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j-a-x

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 15, 2005
1,562
284
Houston, Texas
I wrote a free iAd supported app and it was approved by Apple on Friday evening, and I am surprised how low the fill rate is so far. I've had over 1000 downloads, most of which are in the USA. Ignoring other countries and looking at the stats for the USA only over nearly 4 full days, I see:

Requests: 1,136
Impressions: 45
Fill Rate: 3.96%

Is it normal to have a fill rate that low? I understand that my worldwide fill rate will always be low because some countries will never generate any impressions since they don't run iAds in those countries, but this is for the USA only.

Also, I can't find a comprehensive list of iAd prices on Apple's site and developer documentation. As I understand it, different types of ads will generate different amounts of revenue. An add for a $0.99 app won't generate as much per click as an ad from Nisan or the movie Tron for example.

Can anybody tell me where to find the rates that I can expect to be paid for each type of ad?

I'd appreciate it if anybody in the US could confirm whether the ads show for them or not.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
Is it normal to have a fill rate that low?

Yes, iAd fill-rates are notoriously low. I'm not sure what their algorithm for filling is but I suspect more popular apps get higher fill-rates and also, because of the limited number of advertisers, there's only so many ads to go around. They, the advertisers, are paying CPM so they are almost certainly placing caps on impressions.

Can anybody tell me where to find the rates that I can expect to be paid for each type of ad?
Apple does not publish this information. All they tell you is that you get 60%. AFAIK, that's fairly common in the online advertising space.
 

PhoneyDeveloper

macrumors 68040
Sep 2, 2008
3,114
93
Do you agree with the statement that revenue isn't interesting for an app with less than 100K downloads? Seems a little hard to believe, although maybe most downloads of free apps are only used a few times.
 

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
I guess that bodes well for me. a.k.a. just hit 500,000 downloads. :)
How long did it take to get to 500K ? and did it follow the usual spike at the start then sharp downturn?

Did your fill-rate change any as it climbed?
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
Do you agree with the statement that revenue isn't interesting for an app with less than 100K downloads? Seems a little hard to believe, although maybe most downloads of free apps are only used a few times.
I don't have enough evidence to draw a conclusion either way.

How long did it take to get to 500K ? and did it follow the usual spike at the start then sharp downturn?
It took me over two and a half years to reach 500K. It did have a pretty good spike at the start (but things were also different in the App Store two and a half years ago) but I still see 150-300 downloads per day with spikes every weekend.

Did your fill-rate change any as it climbed?
I've noticed a general trend upwards in the last couple of months but before that fill-rates were fairly constant around 30% (although Jan and Nov were noticeably lower).
 

dantastic

macrumors 6502a
Jan 21, 2011
572
678
Hey dejo,
Aka is obviously a fun app and all but what have you done in order to give it traction?
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
Hey dejo,
Aka is obviously a fun app and all but what have you done in order to give it traction?
I, myself, have done very little to give it traction. I'm not advertising it really or do much marketing. I think it's just been able to succeed on its own, i.e. the app "has legs".
 

afousek

macrumors member
Jul 8, 2009
43
0
I, myself, have done very little to give it traction. I'm not advertising it really or do much marketing. I think it's just been able to succeed on its own, i.e. the app "has legs".

I'm curious, in general, for an app that has been downloaded as many times as yours, what type of ad revenue is possible?
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
I'm curious, in general, for an app that has been downloaded as many times as yours, what type of ad revenue is possible?
Possible? That's a pretty wide open question. Depends on a number of factors, some of which we may not even be privy to. If you're asking what kind of ad revenue I'm seeing, that's a different question. If you want to answer, you should ask the question (since I'd probably be willing to share).
 

afousek

macrumors member
Jul 8, 2009
43
0
Possible? That's a pretty wide open question. Depends on a number of factors, some of which we may not even be privy to. If you're asking what kind of ad revenue I'm seeing, that's a different question. If you want to answer, you should ask the question (since I'd probably be willing to share).

