The Worlds Top Mobile Advertising Networks, DSPs, Ad Servers and Platforms

Welcome to our 2012 list of the Worlds Top Mobile Advertising Platforms.  There are a huge number of mobile ad networks out there right now – until only recently there were only a handful.  What’s more is that new types of services such as mobile DSPs (demand-side-platforms) or mobile ad companies offering mobile rich media tools are also growing in importance so it’s about more than just networks these days.  Keeping track of all of these new types of services is tough, so we’ve created this list.  There are a number of categories we’ve used:

• Regional Mobile Ad Networks – have strength in particular geographic areas
• Mobile CPA Networks - offer advertising on a cost per action basis – affiliate marketing for mobile
• App Promotion – focused on promoting mobile apps typically on a CPI (cost per install) basis
• Mobile Rewards & Virtual Currency – linking mobile ads to in-game mechanics
• Mobile Rich Media – focusing on mobile video, HTML5 and high engagement ads
• Premium Mobile Advertising Networks – restrict inventory to leading brands and publishers typically sold on a CPM basis
• Local Mobile Ads – using geographic targeting to provide locally relevant mobile ads
• Specialist Mobile Ad Networks – focus on a particular model (e.g. cost per lead) or a particular platform (e.g. Android)
• Mobile Demand-Side Platforms – allow buying across multiple mobile ad networks, often with a services/ campaign management and analytics layer
• Mobile Ad Servers, Optimizers and SSPs – allow publishers and app developers to integrate with multiple mobile ad networks
• Global Networks – mobile ad networks with a global reach, typically sold on a CPC basis

If you think there is another mobile ad network or service we should add to the list then contact us to suggest them.  You can grab a copy of this in presentation format from scribd or slideshare below for your ipad, reading on the laptop or sending round at work.

[slideshare id=12660576&doc=guidetomobileadvertisingmobyaffiliates-com-linked-120423182425-phpapp02]

Regional Mobile Ad Networks

Regional mobile ad networks that have particular depth in traffic in a specific region such as Europe or Latin America, many of them also have large volumes of traffic on a global level as well

Mobfox – very strong iphone and android network in Germany, Europe and globally, also offers a mobile ad server

Buzz City – a global mobile ad network but with particular strength in SE Asia, partly due to its ownership of some major mobile social networking sites popular in the SE Asia region

Wapstart – the biggest mobile ad network in Russia

Hunt Mobile Ads – the leading mobile ad network for Latin America and the US Hispanic market

Handsmobile – the leading mobile ad network in Brazil

mkmob – the biggest mobile ad network in the Carribean

Adyuz – Latin American mobile ad network

sofialys – based in Paris, France and offering a number of mobile ad solutions including its adbox mobile ad server

Ybrandt Mobile – based in India and offers a mobile ad network operating in 40 counties

App Promotion

There are a number of services which focus on providing mobile app promotion or game promotion services for developers – ads can be run in exchange for ads on other sites or are available on a cost per install (CPI) basis to advertisers.  

Applifier – cross promotion network for mobile games offering cost per install pricing

Sponsorpay – offers mobile advertising on a cost per install or offerwall model on a cost per engagement basis

Chartboost – a cross promotion ad network for mobile games and apps that allows payment on a cost per install basis as well as cost per click with a range of ad formats

Tapgage – offers cost per install pricing as part of a mobile apps cross promotion click exchange network, was previously called Bizmey, based in Toronto Canada (Tapgage website)

Mobile Rewards / Games/ Virtual currency

Mobile advertising can also be combined with rewards or virtual currency.  For example, a user can receive credits in a mobile game for watching a video ad promoting another mobile game. 

Tapjoy – offers mobile app and game users recommendations for apps and integrates with mobile games to provide in-app rewards, offer walls and virtual currency solutions

Playhaven – provides a solution for mobile games developers that includes message based ads, offer walls, in-app rewards, cross-promotion and other services from a single platform

W3i – provides a range of incentivised and non incentivised offers and app promotion services

Kiip – designed for games developers to integrate with existing in-game mechanics, showing advertising where rewards and levels are unlocked

Premium Mobile Ad Networks

Premium networks restrict access to mobile sites and apps from major brands or publishers, providing a high quality of environment for mobile ads.  In some cases, advertisers can specify individual publishers that they would like to buy inventory from.  

4th Screen – UK-based premium mobile ad network with access to leading brands, publishers and other trusted mobile environments

Taptap Networks – the largest premium ad network in Spain

YOC Mobile – runs a premium mobile ad network with leading branded publishers

Mobile Theory – a premium mobile ad network for branded publishers and advertisers, recently acquired by Opera Mobile and based in the US

Widespace – premium mobile ad network based in Sweden

Medialets – operates a private exchange with premium mobile ad inventory from leading publishers

Mobile Fuse - offers a mobile ad network targeted a brands with an open list of sites its network runs on, and the ability to target and remove sites from the list for any campaign

Microsoft Mobile Advertising – the premium mobile ad network operated by Microsoft

iAds – previously Quattro Wireless, offers Apple’s own mobile ad solution for premium brands

Amobee - offers a range of enterprise-grade mobile ad solutions for businesses spending millions on mobile ads, now owned by Singtel

Mobsta – a UK-based premium mobile ad network that offers geo-targeting via a partnership with Yoose

Local Mobile Ad Networks

Local Mobile Ad Networks allow advertisers to reach mobile users in specific locations based on geo-targeting.  Can be aimed at local businesses or for mobile shopper applications.  

Yoose – a hyperlocal mobile ad network that allows geo-targeting of mobile advertising

xAd – allows national brands and local advertisers to target local mobile display and search advertising

Thinknear – helps target mobile ads to consumers in precise locations

Placeplay – allows app and game developers to offer geo-targeted ads to increase app revenues

Rich Media Mobile Ad Networks

Rich media mobile ad networks focus on video or other forms of mobile advertising featuring multimedia or interactivity beyond basic banner ads.  All major mobile ad networks including the big generalist global players such as inmobi are also investing in rich media capabilities.  

Celtra – allows the creation and trafficking of a range of different rich media mobile ad formats

Greystripe – mobile video ad platform, the first ad network to specialise in rich media

Session M – founded by the former co-founder of Quattro Wireless, session M offers an engaging range of mobile ad formats including HTML5 and video that integrate with the mechanics of mobile games and apps

Zumobi – offers a platform that allows the creation of sponsored/ branded apps and experiences and rich media advertising

Ad Colony – a mobile video ad platform that offers a self-service option for developers and integrates with virtual currency as well as providing a premium service for leading brands

Tap.me – a platform for branded enhancements in mobile games offering sponsorship and ad opportunities for brands and other advertisers

Mobile CPA  Networks

Mobile affiliate or CPA networks provide inventory on a CPA basis.  This allows them to offer advertisers a performance model for mobile advertising.  App developers and mobile publishers can use mobile CPA networks as ‘fill’ for the inventory that CPC or CPM based networks cannot provide ads in.  Mobile affiliate marketers or media buyers also leverage CPA networks for PPC arbitrage using mobile ad networks.  

Mobpartner – the original mobile affiliate network – large range of offers, great tech platform and highly trusted billing and settlements process

Admobix – run a range of high payout and converting offers across multiple international markets

Yeahmobi – range of different CPA offers and provides weekly payment facilities, strong in the Asian market as well as internationally

Sponsormob – well established mobile CPA network with high quality offers including pay per call and a strong tech platform

Mobilda – Israeli mobile affiliate network run by a larger online marketing – have some strong branded offers

Linking Mobile – UK based network with a range of extremely high quality programs with extremely high payouts – high quality brands and merchants

Mobaff –  invite only CPA network, with outstanding training, resources and affiliate support

Kissmyads – German based CPA network with a strong roster of offers targeting European markets across a range of merchant types

Apprupt – premium mobile performance network which provides cost per install for mobile applications – strong in European markets especially Germany and has deals with major publishers for high quality inventory

Moolah Media – mobile CPA and CPL network with a range of integrations for mobile offers including in the Android messaging system

Offermobi – runs a range of mobile performance offers, coming from more of an online affiliate approach

Mobile Cactus – specialist mobile CPA network based in the US

Neverblue Mobile – the mobile arm of the well respective affiliate and performance network Neverblue

Specialist mobile ad networks 

Specialist mobile ad networks focus on a particular platform (e.g. Android) or a special type of ad (e.g. a form fill) or a certain type of traffic (gaming, adult)

Airpush – the leading mobile ad network for Android app advertising – offers ads in push notifications, as an app badge and co-registration / sign-up

Pontiflex – sign-up ads and lead generation/ form fill ads called Ad Leads

Webmoblink – offers a self service marketplace across web and mobile inventory

Leadbolt – offers a number of different ad formats including app walls, capture forms, interstitials, video and overlays as well as the traditional banners, strong in the games market and Android

Burstly – offers platform for direct selling of ads, a mediation layer/ SSP and a rewards/ virtual currency system

Sellaring – Audio based mobile ad network

Aarki – allows advertisers to choose which sites or apps they advertise on and developers to also pick the best campaigns for their site

Onmobi – a specialist mobile ad network for the gaming (casino, poker) and finance sectors with CPC / CPA / CPI / Rev share business models

Reporo – a UK-based mobile ad network specialising in adult inventory

Adultmoda – adult version of the mobile ad network admoda

Mobile Demand Side Platforms (DSPs)

Mobile DSPs allow advertisers to buy across a range of different mobile ad networks, publishers and exchanges from a single console.  DSPs typically offer other services on top such as planning & buying, campaign management, analytics and tracking.  

Strikead – a mobile demand-side-platform that allows buying across multiple mobile ad networks

Tapit – acts like a combination of an ad network and and agency providing a range of analytics, campaign management and optimization services on top of its mobile technology platform

Mdotm – a mobile demand-side platform integrating with a huge supply of traffic and focusing on using this to drive app-installs

Adiquity – a global mobile ad optimization platform that allows publishers to integrate with multiple mobile ad networks

Mobclix – mobile ad exchange offering Real Time Bidding across premium mobile app and game inventory

Mobile Ad Servers, Ad Optimization, Mediation Services and Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) 

Mobile SSPs and Ad Servers allow mobile publishers and app developers to connect to multiple mobile ad networks.  Mobile Ad Servers will optimize ads from the various networks to maximise earnings and eCPM. 

