We’ve received questions asking us what happens new ad networks are added to an existing AdWhirl application. In this post we’ll explain how older versions of your apps will handle a new ad network configuration.
Say you published an application using AdWhirl , configured to use two ad networks. Now it’s time to release the next version, and you’d like to add a third ad network while you’re at it. But how will that affect the ad network request distribution for users running an older version of your application, which doesn’t have the new ad network SDK bundled? Older versions will request the updated configuration for both iOS and Android, but the two SDKs will process the configuration differently.
How the iOS SDK Distributes Ad Network Requests
When the iOS SDK parses the new configuration, it will only consider an ad network valid if it meets certain conditions, including having the corresponding network adapter . If the adapter doesn’t exist, then that network will be ignored . Your ad network percentages will then be normalized based on the total valid percentage of allocations.
Let’s demonstrate this with the above example. Say your original app had two ad networks, Network 1 and Network 2; now you’re adding Network 3 to the next version of your app. If your new ad network configuration sends 30% of requests to Network 1, 10% to Network 2, and 60% to Network 3, users running an app version without Network 3 will send 75% of the total ad requests to Network 1 and 25% of requests to Network 2. Backfill priority will be the same as specified on the server, but it will not include network 3.
How the Android SDK Distributes Ad Network Requests
When the Android SDK parses the new configuration, it will blindly add all networks as valid choices. When it tries to make a request to an ad network whose SDK is not available, the request will fail gracefully. However, AdWhirl will then rollover to your backfill priority . What does this mean for the ad network percentage distribution?
Using the same example configuration, the 60% of requests to Network 3 will fail for users with an older version, and AdWhirl will rollover to your top backfill option. If your top backfill option is Network 2, then Network 2 will consume the Network 3 traffic - you will have 30% of all requests going to Network 1, and 70% to Network 2. This is likely not what you would expect, so be careful when adding new networks to an existing Android application.
In summary, the iOS SDK will respect the percentages given to the valid ad networks (expected), but the Android SDK will send the invalid ad network traffic to the top backfill option (unexpected).
We value your feedback, so please post to our developer forum if you have any questions about AdWhirl.
Eric Leichtenschlag , AdMob Team
