What’s Display Rate?
Display Rate = Shown Ads / Downloaded Ads
Display Rate — a metric that demonstrates a correlation between shown and downloaded ads. Display Rate values can be different depending on the ad format: 90% for small banners and 60-70% for Static Interstitials, according to Appodeal’s data.
Why should I pay attention to Display Rate while working with Video Ads?
In the context of Rewarded Video and Video Interstitial, there can be some disappointing figures — 10-20%, and even 1-5% Display Rate. It means that, say, only 100 of 1000 downloaded videos were actually shown. Such a low display rate benefits neither developers nor ad networks, because ads stay unspent and, consequently, unpaid. Simply put, there’s no revenue from it.
How are Display Rate and ad downloading connected?
Low Display Rate and revenue loss are the outcome of insufficiently considered video ad downloading. The golden rule of implementing Rewarded Video: do not download videos if you know you can’t show them just yet. And yes, you can predict the right moment in advance.
Can you give me an example of insufficiently considered video ad downloading?
Many developers download videos on the spot, starting with a new session alongside other formats. There’s auto-cache in Appodeal that works for Rewarded Video as well. Rewarded Videos download during the launch at the same time as banners and interstitials, and then they’re “waiting” for a chance to be shown. This process supercharges ad networks’ servers. Networks get unspent ads, therefore they can’t estimate an app’s potential realistically. There are more ads downloaded than can be shown — understandably, it leads to Display Rate decline and affects devs’ revenue in a negative way.
What happens in case the video downloads too early?
Let’s suppose that you suggest users open a “reward box” after the 5th level. To get the reward right after the level, they should watch the Rewarded Video. In case users don’t want to watch the video, they can open the “box”, say, only two hours later. Most likely, they’ll want to watch the video — indeed, the prepared video will be useful. However, it takes several game sessions for players to achieve the 5th level — e.g., 10 sessions. All 10 times that users enter the app but don’t reach the 5th level, ads are being downloaded again and again because of auto-cache — and then they fall into oblivion, never being shown.
Can you give me an example of a more elaborate work scheme?
It makes no sense to download ads in advance for users who play on the 3d level in the game discussed above. These players might re-enter the app several times before they achieve the 5th level with Rewarded Video and a suggested reward. Once they approach an event of reward distribution, for example, the 4th level, it makes sense to prepare a video — it has better chance to be shown now. In this case, Rewarded Video auto-cache needs to be turned off. It’s better to focus on gameplay logic and switch to manual caching for Rewarded Video. The moment of video download (preparation) is delayed until the 4th level event. Thus, the video is downloaded in advance, but not too early. It appears that the best (even though the most obvious) way to avoid troubles is to work with the audience and analyze its behaviour within the app.
Are there any other ways to download Video Ads thoughtfully?
Certainly, there can be no exact plan on gifting reward boxes in a gameplay. For instance, users may get in-app currency in exchange for watching Rewarded Video. When this is the case, it’s wise to proceed from the app statistics and monitor users activity related to an in-app shop. Probably, it shows that during the first 3-5 minutes players are just trying different characters or solving simple puzzles. During the first minutes, it can appear that they aren’t interested in the in-app shop. Also, statistics may demonstrate that nobody opens Rewarded Video earlier than 4 minutes after the game starts — so it makes no sense to prepare an ad from the very beginning, and it matters to start downloading only 3 minutes after the start.