Facebook Ads 1790% More Profitable on iOS Than on Android

[MacRumors]

According to new data from ad platform and market research firm Nanigans (via VentureBeat), Facebook advertisers are seeing approximately 1790% more profit from mobile ads on iPhone when compared to ads on Android. The study tracked over 200 billion ads on Facebook, and also revealed that cost of mobile advertising on Android is greater than the return on investment received through the platform.

"Retailers are realizing significantly greater return from audiences on iOS than audiences on Android," the report says. "For the first three quarters of 2013, RPC [revenue per click] on iOS averaged 6.1 times higher than Android and ROI [return on investment] on iOS averaged 17.9 times higher than Android."

"Audiences cost more on iPhone, and the reason is that it's worth it," Slagen said. "Typically, we're not looking to acquire one-time customers, we're looking to invest over time ... so we pay more up front for better long-term results."

Another graph showing the return on investment percentages by retailers advertising on Facebook Mobile showed that iOS brings retailers 162% more cash than spent on the ads, while advertising on Android returned 10% less than the cost of the ads:

The results are interesting given the fact that Facebook has traditionally seen deeper integration within the Android platform, including the release of the Android-only Facebook Home launcher earlier this year, as well as the multiplatform Chat Heads feature which is more feature-filled on Android devices.

Article Link: Facebook Ads 1790% More Profitable on iOS Than on Android

 

[Xenomorph]

Really? They're finding less profit in a crap platform where everyone can block ads and pirate all the apps?

 

[sonicrobby]

100% annoying on all platforms :]

 

[!?TheMacDaddy!?]

Really? They're finding less profit in a crap platform where everyone can block ads and pirate all the apps?

My sentiments exactly

 

[samcraig]

As a consumer I am going to go with Android being the winner here. Why? Because if in-app ads aren't profitable - maybe we'll see less of them. So the fact that one platform is making a case for them - as a consumer - is not a "win"

 

[Picka]

Android users are less gullible than iPhone users. Who would have thought it...

 

[ValSalva]

Facebook fell a** backwards into a pot of gold with mobile. At first they resisted until it became apparent that the small display would allow for full screen ads which are harder to ignore and therefore much more profitable. Now they are raking in the cash. Zuck's a genius

 

[samcraig]

Interesting note (from article)

One caveat that Slagen offered, however, is that the data changes with industry, and that gaming and e-commerce industries, for instance, did not see the same kind of massive iPhone/Android gulf in ROI. Still, customers with iPhones are simply worth more, he said.
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/16/f...e-on-iphone-than-android/#IDPHdQ4RQsJwKuir.99

 

[Elvergun]

As a consumer I am going to go with Android being the winner here. Why? Because if in-app ads aren't profitable - maybe we'll see less of them. So the fact that one platform is making a case for them - as a consumer - is not a "win"

Wow...Android lovers will try to spin anything their way.

Quite sad!!

 

[CBJammin103]

As a consumer I am going to go with Android being the winner here. Why? Because if in-app ads aren't profitable - maybe we'll see less of them. So the fact that one platform is making a case for them - as a consumer - is not a "win"

If in-app ads aren't profitable, then developers can't afford to price their apps at expected price-points. There are enough people who want free or 99¢ apps to make in-app ads reasonably useful to the consumer.

For my part - I would pay money to remove ads. The "sweet spot," to me, is an ad-supported app with a paid ad-removal in-app-purchase... free for those who don't care, ad-free for those who do.

 

[samcraig]

Wow...Android lovers will try to spin anything their way.

Quite sad!!

I'm not a "lover" of anything tech. I use what I use - which includes hardware and software from many companies

But "dig" noted.

As a consumer would you prefer to have ads or no ads in software? Because iOS is proving to advertisers that there's money to be made. Android is actually costing company's their cash.

So iOS is GREAT for the advertising industry. No argument there. It's not spin to suggest that as a consumer, I would prefer it otherwise.

 

[ladeer]

[deleted]

 

[samcraig]

If in-app ads aren't profitable, then developers can't afford to price their apps at expected price-points. There are enough people who want free or 99¢ apps to make in-app ads reasonably useful to the consumer.

No argument. And I have plenty of free apps (often because there's no alternative). I'd rather pay then have ads. Maybe not every app I own - but many.

I don't blame Apple for this - but there was a race to the bottom with Apps (.99/free) which has caused a perception that a good app should always be cheap or free. I don't subscribe to that. And I find it "funny" when I see complaints over an app that cost 1.99/2.99/3.99 being way to expensive. Especially considering how often hard working developers update their apps and never see another dime from their efforts from existing customers.