Mopub – works as a mobile ad server for a range of leading mobile apps and games, integrating multiple ad networks and providing a range of analytics, optimization and ad management services from a single SDK, publishers can also offer inventory via real time bidding

Nexage – offers Real Time Bidding, RTB, private exchanges and acts as an ad server and media layer for mobile app developers and publishers

Smaato – connects mobile app publishers, developers and mobile websites with 80+ mobile ad networks across all platforms

Ad Marvel – a mobile ad optimization network that integrates analytics and a mobile ad network optimizer, owned by Opera (Ad Marvel website)

Mocean – a mobile ad server that allows publishers and developers to manage multiple mobile ad networks and direct sales

Adfrap – a mobile inventory management solution for mobile publishers

Global Mobile Ad Networks

These are all mobile ad networks with significant global reach.  Generally offering mobile ads on a blind basis across a large network of sites and apps across Android, iphone, other mobile platforms and mobile web 

Adfonic – innovative mobile ad network offering a range of different targeting options and ad formats

Jumptap – large US-based mobile ad network – very strong in the US but with global inventory

Vserv – offers a very powerful ad server and mediation layer as well as acting as a mobile ad network with elements such as games/ ad walls

Admob – the original mobile ad network – still Google’s main solution for in-app advertising on Android and iphone, huge inventory despite the growth in competition

Inmobi – perhaps the world’s biggest mobile ad network after admob, very strong global footprint and increasingly offering rich media and other capabilities

Admoda – Uk-based mobile ad network with inventory worldwide

Google Mobile Ads – google’s solution for mobile search and mobile web display – all the inventory and targeting capability of Google for mobile devices

Mojiva – one of the early mobile ad networks along with admob and inmobi – increasingly positioned as a premium and rich media mobile ad network

Millenial Media – US based mobile ad network working with brands, mobile app developers and mobile publishers with a range of mobile ad solutions

That’s it – don’t forget to contact us if you think there’s a mobile ad network out there that we should add to the list.  Don’t forget you can grab the file as a ppt from Scribd here or from slideshare.

Guide to Mobile Advertising

If you’re an app developer then we don’t need to tell you that getting your app discovered on the Apple, Google, Microsoft and BlackBerry official app store can be incredibly difficult. There are of course many different ways to promote your app. We’ve already discussed all the different app marketing resources and techniques you can use, given you a list of app promotion companies and guided through the murky world of app store optimisation. But there’s one more thing you might want to consider when trying to get your app onto more devices –  look toward greener pastures.

Don’t think Google Play and Apple’s App Store are the only distribution channels for your apps, as you can see below there is a healthy eco-system of third party app stores and directories that can help get your app noticed. Some of these app stores will  give you a better cut of the revenues than the traditional 70/30% split offered in the App Store, some will let you target audiences in different markets, such as Asia and Africa, or let you offer your app as a white label product. Some may simply help you by offering a less crowded space to thrive in.

As with all our directory lists, this is still a work in progress, so if you think we’ve missed any cool app stores our readers should know about then please get in touch.

The Best App Store directory

Cross-platform App Stores

OpenAppMkt – Android and iPhone-compatible market that distributes web-apps built in HTML5. Unlike the traditional 70/30 split, developers keep 80% of app sale revenue.

GetJar – One of the biggest 3rd party app stores currently in operations. Claims to distribute more than 350 thousand mobile apps, with 395 registered developers. Also offers a pay per download system to help developers get visibility.

Kongregate Arcade

Handmark – App developer behind popular Tweetcast app, which also runs an app store for Android, BlackBerry, Windows and Palm devices.

Handster - Claims to features over 30,000 apps from 4000 vendors across Android, Symbian, Java and BlackBerry platforms. Also offers white label platform to manufacturers, distributors and carriers. Owned by Opera.

WAC – The app store for the Wireless Application Community (a consortium backed by a number of telcos). Focuses on distributing cross-platform web-apps using mainly HTML5.

PhoLoad – Community-driven website that allows developers to upload and distribute their free apps. Compatible with Android and Symbian platforms.

Mobango – Mobile content-sharing store, which allows users to upload and share videos, ringtone and photos, as well as applications.

Zeewee – Cross-platform app store that distributes HTML5 web-apps. Offers in-app purchasing, direct to bill and push notifications. Claims to have distributed over 1 million apps since its launch

Appolicious – Editorially-curated app directory that helps developers get their apps rated and discovered. In association with Yahoo.

Handango – Independent app store run by PocketGear, offers apps on BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android and Symbian platforms. Works with app marketplace Appia.

Appia – Marketplace that creates app stores for clients and distributes apps to a variety of different app stores. Claims to have a combined audience of 250 million, via more than 20 different app stores.

Biskero – Mobile content store that focuses on distributing Flash games and apps to mobile devices. Works primarily across Android and Nokia handsets.

Opera Mobile App Store – The mobile app store run by browser developer Opera and powered by subsidiary Handster. Offers Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian apps.

Appitalism – Indie app store that claims to feature over 1 million apps. Focuses on social features to aid app discoverability. Owned by Liberty Media.

NexVa - Multi-platform app store that also offers a white label product and works with affiliates to drive traffic .

Kongregate – Mobile and desktop Flash-powered app store that focuses on videogames. Claims to reach over 6 million mobile and desktop gamers, with 56 thousand Flash games.

mJelly – App store and mobile website directory that publishers can submit their content to. Developers can submit links to existing apps in other app stores.

AppVisor – App recommendation service that uses a social network to recommend a set number of apps per day to its  users.

AppCentral – Platform that helps companies launch and maintain their own app store. Focuses on productivity apps. Formally known as Ondeego.

Maopao – One of China’s biggest app stores, distributing apps across iPhone, Android and Symbian platforms. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like the website has an English translation.

WhiteApp – Directory of white label iPhone and Android apps that can be easily rebranded and sold to clients.

Djuzz – Mobile game store run by Asian ad-network Buzz City. Claims to have 320 thousand users per day.

AppShup – App store based in India that specialises in SMS-delivered Java apps.

BananasFactory – Developer community that markets your app to different app stores, mainly those offered by operators in Asia and developing countries.

AppCity - French app store that claims over 340 thousand users. Distributes apps across iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms.

Alternative.To- Less of an app store, more of a directory of applications with user reviews and editorial ratings. Features apps from Windows MarketPlace, App Store and Google Play.

Android App Stores

Google Play – Google’s official Android app store, which features over 500,000 apps, as well as music and video streaming services.

AppsLib – Claims to be the second largest Android app store after Google Play. Specialises in lesser-known Android devices, such as tablets and eReaders, that are unable to get Google certification. Claims to have install base of over 2 million tablets worldwide.

GetJar Rewards

SlideMe - Provides ‘on device’ application store for device manufactures, as well as a web-based platform. Also offers app store solutions to niche markets.

Soci.i0 – Android-focused content store that provides apps, e-books (along with its own ebook reader), videos and music. Bills itself as an Android ‘mobile mall’.

1Mobile – Android app store that focuses mainly on games and claims over 60 thousand total apps.

Camangi - Android app store that focuses on apps built for larger 6-inch to 10-inch tablet devices. Claims to currently host over 100 apps.

Nook App Store – Official app store for Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader, which runs on Android.

AppBrain – Website that helps users discover Android apps across the official Google Play store and other indie stores.

Appoke – Android app store with social features, allowing users to recommend apps to friends and earn credits to download paid apps.

Tegra Store – App store run by graphics chip company Nvidia. Highlights videogames that are designed for use with Nvidia’s Tegra smartphone chip.

Amazon Appstore – Amazon’s app store has been remarkable popular since the company launched its Kindle Fire tablet device. Currently boasts over 30,000 apps, and claims a higher paid app download rate than Google Play.

MiKandi – Android-only app store that focuses on adult-themed applications.

AndroidPit – App store run by the Berlin-based Android website AndroidPit. Includes apps selected by editorial team.

MatchFuel- Not quite an app store, but provides daily app videogame recommendations to Android users via a storefront. Formally known as Andspot.

iPhone/iOS App Stores

App Store – Apple’s official iOS application store and is still thought to be the biggest app store available across all smartphone platforms, though Android is catching-up fast.

Cydia – Unofficial iOS app store that is only available to users with ‘jailbroken’ iOS devices. Most apps are offered for free, but there are also paid apps. Claims over 4.5 million weekly users.

Lima - Browser-based application installer for jailbroken iPhones. Works similar to Cydia, allowing you to download apps not available in the official App Store, but within the Safari browser.

PremierAppShop – Legal iPhone application store that delivers downloadable apps, which can be used offline via a browser-based shopfront.

SexAppShop- Uses the same platform as PremierAppShop but – as the name suggests – focuses on adult apps for iPhone and iPad.

BlackBerry OS App Stores

BlackBerry App World – RIM’s official BlackBerry app store, which features more than 40,000 apps.

CrackBerry Store – Independent BlackBerry-specific app store run by the online blog CrackBerry. Takes advantage of the large CrackBerry community to promote apps. Powered by MobiHand.

BBNation- BlackBerry-focused content portal with apps, themes, ringtone and games. Owned by Motek Americas.

Manufacturer-specific App Stores

Samsung Apps – The official Samsung App store for its  Bada operating system, made popular on devices such as the Samsung Wave. Bada is expected to be phased out soon, so Samsung Apps’ future is unclear.

LG Smart World – The official app store run by manufacturer LG. Offers Android apps to US users and Windows Phone apps to users in Asia.

Motorola Shop4Apps – Motorola’s own-branded Android app store aimed exclusively at the Chinese market.

Dell Mobile App Store – The official app store of Dell. Run by PocketGear and contains over 40,000 apps, across Android, BlackBerry and Symbian.

CISCO App HQ - The official CISCO app store is aimed mainly at enterprise users looking for productivity apps and developers looking for technology partners.

Docomo Market – The official Android app market for Japanese manufacturer Docomo. The Docomo Market  is installed on every Docomo  handset in Japan and developers get  Japanese optimisation services for your app.

