The Future Of In-Game Advertising

In the world of digital ad placements, gaming apps are trending right now. After all, why wouldn’t they? Advertisers are planning on increasing ad spending dramatically over the next year or so.

The amount of traffic gaming websites and apps receive is off the charts. Over two-thirds of digital advertising agencies see the merits of placing ads on these platforms. According to reliable statistics, we’ll see several major companies promoting their products on gaming apps and sites within three years.

So what’s the reason behind this sudden investment in in-game advertising? Well, it hasn’t been sudden, for one. With the pandemic and widespread digitization of simple tasks, more people than ever rely on video games for easy entertainment.

Think about it, everyone from a serious gamer to a burned-out professional seeks out video games to kick back and relax. If you’ve ever played an online video game, you’ll likely have seen the ads featured in between rounds. Sometimes, you’ll even see display ads featured at the top or bottom of your screen during a game.

While most people might find these ads annoying, they’re eye-catching, to say the least. Besides, more often than not, ads on gaming apps are for other gaming apps. However, several apps now sync with Google ads to show users products and services they’re interested in.

In other words, gaming app placements now work in much the same way as Instagram and Facebook ads do. With improved ad targeting, it’s easy to see why companies promoting their products and services on these apps are seeing better conversion rates than ever before.

Sure, there are a lot of gaming apps out there that don’t run ads. However, if users don’t pay to download these apps, they end up losing money. One of the most popular gaming apps in the world, Quiz Up didn’t run ads initially and faced an inability to monetize.

Eventually, the developers had to run ads to stay afloat. In other words, it isn’t practical for free gaming apps not to run ads in the long run. So, it makes sense for digital marketers to take advantage of the same.

Reliable statistics indicate that over 3 billion users all around the world now use gaming apps and play online video games. Contrary to popular belief, not all these games are for a young audience. Some traditional games like Chess and Solitaire attract older users.

So, it’s not just younger users that you can target with your display ads if you want to enjoy the benefits of in-game advertising. If you wish to extend your reach beyond social media channels, this advertising format is the way to go.

A major advantage of in-game advertising is that you can use more than one ad format here. While static display ads are a popular choice, video ads are gaining popularity too. Video ads featuring other gaming apps in general are particularly popular on these platforms.

The wide range of users you can reach using gaming apps is among the many reasons why they’re a popular choice. Also, it helps that advertising on these apps isn’t very costly. Up and coming gaming apps offer ad placements that won’t require you to break the bank.

Sure, a new gaming app won’t attract much traffic. But, it might be a good way to reach out to your target audience. There’s a common misconception that all gamers are male. Not only is this untrue, but it’s also a lost opportunity. Nearly half of all online gamers are female, according to the latest stats.

So, if you have female-centric products or services, don’t dismiss using gaming apps and sites as platforms. The previous assumptions that advertisers made regarding the demographics are often false.

The opportunities to expand your business using in-game advertising are truly endless. Nowadays, if you open a gaming app, you’ll see ads for everything from apparel to mobile networks.

To make the most out of this shift, you can hire PPC experts to attract gaming audiences. Remember, anyone in the middle of even a mildly competitive game won’t have a very large attention span. So, you’ll only have a few seconds to capture their attention and put your point across.

To drive meaningful engagement, you could even use Google’s algorithm to determine who would improve your CTR (click-through-rate). After all, advertising on even the most affordable gaming app won’t come cheap.

Another important thing to remember here is that several gaming apps have memberships and subscriptions. Therefore, these apps attract the same users over and over again several times a month. If you wish to advertise on these apps, it wouldn’t hurt to mix things up rather than show users the same ad repeatedly.

Also, with the introduction of the metaverse, the future of in-game advertising has changed for good. Many companies are considering breaking into this virtual platform using ads. Weaving ads into the fabric of the metaverse using games is something many companies are now focusing their efforts on.

However, it’s important to learn the nuances of a new platform like the metaverse before creating ads to place on it. The investment required to advertise in the metaverse will likely be sizable. To recover your costs quickly, you should understand what users on the platform are looking for.

You should also ask yourself which users on the platform you want to connect with and choose your games accordingly. Developing a strong marketing strategy with the help of PPC experts or a digital marketing agency will help here.

Lastly, even though the future of in-game advertising looks rosy, you shouldn’t invest in it without a clear game plan. After all, there are other effective ways to establish your brand presence online, and using a gaming app is just one of them.

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