5 Best Mobile Ad Networks for Publishers in 2023

Mobile ads are one of the most popular forms of advertising today. There has been a staggering increase in mobile users all over the world in the past decade. According to Statista, mobile devices generated 54.4 percent of global website traffic in Q4 2021.

One of the prevailing reasons is that mobile technologies are more accessible and affordable than desktops. Especially, in mobile-first markets such as India, Asia, and Africa have a much higher number of webpage visits through mobile. Naturally, mobile advertising has become a preferred advertising medium among advertisers and publishers alike.

Choosing the right ad network for mobile advertising can be challenging. We have compiled a list of the 5 best mobile ad networks in 2023. You can directly navigate to the list if you’re in a hurry.

If your website’s audience is mainly from the desktop, you can read about the best ad networks here.

Benefits of Mobile Advertising

• The global mobile advertising market is projected to grow from $96.46 billion in 2021 to $782.12 billion by 2028 which will be very beneficial for publishers and advertisers.
• Mobile ads have a wide variety of formats including banner ads, text messages, interactive and video ad formats, rich media ad formats, push notifications, and in-app advertisements.
• Consumers are known to engage with mobile native ads 20% to 60% more than they do with standard banner ads.
• 56% of mobile users search for products weekly, compared to only 37% of consumers using desktop. Therefore, mobile ads have a greater probability of generating more revenue.
• Enhanced geo-targeting due to GPS facility in Mobile (Users only receive ads from brands in their preferred locations).
• Another research found that 64 percent of all video ads were viewed from beginning to end on mobile devices. This indicates increased user attention on mobile ads.

These facts above are convincing enough for publishers to opt for mobile advertising. Finding the right mobile ad network can be challenging for publishers to effectively publish ad campaigns and track ad campaign performance. In return, you can opt for various pricing models such as CPC, CPM, CPA, CPI, etc.

Best Mobile Ad Networks for Publishers in 2023

AdMob

Google AdMob is the mobile equivalent of Google Adsense. It is one of the easiest mobile ad networks to use. Hence, it is a great fit for beginners who want to display mobile ads. If you’re already running web campaigns, it is very convenient to sync your mobile ad campaign with Google Adsense. It provides a variety of ad formats including Banner ads, Video ads, Interstitial ads, Reward ads, and Native ads. Moreover, it is very flexible in terms of mobile platforms and offers ads on Android, iOS, WebOS, Flash Lite, Windows phones, and all mobile web browsers. 

AdMob provides a seamless experience with the latest technology and robust reporting and measurement features that deliver deeper insights into ad performance. 

Pros:

• Easy integration
• Multiple ad formats
• Easily blends with other ad networks

Cons:

• Limited ad placement, only one ad can be visible while scrolling
• High threshold for minimum payout
• Lower revenue as compared to other ad networks

Media.net

One of the most popular and oldest mobile ad networks, Media.net has been used by a wide variety of famous publishers and websites including Forbes, WebMD, Elle, and MSN. Also, its technology does not rely on cookies, so you don’t have to worry about seeking user permission for cookies. They provide ad formats such as display, native, contextual, and video ads. 

Media.net provides comparatively higher CPM rates and better conversion rates due to its highly contextual ads. The ads can be customized to blend with the overall look and appeal of your website so that it gives the impression of native content. 

Media.net was the first platform to come up with the display-to-search (D2S) method. D2S filters the user’s intent which results in better targeting of ads on your site. This ultimately gets you higher revenues because advertisers prefer to pay more for clicks (cost per click model) where user intent is clear and qualified as compared to CPM (cost per mile) based ads that only focus on impressions.

Pros:

• Customizable ads
• Highly contextual ads
• Enhanced revenue opportunities due to a large pool of advertisers
• Good customer support

Cons: 

• They only allow website traffic from the US, UK, or Canada. 
• They only pay in US Dollars
• Revenue doesn’t get updated in real-time
• Visitors need to double click on the ad

InMobi

When it comes to mobile app/ website monetization for publishers, InMobi is a great option. It offers a variety of ad formats including display, native, and video ads as well as a huge inventory of 200+ DSPs and over 5,000 programmatic buyers representing top brands from around the globe. Many popular publishers like Shazam, abc, Blackberry, and Wattpad partner with InMobi for their advertising needs. 

They support ads on Android, iOS, and mobile web and offer pricing models like CPC and CPI. They use Appographic targeting which means users see highly contextual ads which are relevant to the app/ website they are on. For example- a shopping app can be promoted to users who engage with other apps offering any deals and discounts, selling men’s or women’s apparel, or any product the user is interested in. 

Pros:

• Many targeting filters
• Custom native advertising
• Auto-updates banner ads

Cons:

• Can only select a predefined size in banner advertising
• Less anti-fraud controls

Start.io

Previously StartApp, Start.io is one of the best mobile ad networks that lets you place an ad between two pages when you click a link, also known as interstitial ads. Other ad formats include rich media, video, Playable, 360 Ads, Virtual Reality, Splash, MREC Banners, and native ad units. They have specialized ads that focus on driving more engagement with highly contextual ads that focus on what the user wants to see. This helps publishers earn high eCPMs. 

Publishers also have a dashboard that gives them access to daily, weekly, or monthly reports to track performance. They can also choose to get a dedicated account management service. 

Pros:

•  Transparency- no hidden commissions
• Good tech support
• Robust dashboard

Cons: 

• Inventory can be increased

Amazon Publisher Services

A trusted name among mobile ad networks for publishers, Amazon Publisher Services offer three types of services, depending on whether the publisher is large-scale or small-scale. These services are:

• Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM) – for large-scale publishers
• Unified Ad Marketplace (UAM) – for mid to small scale publishers
• Connections Marketplace – for browsing all vendors in one marketplace

Using APS is beneficial for publishers that want to bring in Amazon to bid as that will allow them to publish Amazon ads on their site/ mobile app. This is why APS is considered the best fit for large publishers worldwide. They also provide the in-app header bidding facility that allows publishers to display ads without any compromise on user experience. They also present a transparent interface with auction-level reporting to show the highest bid.

Pros:

• Robust reporting tools in TAM
• High Transparency in TAM
• Access to Amazon ads

Cons:

• Multiple payments by individual SSPs in TAM
• Insufficient reporting tools in UAM

How to Choose the ideal Ad Network as a Publisher

• Mobile ad format: Mobile is a versatile platform that offers various ad formats including interstitial, banner, native, video, and offer wall ads. According to what suits your website the most, you can choose the ad network that provides the ad format you require. 
• Targeting: Make sure that the mobile ad network you choose offers multiple targeting options to attract the right audience. The targeting can depend on various demographics including gender, age, specific interests, geography, and the mobile device they are using, operating system, internet connection, network carrier, etc. 
• Business size: Depending on whether you cater to a large number of website/ mobile app visitors every month or you are a small-size publisher, you can choose the best mobile ad network for you accordingly.
• Pricing: Not all ad networks can provide good revenue to publishers, especially if you have a low number of monthly app visitors. 
• Reporting and Insights: Carefully choose the ad network that provides a dashboard with clear analytics so that you can easily access insights like impressions, clicks, installs, devices, platforms, etc. 

These 5 parameters can help you make your decision efficiently while choosing the best mobile ad network for your site as a publisher. Apart from revenue, these parameters can help you maintain a stable income from ad revenue.

If your ad is inappropriate or disrupting, your website/ app visitor might have an unsatisfactory experience and might not become a returning visitor. So do consider these factors apart from revenue for your mobile app/ website as a publisher.