Lenovo App Store - Chinese manufacturer Lenovo’s official app store for smartphones and tablets, running Android. Though be warned – website doesn’t appear to have and English translation!

Operator/Carrier App Stores

Verizon App Store – App store run by US carrier Verizon. Works across Android, BlackBerry and Brew platforms.  Partners with UK operator Vodafone’s app store.

Mobango

Vodafone AppSelect – Official app store for UK operator Vodafone. Focuses on Android for European users. BlackBerry/Symbian are supported for African users. Offers developers free testing.

China Mobile – The app store of China’s biggest mobile operator. Offers apps across Android and Symbian platforms. Claims a userbase of over 500 million.

T-Mobile Mall – Official app portal of UK carrier T-Mobile. T-Mobile Mall doesn’t host applications, but rather acts a portal that highlight different apps on BlackBerry AppWorld, Google Play and Windows Marketplace.

Sprint – US operator Sprint no longer has its own app store, but does offer a developer program, where you can get apps pre-installed on devices.

Aircel PocketApps - Official app store of Indian operator Aircel, focuses exclusively on Indian market.

Airtel App Central - Official app store of Indian operator Airtel, focuses exclusively on Indian market.

Maxis 1Store – Malaysian app store from carrier Maxis. Supports J2ME and Symbian platforms, with BlackBerry and Android support coming “in the future”.

TIM Store – Official app store for Italian operator Telecom Italia. Distributes Android, Symbian and BlackBerry apps.

AT&T App Centre – Official app store for US carrier AT&T. Developers signing-up to AT&T’s program get developer support and marketing tools. Supports Symbian and BlackBerry platforms.

M1 App Store – Official store for Singaporean carrier M1. Supports Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and iPhone platforms.

T-Store – Content store from South Korean carrier SK Telecom. Distributes apps to Android devices in the South Korean market.

Appzone – Official app store from Indonesian operator Telkomsel.

Turkcell T-Market – Official app store from Turkish operator Turkcell. Offers Android apps and Symbian apps.

Omnitel App Store – Lithuanian carrier Omintel’s official app store. Distributes iPhone and Android apps.

MTNPlay – Content portal from South African operator MTN. Offers apps, music, ringtones and videos to mobile users across Africa and Asia.

With hundreds of apps flooding smartphone app stores every day,  App Store Optimisation (ASO)  is fast becoming as essential to app promotion.  and it’s something that doesn’t have to cost developers an arm and a leg to implement.

So what are the basic rules of ASO and what kind of results can you expect from optimising your app?

What is ASO?

App Store Optimisation is the practice of optimising various elements of your app submission (i.e. title, keywords, description) in order to maximise your app’s visibility in app store searches.

Some definitions of ASO may also include other marketing techniques to boost downloads and increase app visibility in chart rankings. You can find out more about other forms of app marketing in our guide to app promotion. But right now we’re just going to look at what you can do within your app and its description page, to increase search rankings in the App Store and Google Play.

The numbers

Implementing basic ASO won’t send your app rocketing up the charts, but it can give developers a decent boost in downloads (especially if you’re a smaller dev) and, most importantly, it helps you gain valuable user – as it increases the app’s visibility to people who are actively searching for something relevant (as opposed to incentivised downloads, or other kinds of offer walls and ads).

We talked to Tomasz Kolinko, the developer behind AppCod.es, who gave us some idea of the impact ASO can have on an app.

• Kolinko, says developers can expect a 500-2000 downloads a day increase on free apps, purely from implementing ASO.
• On paid apps Kolinko reckons developers can increase revenue from around $20-200 per day just through ASO.

These numbers may not be a big deal for triple A app developers, but as Tomasz points out, for independent developers, ASO is a very cost-effective way to increase downloads.

App Store Optimisation: The basics

So what are the essential elements of a well-optimised app?

Keyword research

One of the most important aspects of ASO is knowing what keywords to target. When optimising a regular website for search engines this is made relatively easy, as Google publicises estimated traffic volume figures on keyphrases via its Adwords keyword tool.

However, when it comes to apps there are no official figures from Apple’s App Store or Google Play on keyword search volume. But that doesn’t mean you’re shooting entirely in the dark.

Firstly, you can use Google Adwords’ keyword tool to get ideas on popular search phrases that are relevant to your app. While the volume of searches are based on web-search – not app store searches – they may be indicative of the sort of keywords used in app store searches.

For instance, if you have a ‘stop watch app’, you’ll want to know whether there’s more searches for “stop watch app”, or “timer app” or “stop clock app”. Adwords will give you visibility on this. Just remember, SEO is all about relevancy, it’s no use optimising for high traffic volume keywords, if they’re not relevant to your app.

Also when performing ‘app specific’ searches, like “stop watch app”, or “shopping list app”, note the competition level on these keyphrases. If a lot of people are bidding on these keywords in Adwords, then that’s a strong indications that your entering a competitive space. So you might want to start thinking about how you can differentiate your app.

If you’re simply looking for app ideas, then Google’s keyword tool is also itself a useful way to measure what kinds of apps people are looking for. If you can find an app specific keyphrase that has high volumes, with low competition (obviously cross-reference this with what’s on the app store), then you may be onto a winner.

Also try typing in relevant search queries into the app store search bar itself and then make a note of the keyword suggestions it serves-up, as these can be indicative of volumes.

The other thing you’ll want to look at is successful competitor apps. Do a search on the app store for different keywords relating to your app, and look at the top results. What keywords do they use in their titles?

After all that you should have a handful of relevant keywords that you want to target.

Helpful tools for keyword generation: 

• AppCod.es can predict what keywords your competitor apps are using and suggest optimum keywords for your app.
• Google keyword tool
• There are tools that use third party data to generate keyword volumes. Mobile Dev HQ is one of them. So it may be worth checking out
• Check out Chomp, which release some metrics on app search queries through its store.

App Title

Perhaps the most important field when it comes to optimising your app is the title. So try to get relevant keywords into this field. Obviously, sometimes this may not be practical, or it may look too awkward from a user perspective, so use your judgment. Also, do your research, if there’s a hundred apps called “Stop Watch App”, then you’ll want to differentiate your title somehow. Maybe it would be better to target a less competitive keyphrase like “Timer App”, even if you suspect it doesn’t carry quite as much search volume. Or at least differentiate by using a popular modifier like “Free”.

Just remember, don’t stuff the title with keywords, try to make it look natural. Packing in irrelevant keywords or too many keywords, will not only turn off potential users but it may also get your kicked out of the app store.

Publisher/Developer name

According to ASO experts, the publisher field does has a big impact on search in the App Store and Google Play. In the case of Apple, it’s treated as strongly as the app title. So it’s worth pushing a relevant keyword into this field. It may even be worth creating different publisher names for the different types of apps that you develop. For instance, your ‘Stop Watch’ Apps could be published under “Time Dev” then you can rank for both ‘Stop Watch’ and ‘Timer’.

Keyword field

This is your chance to use all the variations on keywords and phrases that you researched. When it comes to the Apple App Store the plurals and singular keywords are treated separately, so you may want to consider that if there’s a chance people will be searching in the plural. Also don’t just put generic keywords here. Think about other apps and themes that may be relevant. For instance, is your app a game that is similar to Angry Birds? Then maybe it’s worth using “Angry Birds” as a keyphrase here. Of course, you only have 100 characters to play around with, so use that space wisely.

App description

When it comes to Apple’s App Store, the description field has no impact on search rankings. So instead of worrying about relevant keywords, just focus on making your description as engaging as possible, in order to drive conversions.

When it comes to Google Play, things are not quite so clear. AppCod’s Kolinko believes that Google Play probably still looks at keywords in the description field and when we looked at Google’s own guidelines, there’s no information there to suggest that isn’t the case. So it’s worth getting your keywords and phrases into this description field. But again, avoid keyword stuffing, it’s not user-friendly and it may raise Google’s wrath!

App Icon

It may not have any direct effect on your search ranking, but along with your app’s title, the icon is the first element a user will see. So make sure you put some effort into creating a professional and eye-catching image.

Images/Videos

Adding screen shots and a video ad to your app store page is a great way to further promote your app and give users an idea of what to expect, so there’s not reason not to take advantage of this.

In-app purchases

There are some developers that optimise their in-app purchases for certain keywords, in order to rank for an even wider spread of terms. Some developers even attempt to game the system, using thousands of different in-app purchases just for keyword purposes. Obviously, this verges on ‘Black Hat’ ASO, and may result in a ban if discovered. However, if your app already includes in-app purchases, then it’s definitely worth thinking about how you can integrate relevant keywords into these fields in a natural way.

Keyword Experimentation

Experimenting with different combinations of keywords is a good way to figure out how to maximise your search ranking and downloads. Google Play’s relaxed submission rules allow you to easily update the title and keywords, resubmit the app to the store, and then monitor the effect on rankings. However, Apple’s App Store can take around 2 weeks to approve any amendments, making keyword experimentation a bit laborious. AppCod.es can help with this issue as it predicts App Store rankings, allowing you to play around with different keywords instantly.

To sum up

As you can see from the above, ASO isn’t complicated. All it takes is a little bit of research and some common sense to make your app more visible on searches. With more and more apps being released everyday, developers can’t afford to let such an easy and low-cost avenue for app promotion slip them by.

The Best Mobile App Promotion Networks and Agencies

Developing your app idea is one thing, getting it noticed is something entirely different. With hundreds of app being released each day across Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play, the issue of discoverability is an urgent one for developers. Luckily there’s a whole industry of marketing agencies and networks to help promote your app and grow your user-base, offering everything from non-incentivised downloads, to review submissions and blogger outreach campaigns.

Below we’ve rounded-up some of the top companies working in app promotion to help you get started. For more detailed information on how to market your app take a look at our comprehensive guide to app promotion. If you know an app promotion company that deserves to be on this list then contact us.

App Promotion Agencies

App promotion agencies will typically offer a range of services to mobile developers and publishers, ranging from traditional PR and marketing activity, to highly specialised services such as Appstore SEO (ASO), mobile ad buying and other techniques.  

