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Lately I've been thinking about how to increase the revenue I get from my Android apps, and have come to the conclusion that I "need" to include interstitial ads in some form. I don't want them to feel forced or annoying like in many other apps where they pop up when they are the least desirable. Instead I have been toying with the idea of simply having a seperate "Support The Developer" screen in my app dedicated to explaining to the user that although making apps is fun it's also time-consuming and challenging and ask them to support the developer by watching a short interstitial ad. The user would then either tap a button to show an interstitial ad or tap another button to return to the main menu. Of course there would be no attempt to motivate the user to actually click on the ad - Just simply watch it.

I have scanned the web, AdMob/AdSense policies and other questions on here to try to find a clear answer on if this is against any rules. I certainly don't want to do this to have my app removed for violating any policies. I know that there are rewarded interstitials that you can implement, but since this approach doesn't award the user with anything in the app it doesn't seem like the right path.

I really want to ethically be on the right track here, so if anyone has any expereience regarding this, please help.

OneCricketeer
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Daybreak
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    This question is opinion oriented and may be closed. However I wouldn't do such a thing because of Google's strict policies. To make ads seem less invasive, display them only once out of 10 page view or sort of. – fillobotto Jan 10 '17 at 23:12
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    I have never seen anything in the admob policies that would indicate this is against the rules. Encouraging *clicks* on ads is not allowed, but I haven't seen anything about encouraging *views*. If you really want your users to 'donate' in this way, you may just be better off with a 'donate' button of some kind though. – alzee Jan 10 '17 at 23:13
  • @alzee beware though, Admob policies aren't the only policies to keep in mind: the Play Store has some strict policies about what is and is not acceptable monetization https://play.google.com/about/monetization-ads/ – outlyer Aug 16 '17 at 08:21
  • @outlyer did you link to the wrong page? That link was about IAPs and the tab about ads didn't seem to say anything relevant to the discussion. – alzee Aug 16 '17 at 12:09
  • @alzee you're right, I didn't link to the specific tab. But that tab talks about Google Play's policies for ads, which I considered relevant: assuming the Play Store is the main distribution method for the app, staying within their policies for acceptable ads is a must. – outlyer Aug 16 '17 at 14:39
  • @outlyer Yes, but as I said, the ads tab does not say anything about directing users to view or click on ads, which is what this question is about. – alzee Aug 16 '17 at 15:52
  • @alzee I was extending your comment, just as you referred to the Admob policies, the Play Store policies should be checked too. They may change in the future – outlyer Aug 16 '17 at 20:52

3 Answers3

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I have scanned the web, AdMob/AdSense policies and other questions on here to try to find a clear answer on if this is against any rules. I certainly don't want to do this to have my app removed for violating any policies. I know that there are rewarded interstitials that you can implement, but since this approach doesn't award the user with anything in the app it doesn't seem like the right path.

-> You are not violating any policies regarding asking user to click on button as long as you don't break any other policy for interstitial ad. ( e.g. you can't have consecutive Interstitial Ad, there has to be 2 clicks before you show another ad). Refer this link for Admob interstitial ads invalid policies https://support.google.com/admob/answer/6201362?hl=en&ref_topic=2745287

Lot of games gives away goodies for viewing videos. In your case you can use ad finish event to process further. For solution refer to this link.

Listening to Video Ad. Finish Event in Interstitial Ad (Google AdMob)

Community
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Amod Gokhale
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    Thanks Amod. This particular policy I had somehow glanced over. I redesigned the app now so that the user, after watching an ad, must return to the main menu and then back to the "Support The Developer" screen in order to watch another ad, which is two user interactions, so that should be good with the policies. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention! – Daybreak Jan 11 '17 at 23:59
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I'm not a mobile developer but I'm a heavy mobile app user on both Android and Windows Mobile. From user experience on games and apps I use a lot, I would watch the videos if they are not in my face, do not start unwanted and bring me some 'benefit' when I watch them. In a game that would mean I would receive some advantage or a prize, usually linked with the game pace where I'm allowed to watch a new video only a certain number of times per hour/day so I can continue playing almost non-stop. In apps some premium options could be unlocked temporarily (for one time use/for 10 minutes/etc) after the user watches a video.

In the end, if the product is good and you have not spoiled the user's experience by putting advertisements all over the place, you can ask the user to switch to Pro version without ads and with more functionality.

You can tease users to become Pro by allowing "trial" period of Pro features for Free users. For example, one of the Pro features might become available to Free users for a day, so they can experience the Pro version. Next week you might allow "trial" for another feature, etc. If your product would have long usage life you should first of all make sure the customers like it, are able to easily use it and then they will gladly give you a fee to use it.

I hope this helps you.

Regards,

Georgi

P.S. The best way to make money out of a good product is to convert it into a service and then earn money from service subscriptions, additional features (like support, customization, plugins, etc). Of course, I don't know what your Android apps are.

kr3t3n
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I have implemented rewarded ads. The reward is banner or interstitial ads will temporarily be removed. Here is the rewarded ads welcoming message:

In order to use this application without ads, please watch the following video

Afrig Aminuddin
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