Yes, that's my question. I was just curious to know what an app (such as yours) with that many downloads would generate from ad revenue. I realize there may be numerous factors, just looking for ballpark figures.
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
Yes, that's my question. I was just curious to know what an app (such as yours) with that many downloads would generate from ad revenue. I realize there may be numerous factors, just looking for ballpark figures.
In the six months (Jan-Jun 2010) prior to integrating iAds, my average revenue (from AdMob) was $249.81. Since then I've averaged only $162.94 (this is both iAd and AdMob revenue). Clearly, integrating iAds was not a good financial move for me. However, my AdMob revenues seemed to have been trending down anyways but more in-depth analysis would required to see if there was any correlations (with, say, # of downloads).

Anyways, in response to that iAd-related turn of events, I recently integrated AdWhirl to help compensate for iAds' low fill-rate (so that AdMob ads are served when iAds fails to) but I don't have enough data yet to draw any conclusions.

Hope that helps.
 

PhoneyDeveloper

macrumors 68040
Sep 2, 2008
3,114
93
Can you speculate on how things would have gone if you'd charged $0.99 for the app?

It's difficult to implement a try-before-you-buy without either limiting the features or using ads. I'm much better at the coding side of things than sales and marketing and deciding how much to charge or what business model to use.
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
Can you speculate on how things would have gone if you'd charged $0.99 for the app?
I suspect I'd be making less money. So far, I've only discussed ad revenue but I also get revenue from my AdFree upgrade in a.k.a. That amounts to an average of $95 per month. I heard a stat that says paid apps are downloaded about 1% vs. free apps. When I examined this some time ago in regards to CraigsHarvest Lite vs. CraigsHarvest, I found that to be a reasonable supposition. So, if a.k.a. was 99¢, and I was only getting 1% of the 7200 average downloads per month, I'd might only be making $50 per month vs. the $258 per month average I get now from ad revenues plus upgrades.

I'm much better at the coding side of things than sales and marketing and deciding how much to charge or what business model to use.
Same here, so please take all my "analysis" with a huge grain of salt. :D
 

PhoneyDeveloper

macrumors 68040
Sep 2, 2008
3,114
93
Thanks for the reply. In some ways it seems like we're all working for Apple. They setup the appstore in a way that encourages free apps and 0.99 apps. Apps that are much more expensive than that don't have much chance unless they are great or unique in some way. App developers are now pushed to incorporate ads and go the "ad-supported/0.99 cent AdFree version" business model because it's hard for a 1.99 and up app to compete against ad-supported free. Apple doesn't allow time-limited apps on feature-limited, Lite, apps.

Apple is the one making all the money here.
 

1458279

Suspended
May 1, 2010
1,601
1,521
California
Thanks for the reply. In some ways it seems like we're all working for Apple. They setup the appstore in a way that encourages free apps and 0.99 apps. Apps that are much more expensive than that don't have much chance unless they are great or unique in some way. App developers are now pushed to incorporate ads and go the "ad-supported/0.99 cent AdFree version" business model because it's hard for a 1.99 and up app to compete against ad-supported free. Apple doesn't allow time-limited apps on feature-limited, Lite, apps.

Apple is the one making all the money here.

This is true, however I developed programs many years ago that I had to market. It costs money up front. With this model you get at least two things:
1. People know where to go to get apps
2. You have a chance (somewhat slim, but still a chance) to go viral with "little or no money down"

I don't know all the rules that Apple has, time-limits, etc... But overall I think Apple and us would have the same overall goal in mind. Apple has taken hits for things like second rate cameras, stiff pricing, stiff rules... but consider something:
During one of the biggest (if not the biggest) bubble pops (housing/finance crisis) people are losing their homes in record numbers, and here comes Apple with a product that has been tried before (Palm, Tabs, PDA's ...) and hits it out of the ball park like never before!

Apple took a huge hit when they decided to have a close PC, the IBM/Clone market grew like fire and Apple held a small % of something they could have owned. MS basically took the GUI idea from Apple (maybe not directly) and made more money than GOD with it (and it sucked).