App Promo – Full service app marketing agency offering PR, ASO, development, mobile advertising and more. Based in Toronto, Canada.

Combo App – App promotion agency offering PR, ASO and chart placements campaigns. Headquartered in Chicago USA, with offices in Vancouver, Canada.

Fiksu's FreeMyApps platform

Avai - App developer that also offers app promotion and marketing services. Based in Texas, USA.

OnTheMob – App development and promotion agency that focuses on media buying, press relations and product strategy. Clients include Citroen and MasterCard. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Amadeus Consulting – App and software developer that also offers app promotion, including social media marketing, press relations and Flurry analytics. Based in Colorado, USA.

AppsMarketing.mobi - Full service app promotion agency based in Herzeliya, Israel. Worked with apps such as the KungFu Panda Storybook and Retrogram.

Appromotor – App promotion platform, which lets developers submit their app into a database that acts as a resource for  journalists and bloggers looking to review apps.

My First Mobile App – App developer agency that also offers promotion services across all smartphone platforms.

Dot Com Infoway – App developer and promotion agency that offers a range of services including press relations, social media and app update recommendations. Based in San Francisco USA, with offices in India and The Netherlands.

Apppli – App developer and app promotion company offering SEO, ASO, PPC, microsite development and other app promotion services. Based in London, UK.

App Optimisers – UK-based app promotion agency specialising in social media marketing, video and blog promotion. Claims to have promoted 5 top 10-ranking apps.

ProAppMarketing - ‘Boutique’ app marketing agency based in the UK. Offers App-focused PR services, app sponsorship campaigns, blogger outreach and more.

MobiZest - Full service marketing agency that specialises in mobile and app promotion. Clients include Intent Media and Just Eat. Based in London, UK.

PressPect – App marketing agency that helps promote your app in Russia. Offers PR services, translation and Russian app store optimisation. Based in Moscow, Russia.

SEO Girl - Freelance web marketer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Offers app promotion services such as app store optimisation, social media marketing and press relations.

Sosemo – Digital marketing agency that offers app promotion services such as PR, app store optimisation and review site submissions. Based in New York City, USA.

App Promotion Networks

App promotion networks are mobile ad networks or ad buying platforms that place ads across other mobile apps.  They will usually charge on the basis of CPI (cost per install) or CPD (cost per download) and in some cases in a very sophisticated way, such as charging only for active users (DAU).   These networks sometimes use incentives to encourage downloads although this has now been banned by Apple, it is still being used to some extent by some of the networks on Android or over the mobile web, outside of Apple store.  

Fiksu – App marketing company offering non-incentivized download network on iOS and Android. Works with brands such as VH1 and Barnes and Noble. Based in Boston Massachusetts, USA.

TapJoy – App promotion network that offers non-incentivized app download network. TapJoy also provides sponsorship for developers looking to port their app to Android. Based in San-Francisco, US.

Applifier - App promotion network that works by delivering a user to your app everytime your app delivers a user to another developer – with no fees involved.  Based in Helsinki, Finland, with offices in San Francisco.

TapJoy offer wall

Adduplex – App promotion network that’s focused on the Windows Phone 7 operating system. Based in Helsinki, Finland.

Appucino – Platform that uses location based marketing to promote videogame apps and brands. Owned by developer Games2Win and based in Mumbai, India.

Flurry – Mobile analytics and app promotion network that offers targeted user acquisition to developers via its AppCircle app recommendation platform. Based in San Francisco, with offices in London and New York.

G6Pay – App promotion network focuses on offering non-incentivized pay-per-install downloads on Android and iOS. Based in California, USA.

AppDog – Incentivized app promotion platform that rewards users with free Facebook credits when they download Android or iOS apps. Based in San Francisco, USA.

MauDau – App promotion network that offers a similar solution to Applifier whereby developers effectively trade app downloads for free. Based in Chicago, USA.

W3i - App promotion network that offers non-incentivized downloads on a pay-per-engagement basis. Helped promote top 10 iOS app Tiny Zoo. Based in San Francisco, USA.

Jampp – Incentivized app promotion network that focuses entirely on the Android platform and on Latin American users. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina with offices in London.

ChartBoost – Offers both internal app cross promotion, across a developer’s own app library, and the ability for developers to directly set-up cross-promotion deals between each other. Based in San Francisco, USA.

Ad Dash – App promotion/advertising network that lets developers set-up their a cross promotion ad networks within their own library of apps.

AdColony – Mobile ad network that focuses on HD video advertisements for apps, where developers pay only if a video ad has been viewed to completion. Based in Los Angeles, California.

LunarAds – App promotion network that allows users to cross-promote with themselves and other developers for free. Based in Missouri, USA.

Clash Media - Mobile marketing company that offers a cost per download app cross-promotion platform. Based in London, UK.

TapGen – Allows developers to promote their apps across a non-incentivized curated app wall, as well as platform that promotes apps while also offering users competitions and special offers.

App Promotion Tools

As the app promotion field gets more and more complex some interesting tools and platforms are starting to emerge.  This is a very nascent area compared to the web for example where there are 1000s of SEO tools and services for example.  

AppCod.es – Tool that helps developers better optimise their apps for different app stores.

MobileDevHQ – App store optimisation tool that lets you tracking your rankings and optimise search keywords.

Alau.me – Link tracking tool, similar to bit.ly, that lets you track how many users click on a link to your app store page and then go on download your app.

That’s it for now!  Even 18 months ago there were only a handful of dedicated mobile app promotion companies – now there are almost too many to keep track of.    To learn more about marketing your mobile app check out our guide to app promotion.  Don’t forget to  contact us  if you think there’s an app promotions company that should be on the list!

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With over 600k apps in the iPhone App Store, and approaching another 500k in Google Play, the name of the game for mobile app and games publishers is getting noticed.  With the Apple and Google appstores being the main channel to mobile consumers, this means building a good ranking in their respective stores.   However, back in April 2011, Apple changed its approach to incentivized app download networks, rejecting any apps that offer rewards for downloads, and cracking down on app promotion services that guarantee top 10 placement in App Store rankings.  Although incentivized downloads are still permissible in Google Play, the app promotion industry was rather shaken by Apple’s decision. So now the dust has settled, what options are there for developers to promote their apps across both the App Store and Google Play, and how have the wrist-slapped promotion networks changed their game?

App promotion networks: a quick recap

Firstly, if you’re new to the world of app promotion you might be wondering what incentivized downloads are all about and why Apple decided to ban them. Incentivized downloads are offered by app promotion networks, which help developers generate new users by cross-promoting apps between different publishers.

A typical incentivized app offer might be an reward of virtual currency within a mobile game for downloading a promoted app (sometimes the user also has to also achieve something within the promoted app to receive the reward). Or it could be a voucher-style reward, which  allows a user to download a paid app for free or access some other kind of offer. Typically, mobile games are best positioned to host these incentivized downloads, as they have much more scope to offer enhanced in-app features.

So why did Apple ban the practice of incentivized mobile app downloads? Well the argument is download incentives, such as those offered by the likes of TapJoy and Flurry, allowed developers to essentially game the system, rewarding whoever spends the most money by pushing their apps up the rankings to gain visibility.

The other problem was that many users had no intention of actually using the promoted apps. They simply downloaded them and accessed them once to get the reward, before hitting the delete button. The other app promotion issue that raised Apple’s ire, was slightly more dishonest (well a lot more). Back in February it was revealed that some app promotion agencies were increasing client downloads by creating thousands of fake iTunes accounts. Many developers and journalists suspected this practice was taking place for some time, but it was never proved. Apple has warned developers to stay away from agencies guaranteeing chart placements, though that’s not to say all agencies that do promise to boost placements are doing so fraudulently.

So what are the new ways that app promotion networks are using to get around Apple’s ban and generate downloads? Here’s a few stats concerning app promotion, followed by a quick rundown of what services the main app promotion networks and agencies currently offer:

What does it cost to promote an app?

You can spend as much or as little as you like on promoting your app.  Typically, app promotion networks will price their services on a cost per install (CPI) or cost per download (CPD) basis.  Here’s a few numbers to give you an idea of the costs involved:

• TapJoy charges around 50-75% of a paid app’s price per install, and between $0.35-0.75 for free app installations
• To get into the top 10 apps in the App Store, it is rumoured to cost around $20,000-$30,000. Agencies such as ComboApp say it can get your app into a top 100 category for $4,900
• Research from Fiksu, a leading app promotion company, claims the cost of acquiring loyal users (user who use your app more than 3 times)has risen from $1.10 in May 2011 (before the ban) to $1.31 in February 2011
• Fiksu says its own platform delivers loyal users typically for less than $1 and some as low as $0.45

TapJoy

TapJoy was arguably the biggest provider of incentivized downloads, and its business was hit hard by Apple’s ban. The company has since migrated its incentive network outside of the app store and onto the web. The principle is exactly the same as TapJoy’s previous offering, but because developers don’t install the SDK into their apps, Apple cannot really interfere in the process (though the platform is in a beta phase and Apple’s response remains to be seen). In order to bolster its incentivized service on Android, TapJoy has created a $5 million fund to help developers port their iOS app over to Google’s OS. So if you already have an iOS app, then it may be worth your while to get in touch with TapJoy.

Fiksu

Fiksu has gone down a similar route to TapJoy. The company has developed an incentivized network that circumvents the App Store, letting users sign-up to a web-based platform. It works by giving users credits every time they download a promoted app, these credits are then turned into iTunes gift codes, which can be used to purchase paid apps.

W3i

W3i has now shifted to a non-incentivized model, where developers have access to a cross-promotion platform dedicated to mobile games. While W3i’s platform doesn’t reward users for downloading apps, it does provide limited offers and gives developers a variety of ad display options – think of it as a premium ad network dedicated to mobile games.

Flurry

Flurry offers its AppCircle service to developers, which is similar to W3i’s platform, offering non-incentivized downloads. Flurry claims its network is able to increase downloads by using its detailed analytics to recommend relevant apps within other apps the consumer is using.

Applifier

Applifier offers a non-incentivized platform for iOS and Android users, focused entirely on games. Developers can promote other publishers games via banner ads embedded into their pause screen, or via interstitial ads. Applifier’s USP is that developers do not pay for users. When a publisher sends a user to someone else’s app, that publisher will receive a new user – for free. Applifier makes its money by serving paid ads next to the cross promotion ads.

