In-app traffic: pros, cons and popular verticals 

Affiliate marketing is a rapidly evolving field where it’s important to stay up-to-date: trends, technologies and user preferences are constantly changing. For example, traffic from apps is nothing new in the affiliate marketing market, but recently it seems to be experiencing a second wind, becoming more and more popular among advertisers and affiliates. This is due to the increasing number of mobile device users.

In this article we will tell you what In-app traffic is, how to work with it and for which verticals it is relevant.

In-app traffic is

In-app traffic is traffic that comes from ads in mobile apps. You’ve probably come across beautiful static banners or dynamic creatives with annoying calls to action. This format of advertising appeared back in 2013, but it started to attract the attention of affiliates relatively recently.

According to Statista, there are about 4.66 billion active internet users in the world and 4.32 billion mobile users. The figures show that mobile is growing at a very large pace and will soon completely supplant desktop. 

Among the most well-known In-app advertising formats are:

Reward (ads for viewing which the user can get a bonus in the app: e.g., in-game currency);

Interstitial (ads that interrupt the user’s interaction with the app);Banners (a static or animated image that obscures part of the screen during user interaction with the application);

Playable Ads (mini-applications that allow the user to perform certain actions that mimic the actual gameplay);

Native Ads (content masquerading as part of the application itself);

Advantages

• Standard online advertising formats are losing ground every year. Users are spending more and more time in apps, which makes them attractive to advertisers. 
• Using in-app advertising, you can attract new customers and increase the effectiveness of your advertising campaign. 
• When setting up an advertising campaign, you can select apps from the most relevant categories. Often, certain groups of users prefer similar apps, and the probability that they will be interested in your offer, having seen advertising in a thematic app, increases significantly.
• In addition, in-app advertising allows you to reach hard-to-reach audiences who are not actively using social networks (and such users still exist), but are fond of games or use apps for other purposes.

Disadvantages

• A lot of slag. Mobile advertising platforms are crawling with bots and untargeted users. 
• Low conversion rates. Obviously, bots are unlikely to take targeted actions. 
• Frod. In normal networks there is no such thing, but if with 10k displays there are only a couple of installs and the matter is not in the quality of campaign settings, you should run away from the grid. There is also a possible variant of “idle” installations, when the user is not active after installation. 
• Fighting the sharks of the market. Algorithms of advertising networks favor ads with kilobucks in their accounts. 
• High risk of getting banned. In some networks it is forbidden to promote gray verticals. 

Working with In-app traffic 

Working with in-app traffic is similar to working with other types of mobile traffic, but has its own peculiarities: 

Network selection. 

Choose ad networks that provide deeper app integration and precise targeting capabilities to help increase conversions. Pay attention to the catalog of available apps on the network – it should match your target audience and offer. Make sure the network provides the formats you need: banners, videos, interstitials and reward ads. 

Targeting. 

The issue of targeting is pretty simple. Take into account the interests of your audience. For example, if you are advertising a game, target game-related apps. Choose between Android and iOS depending on your target audience and identify specific devices.

Test creatives. 

Apply different ad formats (banners, videos) and pay attention to the variety of text messages to find the most effective options.

To work with In-app traffic you will need:

1. Workflow bundles and a launch strategy. With in-app traffic, it’s important to be clear upfront about where to direct traffic and how to organize the workflow. 
2. Availability of apps. They should be published in stores and ready to receive traffic. 
3. Mobile tracker. It allows you not only to track traffic flows, but also to evaluate their efficiency. The most popular tool on the market is AppsFlyer. 
4. Team for routine tasks. You can independently generate creatives, upload them to offices, create new accounts in networks and deal with moderation in stores, but it is better to distribute these tasks among team members.
5. A starting budget of 10,000. Many top webmasters working with in-app traffic consider this amount to be the minimum entry threshold. Although you can theoretically start with 2,000 – 3,000, having a triple-digit amount will give you a better understanding of the mobile market opportunities. 
6. Foreign payment systems. Many networks allow you to replenish your deposit with a bank card, but it will be difficult to do without PayPal. 

High threshold of entry. It is noticeably higher compared to other traffic sources, but the potential profit can also be significant. In test mode, you can enter the market with a minimal budget and rented devices. 

The standard in-app bundle is as follows: app-app with an integrated offer – advertising campaign – targeted actions. In most cases, manimakers pay for installs, and further success depends on the quality of the app. 

Quality apps and creatives. 90% of success is determined by quality apps and creatives in ad networks. At the same time, the approach to integrating the offer into the application strongly influences the user’s interaction with the interface and the number of targeted actions.

Verticals in In-app traffic

Usually in-app traffic is poured to offers from the dating, mobile gaming, betting and gambling verticals. 

In-app advertising is 90% of the time used to promote other apps, which means that only those verticals whose content is packaged in apps can be relevant to this source.

In-app advertising distracts the user from using the app and spoils the user experience a bit. Most likely, the user will want to quickly close the intrusive ad window and return to the main interface. Therefore, when working with in-app traffic, you should bet on bright creatives, and buy advertising in similar applications (games promote games, dating services promote dating offers, social casinos promote real casinos, and so on).

In-apps are performing well in the gambling and betting verticals. Wouldn’t you agree, it’s not surprising that fans of spending time on some “sticky” toy are easily attracted to easy money?

Conclusion  

In-app advertising is a sought-after source of traffic. However, for beginners, this format can be difficult for several reasons: it requires significant investments at the start (from $1,000 to $5,000), as well as experimentation and skills to successfully pass moderation in advertising networks.  

Without the right approach and control, you can quickly lose your budget, as there is a risk of fraud in in-app advertising. Nevertheless, if you are willing to invest time, resources and knowledge, in-app traffic can be a valuable tool to diversify your income.

We wish you success and profitable tests!