In-App Advertising vs. Mobile Web Advertising: Which is More Effective?
Probably every marketer on the planet knows that, first of all, 60% of the world’s population owns smartphones, and secondly, 62% of Internet traffic is mobile traffic. This means that advertising opportunities through mobile traffic are extremely high. However, the question remains: where is it better to run advertising? In mobile applications, or use mobile web advertising? This is the question we will try to answer in this article. Read on, and you will learn the advantages of both options and when you should choose one or the other.
Digital Advertising
Nowadays, almost everyone knows what digital advertising is, except maybe those living in isolated forest areas. It’s used to promote businesses, information sites, and personal profiles. Digital advertising is a big and growing industry, and mobile advertising is especially popular because it can target any user (except for those very hermits from the forest).
In-App Advertising and Mobile Web Advertising
In-App Advertising is exactly what it appears to be. It is advertising that is shown to users in mobile apps. It can be in many different formats: banners, interstitial, video, playable, or native ads.
Mobile web advertising is essentially the usual digital advertising, adapted to the mobile format. It is shown to the user through the browser, with the help of which the user visits various sites. The formats of such ads are also extremely diverse and one can say they repeat those that occur in advertising in mobile applications.
Audience Reach: In-App vs. Mobile Web
According to the most recent data, 5.65 billion people use smartphones. And 96% of them use smartphones to access the Internet. We don’t have exact data on what percentage of their time they spend in apps, but it’s likely a significant percentage. Just think about how often you yourself open those various apps with casual games, news, or social media out of boredom.
In theory, mobile web ads are able to reach more users, but they may be losing out to in-app ads in user engagement. Apps also often have more opportunities for user engagement with interactive ads and a lower percentage of banner blindness. However, mobile web advertising is still the primary channel for reaching users who prefer to use one browser instead of downloading hundreds of different apps.
Targeting Capabilities and Precision
It’s clear that in-app ads have quite the edge in terms of how precisely they can zoom in on their target audience. Think about how often we’re asked to log into apps. It turns out this little step is a goldmine for advertisers because it hands them a treasure trove of first-party data. We’re talking about all the juicy details like what we love, our habits, and even where we hang out. This means ads can be super customized, almost as if they’re talking directly to us. Plus, app developers have this nifty ability to pick up on how we interact within their apps, which just adds another layer of finesse to the whole ad targeting game.
Now, don’t get me wrong, advertising on mobile web isn’t exactly shooting in the dark either. Thanks to cookies and the data we leave behind when browsing, advertisers can still get pretty savvy about serving us ads that are likely to catch our eye. But, there’s a but. With all the privacy rules tightening up and browsers getting a little stingy about cookies, this space is feeling a squeeze. Still, it’s not all doom and gloom since there are some smart workarounds like contextual targeting and leveraging first-party data when we log into sites, keeping mobile web advertising in the game.
Use of Data and Analytics
There’s this fascinating thing happening with ads within mobile apps. Because these applications can tap into a wealth of in-depth data on our behaviors within them, advertisers gain the capability to tailor their advertisements with exceptional precision. They capture insights not merely on the duration of our app usage but also on our specific activities within — whether we’re making purchases or simply exploring. This abundance of data enables marketers to refine their advertising approaches with great accuracy, optimizing for the highest possible return on their investments.
On the flip side, when we browse websites on our phones, things work a bit differently. Here, tools like Google Analytics come into play. They track our journey through a site — what pages we look at, how quickly we leave (that’s the bounce rate), and whether we end up taking actions like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. This data might not get down to the nitty-gritty of what app analytics can provide, but it’s still gold for advertisers.
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Ad Formats: In-App vs. Mobile Web
In-App
- Banner Ads: You’ve definitely seen these. They’re the little rectangular ads that pop up either at the top or bottom of your screen while you’re using an app. They’re pretty straightforward but can catch your eye.
- Interstitial Ads: These are the big guys. They take up your whole screen, but the good thing is they only show up at moments that make sense, like when you’re moving between levels in a game. It’s like a mini commercial break.
- Video Ads: These are like tiny snippets of entertainment (or annoyance, depending on your view) that usually come with a nudge to do something — like downloading another app. They’re short and try to be as engaging as possible.
- Native Ads: Consider them the shadow warriors of advertising. They seamlessly integrate within the app’s content and aesthetic, making it nearly impossible to distinguish that you’re actually viewing an advertisement. The strategy here is to remain inconspicuous yet efficiently deliver their message.
Mobile Web
Mobile web advertising also features a range of formats, including:
- Display Banners: Traditional banner ads that appear within the webpage content.
- Video Ads: Video clips that can autoplay or be user-initiated, often placed within the content or as pop-ups.
- Pop-ups and Pop-unders: Ads that appear over or under the current browser window.
- Native Ads: Similar to in-app native ads, these blend with the website’s content and design.
Conclusion
Arriving at a definitive decision is challenging due to the mixed benefits and drawbacks inherent to both advertising strategies. Each possesses its own utility, yet the optimal choice hinges upon your specific circumstances. Contemplate the objectives behind your advertising efforts and the significance of audience interaction to your goals, and make your selection tailored to your requirements.