AppBrain

AppBrain offers two Android-focuses services, one is a offer-wall platform that delivers non-incentivised app promotions, the other is AppBrain’s own app store (which is downloadable from Google Play). The app store provides regular app recommendations of the best apps in Google Play. AppBrain says its lack of an incentive-driven approach results in more valuable users, as they will only install the app if they are interested in it.

ChartBoost

ChartBoost offers three non-incentivised ways to promote your app. The first is a platform that allows you cross promote apps within your own network (obviously, this only makes sense if you have more than one app), the second allows you to form direct deals with other publishers (letting you set the cost per install, or arrange an install exchange model) and the third is paid advertising on ChartBoost’s network, where you’ll pay either on cost per click or cost per install. ChartBoost lets developers set-up internal cross promotions and direct deals with publishers for free.

G6pay

G6Pay used to be a big player in incentivized downloads, but has now gone down a similar route to W3i , offering a non-incentivized app promotion platform, where iOS developers can cross-promote apps via interstitial ads and pay per download.

App promotion agencies

App promotion agencies are essentially marketing agencies that focus exclusively on promoting apps, usually by combining a number of mobile marketing strategies, PR and media relation services, SEO and social media services. There are plenty of agencies out there, but you may want to check out the ones below:

ComboApp – App promotion agency based in Vancouver, Canada with offices in Chicago. Offers social media promotion, PR and more.

AppPromo – Full service marketing agency that focuses on app promotion. Based in Toronto, Canada.

ProAppMarketing - App promotion agency that handles PR, social media development, monetisation and research and analysis. Based in London. 

Apps Marketing Mobi - Full-service app promotion agency based in Israel. Offers monetisation, app marketing and app store optimisation.

What services do app promotion agencies typically offer?

Social media: Social media is a powerful marketing tool for nearly every sector but given the amount of crossover between people using social media and those using smartphone apps, it is particularly important for app developers. Promoting your app via social media can involve anything from running ad campaigns in Facebook, to simply rolling out a Twitter feed and building a list of followers.  However, the most successful use of social media for app promotion is where it is embedded within the app or game itself.  For example, Draw Something by OMGPOP has used social media to great effect by making it easy to find friends to play on Facebook.  Other apps including Foursquare and Run Keeper have also been effective in using Twitter to broadcast in-app activity.  A good app promotion agency will advise on how to develop this type of viral effect.

SEO/ASO: If your app targets a particularly searchable niche, then you may want to deploy n search engine optimised website, targeting relevant keywords, to capture search traffic. Another aspect of SEO, perhaps even more important, is SEO for app stores (sometimes called ASO). This is an area still very much in its infancy, but most app promotion agencies will be able to keyword optimise your app store page to ensure the right users find you.  The days when you could easily use tactics such as keyword stuffing in the appstores are gone, but it is fair to say that mobile appstore search is still fairly unsophisticated so agencies who know a bit about ASO can be very useful.   MobileDevHQ offers an ASO tool that you can download and try out for free.  Appcod.es has also recently launched a tool to help with appstore SEO.   Just remember, unlike Google keyword information, ASO search volumes are estimate from third parties and may not be completely reliable.  The presentation below from Appcod.es is worth a read to get an overview of appstore SEO.

Media coverage: App promotion agencies will conduct typical PR activities, such as drafting press releases, coming-up with relevant media lists of journos and bloggers to contact, and trying to generate coverage through news. Many app promotion agencies will make guarantees such as ensuring your app gets reviewed X number of times by the press, though take such services with a pinch of salt because anyone can set-up a blog and review apps – the only publications that are worth targeting are the ones that are actually trusted by their readership.  There are a huge range of app review blogs around these days however, and a good agency may have established relationships or a long list of blogs to contact which should help with getting coverage.

App placement guarantees: Some agencies will guarantee you a placement in the Top Apps categories on app stores. Agencies will likely use a combination of the above strategies, along with app promotion networks, to achieve this. However, as we mentioned at the top of the article, the practice of guaranteeing chart placements came under some scrutiny last year, after it was revealed that companies were using fake iTunes accounts to generate downloads. So proceed with some caution

Mobile ad networks

Premium and blind mobile ad networks remain one of the most popular ways to promote apps. It’s generally thought that, while generating users via mobile ads is more expensive than incentivized networks, the value of the user (the ARPDAU) via mobile ads is higher. There’s a multitude of networks out there that provide everything from simple banner ads, right the way through to video ads and rich interactive ads, displayed in mobile sites and apps.  Some mobile ad networks are very well set up for promoting apps, and will allow developers to cross-promote apps or games within the network in exchange for running ads.  Check out our guide to mobile ad networks for more information.

Mobile Marketing and Media Buying Agencies

There are also a number of mobile marketing agencies focusing on mobile app promotion to some extent.  For example, Fetch Media in the UK and US carries out app promotion for a number of leading brands and games developers.  Other specialist mobile ad buying agencies include Mobiclicks in South Africa, and Mobile Shakers in the US. An agency will benefit from economies of scale in buying mobile advertising, and will also have close relationships with the ad networks. A good agency will also be able to manage the complex process of running and optimizing mobile ad campaigns more effectively. This is particularly useful following Apple’s depreciation of the UDID that was used to track mobile app downloads, an agency will be able to help track mobile app downloads using alternative methods.  Typically a mobile agency will require a certain level of minimum spend, this is typically $10k per month at least, and more generally, closer to $30k per month.  However, for developers with an established app or successful game this is well within reach.   You can find more agencies in our list of mobile marketing and advertising agencies.

To sum up…

There is still a big problem when it comes to discoverability on the App Store and Google Play. Nevertheless, despite Apple’s decision to ban incentivized downloads, the app promotion industry is back on its feet and much more diversified, with different networks approaching the problem with different solutions. It could also be argued that the industry is more healthy given the fact that incentivized downloads generally produces low value users. It’s not perfect, but with the right combination of traditional promotion techniques and more specialised solutions, any budding app developer should be able to get his or her app noticed. What happens after that is down to how good your app is!

This is a great deal for lots of different types of mobile businesses:

• online affiliates and media buyers – this is a great incentive to give mobile a go over the next couple of months and see if you can generate some revenue on mobile
• mobile app developers and publishers – why not use your unfilled inventory for CPA ads and earn some revenue from them?  or could a CPA model deliver higher revenue than your existing CPC mobile ad network?
• sites with lots of online traffic – have you tried monetising the page views you deliver to mobile devices properly yet?

Sponsormob Mobile Marketing Tips – Buying traffic: Best Practices

This is a guest post from the guys over at sponsormob sharing their tips on mobile marketing.  You can find their previous post on getting started in mobile affiliate marketing here

In affiliate marketing, it really is all about the traffic. The types of traffic you purchase and send to your offers will affect how well a campaign will convert and ultimately turn a profit. Generally, poor quality traffic (yes, the cheap stuff), doesn’t convert well and will not bring in big profits. In this sense, you get what you pay for.

On the other hand, higher quality traffic tends to convert much better but will cost you more money at the same time. Ideally, you will strive to find a balance between the two, finding traffic that is high quality and converts well but is not so pricey that it leaves you with less than profitable campaigns.

When deciding which traffic to buy and direct to an offer, the first step is to look closely at the offer, making note of any traffic restrictions. Sending the wrong traffic to an offer will cost you money. Something else to keep in mind is that the cheaper traffic sometimes has adult traffic, which is generally not allowed. Many offers restrict adult traffic, so this is something to really pay attention to.

The next step is to look carefully at different ad networks to see where you can purchase your traffic. Affiliate forums are a good place to find out which networks are working well from fellow affiliates. When choosing networks, make sure you look for traffic with good prices and with extensive reporting tools so that you can best optimize campaigns.

Once you have researched which networks have the right type of traffic for the offer (or offers) you have selected, you will need to run test campaigns. Test different traffic sources using various reporting tools to analyze the results and optimize your campaigns. Being able to analyze your results is one of the most important aspects of affiliate marking.

Use these tools to run tests with different operating systems (OS), carriers (making sure that it matches the offer), and bid prices. Then use the tools available to determine which combination of OS and carrier produces the highest converting campaigns that are profitable. In the end, there is some trial and error involved, and you will have to spend some time and money to see what gives you the best results.

When you find campaigns that work well, gradually increase your budget to scale campaigns and adjust as needed. Once you’ve found something that works, stick with it, try to optimize it the best way possible and watch your commissions growing from day to day!

Sponsormob is an international conversion provider for the mobile web. Founded in 2006, Sponsormob helps advertisers and agencies gain reach with highly targeted mobile-ads using data-driven technology. It also offers publishers strategic integration opportunities matched with a variety of attractive mobile campaigns now available. Sponsormob offers affiliates appealing offers amd unique, in-house tracking.

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The 2012 best mobile app development companies

Finding a quality mobile app developer is hard.  So, welcome to the mobyaffiliates 2012 list of the World’s Best Mobile App Developers. We’ve researched, filtered and structured a short-list of the most renowned, and promising, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 and HTML5 dedicated app development studios, worldwide.  This app developer directory is still very much a work in progress, and we’re open to suggestions, so if you have a developer you’d like to recommend, please do contact us and let us know why they should be included.

Update – thanks to @technokitten of Mobile Monday London and others for the new suggestions.

You can grab the guide from this blog post or view or download it as a presentation from scribd below or slideshare down the bottom.

Mobile App Developers Guide

UK mobile app developers

Grapple Mobile – Award-winning mobile development agency based in London, with offices throughout Europe and the US. Worked with clients such as Xbox, BT and Adidas.

Somo Global – major mobile app developer as well as acting as a full service mobile marketing agency

Future Platforms – Brighton-based and well established mobile development agency with a stellar client list and world class technical and design credentials

Ribot – highly respected mobile app development and design shop with an award winning rosta of previous projects including for Tesco and other major brands

Paperbag – reported to be “lovely guys” developing mobile apps out of London and Belfast.

