One of the most well-liked ad forms for publishers and app developers working on both Android and iOS devices is the interstitial ad.
Interstitials are currently the second most popular ad style behind rewarded advertisements, according to statistics, and 57% of game producers use them to optimize ad revenue and monetize their mobile apps.
The fundamentals of interstitials, placement best practices, and the top interstitial ad networks for publishers in 2024 are summarized in this article.
Interstitial adverts are a type of online or mobile advertising that completely occupies the interface of a web page or mobile app, and their popularity has been fueled by the introduction of smartphones.
Interstitial advertisements are typically positioned at app or page transition points, or in between two distinct content pages, to provide a more memorable advertising experience. Videos, pictures, or interactive content are used to produce these advertisements.
Publishers and independent advertisers really like these advertisements. They are most frequently observed in the mobile and gaming industries, while they are becoming more and more common on desktop websites.
According to Google, mobile interstitial adverts should be positioned throughout the user experience. Specifically, they should normally appear at “natural transition points in the flow of an app,” such as the transitions between a game’s levels or activities.
What are Interstitial Ads and how do they Work?
Interstitial advertising is those that come just before the main content on a webpage or mobile app and can fill virtually the whole screen. Users are unable to ignore them as a result.
Interstitial advertisements serve to promote a website, educate users about a good or service, or bring in money when they naturally occur in apps or between two distinct content pages.
Interstitial ads are full-screen advertisements that fill the screen, in contrast to pop-up ads that appear over content and banner ads at the top of content. Ad forms that interstitial ad types can appear in include text, pictures, rich media, and video ads.
In certain situations, interstitial adverts are a better option because they are not affected by ad blockers.
Users can choose to either click on an interstitial ad to visit the advertiser’s chosen location or close the ad to return to the original website, application, or game. The type of advertisement determines when to use the close option.
While interstitial video advertising may have a five-second wait before allowing a user to return to the original content, non-video interstitial ads offer an instant close option.
An Interstitial Ad: Why Use It?
The reason why interstitial ads are so well-liked is because of their high click-through rates (CTRs) and impression rates.
Because interstitial advertising is more noticeable, it works well on mobile devices. Larger advertising can overcome ad viewability problems, sometimes known as banner blindness, in the context of smartphones by generating more impressions and user interaction.
Increased conversion rates and total ad income are correlated with greater CTRs. Users who see interstitial adverts have two choices: they can click the ad to learn more about the offering, or they can click the close button to go on. This indicates that there is a 50% likelihood that interstitial ads will be clicked. Interstitial advertisements have a higher click-through rate than banner ads, according to the facts.
One of the most common types of mobile ads is the interstitial ad, which appears in between ads on websites for mobile games and apps that frequently take up the whole viewport.
By optimizing interstitial advertisements, companies like Pinterest and Airbnb have seen a 100% and 300% boost in app installations, respectively. Because of this, the majority of publishers frequently include interstitial advertising in their inventory of ads, knowing that advertisers and marketers are willing to pay a considerable sum for them.
Because an interstitial ad fills the entire screen of the device, users are unlikely to be able to ignore it. For a greater user experience, publishers can therefore always display rich media and high CPM advertising here.
Because it would be difficult to ignore a full-screen advertisement, this lessens the likelihood that the user would overlook the advertisement that is displayed on the screen.
Penalties for Interstitial Advertising Use:
Google penalizes certain adverts, which may seem contradictory for a corporation that derives a significant percentage of its revenue from advertising.
As stated in its Ads Policy, Google’s goal is to “support a healthy digital advertising ecosystem” that benefits users, advertisers, and publishers while being transparent and
Google declared in 2015 that it would punish websites that ran full-page adverts asking visitors to install mobile apps in keeping with this idea. It subsequently declared in 2016 that the following would be subject to additional mobile interstitial penalties:
1. Pesky pop-up advertisements:
Google forbids the display of pop-up advertisements that obscure most or all of the content on a website, making it impossible for users to read or view it when they arrive via a search link or while navigating the page up and down.
2. Invading Standalone Interstitial Ads
Google penalizes websites that display full-screen interstitial ads, or standalone interstitial ads, that cover a page and obscure the original content that users clicked on. Only after dismissing the advertisement can they access the content. These advertisements harm the website’s search engine rankings, much like invasive pop-up advertisements do.
