Ad Mediation Explained for Game Developers
What ad mediation is, how waterfalls and in-app bidding work, and how to set up mediation to raise ad revenue in your mobile game.
If your game shows ads, mediation is one of the biggest levers for revenue. Here's how it works.
What is ad mediation?
An ad mediation platform connects your game to many ad networks at once. Each time you can show an ad, the networks compete to fill it, so you earn more than you would with a single network.
Waterfall vs. bidding
Waterfall
Networks are called one after another in an order based on historical eCPM. It's simple but slow, and the order quickly becomes out of date.
In-app bidding
All networks bid at the same time in a real-time auction, and the highest bid wins. Bidding usually raises revenue and cuts down on manual tuning.
Most modern setups are hybrid: bidding networks compete first, with a short waterfall as a fallback.
Key metrics
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| eCPM | Revenue per 1,000 impressions |
| Fill rate | Share of ad requests that return an ad |
| ARPDAU | Average revenue per daily active user |
Setup tips
- Start with 3–5 quality networks. More isn't always better.
- Keep SDKs updated. Old versions often lose bids.
- Test ad placements with A/B experiments, and watch retention alongside revenue.