In the process of application development, the choice of monetization method has always been of utmost importance, which is directly related to the profitability and user experience of the application. There are two common monetization methods in the current application market: traditional advertising platforms such as Google AdMob, and new ad-free monetization tools such as CastarSDK that have emerged in recent years. From the perspective of developers, this article will compare these two monetization solutions in terms of monetization mechanism, user experience, security, etc., to help developers make the most suitable choice.
Monetization Mechanism
AdMob
AdMob is an advertising platform produced by Google, and almost all mainstream apps have used it. Its monetization mechanism is the traditional advertising monetization routine. Developers insert advertising slots in the application, and Google will help you fill the advertising content and earn revenue based on clicks or impressions.
The advantage is that the monetization speed is fast, and more revenue can be earned with large traffic.
The disadvantage is that the income is unstable, and the advertising income fluctuates greatly, which is affected by the advertising market and various review policies.
CastarSDK
CastarSDK is an ad-free SDK monetization tool. It does not display ads, runs silently in the background, and uses the idle public network of the user’s device as a resource to realize monetization. Revenue is based on the device’s online time and network contribution.
The advantage is that its income is more stable and it is a “sustainable income” solution. As long as users use the App, the background can continue to create value without user interaction and is not affected by market fluctuations.
The disadvantage is that this type of tool has a certain dependence on the number of users and online time, and is suitable for long-term accumulation.
User Experience
AdMob
In terms of user experience, AdMob’s monetization logic is destined to interfere with the user’s operation process. Although AdMob provides enough optimization methods to allow developers to choose the right solution to balance revenue and user experience, the existence of ads is still inevitable, which will interrupt user operations, affect the experience, and may even cause user loss.
CastarSDK
In terms of user experience, CastarSDK is a perfect monetization tool. It is always in an “invisible” state and runs silently in the background. It has no ads at all, does not interfere with users, and does not affect application performance, allowing users to use the App as smoothly as ever.
Security and Privacy
AdMob
As an advertising platform under Google, AdMob is trustworthy in terms of security and compliance. However, it should be noted that in order to achieve accurate advertising, AdMob will collect a certain amount of user information, which may even involve behavioral analysis data.
At present, some regions are increasingly sensitive to “being tracked”, so developers need to continue to pay attention to sensitive issues such as privacy pop-ups, user authorization, and compliance filing when integrating AdMob.
CastarSDK
CastarSDK is designed with non-intrusiveness as its core concept, and the monetization process mainly relies on the public network bandwidth when the device is idle. Because it does not involve advertising display and personalized recommendations, it does not collect any privacy data and personal information of users, which reduces security risks and also helps developers avoid the audit risks of policies in different regions.
In summary, AdMob “collects information within the scope of compliance”, and CastarSDK “try not to collect”.
Integration & Maintenance Costs
AdMob
As an advertising platform, AdMob provides detailed access documents and control panels, but developers need to deal with details such as ad display timing, ad review, policy compliance, etc. At the same time, this is an ongoing operational task. Once an ad fails to be filled, the click-through rate decreases, or it is blocked by users, the resulting revenue will drop significantly.
CastarSDK
The integration process of CastarSDK is extremely simple and easy to operate. The service can be started with just a few lines of code. The integration will not affect the original structure and functions of the App. Subsequent operation is basically maintenance-free. There is no need to pay attention to market fluctuations at any time, and there is no need to worry about adjusting the delivery strategy. It will continue to bring additional income to developers in the background.
Combining Both Is the Best Monetization Strategy
In fact, CastarSDK and AdMob are not opposites. On the contrary, they can be complementary solutions to each other. CastarSDK has strong compatibility and extremely low resource usage. It can coexist with other monetization solutions, allowing developers to maximize their revenue in combination with AdMob.
AdMob brings explosive power, and CastarSDK provides endurance. Let AdMob and CastarSDK work together to build a monetization system suitable for App — with both fast and direct advertising revenue and stable and non-interfering background revenue, allowing them to play their respective roles in different scenarios. This is the truly flexible and pragmatic monetization strategy for current developers.