3. Unwelcomed Independent Stand-Alone Interstitial Ads:
Additionally, Google penalizes the display of advertisements that don’t stand out from the primary original content on a website or mobile application. This occurs when the page layout is set up so that the above-the-fold viewable content resembles the isolated interstitial ad. The real content appears below the fold.
Additionally, you can alter how frequently unique users see interstitial advertising. This guarantees that consumers will not be presented with excessive or repetitive advertisements.
Mobile Interstitial Ads
Although interstitials can be used in desktop and mobile ad campaigns, mobile apps are where they are most frequently found, and mobile game creators especially like to use them.
These full-screen, interactive rich media advertisements take up the whole screen of the host app or device. Following a predetermined portion of the advertisement, mobile users can choose to do one of the following actions:
- Go back to the mobile app and close the advertisement.
- Keep watching the complete advertisement.
- Go to the advertisement’s destination page by tapping it.
Interstitials are compatible with both iOS and Android devices and can be either interactive rich media advertisements with video content or static ads with plain text and graphics. They are therefore among the most inventive ad forms available.
When done right, interstitials are a great option for the majority of mobile web platforms because of their high ad viewability, resistance to ad blockers, and creative dynamism.
Interstitial Advertising: Publishers’ Best Practice
Even if data indicates that interstitial ad revenue is 18 times larger than that of banner advertisements, the numbers around this money source are unquestionable. However, if interstitial ads are implemented incorrectly, it can negatively impact ad revenue potential, negatively impact user experience, and cause page latency
In order to make the most of the monetization platforms, publishers should first learn about interstitial ad best practices before determining which interstitial ad network would be most appropriate for their purposes.
The key to best practices for interstitial ad placement is time. Interstitial advertisements, according to Google, ought to be inserted into the game at a certain moment to “complement the natural flow of user engagement.”
Google suggests that when it comes to implementing interstitials, publishers should consider themselves the following questions.
- At what point will the user interact with my app?
- Will the interstitial advertisement surprise the user?
- Is now the appropriate moment to run an interstitial?
The Interstitial Ad Penalty has some exceptions.
While performing the aforementioned activities may result in a website’s ranking in the search engine results pages, not every interstitial will lead to a penalty. According to Google, consumers will undoubtedly be familiar with several well-known interstitials that the new signal won’t interfere with.
How Publishers Can Avoid Going to Prison?
Commercial breaks appear to be enjoyable. However, if it is not used correctly, there may be repercussions. When it comes to interstitial ads, timing is everything. Users shouldn’t disrupt others who are transacting or reading an important webpage for information. The easiest and most effective way to avoid penalties is to review and abide by Google Policies before running interstitial adverts on your (publisher) website or mobile application.
One thing to consider is that employing desktop interstitial ads might be irritating, so proceed with caution. Those using desktop computers may find it challenging to locate the close and continue buttons due to the wide display panel. On a mobile device, the close button (also referred to as X) is too small to locate and press.
Nevertheless, many magazines have interstitial ads on their PC websites. Similarly, if you have a plan for your desktop website that works well and doesn’t get you in trouble, you’re in great shape. If not, you should reconsider how you want to use interstitial ads on your desktop websites.
Even when interstitial ads are shown on mobile devices, you have to make sure they don’t irritate users in any manner. They should appear between natural voids. For instance, an interstitial ad may show up while a user is switching between articles or when a game session ends.
If your website or application needs a lot of direct user contact, like clicking while playing Candy Crush, then stay away from putting interstitial adverts in between user engagements. Users can unintentionally click on advertisements as a result, which would be inappropriate behavior. Even worse, you can permanently lose users if you make it difficult for them to interact with your app or website.
1. Advertisements Regarding Cookie Usage:
Cookie usage interstitials are one kind of interstitial advertising that might show up immediately after a user navigates to a webpage. Rather than advertising a product or service, a cookie interstitial informs the user that cookies are being used on your website and asks for their agreement.
This is more than just an accepted type of interstitial advertising; in some parts of the globe, such as the European Union (EU), it is mandated to provide people more control over the data they provide to websites. Businesses in the EU risk fines of millions of euros if they don’t display interstitial advertising with a notice about their cookies policy, depending on how big they are.
