now to maximize ad revenues from your mobile website, while continuing to deliver high-quality and trustworthy content to your audience.

If you’re a savvy website owner, then you know that mobile functionality is the way of the future.

From reading articles to watching videos to making purchases, more and more people are using their smartphones to do what they used to do on the computer. This means that the functionality of your mobile site has to be better than ever before.

Many publishers, marketers, and website owners are weary of turning towards mobile sites, however, as they realize that monetization will have to be done completely differently than it is on their desktop-based websites. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to ensure that your mobile sites are being as effectively monetized as possible.

Make Your Mobile Site Easy for Visitors to Navigate

There is nothing more off-putting for a mobile user than a website that’s too large for their phone’s screen to handle.

To ensure that your mobile users are getting the best experience possible, make mobile navigation simple. While there are plenty of ways to go about doing this, three main things to focus on are:

Using large buttons that are easy for your mobile users to find and clickKeeping images to a minimal size to ensure faster page loadingUsing auto-play videos to keep your site as intuitive as possiblePlacing ads in obvious, but unobstructive, places

Know What Your Visitors Want, and Then Give It to Them

You know that to monetize any site, mobile or not, you need to understand what your target audience is looking for and then provide them with it. After all, if you can’t get your intended audience to even visit your site, how can you ever hope to monetize it effectively?

While you should always keep monetization in the back of your mind, it’s most important to create a website that’s useful to your audience. One great way to do this is to provide your audience with helpful and actionable content so that they keep coming back to your site.

Work With Ad Servicers Who Target Mobile Users

If you’re a fashion blogger, you won't work with a website designer who only has experience creating websites for financial advisers. So, why would you work with an ad servicer who has no experience targeting mobile users when your aim is to monetize your mobile site?

Once you’ve made your mobile site easy to navigate, and once you’ve given your target audience exactly what they’re looking for, the only thing stopping you from effective mobile site monetization is the ads you’re using.

When you work with an ad services which specialize in mobile video ads, such as SearchSafer, you’re making your ads more accessible to your mobile users. This means that you can indeed create a mobile website – ads and all – that will fit your target audience’s needs.

With more and more people using their smartphones to access the web, you simply cannot afford not to have an effective mobile site with a mobile monetization strategy. Fortunately for you, just by taking the advice offered above, you’re already ahead of the game.

Ever hear of a “sticky ad” or maybe of an “adhesion ad”? More than likely you’ve heard of an “in-line” or “in-content” ad, but have you heard of a “slider” or “flex” ad? Each of these is part of a new wave of mobile ad units. The names can be catchy or silly depending on how you interpret them, but really they’re just new ad formats to give publishers and advertisers more options as they look to capitalize on the on-going and explosive growth of mobile advertising.

If you’re a digital publisher and/or advertiser you need to get smarter everyday about where mobile advertising is going and what it will mean for your business with each shift in ad tech and ad formats. As important as the substance of what you present to a mobile user, is how you present it, and this goes for both edit and advertising because each content type has a unique impact on your user experience. To put a finer point on it, it is most critical for you to figure out the best user experience, with edit and advertising, for video. And because everyone copies everyone else in order to gain an advantage, when it comes to mobile video presentation we would all be wise to copy Facebook.