Blog
Practical writing on mobile ad-revenue optimization. Indie game studios and mobile publishers welcome.
How to read your AdMob report: the few metrics that actually explain revenue
The AdMob report has a dozen metrics but only a handful explain your revenue. The minimum set (impressions, eCPM, match rate, show rate), the count-vs-price split that diagnoses any change, and why you read breakdowns, not totals.
How to add a network to AdMob mediation (and where it breaks)
A step-by-step guide to adding a demand source to AdMob mediation, the common failure points (adapter/SDK mismatch, unapproved app, wrong IDs, consent wiring), and how to confirm the new source actually lifted net revenue rather than cannibalizing another.
Ad revenue seasonality: what moves, when, and how not to panic
Ad revenue follows a seasonal rhythm — a Q4 peak, a January cliff, a Q1 trough. How to tell a seasonal move (broad, across breakdowns) from a real problem (concentrated in one slice), and why slashing floors in January leaks revenue all year.
Floor eCPM: how to set price floors right, and the two costly mistakes
Floor prices raise the price of impressions that sell while reducing how many sell — net revenue, not eCPM, is what matters. How to set floors per country and format, plus the two mistakes (stale floors, chasing eCPM) that quietly cost the most.
Optimize your ad mediation without switching networks
A migration is weeks of SDK work and reset baselines — and the gains you want are usually already inside your current setup. Fix dead sources, stale floors, waterfall lines that should be bidding, and format gaps first. When migration is actually justified.
7 realistic ways to raise eCPM for indie apps (no more users needed)
Seven concrete eCPM levers ordered by leverage — bidding, rewarded video, per-segment floors, demand density, geo/format mix, latency, and frequency. All work on the traffic you already have. Most are about stopping value leaks, not getting more users.
App ad fill rate dropped: causes, the order to check, and fixes
A fill-rate drop is a delivery problem, not a pricing one — so the causes and fixes differ from an eCPM drop. Rule out policy actions, over-high floors, dropped bidders, geo-mix shifts, and request-volume spikes, in that order.
eCPM dropped: isolate it by country, OS, and ad unit (any network)
eCPM is a blended average, and averages lie. A network-agnostic method to separate a real price drop from a mere mix shift by holding country, OS, and ad unit fixed — works across AdMob, AppLovin MAX, and LevelPlay.
Your AdMob revenue dropped suddenly: the 5 breakdowns to check first
When AdMob revenue falls overnight, the cause is almost always hiding in one breakdown — country, ad unit, ad source, format, or match rate. Here is the order to check them and what each pattern means.
App ad revenue dropped overnight: a cause-isolation checklist
A reactive, network-agnostic triage checklist for when app ad revenue suddenly drops. Split the fall into impressions × eCPM first, then branch by mediation platform. Designed to find the cause in under 30 minutes.
Why your AppLovin MAX eCPM dropped overnight (and how to fix it today)
A practical 5-step diagnosis for indie game devs whose AppLovin MAX eCPM cratered overnight. Covers bidder failures, floor staleness, geo-mix drift, and how to triage in under 30 minutes.
AdMob waterfall optimization for indie game studios in 2026
A no-nonsense guide for indie game studios still running AdMob waterfalls in 2026. When to migrate to bidding, when to keep waterfalls, and the four floor-tuning rules that actually move revenue.
The free ad revenue audit checklist mobile publishers should run quarterly
A 12-point ad-revenue audit checklist for mobile publishers. Catch stale floors, dead bidders, country-mix drift, and ad-format mis-allocations. Designed to run in 45 minutes per quarter.
Unity LevelPlay vs AppLovin MAX: a 2026 comparison for indie studios
A specific, opinionated comparison of Unity LevelPlay (formerly ironSource) and AppLovin MAX for indie studios in 2026. Network coverage, eCPM behavior, reporting, and when each is the right call.
When to disable auto-CPM (and how to detect that it is hurting you)
Auto-CPM (AdMob optimization, MAX auto-CPM) is the default for a reason — but for a real subset of indie publishers it leaks revenue. Here is how to detect that case and what to do instead.