Ustwo – East London based mobile app developer behind major apps including Barclays Pingit as well as in-house successes such as Mouth Off

Hedgehoglab – the North of England’s best post-PC development house with a string of major clients

Mippin – Claims to be world’s largest app developer and publisher. Mippin offers both bespoke app development and an app creation platform to clients.

Gospelware – Mobile app and mobile game developer based in Gateshead, UK. Gospelware develops across Android, iOS and BlackBerry platforms. Clients include Disney, Cravens and GameHorizon.

Italian Recipes app, by Golden Gekko.

Episty – London-based software company that focuses on mobile app and web app development. Clients include BT, Food Kingdom and ArtsThread.

Other Edition – Mobile development company that focuses on creating digital magazines for the iPhone and iPad.  Clients include magazine brands such as Dazed and Confused and V Magazine.

Mubaloo – Bristol-based mobile app developer that specialises in creating bespoke business apps for corporate clients, such as NHS, AXA and William Hill.

PocketApp – Cross platform smartphone app developer based in London, with offices in India. Clients include BBC, Sky, Vodafone and Samsung.

Golden Gecko – Award winning app developer base in London. Golden Gecko claims to produce more apps than any other developer. Clients include O2, Volkswagon and Unilever.

Simon Judge – Android-only developer based in Surrey, UK. Clients include Philips, Oracle and Sony Ericsson.

Copper Mobile – UK developer, with offices in the US and India, which supports iOS, Android and Windows Phone development. Clients include Cisco and the US Army.

SnApp – UK developer that focuses on creating apps for businesses. Has worked with Tesco, HMV and Waterstones.

Portable Pixels – London-based iOS and Android developer, responsible for the popular Hatchi virtual pet game. Clients include Audi, Alfa Romeo and Wallpaper magazine.

Mokaza – London-based app development team, responsible for iPhone apps SuperDoc, WordBlox and Instabam.

Bluemungas – Edinburgh-based iOS and Android developer. Clients include The Co-operative and rock band The Proclaimers.

Create Digital Media – iOS and Android development team based in Kent responsible for a number of featured iPhone apps. Has worked with travel brands Belle France and Alan Rogers.

Red Ninja – Liverpool-based cross platform app developer that focuses on augmented reality and location-based applications. Clients include Slazenger and TicketLine.

Streamba – Multi-platform smartphone app developer with offices in Glasgow and London. Developed apps for Moviecom.tv, Atlantic Fast Food and Peterson SBS.

The App Factory – Multi-platform app developer, based in Manchester, that focuses on the Android platform. Developed popular apps such as Facebook Pro and Find Phone.

Common – Award-nominated Android and iPhone app developer based in Huddersfield. Clients include Moonpig and HTC.

Gourmet Pixel – iOS-only developer responsible for a number of award-winning apps. Clients include Electronic Arts, Virgin and Shakeaway. Based in Berkshire.

Waracle – Mobile app developer based in Dundee, Scotland. Clients include Virgin Atlantic, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Football Association.

Chelsea Apps Factory - West London based apps production company, working with leading brands and media companies

European mobile app developers

Mobail Apps – Corporate app iPhone and Android app developer based in Madrid, Spain, Clients include Telefonica, Palladium, and Barcelo.

MAD Ideas – iOS, Android and web app developer based in Madrid, Spain. Has developed a number of transport-related apps for clients, including MADbus, RAEplus and BCNbus.

La Fapptoria – Barcelona-based developer covering iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry apps. Has developed apps for El Mundo, Real Valladolid CF, and Sara Lee.

El Mundo app, by La Fapptoria

DuoApps – iOS and Android developer based in Corsica, France. Has developed apps for a range of clients including Gizmodo, Menly and French magazine Marianne2.

KickYourApp – Paris-based app developer that uses a middleware development platform to create promotional apps for brands. Clients include EuroSport, Relais & Chateaux and Sprite.

Magic Apps – Android, iOS and Samsung Bada app developer based in Suresnes, France. An official Samsung Bada partner.

iD Apps – Multi-platform developer based in Boulogne, France. Clients include spirit brand Pernod and catering service Centrale De Reglement Des Titres.

greenrobot – Android app developer based in Berlin, Germany. Developed popular apps such as QuickSearch, GroovyMovie and PreisScanner.

MobileJuice – App developer based in Belgium. Develops apps across iOS, Android and BlackBerry and for clients such as Nokia, BMW and Red Bull.

EdgeLabs – Windows Phone, iOS and Android developer based in Lisbon, Portugal. Clients include Samsung,  LG and Portugal’s transport body Metro do Porto.

Nordic Mobile App Developers

Boost – mobile web focused app developer based in Norway

Crystal Code - iOS developer based in Stockholm, Sweden. Offers both iPhone app development and mobile enterprise development. Clients include Puma, McDonalds and Pacifico.

Vitamin Interactive - Based in Malmo, Sweden. Produces mobile apps for iPhone and Android for client such as Sony Ericsson, O2 and Vodafone.

Plexical - App developer that focuses on HTML5 web-apps that are cross platform compatible.  Based in Goteburg, Sweden

Eastern European Mobile App Developers

Miquido - a mobile apps studio based in the heart of the beautiful city of Krakow, Poland, working for international and Polish clients across IoS, Android and mobile web

Next Root - Romanian app developer based in Timisoara. Works across Windows Phone, iOS, Android and HTML5 Platforms.

4mobile - Android and iOS app developer based in Prague, Cezch Republic. Worked with brands such as Samsung, Hallmark and Glu.

USA mobile app developers

Applico – Award-winning app developer, and mobile consultant, based in New York. Works across BlackBerry, Android and iOS plattforms. Clients include Toshiba, General Motors and NBC.

WillowTree Apps –  One of the largest app developers in the USA, working across iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry platforms. Apps include Double Dream Hands, Fearless Flowers and Catch 21. Based in Charlottesville, VA.

Bank Rate Calculator, by Applico

XCube Labs - Multi-platform app developer based in Dallas, Texas. Has developed over 400 apps, including Tap Zoo, iTarot, and Health Assist.

YMedia Labs – Award-winning app developer based in San Francisco. YMedia Apps include eCorner, Gootnau and Alpha Writer.

Mobisoft – Android, BlackBerry and iOS app developer based in Houston, Texas. Has developed over 130 apps across the Android Market, BlackBerry World and App Store.

ArcTouch – San Francisco-based app studio working across iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BalckBerry platforms. Clients include Walmart, Honeywell and CBS.

Artyllect – San Francisco-based app developer with over 70 apps across Android, iOS and BlackBerry. Clients include IBM, TrendMicro and Intel.

Mozzapp – iOS and Android developer based in San Francisco. Combines onsite design with offshore development. Clients include MTV and The abc network.

Duff Research – Mobile app developer based in San Francisco, working across Android, iOS and Amazon’s Kindle. Clients include Adidas and TiVo.

DoubleDutch – San Francisco-based app developer that specialises in creating geo-social enterprise apps for businesses. Clients include Adobe, HP and Cisco.

Tiny Mobile – iOS, Android and Windows Phone app developer based in San Francisco. Developed the apps Ace Coin Bulldozer and Ace Slot Casino.

Cosmic Cube – San Francisco-based developer specialising in white label productivity and entertainment apps on iOS and Android.

Tierra Innovation – iOS, Android and web developers based in New York City.  Developed apps for The New Yorker and Napster.

Appital – New York-based iOS, Windows Phone and Android developer that specialises in enterprise, location-based and consumer-facing apps. Clients include SeaWorld and Central Park.

Tendigi - iOS developer based in New York. Developed apps for Ford, IBM and Estee Lauder.

Maag Studios – New York-based developer with offices in India. Developers for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry platforms.

Two Bulls – Award-winning app developer that specialises in augmented reality. Has worked with clients such as CocaCola, Sesame Street and Deloitte.

Ubermind – Seattle-based app developer that works across iOS and Android. Clients include AmTrack and Alaska Airlines. Backed by Deloitte.

Pixel Lab – Seattle-based developer that specialised in Windows Phone and HTML5 platforms.  Responsible for porting Cut The Rope to HTML5 and Evernote to Windows Phone 7.

Canadian mobile app developers

Flowfinity – Enterprise app development platform based in Vancouver, Canada, enabling business to create their own apps. Clients include Heinz and Bacardi.

WhereCloud – iOS and Android app developers based in Montreal. WhereCloud boasts its apps have generated over 3 million downloads. Clients include Yellow Pages, LCG Medical and ShopWise.

Spark Platform – iOS and Android developer based in Ottawa, but with offices in Algeria and France. Clients include ClubMed, Algeria Post and The National Bank of Greece. Also offer mPayment solutions.

MindSea - Canadian iOS and Android app developer based in Halifax. Apps include PocketBooth, Masterfile and Post Media Newspapers.

FingerFood – iOS, blackBerry and Android developers based in Port Moody, BC. Developed popular apps such as the Black Friday shopping app and Snog Marry Avoid.

Ripe Apps - Toronto-based iOS and Android developer that offers a profit-share funding model for apps. Clients include Bank of Montreal and Chorus Entertainment.

Szello – App developer focusing on iPhone and BlackBerry development. Developed the popular Keep Up game and the video app for TED. Based in Ottawa.

Australia/New Zealand mobile app developers

OutWare – Award winning iPhone, Android and iPad developers based in Melbourne, Australia. Developed apps for major brands such as Visa, Penguin Books and Sensis.

NextFaze – Develops iPhone, iPad and Android apps, with a focus on apps for festivals and events. Clients include The Field Day festival and Toyota. Based in North Adelaide, Australia.

Secret Lab – Multi-platform app developer that specialises in smartphone games, such as Day of the Tiki and Heroes of the North. Based in Tasmania, Australia.

Appiphany – iPhone and Android app developer based in Melbourne, Australia. Developed apps such as Live Scene, Faces & Places and City Tag. Offers joint venture app funding model.

Wave Digital – iPhone, Android and Windows Phone developer based in Melbourne,  Australia. Clients include Spec Savers, AXA and Australia Post.

iApps – Multi-platform app developer based in Maloolaba, Australia, with offices in India. Develops both enterprise and consumer apps, including Pokemaker, Flight Box and iHeard.