Something went right here... not perfect, just right... I've been a PC/MS guy for life, now I'm grinding on XCode and ObjC...

Even a blind man knows when the sun is shining...

Understand that this industry is an infant... What it'll be in 2 years, who knows.
 

jessebwilliams

macrumors newbie
Oct 13, 2011
5
0
Some questions

I read your chat with great interest. You mentionned that you still get from 150 to 300 downloads a day and then you your average revenue for 6 months was 150$ or so. I could not figured out if you made 150$ for 6 months which is for about 45 000 downloads or was 150$ per week or month?

Thanks so much




Yes, iAd fill-rates are notoriously low. I'm not sure what their algorithm for filling is but I suspect more popular apps get higher fill-rates and also, because of the limited number of advertisers, there's only so many ads to go around. They, the advertisers, are paying CPM so they are almost certainly placing caps on impressions.


Apple does not publish this information. All they tell you is that you get 60%. AFAIK, that's fairly common in the online advertising space.
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
I read your chat with great interest. You mentionned that you still get from 150 to 300 downloads a day and then you your average revenue for 6 months was 150$ or so. I could not figured out if you made 150$ for 6 months which is for about 45 000 downloads or was 150$ per week or month?

Thanks so much

I was talking "per month". So when I said "I've averaged only $162.94", I meant "over that period, I averaged $162.94 in ad revenue each month". Hope that helps.
 

jessebwilliams

macrumors newbie
Oct 13, 2011
5
0
I was talking "per month". So when I said "I've averaged only $162.94", I meant "over that period, I averaged $162.94 in ad revenue each month". Hope that helps.

Thank you for the precision.

For your point of view, what is the best strategy to generate revenues when putting a new App on the market?
Is offering the App for free (using iAd or others) and with In App purchases ($ 0.99 add free) the best way to generate maximum revenues?
Do you know of any sites where I could find lots of information about current marketing strategy and revenue models for APP?

thank you
 

dejo

Moderator emeritus
Sep 2, 2004
15,982
452
The Centennial State
For your point of view, what is the best strategy to generate revenues when putting a new App on the market?
Is offering the App for free (using iAd or others) and with In App purchases ($ 0.99 add free) the best way to generate maximum revenues?
Best answer I can give you: It depends on the app and its audience.

Do you know of any sites where I could find lots of information about current marketing strategy and revenue models for APP?
I'm not aware of any with lots of information.

If your main goal is to make money, your chances are slim you will. If your main goal is to make apps that appeal to many people, making money from that may be a lucky side-effect.
 

jessebwilliams

macrumors newbie
Oct 13, 2011
5
0
Adwhirl or just iAd or AdMob

1- Does anyone use Adwhirl ? Does it generate more revenue that just iAd alone ?


2- I know Adwhirl allows you to run InHouse Ad. Is it the same for Iad ?


3- Beside Adwhirl, which other software allows you to use iAd and Admob to complete each other?

thanks
 

lhyx1990

macrumors newbie
Oct 21, 2011
3
0
my stats

1- Does anyone use Adwhirl ? Does it generate more revenue that just iAd alone ?


2- I know Adwhirl allows you to run InHouse Ad. Is it the same for Iad ?


3- Beside Adwhirl, which other software allows you to use iAd and Admob to complete each other?

thanks

1- of course it does!! since iAd only support a few countries with low fill rate
2- inhouse ad is not available for iad
3- you can code by ur self (a common approach is to request iad first, then request admob when failed )

here is my stats in the first 4 hours today:

Name Type Status Revenue Requests eCPM Fill Rate RPM
Account Total: $18.95 25,833 $0.74 99.64% $0.73
Let's Spot It! HD Lite
$12.16 12,824 $0.95 99.30% $0.95
Let's Spot It!
$6.79 13,009 $0.52 99.98% $0.52

i can feel the number is growing. my total revenue is $100+ yesterday, but only $2 for iAd, and 50 sales for my iPad full version ($0.99 price)
 
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