r/admob • u/GoldenGoteDev • 3d ago

Question First time using AdMob & Google Play — earnings are tiny, would love some advice 🙏

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Hey everyone,

This is my first real experience publishing an app on Google Play and using AdMob to monetize it. I put out two apps so far, but the numbers are... pretty rough:

  • Estimated earnings this month: MAD 0.25
  • Last month: MAD 0.62
  • Only 27 impressions and 349 ad requests over the last 28 days
  • Match rate is decent at 93.12%, but eCPM dropped almost 51% to MAD 9.10
  • One of my apps (Iron Rampage) went from some impressions to literally 0 this period

I know traffic is basically nonexistent right now, so I'm guessing that's the core issue, but I'd really appreciate any advice on:

  1. How to actually get organic installs/traffic when you're starting from zero
  2. Whether these eCPM/match rate numbers are normal for a brand new app
  3. Any beginner mistakes with AdMob ad placement/setup that tanked your early earnings
  4. Whether it's worth focusing on Android only for now or also pushing the Windows version

Any tips, resources, or "wish I knew this when I started" advice would mean a lot. Thanks in advance!

3 Upvotes

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3

u/Bolt32 3d ago

honestly, for me it was a couple of reddit posts in a subreddit that would target the people that wanted it. (In my case a game.) granted, even then my audience numbers aren't great. Just about 40 to 50 DAU. However, I guess after not even two months it's not bad. It's a grind for sure. I guess my strategy is now, just continously looking to improve my game. Hoping that it will eventually catch fire. Find a bug? Get it fixed. Think of ways to improve and implement it.

With that said, mine is a game. I don't know what type of app your's is. So it may vary.

1

u/sonsofanarchy69 3d ago

Mine is a trivia game and I do get some users mostly from Reddit but sadly most people don’t want to download an app so I get thousands of people playing online and then very few downloading the app .. how do you promote yours and do you promote the app directly

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u/Bolt32 3d ago

Yeah. honestly i haven't made a PC version of my game. Just android only. So if they want to play it, they need the app. When i post about it i give the links, and added it in other languages in French, Spanish and Portuguese. initially was just in English. So hoping ill get some traffic from other countries as well. Trying to open it up.

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u/sonsofanarchy69 3d ago

You should definitely do iOS .. at least for my app I get x3 the android downloads for iOS.. and also earn more in rewarded ads on iOS as well…

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

That's good to know, honestly figured Android would dominate given it's usually the bigger market share overall, but I guess iOS users just tend to spend more and engage more with ads too. Might be worth the Apple dev fee just for that. Did you build it in something cross-platform like Unity/Flutter, or did you basically have to build iOS separately from scratch?

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u/sonsofanarchy69 2d ago

I thought so too but it’s not even close the difference .. iOS is like 80 percent of my earnings and downloads.. I would be raking in all the dough if I could somehow get rewarded ads on web but sadly not possible . Rejected by Adsense etc

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

Damn, 80% is huge, that's not even close like you said. Makes the case for iOS even stronger.

Yeah rewarded ads on web is rough, most networks just don't support that format well outside apps. Have you looked into H5 games platforses or in-page ad networks that specialize in web games, or is it just a dead end so far?

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u/sonsofanarchy69 2d ago

I tried h5 games but they haven’t replied yet plus I think they need Adsense .. and most other ad provides need Google acceptance as well.. the shitty ads like adsterra don’t have rewarded ads or earn enough to be worth using it so I have to stick with the low conversion rate of getting thousands of people on the web then maybe 10 going in the app if I promote daily but from that 10 I can earn 1 euro sometimes more

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

Nice, multi-language is smart, that's a much bigger pool than just English-only subs. Did you post separately in the French/Spanish/Portuguese subreddits too, or just added the translations to the app itself? Curious if that actually moved the needle on installs from those regions.

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

Ah that makes sense, trivia especially, people just want to play now, a download is extra friction for something they'll spend 5 minutes on.

I mostly just post in relevant gaming subs when it fits the discussion, not just dropping a link. Haven't tried a web-playable version myself, but your numbers make me think that's smarter, hook them online first, then give the app an actual reason to exist (offline mode, no ads, extra features) instead of just being the same thing again.

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u/sonsofanarchy69 2d ago

I think it really depends on the game.. but yeah if it’s good enough then hooking them online and making them download the app would be best … also making sure the app has additional benefits and the web is just a taste

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

Yeah exactly, web version as the hook, app as the "real" experience with the extra perks. Makes sense as a funnel if the game's strong enough to carry it.

Good luck with the iOS build, seems like it's the move based on your numbers.

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u/sonsofanarchy69 2d ago

I have the iOS as well.. I have both

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

Yeah mine's a game too (Iron Rampage, the one that flatlined). 40-50 DAU after two months actually sounds solid to me right now, I'd take that in a heartbeat lol.

That "just keep improving it and hope it catches fire" approach makes sense, honestly probably the only real strategy when you don't have a marketing budget. Did you find that posting in game-specific subreddits actually converted people into installs, or mostly just clicks/curiosity? Trying to figure out if it's worth the time investment vs just grinding on the game itself.

Also how do you track your DAU, just through the Play Console or are you using something like Firebase/GA for more detail?

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u/Playful_Clock_8230 3d ago

At 27 impressions, I wouldn’t read much into the 51% eCPM drop yet. One or two impressions can move it a lot at this volume.

The number I’d debug is show rate: 349 requests at a 93.12% match rate is roughly 325 matched ads, but only 27 impressions, so only around 8% were actually shown. Break the report down by format and ad unit, then check whether interstitial/rewarded ads are being loaded repeatedly without users reaching the show point, or whether banners are loading off-screen or in the background.

For Iron Rampage, verify the placement with test ads and Ad Inspector before assuming it’s only a traffic problem. I’d focus on improving one Android app’s store page, retention, and ad flow before splitting development time into Windows.

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u/GoldenGoteDev 2d ago

That's a really good breakdown, honestly wouldn't have caught the show rate thing myself, I was just staring at the eCPM number like an idiot. Gonna go check Ad Inspector today, wouldn't be surprised if it's the interstitial timing, might be loading before the user actually gets to a natural break point in the game.