Moa Creative – App developer based in Auckland, New Zealand. Develops iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps for major brands such as AA, 3 News and Air New Zealand.

Smudge Apps – iPhone, Android and Windows Phone developer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Has developed over 100 apps for clients such as Vodafone, Yellow Pages and Grolsch.

Asian/Middle Eastern mobile app developers

Robosoft – Award-winning multiplatform app developer based in Udupi, India. Robosoft mainly focuses on casual game development and developed titles Ranch Rush and Pipe Mania.

Vxtindia – Mobile Development company based on out of Pune, India, with a track record of producing high quality apps and games

RapidSoft - India-based app developer, with New York offices. Works across all major mobile platforms. Clients include the Australian governement and India’s national highway regulator NHAI.

Gravity Surf, by Synqua

Sourcebits – Bangalore-based app developer, with offices in New York and San Francisco. Offers app development across all mobile platforms, as well as Facebook and web apps. Clients include Coca Cola and blog Boy Genius Report.

Synqua – Mumbai-based app developer that focuses on producing mobile games for clients and the Synqua brand. Apps include Lugage Mania and Gravity Surf.

WINIT – Cross-platform app developer headquartered in Hyderabad, India, with offices in New York and the Netherlands. Clients include Jet Airways and Cisco.

Divum – Multiplatform app developer based in Bangalore, India. Has created apps for a number of global clients including ESPN, Yahoo and MTV.

iAuro – Android and iOS developer based in Maharashtra, India, with over 50 apps published across the App Store and Android market, including MS Portfolio, Peak Meetings and PhonePhix.

Appio – New start-up app developer based in Singapore, with offices in Vietnam and the UK. Focuses on enterprise apps, for clients such as Smart Finance and Truffle Net.

Data Calibre – iOS developer based in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. Apps include BusyBee, Social Reminders and Baby Booth.

Ono Apps – Israeli app developer working across iOS and Android platforms. Apps include Mix-Tones, Guinness’ official app and Fitango.

Zemingo – iOS and Android app developer based in Israel. Apps include Dit It!, Coffe Call and Seembee.

iPhSoft – Israeli iOS app developer that specialises in iPhone games. Clients include AT&T Red Sprite Studios and Adventure Soft.

Gini Apps – iOS-only developer based in Israel. Clients include Hyundai and Poker Radar.

[slideshare id=12832899&doc=mobileappdevelopersguide-mobyaffiliates-com12-05-07-120507110106-phpapp02]

Following the announcement back in February, LinkedIn is all set to follow Facebook’s lead and introduce  ads across its mobile app. The social business network has so far revealed little information on how it will work ads into its platform – indeed, the service was expected to launch last month, but has not yet materialised – however, mobile ads on LinkedIn open-up a number of opportunities for advertisers to exploit.

Linkedin has huge potential on mobile given it’s strong mobile traffic and usage:

• Comscore estimate there are 2m monthly users of linkedin mobile in Europe alone
• Linkedin mobile page views are growing at 400% p.a.
• Mobile already accounts for 15% of page views and visits
• Linkedin’s mobile app Cardmunch has scanned 2m business cards 

This is a huge wave of new mobile advertising inventory coming and it’s vital to understand what sort of impact it might have on the market.   So what can we expect when LinkedIn’s mobile ad offering launches?

LinkedIn’s strengths as a mobile platform

Highly targeted

Perhaps the biggest benefit LinkedIn’s mobile ads will have over Facebook is the ability to serve to a focused user-base of professionals, potentially facilitating much more effective and targeted messages from brands. Given that LinkedIn is used for very specific purposes, such as looking for jobs, networking with other professionals, and looking-up information on companies, it has also been speculated that its user-base will be more susceptible to mobile ads than Facebook’s or Twitter’s.

Big potential for local

As we explained in our post concerning Facebook mobile ads, the next few years will likely see an explosion in hyper-local mobile advertising and – like Facebook – LinkedIn is a prime position to exploit this trend. There’s big opportunities in, for instance, targeting large groups of professionals who are attending industry conferences. Any local businesses in the area of big conferences can take advantage of the influx of people checking LinkedIn on an hourly basis, driving them to local promotions. Enterprise services can focus on relevant gatherings, while marketers could use such events to collect marketing data on specific industries. Local mobile ads on LinkedIn could also play a big role in targeting job-seekers and employers, even to the point of targeting ads to employees at a particular company.

Targeting influence

One of the most alluring benefits to LinkedIn’s mobile ads will be the option to pinpoint ads towards influential groups of individuals across companies and industries, such as CEOs, CFOs, CIOs etc. Such a demographic may typically be hard to reach due to their busy schedules, but mobile ads, especially across a professional network such as LinkedIn, could really drive engagement amongst this group. Anyone offering enterprise services could therefore have a reliable conduit to reach the key decision makers within large corporations.

Which advertisers will benefit most?

Jobs industry

The recruitment industry will arguably be in the best position to benefit from LinkedIn’s mobile ads. Not only will recruiters have access to a mobile user-base of career-minded professionals, they will also be able target hyper-local jobs ads to users attending recruitment drives, or target specific geographical areas of industry such as Silicon Valley.

Luxury brands

It’s no secret that luxury brands have been enjoying a boom in business since the economic downturn. While most consumers are holding back spend, high-level executives are earning more than ever and spending their money on extravagant products and services. With LinkedIn luxury brands can target such individuals – who typically lead busy lifestyles and could be more engaged with mobile messages – while they’re on the move (or on their luxury yachts…).

Conference industry

Being able to target specific industries and reach busy decision makers – and potential speakers – via mobile could prove highly effective for those working in the conference production industry. Conference producers could also potentially use LinkedIn to advertise marketing data surveys and other industry-specific promotions.

Enterprise services

It goes without saying that any company offering enterprise B2B services will be keenly eyeing-up the potential of LinkedIn’s mobile ads. Again, the option to target by industry and to target industry conferences – where decision-makers are already in the mindset of talking shop – could be very beneficial. Any app developers creating industry-specific apps, or enterprise apps in general, could also expect high conversion rates.  Expect to see the lead generation business hop onto Linkedin mobile ads as soon as they are launched.

What type of mobile ads can we expect from linkedin?

Linkedin offers a couple of different advertising options on it’s main online site.  There are ads with a picture and image which are offered on a self-serve basis either on a CPC or CPM model.  If you look at the format it’s pretty clear these could be easily replicated on mobile almost as they are given their small size.  Linkedin say they are testing ad formats at the moment so we can probably assume one of the options is going to be something very similar to the current online model below.

Typical click-through’s are very low at around 0.025% and cost per click usually backs out around the $2 mark, but can easily hit $4-5.  So, if this model is replicated on mobile it’s going to be very expensive compared to existing mobile ad solutions with CPC’s typically ranging as low as $0.05.  However, the targeting linkedin offers is where it justifies these high prices – you can target by job title, group membership, geography, industry sector and company to deliver a highly focused ad buy.  This is something that mobile ad networks signally fail to deliver right now with demographic targeting on mobile still in its infancy.  So, for the right advertisers the high potential price points could still be worth it.

So – Linkedin mobile ads could potentially be very effective for certain types of advertisers.  To date, mobile advertising has been very focused on the consumer sector, but linkedin ads could unlock a wave of new potential and growth in the B2B and professional spaces.  As always, the first people to experiment with and understand a new mobile ad network can generate a lot of value so it’s worth keeping an eye out to see when and how Linkedin launches its mobile ad platform.  We’ll be tracking this closely here at mobyaffiliates of course so look out for more from us as it happens.

There are posts from Tomi Ahohen, Wapple, Chetan Sharma and more covering Nokia, mobile web development and reviewing mobile apps and sites.

So head on over for a great mobile blog carnival.

According to reports, it appears that Apple has conclusively pulled the plug on the use of UDIDs to track iOS users. This of course should come as no surprise, as the iPhone manufacturer announced it’s intention to phase-out the identifiers in August last year due to user privacy concerns. Nevertheless, now that the UDID train has officially reached its final destination the mobile ad industry is being pushed wide-eyed onto the platform, wondering where to go next.

So what are UDIDs, how will this affect mobile advertising, and what are the alternatives?

What are UDIDs?

A UDID is an alphanumeric string that is attached to each iOS device. The majority of mobile analytics revolves around the UDID in order to capture conversion data that tells advertisers how users are engaging with ads. It is a permanent, universal, identifier of a device and is therefore very useful for advertisers when it comes to tracking what users are doing, especially when that tracking takes place between multiple ad company partners.

Why does Apple want to stop UDID tracking?

Apple is primarily concerned with preventing backlash over user privacy, especially following the recent investigation by US congress on how iOS developers collect user data. The UDID could potentially be used to identify a person in the real world.

Who is this going to affect?

Firstly, this isn’t a retroactive policy, it only applies to new apps being submitted to the App Store. In terms of the bigger picture, Apple’s decision could effect nearly everyone in the mobile ad ecosystem – from ad-networks to developers. The mobile ad industry is already struggling to provide advertisers with a robust user tracking solution, comparable to the traditional online space, and this is largely believed to be the main issue holding back mobile ad spend. Apple’s decision, in the short term, could therefore see the value of developer inventory on iOS devices drop as tracking becomes more difficult.

When it comes to simple developer/publisher relationship the demise of UDIDs won’t be felt too strongly, the real problem comes with bi-lateral ad partner relationships, where there is a need for a universal ID to track users across multiple publishers.

So in the long term the mobile ad industry needs to pull up their bootstraps and devise an effective universal replacement for UDID. But more immediately, ad-networks, analytics companies and ad agencies need to quickly work-out a new tracking solution to their customers.

