A Brief Guide to Mobile Ad Types

Smartphones are everywhere these days, and for many, they’re the go-to way to access the internet.  From watching videos and talking to friends to ordering groceries and online shopping, we do it all on our phones. In fact, 40% of all online transactions are made using a smartphone, which shows just how important mobile devices are becoming in the digital marketing landscape.

Mobile phones are changing the way consumers view brands and make purchasing decisions. Businesses are stepping up their game and spending more money than ever before, creating mobile-responsive websites and ads to reach customers faster than their competitors. In the past year alone, mobile search ad spending was estimated at 28.12 billion, a 24% jump from 2018. As businesses get more mobile-savvy in their online advertising, it’s crucial to understand and keep up with the latest in mobile advertising so you can perform better and get more clicks and revenue for your brand.

With the overwhelming popularity of mobile ads, it is important for business owners to stay ahead of the game when it comes to different types of mobile ads and using them effectively. Here’s a quick guide on everything you need to know about the best mobile ad types and how to make them work for your brand.

What is Mobile Advertising?

Mobile advertising is all about creating ads that show up specifically on smartphones. It’s not to be confused with mobile marketing, which covers any kind of digital marketing aimed at mobile users, like  SMS marketing. Mobile advertising uses data to target people who use their phones to access the internet, search engines, or social media.

Top Types of Mobile Advertising

Not all mobile ad types are created equal. Here’s a quick list of the top mobile ad types you can use in your ad campaign.

Banner Ads

These are by far the most common type of mobile advertising. Banner ads appear as unobtrusive banners, usually at the top of the page, and promote a brand or products. You’ll often see them in a mobile app or website, and they’re designed to quickly grab your attention with eye-catching images, bright colors, and/or quick blurbs of text with a call to action.

Because there’s limited space for content, mobile banner ads tend to focus more on building brand awareness and recognition. The small ad format doesn’t allow for delivering a lot of detailed information. The end goal is to spark enough interest for users to click through to the brand’s webpage and convert.

Native Advertising

Native ads are pretty unique because, unlike your typical mobile ad in an ad network, they blend right into the content on the page, making them look less like traditional ads and more like organic content. These ads look “native” to the page, meaning they look like they were written for that specific page. They’re designed to match the format of the page they’re on, whether it’s a quiz, blog post, or infographic, so the native ad is virtually indistinguishable. 

The idea is that the ad feels like a natural part of the user experience, not something disruptive or out of place. Plus, since they are embedded directly in the mobile web environment, they can’t be blocked and taken out of the content.

Native display ads are a favorite among advertisers as they fit seamlessly into the customer’s user experience without being intrusive.

Interstitial Ads

Interstitial ads are types of mobile advertising that are full-screen and interactive. They pop up on the display while the page is loading. They grab the user’s attention by covering the entire screen, leaving them no choice but to interact with the mobile ad before they can continue. Users have to close out of the mobile ad before they can proceed.

For example, if you’re playing a game on your mobile phone and a video ad for another game pops up between levels, that’s an interstitial ad. Because they take over the entire screen, these ads offer a unique advertising option since they tend to get higher engagement, clicks, and conversions compared to the smaller, less noticeable ad formats.

Mobile Video Ads

Video ads are exactly what they sound like— advertisements in video form that play when a user clicks on a page or interacts with certain content. You’ve probably seen them on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook or as those short clips that play before or between YouTube videos.

While video ads tend to be one of the more expensive digital advertising options, they’re incredibly effective at driving high conversion rates and impressions. Many businesses choose this form of ad placement as most consumers are visual learners. For example, if a company posts a video explaining the uses of their product, there’s a higher chance of converting viewers into customers.

Rich Media Ads

Rich media ads are interactive and dynamic ads that are almost guaranteed to grab the customer’s attention since they target them in a captivating and convenient way. These ads come at a premium, so usage depends on the brand’s advertising budget. Brands opt for rich media ads when they want to stand out and capture the attention of their target audience in a more creative way while enjoying a high click-through rate (CTR).

The Benefits of Mobile Advertising

With so many types of mobile advertising available, there are tons of benefits to investing in mobile advertising. But to truly make the most of it, you need to understand how your target audience uses their mobiles. Are they browsing the internet, scrolling through Facebook, or accessing certain apps or games? 

Knowing where your target audience spends their time will help you choose the right platforms and ad formats to reach them. Once you start running mobile ads, you’ll quickly see the advantages compared to traditional digital ads.

Mobile Ads Reach a Broader Audience Network

By the end of 2019, mobile advertising made up 72 percent of all digital ad spending in the United States. That means mobile audiences are larger than those on desktop or tablet, giving you the chance to make more impressions and connect with a wider audience. So, if you can reach these consumers with engaging, interactive mobile ads, why not take advantage of it?

