I can’t blame app developers for monetizing their technology, but I do blame digital professionals that don’t proactively mitigate in-app, in-game, and otherwise low-end 320×50 mobile ad placements. I’m speaking to the placements that often drive high CTRs and low CPCs, often looking great on paper to the end-client for whom you’re running ads. In reality though, you might find that 50% of your ad clicks never reach your website, likely because nobody meant to click. You might also find that the 50% which does reach your client’s website shows a bounce rate in the high 90’s. I’m speaking to a real-world example, having reviewed (and completely restructured) a recent client’s advertising efforts. In that example, those 320×50 ads claimed to have driven thousands of conversions but our client hadn’t looked further to see that 99% of them were post-view, meaning that 99% of their conversions came from people who had never interacted with an ad. That’s quite a stretch, as far as claiming credit goes.

Mobile presents huge opportunity and reach, and that marketplace continues to grow. It’s important that you understand what safeguards and settings are available, to the fullest extent, and to know when and where the smarter choice is to disagree with suggestions from the platform itself. Equally important is to monitor website sessions compared to ad clicks, and even track session duration and downstream signals. The idea is that there’s a lot of garbage mobile traffic out there and if you’re not protecting yourself from it and actively monitoring for it, eventually you’ll be wasting money on it.

This isn’t to say that 320×50 mobile placements are a scourge, just that safeguards, exclusions, and proper targeting are necessary if you’re to bring value from your ad spend. Real, tracked, somewhat tangible value. That also means educating your client as to why you’re restricting spend on a high CTR, low CPC avenue. As is normally the case, proper tracking and adequate data are critical in stewarding your ad spend toward maximum ROI.