In the ever-evolving digital era, advertising has seamlessly woven into the online realm. From banners and pop-ups to the subtlety of native ads, marketers tirelessly pursue novel means to seize users’ attention. Among these, the interstitial ad—an advertising format surging in popularity—stands out.
Interstitial ads, also dubbed full-screen ads, catch users’ attention at the cusp of content transitions within websites or mobile apps. Unlike their conventional banner or pop-up counterparts, interstitial ads dominate the entire screen, immersing users in a visual spectacle.
Whether you’re a marketer striving to captivate your audience or a publisher looking to monetize your digital assets, grasping the potential of interstitial ads becomes paramount within today’s competitive landscape. That’s why, in this article, we’ll delve into the realm of interstitial ads, unraveling their purpose, efficacy, and optimal employment strategies to bolster advertising efforts.
What Is an Interstitial Ad?
Full-screen interstitial ads are becoming standard practice. Whenever a user accesses a website or app from a mobile device, they will most likely come across one of these. Interstitials might at first seem to be part of the main content of a website or app. They are more noticeable when they take up the whole screen and prevent you from seeing the rest of the page or app.
They’re often full-screen images or videos in mobile games and applications. After a certain length of time, the users have the option to skip them. Interstitial ads on mobile devices often show at appropriate times, such as when the player is switching between different stages or activities.
How Do Interstitial Ads Work?
Interstitials are full-screen advertisements that can be video, text, rich media, or still pictures.
After a certain amount of time, a user can choose to skip an interstitial ad. The duration changes depending on the advertising network. However, 5 seconds seems to be the norm most of the time. There could even be a quick-exit button on certain interstitials.
After the required wait time has passed, users can choose from a few different paths. They can dismiss the ad, sit through it to its conclusion, or touch it to get to the promoted website or ad. If they opt to watch the commercial to the conclusion, they will see a call to action on the final card.
Tips for Effective Interstitial Advertising
Here are some suggestions for improving your interstitial advertising campaigns:
Try Not to Disrupt The Game Flow
Interstitial advertisements should only appear at appropriate times, such as at the end of a game or level. Don’t place interstitials on the app’s loading screen, the exit screen, or in the midst of a game. Interstitial ads can show up between gameplay sessions or after a player has finished the level.
Find the Best Intervals Between Events Through Recording and Analysis
An analytics tool will record when users launch the app, navigate the menu, exit the app, and start playing their game. By analyzing user behavior within your app, you can determine the optimal time to display interstitials.
A/B Test Interstitial Placement
The effectiveness of interstitial ads for your app can be substantial. However, you must still choose an appropriate location for them. Because timing is so important, you should do split tests. Use metrics like impressions served per player, time spent per session, number of clicks, and CTR to determine which ones are most effective.
A/B Test Interstitial Capping and Pacing
Capping and pacing are also important parts of designing an interstitial system. How many ads per hour, per session, or per day are you planning on displaying to your users? You can find the perfect equilibrium by doing an A/B test with a variety of caps and frequencies. The objective is to increase interstitial ad income without negatively impacting the user experience (and hence retention).
Exhibit Targeted Interstitial Ads to a Group of End Users Only
Interstitial ads can have an impact on the user experience. As a result, you need to use extreme caution (much more so than with rewarded video advertisements) with who you deliver these ads. A rule of thumb is to stop showing interstitial ads to consumers who have made an in-app purchase.
Final Thoughts
There is a large and expanding industry for interstitial advertising. The United States topped all other markets in eCPM for in-app banner advertisements in Android applications in June 2022, at a whopping $0.61. Second place went to Canada with an eCPM of $0.45, followed by Australia at $0.41.
There are several ways in which interstitial ads might be beneficial to the overall monetization strategy of your app. If you take the time to understand how to utilize these types of ads effectively, you will only enjoy the benefits they provide.