2. Supplements for Age Verification:
Google also allows websites to show interstitial ads for the purpose of age verification on pages that, among other things, include adult products, services, or content. These websites will ask the user to provide their date of birth in order to confirm that they are authorized to purchase alcohol. Not only are these interstitial consent documents allowed in many countries, but they are also necessary
3. Within-Page Promotions:
Interstitial ads that show up on websites when users travel between them are allowed as long as the sites in issue cannot be found through an organic Google Search.
4. How to bypass a paywall:
Paywall Interstitial Ad Example
Upmarket, well-known, and news media websites frequently employ interstitial paywall advertising to persuade users to buy premium content. This is standard practice for web and app publishers who spend a lot of money and energy creating content of the highest level.
Interstitial Ad Best Practices
Interstitial advertising is evidently quite helpful, particularly for app developers who wish to charge for mobile games and websites.
However, because Google penalizes interstitial advertising that doesn’t show up at natural transition points, mobile marketers must use interstitial ads in compliance with the following best practice guidelines.
1. Prioritize the user experience above anything else:
When scheduling interstitial advertisements for programmatic advertising, the user experience should always come first. Because interstitial ads work best in linear user experiences, they should display at the app’s natural start and finish points to follow the natural flow of the application.
It is recommended that ads show up before the broken page or the prompt asking the user to click “next” or “continue.” This is because studies show that ads that appear right away after a user clicks a button can be startling, which can lead to inadvertent clicks and, eventually, a lower conversion rate.
Designers can further optimize the user experience of interstitial ads by stopping any app activity while the ad is displayed. For instance, audio output from the main program should be disabled during the commercial to ensure that users do not notice sluggish or unresponsive graphics. It’s also great practice to refrain from displaying adverts when an app is loading or closing.
2. Employ the Proper Amount of Promotion:
In addition to considering when and where to place interstitial ads within the user experience, publishers and marketers need also consider how often they employ them.
Customers should not be inundated with app interstitial advertisements too frequently since this will eventually frustrate them and reduce user retention. One of the biggest causes of users uninstalling mobile apps is intrusive advertising.
3. Ability to Access the Exit Button:
One of the most aggravating things ever is having to search for exit buttons on pop-up and interstitial advertisements that seem to be invisible. Even while most users are aware that free mobile apps need advertisements to stay functional, if they feel like they are being “spammed,” they will quickly become resentful of the ads
Standard procedures should again be followed in this case, despite the fact that many advertisers opt to use a timeout function, which requires advertising to be viewed for a predefined period of time before it may be skipped or ended.
Programmers should first ensure that:
- Users know how long this “timeout” will last.
- When feasible, users might choose to avoid
- Users are free to depart at any time.
Users can see the interstitial ad depart button; it isn’t obscured by muted colors or other thoughtfully placed items.
4. Follow Google’s instructions:
Google’s guidelines for implementing interstitial advertising contain similar suggestions to the ones mentioned above, and they also advise developers to take ad delay into consideration
Stated differently, carrier network problems might lead to unanticipated interactions between interstitial ads and app developers. In order to reduce latency, pre-loading interstitial advertisements may be advantageous
Interstitial Ad Example
When planned and performed well, interstitial adverts have the potential to be highly fascinating. Here are a few examples of interstitial ads that are currently doing well.
1. Chandon and Moet’s Playable Interstitial Commercial:
Users of a playable interstitial commercial created by Moet & Chandon might participate in a quick game. This interactive ad was a big hit for the brand.
2. Successful Interstitial:
Rewarded interstitial ads have a high conversion rate since they offer the user something in return for sending them back to the app they are currently using. like you. as evidenced by the advertising campaign below, Adventure Duck truly nailed this concept.
An excellent example of a video interstitial commercial
When a user wins (or loses) a level, they are alerted that they can watch a video to gain more lives and continue playing.
Interstitial Advertising’s Advantages
There are several reasons why interstitial advertising is preferred over other ad forms. Let’s look at the motivations behind publishers’ fondness for these advertisements.
1. Entire Interstitial Ads:
Anything can be promoted with an interstitial ad; there are no restrictions. It’s easy to create rich media ads that incorporate text, graphics, and video.
2. Using Interstitial Advertising:
When a user waits for a website to load, a game to load, or the next level or action to appear, an interstitial advertising full-screen overlay can attract the target audience and offer an entertaining experience.
3. High levels of user engagement and viewability:
Interstitial advertising is more viewable than banner ads due to its widespread use. Full-screen advertisements boost user engagement since they are hard to ignore.
