Among app developers surveyed, only 31 per cent of them would consider themselves satisfied with their current ad revenues. 

That comes from mobile ads platform developer Chocolate, which launched a survey detailing developer’s satisfaction with current ad revenues, perceptions towards ad mediation and the impact of in-app video ads like rewarded videos in boosting ad revenues.

All in all, the survey took in responses from 102 app developers from across 22 countries, which include the US, Canada, Germany, UK, Australia and India. The research for the survey was carried out between November 2017 and June 2018.

In-app revenue woe

Along with 31 per cent of app developers being satisfied with their in-app revenues, the survey also found that 69 per cent were not satisfied or were indifferent, with 11 per cent proving quite content.

Chocolate’s survey further found that satisfaction was linked to the number of ad networks. 64 per cent of app developers using two or more ad networks counted themselves satisfied, whereas 36 per cent of those using just the one ad network counted themselves satisfied.

The survey also picked up on a trend that non-video ads were on the decline. Notably, in-app video ads are the preferred monetisation method for 56 per cent of app developers.

Of those not using video ads, however, only 17 per cent of app developers were satisfied with their in-app ad revenues from non-video ads. 38 per cent counted themselves not happy with just four per cent deemed very satisfied.

Mediation

Developers running In-app video ads also proved to be open to trying ad mediation, with 54 per cent of app developers willing to apply it to boost in-app ad revenues.

According to Chocolate, in-app video ads combed with ad mediation is a “lethal” monetisation duo, with 94 per cent of app developers either using mediation or willing to maximise their advertising revenue.

Ad mediation is a form of technology that works by sending ad requests to multiple ad networks with the aim to ensure publishers find the most appropriate network to fill their ad slots.

Concerning what mattered most in picking an ad mediation partners, Chocolate found that quality and number of mediating ad networks ranked highest, with 65 per cent of surveyed developers opting for it.

Following closely behind was ease of integration with 55 per cent and supported video ad formats with 45 per cent.

“The survey report clearly states the fact that app developers are not satisfied with their current ad revenues and considering a majority of developers rely on ad-based monetisation as their primary source of revenue, there is a critical need of putting power back in the hands of app developers," said Chocolate CEO Saurabh Bhatia.

"Our ad mediation technology provides multiple demand sources in a programmatic environment layered with unified auction technology, ensuring no bias towards any ad network, thus, delivering the highest bid every time.

“All this through a single intelligent SDK and a single sign-in, ensuring app developers spend no time managing multiple ad networks and maximum time at what they do best - creating fabulous apps."

You can read Chocolate's report in full here.