Google is rolling out two new solutions that could help developers retain gamers and earn income from users who do not purchase in-game items. The search giant noted that only a minority of users continue playing a game after installing it on their smartphones, and Google’s new App campaigns for engagement should encourage people to keep playing the game through advertisements shown on different Google services. Moreover, this new advertising solution could also be used by companies to promote live events and remind the user to complete item purchases.
App campaigns for engagement offer several ways for game developers to remind users of the apps they have installed. These advertisements may motivate users to complete a tutorial of a game, inform people of the new features that the developer has added to a game, encourage gamers to reach the final levels, or even to open a specific game for the first time after they have installed it on their smartphones. These advertisements appear across a variety of Google platforms, including Google Search, YouTube, and the Google Display network.
Game developers do not need to design specific advertisements. Instead, developers only have to submit the preferred languages and locations for ads, text ideas, and images or videos from the game or app store listings. After the developer provides the requested content, Google will create several versions of the ads that will work across different networks.
However, Google noted that if game creators want to boost their earnings from their applications, it may not be sufficient to retain gamers. Less than four percent of all users will purchase in-app items, which is often a significant source of revenue for game developers.
To also earn money from users who have no means or intention to buy game items, content creators may also show advertisements to a specific set of people, although displaying ads within games carries the risk of irking consumers who purchase in-app items.
To resolve this concern, Google is introducing new smart segmentation features in its AdMob platform that will use machine learning to determine which users are not likely going to spend on game items. Only the segment of users that would likely not purchase game items will see interstitial advertisements, while the rest of the gamers may continue playing without interruption.
In-app purchases and advertisements are two key revenue sources for game developers, although the proportion of developers’ earnings differ depending on the genre of the games. Hyper-casual games earn 50-percent of its revenue from advertisements, while mid-core games get 70-percent of their revenue from in-app items.
Player engagement is often important in improving the sales of in-app items although recent data reveals that mid-core and strategy games fair poorly in retaining their gamers. The inability to retain gamers directly impacts the earnings of developers of mid-core games, and by improving the user’s engagement with the applications, the App campaign for engagements should help boost the revenue of game creators.
Aside from improving user retention, the new features that Google is currently rolling out should also help developers earn money from users who do not purchase in-app items by showing advertisements. This functionality makes developers less reliant on in-app purchases and increases the percentage of revenue that comes from ads.