Geotargeting is a Big Plus

If you really want to target potential clients with precision, geotargeting through mobile ad networks is the way to go. Using smartphone location data, local businesses can easily focus ads on people within a certain radius of their store. For local businesses, this means your mobile ad impressions only go to people nearby, driving more foot traffic and boosting ROI on your digital marketing spend.

Versatility is a Big Incentive

Mobile ads can be customized to match your target audience and your business goals. The creative options are endless since mobile ads integrate seamlessly across platforms, whether you’re advertising on social media, websites, or mobile apps. By knowing where your audience is and tailoring your message to them, you can increase conversions and lower your customer acquisition costs.

Accessibility is the Name of the Game

With nearly half of the world’s population using a smartphone, it’s obvious that mobile phones and social media are the go-to for communication. People are constantly on their phones and staying up-to-date with the latest tech and apps. Different types of mobile advertising give you hassle-free, direct, and instant access to your audience. 

Understand User Experience and Customer Habits

Mobile phones give advertisers a wealth of data and customer insights that traditional advertising can’t match. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love having more information? With all these insights, you can turn all that data into a smart marketing campaign that drives more clicks and faster monetization of your ad campaign.

Cost-efficiency Leads to a Better ROI

While certain ad types are pricier than others, as a whole, mobile advertising is still a fraction of the cost of traditional options like TV or radio ads. So, with all these cost savings, you can really focus on your mobile ad campaigns and target consumers more efficiently. The result? Better return on investment for your ad spend.

The Top Mobile Advertising Platforms

Now that you’re familiar with the different types of mobile ads in the ecosystem and their benefits, what platforms should you use? Here are some of the most common mobile advertising platforms available.

Google Display Network

Google is the powerhouse of digital marketing, and that includes mobile ad types. Many smartphones offer Google as the default search engine, and almost 60% of all searches come from mobile devices. Using Google Display Ads is a great way to publish banner ads on websites and in specific smartphone apps.

Facebook

Facebook and Instagram have launched one of the most popular types of mobile advertising, the Meta Audience Network. This ad platform makes it easy for marketers to choose from a variety of different ad types all in one place. The inclusion of Instagram is an added bonus as it is the first mobile platform that was built specifically for the smartphone audience.

AdMob

AdMob is a platform owned by Google that focuses specifically on mobile app advertising. It’s a one-stop shop where businesses can monetize their mobile apps by using one of the largest global advertiser demand networks. This platform helps companies that have a mobile app find users who are already using similar apps.

AdColony

Whereas AdMob is for image ads, AdColony is a mobile video ad network that allows advertisers to post short videos. What’s cool about AdColony is that you can micro-target users based on their specific mobile device, operating system, connection type, demographics, and geography. So, for example, AdColony lets a company target female iPhone 12 users with an iOS operating system using 5G data in Boston, Massachusetts.

TubeMogul

TubeMogul is a mobile ad platform that helps differentiate between fraudulent traffic from bots and traffic from real people. Founded by Adobe back in 2016, this platform created the non-human traffic credit program back in 2016 to help weed out “fake” traffic so your ad campaigns can perform better. They use a sensor to detect fake traffic from bots and web crawlers— so you can be confident that your mobile ads are being seen by actual consumers looking to convert.

Keep in mind that just because there are plenty of mobile ad platforms available, you don’t have to use them all. What’s most important is choosing the best platform for your business.

Optimizing Your Mobile Ads for Conversion

Now that you’ve chosen the right types of mobile advertising and the right advertising platform, there are a few things you can do to ensure your ads have maximum conversion. Here are some tips and tricks to optimize your mobile advertising and convert your target audience.

Write Device-Specific Ad Copy

Consumers see tons of ads all day, so they prefer to read something that’s personalized. Writing “contact us on your iPhone today” or “click to learn more on your tablet” gets a higher CTR than if you wrote “call us today to learn more.”

Optimize for Local

Use geo-targeting to your advantage! Local and small businesses should use geographic data as much as possible. Targeting a potential consumer based on their location feels more personal, piques their interest, and creates a connection to the brand.

Get as Granular as Possible

Don’t be afraid to get really specific in your targeting. While generic targeting, such as “all users in New York City on iPhones,” isn’t bad, it won’t give you as many customers who are at the bottom of the funnel and ready to convert. Using modern options like micro-targeting based on demographics, device type, mobile operating system (iPhone or Android), and time will help grab those customers who are ready and waiting.

Don’t Forget About Social Media

At a bare minimum, most companies are advertising on Google and Facebook. Figuring out exactly what types of mobile advertising and platforms to use for your advertising campaign can be overwhelming, so get the biggest bang for your buck by targeting both the largest social media platform and the largest search engine. 

Once you start with these two options, you’ll get some data on your customers’ habits. The more you know about your target audience, the easier it will be to double down on targeting them on other platforms.

Mobile advertising is one of the best ways to target consumers at all levels of the marketing funnel. As our digital world continues to grow, it becomes more and more clear that businesses need to adapt their marketing strategy to the evolving digital landscape and focus on mobile customer experience.