My heart truly goes out to many developers over the perceived value (or lack) of their work.

ETA: I posted this before you added your last bit. I agree - offer free/ad based ads - but always offer a truly "ad free" version as well.

 

[BaldiMac]

I'm not a "lover" of anything tech. I use what I use - which includes hardware and software from many companies

But "dig" noted.

As a consumer would you prefer to have ads or no ads in software? Because iOS is proving to advertisers that there's money to be made. Android is actually costing company's their cash.

So iOS is GREAT for the advertising industry. No argument there. It's not spin to suggest that as a consumer, I would prefer it otherwise.

Or, you would need to see less ads on iOS for an advertiser to receive the same return on investment.

 

[samcraig]

Or, you would need to see less ads on iOS for an advertiser to receive the same return on investment.

Good point. But again - how many advertisers would invest if their return was similar to Android's? I'm guessing not many.

And ultimately - there's only so much advertising you can include in an app before people uninstall it and never use it. While there may be some developers that try that route - the apps that "most" (intentional quotes as this is not factual) people use regularly from bigger companies can't afford to have that user experience.

 

[Sean4123]

As a consumer I am going to go with Android being the winner here. Why? Because if in-app ads aren't profitable - maybe we'll see less of them. So the fact that one platform is making a case for them - as a consumer - is not a "win"

Money makes the world go round.

Without websites making money through advertising, us consumers will start seeing more membership fees for content that is currently free. Is that what you want?

Think about it

 

[mbarriault]

So, basically this confirms that, whether users pay directly or via advertising, iOS users are ultimately the ones paying for Android apps.

 

[samcraig]

Money makes the world go round.

Without websites making money through advertising, us consumers will start seeing more membership fees for content that is currently free. Is that what you want?

Think about it

I don't disagree. And FYI - I come from the marketing/ad world. I'm well aware of all sides of the argument. My initial post was partly tongue in cheek. But as a consumer - I would still prefer to pay a premium for ad-free content. That's not to say I object to both models or that they shouldn't co-exist.

 

[Buschmaster]

As a consumer I am going to go with Android being the winner here. Why? Because if in-app ads aren't profitable - maybe we'll see less of them. So the fact that one platform is making a case for them - as a consumer - is not a "win"

You're coming to your conclusion based on the assumption that developers don't need to eat. I can assure you they do. They'll make their money elsewhere or stop writing apps for Android.

 

[stepmuel]

For my part - I would pay money to remove ads. The "sweet spot," to me, is an ad-supported app with a paid ad-removal in-app-purchase... free for those who don't care, ad-free for those who do.

The problem with that: the people willing to pay for stuff would get rid of the ads, so the ads become less valuable for the advertisers. That's how you end up like Android.

 

[samcraig]

You're coming to your conclusion based on the assumption that developers don't need to eat. I can assure you they do. They'll make their money elsewhere or stop writing apps for Android.

Did you not read the rest of the thread? Or just this post?

 

[smiddlehurst]

I'm not a "lover" of anything tech. I use what I use - which includes hardware and software from many companies

But "dig" noted.

As a consumer would you prefer to have ads or no ads in software? Because iOS is proving to advertisers that there's money to be made. Android is actually costing company's their cash.

So iOS is GREAT for the advertising industry. No argument there. It's not spin to suggest that as a consumer, I would prefer it otherwise.

I would prefer to have a free version with ads on the option to pay for an ad-free version. It'd be lovely to have ad-free versions you don't have to pay for but I forsee a small problem with that business model...

Y'know, at some point this is all going to come to a head. A huge chunk of the Internet and a lot of mobile apps rely on advertising to function. As technology makes it easier and easier to skip or flat out not load those ads the value of those ads will fall and a lot of people are going to be in for a shock as their favorite software suddenly has a £10 price tag on it. What's left may be a very different place than what we have now.

 

[MacCruiskeen]

I just never sign in to Facebook from my phone. That seems to be a very effective way to avoid FB ads.

Somehow this result isn't surprising. Apple's profit margins pretty much prove how willing their customers are to part with their money.

 

[ghost187]

This may be very controversial but, I believe Google would shut down Android overnight in exchange for embedding all of Google's services into iOS (if Apple were to make such an offer).

 

[cdesigns]

One reason Only, Apple makes it better....

Android phones with their quadcore processors, larger screen, bigger cameras, and all the other gimmicks NEVER compare to an iPhone or iPad with iOS.

With Apple the hardware and software works together. On Android you have hundreds of different hardwares and developers cant make a good software to work on all without crashing.