Working with an ad network

Ad networks like ironSource Ads connect advertisers and app developers. Advertisers provide their ads to the ironSource Ads network to promote their products, then app developers use the ironSource Ads network to display these ads to their users. Advertisers bid on the ad space made available by the developer in hopes of winning the impression, and that revenue is paid to the developer. 

How it works

1. Ad network integration – First, the app publisher integrates the ironSource ad network’s SDK and initializes it

2. Data capture – Once integrated, the ironSource Ads network captures the available device identifiers from the publisher

3. Ad server – The identifier information is fed to an ad server, which uses data science to crunch the device level data and compare it against all of the available ads from the ad buyers to ensure the best ad network advertising

4. Serve – ironSource Ads network matches the user and ad buyer, looking for the campaign that will generate the highest performance and quality for the advertiser, which in turn delivers the highest CPM for the app publisher

Implementing multiple networks

Working with multiple networks is important to increase competition for ad inventory and drive up eCPM and revenue. However with more networks comes more operational overhead to manage them. The number of networks you use is dependent on many factors of your app, like diversity of ad units, volume of users (impressions and DAU), and distribution of users across geo locations. 

Each network has its own strength. Some networks have stronger performance in specific countries or regions, while others have stronger performance in a specific ad unit. The number of networks you implement will depend on your app’s ad unit mix and location of your user base. If you have only one ad unit and the large majority of your users are centralized in one region, you should implement 3-5 networks. If you have a wider range of ad units and your users are spread across multiple regions, you may need to implement 5-8 networks.