It goes without saying that mobile ads are an integral part of the monetization strategy for many mobile app developers. However, as it is with everything, there are good mobile ads, and then there are some particularly terrible mobile ads. While everyone is fixating on the best mobile ads they’ve seen, we’ve decided to take another approach.
Being the experienced mobile app developers in Singapore that we are, we’ve gone the other way. We sat down and we went through God knows how many mobile ads, in order to sample them and divide them in a few different categories.
Before we get into it, however, you need to understand why we do this. You see, our mobile app development services are not simply geared toward delivering a product. We want to provide as much value to our clients as we can. This often means that we’d have to go the extra mile.
The following content aims to educate on what not to do when it comes to mobile ads. Mobile app development is a process which is ongoing, as we’ve said many times, and ads are one of the ways to monetize your mobile app. That’s why it’s important to get it right.
Alright, now that we’ve covered all the above, let’s have a look at the worst types of mobile ads out there.
Type #1 Technically Flawed Mobile Ads
Technically flawed mobile ads are those which, because of a technical issue, hurt your user’s experience. They would usually cause him to quit using your mobile app and slowly kill it.
One of the most common examples of a technically flawed mobile app is one that doesn’t have a “close” button. This halts the user’s journey entirely. Another common example of ads of the kind is where the close button doesn’t work. This leads to frustration and, ultimately, to the same thing as if the button wasn’t working – a dead end.
Type #2 Low-Quality Ads
Low-quality ads usually fail to display correctly for the user. This could be caused by many things but most commonly it’s because the ad hasn’t been designed properly for the current resolution or screen size.
This would oftentimes cause screen fragmentation – something that Android mobile app developers surely struggle with. It may also destroy the user’s screen orientation. In any case, these ads usually impact conversion rates negatively and make the user experience feel a lot less polished.
Type #3 Abusive Ads
The difference between an abusive ad and one that is technically flawed is the intention. Abusive ads are intentionally created the way they are. So, for instance, if the app was created without a close button on purpose, it would be an abusive one. Moreover, abusive ads are intended to trick users into tapping them. These can be triggered by a range of different messages and pop-ups on your phone such as when you’re “warned” of a virus or when you’re “congratulated” about winning a lottery prize.
Additionally, abusive ads usually have their buttons misplaced so when you click on the cross to shut down the ad it turns out that you’ve opened up another ad. It’s absolutely horrific.
Type #4 Offensive Ads
These are purely offensive in terms of content and placement. Of course, this is a very subjective category but we did come across plenty of them, despite the fact that we tend to have a fairly nice sense of humor.
Users can find certain ads to be offensive because of a lot of different things. They can be offensive on professional or personal criteria, or they can just trigger you because of your current mood.
In Conclusion
In any case, there are probably other categories of bad ads out there that a professional marketer will surely discover and point out. In fact, if you are one, please, go ahead and give your output – it’s much appreciated! On the other hand, if you need a hand in coming up with an appropriate go-to-market strategy from professional mobile app developers with decades of experience, don’t hesitate to get in touch!