Because the user can choose to ignore it, it is also less intrusive than the majority of other internet adverts.
4. Applications on Various Platforms:
Interstitial advertisements have typically been found inside programs and on mobile platforms in the past. These ads are becoming more common on desktop browsers, providing publishers with a substantial revenue stream.
5. Increased CPMs:
Although interstitial adverts may be perceived as more intrusive than other forms of advertising, they have a greater ability to capture people’s attention.
Advertisers value them higher as a result, and they are willing to pay publishers more for the chance to reach potential customers. This is particularly true for users of Android, as eCPMs for interstitial adverts on Android have surpassed those for iOS in mature nations (varying from $5.26 in the UK to $10.11 in the US), according to a report by Appodeal.
6. High click-through rates, or CTRs:
There are no ways to prevent interstitial adverts; the only choices available to viewers are to click the ad or the escape button. Because of this, these advertisements often have high click-through rates (CTRs), which makes them a profitable source of ad inventory for publishers.
Interstitial Advertising’s Drawbacks
While there are certain advantages to interstitial ads, there are also some disadvantages to consider. Interstitials, which are available in both static and video versions, are among the most obnoxious and disruptive kinds of in-app adverts, according to social media giant Meta.
1. Skews in Analytics:
Interstitial advertisements have the potential to alter analytical data, especially when unintentional misclicks are captured. In contrast to lowering the click-to-install (CTI) rate, errors will raise the click-through rate (CTR).
It is necessary to comprehend the relationship between CTR and CTI in order to evaluate an advertising campaign’s efficacy accurately. An artificially high CTR undermines that ability.
2. Unexpectedly Deteriorate User Experience:
Interstitial advertising is fairly intrusive by nature, even though its use is subject to explicit regulations.
While this makes the content very viewable, it can also break the flow of the screen and be annoying because it takes up the whole space. They can be particularly frustrating for gaming apps when used incorrectly, as they can cause the game to slow and distract the user if they don’t load quickly.
3. Google Penalties for Inappropriate Use of App:
When putting interstitial ads on mobile websites, publishers need to make sure they follow all of Google’s display ad recommendations and rules. Publishers should make sure they are aware of the latest guidelines provided in the Google Developer Program to prevent penalties for improperly deploying interstitials.
4. Slow load times:
Interstitial ads cause a delayed load time and interfere with important web functions because they are usually larger than other ad styles. They usually also include more complex designs and interactive elements.
Due to the poor user experience they provide, users perceive latency issues and slow load times to be unpleasant. Businesses may lose money if customers abandon a website or app that takes too long to load.
Publishers can evaluate load times using a range of methods, including Largest Contentful Paint
How Much Do Interstitial Ads Pay?
Interstitial advertisements are relatively expensive, just like any other marketing strategy, but there are a lot of moving parts, like the user’s location and device.
According to the previously cited Appodeal survey, the top five relevant eCPM countries for interstitial adverts on iOS are the US ($9.64), Japan ($6.86), Australia ($5.98), China ($5.12), and Canada ($4.95).
In terms of Android popularity, the US ($10.11), Australia ($8.62), Canada ($7.41), Japan ($6.92), and New Zealand ($6.65) are in order.
Which Interstitial Ad Frequency Capping Works Best?
In an effort to avoid interfering with the user experience, Google limits the number of interstitial advertisements to one per hour for each distinct user.
This ensures that an interstitial ad won’t be shown to a user more than once.
Makes Certain Traffic Is Sent to Particular Landing Pages
Even while the rules listed above focus on appropriate behavior for users to engage with while scrolling within an app, what happens if and when they click on this advertisement?
While getting a click is great, the actual value lies in the conversion. Instead of sending users to a brand webpage, advertisers should consider creating customized post-click landing pages specifically designed to attract new customers.
When used properly, interstitial ads are an excellent form of advertising, particularly for publishers who specialize in mobile internet content.
When Is It Time for Interstitial Ads to Show?
It is preferable for interstitial ads to show up before the broken page rather than later. The user must constantly hit the “Next” button (or anything similar) in order to proceed through break pages.
What frequency is most effective for capping interstitial ads?
Although interstitial advertisements have their advantages, too many of them can negatively impact the user experience and make visitors dislike your website as well as your business. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure that their ads run at the proper intervals.