There are a few solutions on the table:

• MAC Address – This is an ID generated at the hardware’s WiFi access point. However, the MAC address raises the same (or potentially worse) privacy concerns as the UDID and is an unlikely contender in the long run.
• CFUUID – The Core Foundation Universally Unique Identifier is the UDID replacement that Apple itself recommends developers adopt. The CFUUID is generated when the app requests it from iOS. But unlike the UDID, it is not permanent and can be deleted, which could create problems when a users wipes/restores their phone.
• OpenUDID – OpenUDID is an open-source initiative started by AppsFire in August 2011 to develop a replacement for UDID. However, as it’s a global identifier of a device, some have argued it faces exactly the same privacy issues as the UDID.
• SecureUDID – SecureUDID is the most recent initiative to replace UDID. Like OpenUDID it is open-source, but it places more emphasis on user privacy by preventing different developers from accessing the same UDID as another developer. It also features a user opt-out mechanism.
• Propriety solutions – There are a number of companies, such as Openfeint and MobileAppTracking, that use their own proprietary solutions and you can expect many more to roll-out in the coming weeks. Ad-network MobFox has been quick to develop its own mAdtrackr solution as a stop-gap measure, while the industry reaches consensus on a UDID alternative and MobileAppTracking, goes as far as to say its ‘fingerprinting’ method is just as effective as UDID anyway. However, unless Apple backs a new standard, such fragmentation of tracking will mean there’s no universal solution that allows ad partners to effectively work together.

Opportunities

While Apple’s decision to drop UDIDs has cast a grey cloud over the mobile industry, there might be a silver lining.

Cookies

StrikeAds’ Michael Dewhirst argues that – irregardless of Apple’s recent decision – UDIDs were never that great in the first place and what the industry really needs is to revert back to cookies in order to track users.  Strikead claim that cookies are workable on mobile and it just requires the advertiser, agency and media to understand and utilise them properly. Could the elimination of UDID could finally be the catalyst for the wide-spread adoption of mobile cookies? Benefiting advertisers and privacy-conscious regulators and users alike?

Winner takes all?

As mentioned there are a number of proprietary tracking solutions out there and more are likely to be developed. This could spark something of an arms race, spurring innovative companies to develop their own potentially lucrative alternatives to UDID, and possibly creating even more effective solutions.

Letting go of tracking

What if we’ve got it all wrong and forcing an traditional online tracking approach to the mobile space is just never going to really work? That’s the idea offered by ThinkNear’s Eli Portnoy, who argues that in order to maximise ROI advertisers have to let go of traditional ideas about tracking. Cookies won’t work on mobile, not only because of technical issues, but because mobile browsing habits are totally different to online browsing. Instead advertisers need to focus their efforts on localising their message and take advantage of mobile biggest strength – portability. Now that tracking has become even harder on mobile, will advertisers be pushed toward local solutions?

HTML 5

Could Apple’s decision to drop UDID’s come back to haunt it? Numerous developers are eyeing up the potential of HTML5 as a way to circumvent the App Store, bringing apps directly to users from within the browser. When it comes to advertising, HTML5 will offer brands a rich and scalable solution. HTML5 could also provide a more effective tracking as the app store and the app are no longer native to the device and can read the cookie content stored in the browser – avoiding stuff like this.

So – in the short-term mobile advertisers and app developers are going to face some problems tracking downloads and installs.  With no universally agreed alternative, it’s going to be even harder to make sense of the ROI of mobile advertising.  Mobile advertisers, developers and affiliates need to keep an eye on the new solutions emerging and start testing them out to remain competitive.

So Draw Something has become something of a sensation after its maker OMGPOP sold for $200m, the buzz even eclipsed the launch of Angry Birds Space.  Why? – well the numbers are just so amazing.  This is sure to be a case study in a thousand presentations and conference speeches for the next year!   So here’s a run-down of the main numbers:

Draw Something Usage and Download Statistics

• 1.2 million downloads in the first 10 days
• 20 million downloads in first five weeks
• 1 billion pictures drawn per week
• 15m Daily Active Users (DAU)
• Growing daily active users by 6m per week at peak
• Daily Active Users (DAU) 15m
• Monthly Active Users (MA) 27m
• 50m downloads to date

Draw Something Revenues & Financials

• 0 spent on marketing after the apps first week
• generating $250,000 in revenue per day
• The ad-free $1.99 version number one paid app on the Apple appstore
• Ad-funded version top position on the Free apps list in the Appstore
• Annualised revenues of $100m
• Sold for $210m – $180 million up front, plus another $30 million earn out
• Valued at $1bn if they had waited by the CEO of the mobile ad network Flurry

Sources:

http://www.appdata.com/apps/facebook/225826214141508-draw-something-by-omgpop

http://gigaom.com/2012/03/21/zyngas-draw-something-audience-acquisition/

http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/21/done-deal-zynga-gets-draw-something-phenom-by-acquiring-omgpop-were-hearing-210m/

Looking for ways to optimise your mobile site?  Tim Ash (CEO of SiteTuners.com) has posted some informative tips over at ClickZ that are well worth reading.

Ash mainly talks about the importance of not approaching mobile in the same way as desktop, as well as the importance of simplifying navigation and content.

The absolute worst thing you can do when creating your mobile site is to assume that people will visit the same pages and try to navigate the site in the same way they do when sitting at a computer. In fact, there’s probably only a fraction of your total content that needs to be included on your mobile site. Think about what your visitors might need out of your site when they’re on the go: your phone number, directions, a quick price check. Make this information easy to find with just a couple clicks.

Check out the full article over at clickz.com.

As the smartphone market continues to grow, so does the mobile advertising industry that’s rapidly being built around it. However, when it comes to actual brand expenditure on mobile ads, growth is somewhat lagging behind many analysts’ predictions. This is partly to do with problems relating to effective tracking and data measurement, but it’s also down to the perceived effectiveness of mobile campaigns. As many advertisers have discovered, user engagement with mobile ads is relatively low. With the former problem, advertisers simply have to wait for mobile ad analytics to further mature, but the latter issue already has a proven solution – rich media mobile ads.

What are rich media mobile ads?

A rich media mobile ad is essentially a mobile display ad that offers users a more engaging experience than the static banner advertisements that predominate on most apps and mobile websites. Rich mobile ads come in many shapes and sizes, including:

• Banner ads that can expand when prompted, to cover more screen real estate.
• Full-screen ads, or wrap-around ads for app or website ‘takeovers’
• Ads that feature video or animations
• Interactive ads that respond to tilts, shakes, touches and swipes
• Ads that incorporate simple videogames
• Ads that incorporate dynamic information, such as weather or location

Why rich media ads are important

When brands approach the mobile space they often do so as an afterthought to an existing campaign. This approach frequently leads advertisers toward the easiest and cheapest option – static banner ads. Regular banner ads, usually served by a blind ad network and displayed discretely at the bottom of an app or website, typically offer click through rates of around 0.5%. This may be slightly better than regular (PC-bound) online banners, but it’s becoming more and more evident that rich media mobile ads can vastly improve upon this level of user engagement.

When Google launched its new rich media ad templates (which among other features allowed brands to use image galleries, 360-degree image rotation and video), clients such as Reebok and Coldwell Banker reported much healthier interaction rates of 7% and 6%. The brand Gilt experienced interaction rates as high as 15%. Mobile ad network Greystripe, recognised as a leader in the rich media space, also claims that its rich mobile ads have delivered a CTR increase of 136% over static banner ads.

Obviously ad networks have a vested interest in promoting such figures, but the brands themselves have also reported better results when it comes to rich media. Absolute Radio was one of the first advertisers to launch a rich media mobile campaign on Apple’s iAd platform and saw it’s brand awareness increase by 10%, with the average user spending an impressive 101.8 seconds within its interactive ads. The radio station has since launched two more iAd campaigns, which revolve around a mix of in-ad quizzes and simple videogames. Last August, UK retailer John Lewis found that users exposed to its rich media mobile ads (expandable banners) were 25% more likely to remember the ad than those who saw static banners.

Why rich media works 

It’s not hard to understand why rich media campaigns are so much more successful than regular banner ads. The restrictive size of a smartphone screen means that traditional advertisements must be small and unobtrusive in order to avoid rendering an app or mobile site inoperable. But this also means they struggle to get a user’s attention. If a brand wants to engage a user beyond static banners they must deliver campaigns that are innovative, so that the user does not mind relinquishing control of their screen real estate and suspending engagement with their app or mobile site.

There are drawbacks of course. It is more expensive to run a rich media ad campaign on mobile and it also requires advertisers to think a more innovatively on how to best leverage the mobile medium for their brand. But nevertheless, advertisers need to take rich media mobile ads more seriously and the mobile ad industry needs to do a better job at promoting their worth. Given the evident increase in ROI, rich media should now form the core of any effective mobile ad campaign.

This post is part of the MobPartner Insights series written by @morgancoudray

This is the third post in our series of guest posts. The first one was about Mobile Traffic Sources and the second covered how to A/B test mobile offers.

Ad decay or end-user fatigue refers to the moment when a large proportion of your segment’s end-users have seen your mobile ad creative. From that point onwards, your click through rate will decrease because most potential “clients” have been exposed to your ad.  This means you have to bid higher cost per click to get your ad shown and achieve volumes on the mobile ad networks.  Here are ways to avoid or diminish the negative effects of end-user fatigue:

• Avoid using the default ad creative provided by the merchant – these will already suffer from ad decay as affiliates and likely the merchant themselves will already have been using these creatives to promote the offer on most of the mobile ad networks.  You can easily and cheaply get mobile ad creatives / banners developed using outsourcers on odesk and other freelance sites.
• Using keyword-based networks such as Google Adwords, or Microsoft Advertising adCenter / Bing Mobile almost completely alleviate user-fatigue because of their nature
• Rotating creatives  is important to reach all potential users
• Spreading your advertisement  across many adnetworks is important. Also, I have found that putting some adnetworks “at rest” for 2 weeks can be very beneficial as it gives the inventory time to refresh and renew itself.
• Asking the advertisers to come out with new products/landing pages.
• Using frequency capping – some ad networks such as adfonic will allow you to limit the number of times a users sees your ad creative
• Choosing campaigns based on geographies can play a big role in reducing the effects of end-user fatigue.  For example, if you choose to launch a US-based campaign: end-user fatigue will take much longer to reach because of the sheer size of the potential market!

This issue is rarely taken into consideration before launching new campaigns, yet it should become an affiliate marketers’ criteria.

Finally, I’d like to congratulate our development team for successfully launching our brand new website: we would love to hear more about you and would be happy to welcome onboard MobPartner.