Case Study: Ad Monetization Success of Inshorts App
Industry: News & Media
Objective: Maximizing ad revenue while maintaining user engagement and satisfaction
Background
Inshorts, a prominent news aggregation app in India, delivers news in concise 60-word summaries. This innovative approach has attracted a massive user base, providing quick and easy access to news. As the user base grew, Inshorts faced the challenge of monetizing the platform without disrupting the user experience.
Challenges
- Balancing User Experience and Monetization: Introducing ads in a way that does not interfere with the seamless news consumption experience.
- Ad Relevance: Ensuring that the ads displayed are relevant to the diverse user base.
- Optimizing Revenue Streams: Implementing various ad formats and revenue models to maximize profitability.
Strategy
To address these challenges, Inshorts adopted a multi-faceted ad monetization strategy:
- Native Advertising: Integrating ads that blend seamlessly with the news feed to minimize disruption.
- Programmatic Advertising: Using programmatic ad platforms to deliver targeted ads based on user preferences and behaviors.
- Innovative Ad Formats: Experimenting with different ad formats such as video ads, sponsored content, and interactive ads.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Utilizing analytics to monitor ad performance and continuously refine the strategy.
Implementation
- Native Ads Integration: Inshorts introduced native ads that matched the look and feel of the app’s content, clearly marked as sponsored content.
- Partnership with Ad Networks: Collaborating with leading ad networks to source high-quality and relevant ads.
- User Feedback Loop: Implementing a feedback mechanism to gauge user reactions and refine ad placements and formats.
- Monetization Platforms: Utilizing platforms like Google Ad Manager, MoPub, and AdMob to manage and sell their ad inventory efficiently.
Metrics and Results
The strategic ad monetization approach yielded significant results for Inshorts:
- Increased Ad Revenue:
- Before: ₹166 crore ($21.4 million) annual revenue in FY22.
- After: ₹181 crore ($23.5 million) annual revenue in FY23 (a 9% year-over-year growth).
- High User Engagement:
- Before: Average session duration of 5 minutes.
- After: Average session duration remained stable at 5 minutes, indicating no adverse effect on user engagement.
- Positive User Feedback:
- Before: User complaints about ads constituted 15% of total feedback.
- After: User complaints about ads dropped to 5%, indicating high levels of acceptance and satisfaction with ad placements.
- Ad Click-Through Rate (CTR):
- Before: 0.8% CTR on displayed ads.
- After: 1.2% CTR on displayed ads, showing an increase in user interaction with ads.
Conclusion
Inshorts successfully navigated the challenges of ad monetization by prioritizing user experience and employing a data-driven approach. The integration of native ads, coupled with continuous optimization based on user feedback, proved to be a successful strategy. Inshorts serves as an exemplary model of how a content-driven platform can achieve significant ad revenue without compromising user satisfaction.
By focusing on native and programmatic advertising, innovative ad formats, leveraging user feedback and data analytics, and using efficient monetization platforms, Inshorts not only increased their ad revenue but also maintained high levels of user engagement and satisfaction.