From the advertiser’s point of view, one advertisement every 24 hours is the best frequency, but you can increase it to one every 12 hours. The best time to set an ad frequency is when you are optimizing your marketing campaign, which is when you have accumulated enough data. Publishers should aim to cap interstitial advertising to one advertisement per hour per unique user (if allowed by an ad network). By this point, it is certain that users won’t keep seeing the same advertisements.
Interstitial advertising can yield great benefits if put strategically. Adsterra’s interstitials don’t require a specific place on your website because they take up the entire screen. When you see relevant advertising from our network, full-screen coverage increases the likelihood that users will interact with the advertisement.
- To reach the right audiences and convert as many users as possible into leads and customers, read over our tutorial on setting up an Adsterra interstitial campaign.
- Steer clear of these errors while launching an interstitial promotion.
Here are some more tips for marketers on where to place the Interstitial ad style:
- Refrain from overusing words. Since they are more crucial for producing conversions, give the visual elements more consideration than the content.
- Steer clear of misleading advertising as they have the potential to incite anger and lead to legal consequences. Be creative and engaging, but don’t lose your credibility.
- Throw away anything that isn’t consistent. Your interstitials ought to match the design and content of your landing page.
Conclusion
The most crucial piece of advice for marketers is to choose a reliable ad network that will connect them to high-quality traffic from respectable publishers. With Adsterra, marketers and advertising buyers may communicate with more than 35,000 top-rated publishers who drive Interstitial traffic from 248 geos.
Publishers who want to monetize their websites only need to sign up and get an Ad Code for the Social Bar, which is compatible with all kinds of creative ads, including interstitials.
Interstitial advertising is one of the most effective types of mobile advertising. So, is it a smart idea to use interstitial advertising?
You have to figure out how to solve that. The decision of whether or not interstitial advertising is a good fit for your business is a complicated one that requires significant thought. Interstitial advertising must balance making money with providing a satisfying user experience.
Interstitials can be a very successful and profitable way to display advertisements if you collaborate with a monetization partner like Publift, where we use best practices. It is imperative to ensure that none of your adverts cause annoyance or frustration to your users.
Do You Incorporate Interstitial Ads?
A poll found that 22% of users look for the close button right away when an interstitial ad appears on their screens. However, 40% of consumers can still remember the commercial and its offer after watching interstitial advertising. For interstitial ads, timing and relevancy are so essential.
If you have never seen an interstitial commercial before, Google AdMob might be a good place to start. It is advised that developers of mobile applications go over Google’s guidelines for using interstitial advertisements.
Lastly, never forget the need for testing. It’s a good idea to keep a lookout for better methods even if your current setup is effective for you. The same may be said for interstitial ads. By monitoring user behavior and the response from advertising to enhance your strategies, you shouldn’t miss the chance to boost revenue.
FAQs
1. How Do Commercial Breaks Happen?
Interstitials are full-screen interactive ads that take up the whole user interface of the website or application they are housed on. These adverts are usually placed during natural pauses or transitions, like the intervals between entertaining activities and game levels, in order to optimize user engagement.
Interstitial ads are a kind of banner ad that shows up on desktop and mobile devices (full-screen ads for iOS and Android). Their entire coverage is what distinguishes them from other ad types like banner, pop-up, and native.
Examples of interstitial ad types are rich media, text, video, and pictures. Users only need to click or tap on the advertising to get to its final place; they may then close it to get back to what they were doing.
2. What Are Interstitial Screens?
An interstitial screen is a type of advertisement that appears on a website between the material the user has requested and the content itself.
The interstitial page usually has a countdown timer or a “Skip Ad” button that allows the user to bypass the advertisement and get directly to the desired content.
3. What benefits do publishers receive from interstitial advertising?
Because interstitial advertising generates more revenue, provides premium inventory at a lower cost, and permits customized ad frequency, it enhances user experience and boosts publisher profitability.
4. Where is interstitial advertising applicable?
Interstitial ads can be used on mobile apps, desktop websites, and mobile websites. However, because to their potentially intrusive nature, they should only appear when the user’s activity pauses or changes on its own.
5. What penalty does Google face for its intrusive commercials?
Google penalizes websites that overuse interstitial adverts, such as by hiding important information or showing them at inconvenient times, in order to shield users from intrusive advertising experiences.
