So what is the best mobile advertising network to use if you’re a developer, mobile publisher or advertiser?  When deciding which mobile ad network to work with, many publishers and advertisers will be tempted to go with the most recognised names. But the truth is choosing the best mobile advertising network is a bit more complicated than making a beeline for the biggest kid on the block. Figures on which networks offer advertisers the most reach, and publishers the most revenue, are not always reliable or indeed available. In fact, because of the scarcity of verifiable figures, no one really knows which network is even the biggest.

So when choosing an ad network your best bet is to look at the differentiators and assess what network is the best match for your requirements. Are you looking to target an Asian audience? If so, then you need to know which networks cater best to Asian territories. Is your app iPhone-only? Well, you’ll need to know which network serves the most ads on Apple’s, rather than Google’s, platform.

Luckily Mobyaffliates is here to lend a guiding hand! Below are what we believe are the best mobile ad networks in some of the most relevant categories for publishers and advertisers. Hopefully our recommendations can help you make a more informed decision on what mobile ad network is right for you.

The best mobile advertising network for…

 

Android

 

Airpush

Given the – quite frankly – frightening pace at which Android has taken over the smartphone market it’s no surprise that the last few months have seen a strong interest in targeted ad solutions for Android users. Enter Airpush, a mobile ad network that deals exclusively with Google’s little green robot. Airpush makes a bunch of eye-catching claims on its website, such as offering developers 10 to 30 times more ad revenue than non-Android-focused rivals. As we mentioned above, you need to take ad network boasts with a pinch of sale, but Airpush does have a nifty trick up its sleeve that makes such a revenue surge plausible – push notification ads. Say goodbye to all those inactive app users, now you can reach them from the comfort of their own notification tray!

 

Video ads

 

Greystripe

Mobile video ads are still very much in their infancy, but with 38% better completion rate than desktop-bound online video ads (according to eMarketer), it won’t be long before they become ubiquitous. One of the most recognised early proponents of mobile video ads is Greystripe, who have won numerous awards for their rich media solutions. Greystripe now boasts that its the market leader in terms of full screen rich media ads, with a 75% share of the market, delivering big name brand campaigns from the likes of Sony, Burger King and HP.

 

iPhone

 

AdMob

 

Oooh, a Google product besting Apple’s own solution – who would have thought it! AdMob may not offer the highest eCPM anymore, and there’s plenty newer ad networks out there who’ve surged ahead in terms of innovation, but by most estimates it serves more ads to iPhone users than any other network. AdMob has a strong fill rate across pretty much all territories and, according to many developers, outperforms iAd when it comes to CTRs – despite Apple’s emphasis on rich media and despite the supposed warm fuzzy trust engendered by its branding….

 

Demographic targeting

 

Adfonic

 

UK-based Adfonic has made a name for itself by offering advertisers highly detailed, real-time, reporting and robust demographic targeting, which includes age, location, time of day, language, operator, device and OS. Adfonic also offers keyword tagging, which help squeeze-out that extra bit of contextual relevancy with publisher content.

 

Fill rate

 

MobPartner

 

With its advertiser-friendly Cost Per Action model (advertisers only pay when, for instance, a user downloads an app) it comes as little surprise that Paris-based MobPartner can offer developers an 100% fill rate. It also means that developers can draw on a range of big name campaigns and can be a bit more picky about the brands they want to promote. Of course, MobPartner’s CPA flavouring is great news for advertisers looking to boost app downloads, but while more brands means better targeting for developers their bottom line may suffer when compared to CPM and CPC-focused networks.

 

European traffic

 

MobFox 

 

MobFox is a relative newcomer to the mobile network party, but over the last year it has built-up a strong reputation with a number of innovative features, such as eCPM controls, the ability to pull ads from rival networks, and strong demographic-targeting. While its Asian inventory is lacking somewhat, in our recent MobFox review, we found that European publishers were experiencing very strong fill-rates and high eCPM. The Vienna-based start-up is increasingly looking like the network of choice for advertisers and publishers who want to target continental smartphone users.

 

Big brands

 

Jumptap

 

When it comes to offering a robust data-driven platform for advertisers Jumptap has been top of the list for sometime now. Founded back in 2004, the award-winning network indulges big brand advertisers with its tapMatch solution, offering keyword-targeting and a traditional media-buying model. The network has also recently been one of the strongest proponents of rich media ads to increase ROI and claims to offer advertisers the largest open rich media platform. It’s no surprise that some of the biggest brands have jumped on-board with Jumptap.

 

Asian traffic

 

Buzz City 

 

With smartphone penetration rocketing toward saturation in The West, growth will undoubtedly begin shift toward emerging markets in the East. India, Indonesia and Vietnam, among others, are already showing signs of a mobile ad boom (Vietnam experienced a 223% increase in ad impressions in 2011 Q2 alone). Based in Singapore, ad network Buzz City has capitalised on the lack of attention paid to the Asian market by other ad networks. The network’s biggest markets are Indonesia and India, with over 3 million ads served to users in India and almost 2 million in Indonesia throughout November alone.

 

Adult

 

Adultmoda

 

There’s not much debate in this category, when it comes to ad networks that exclusively target the adult market Adultmoda is pretty much the only show in town. Owned by London-based parent company MobVision, Adultmoda serves some of the world’s biggest publishers of x-rated content (as opposed to its family friendly sibling Admoda), such as Brazzers, Reality Kings and YouPorn. Due to its market, Adultmoda exercises quite strict quality controls on which publishers it works with to ensure its advertisers are kept happy, while publishers enjoy some of the highest renumeration rates around.

Conclusion

As you can see there’s a great deal of diversity on offer when it comes to choosing a mobile ad network. Advertisers need to think carefully about what they’re trying to achieve with their mobile ad campaign and nail the fundamentals (CPA? CPC? Blind? Premium?) before they let themselves get beguiled by the ad networks’ invariably impressive claims and boasts. When it comes to publishers, they may find that shopping around and experimenting with a number of networks is the best tactic to maximise revenues – especially if you have a broad portfolio of apps and sites. As with most things, it’s about understanding your own aims and doing some research, but hopefully our above guide has put you on the right track!

For more check out our mobile advertising network directory

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