Developer Earns Nearly $1,400 in One Day With iAds

130636 led flashlight iad

App Store developer Jason Ting has released data on iAd revenue from the first day of sales for a "utility app" that was released just yesterday, clocking in nearly $1,400 in revenue on an astounding "eCPM" of nearly $150. The data appears to be from Ting's LED Light for iPhone 4 Free, which was part of a series of apps approved by Apple yesterday that can control the iPhone 4's LED camera flash on the rear of the device for use as a flashlight. Ting's application is available in both a paid version and the iAd-supported version for which he has provided data.

CPM, which stands for "cost per mille" ("mille" = "thousand" in Latin), is a commonly-used metric in advertising used to benchmark the relative cost of ads per thousand "impressions", or times the ad is loaded. While some web-based advertising is sold simply on a CPM basis, the term "Effective CPM" (eCPM) is a modified metric which takes into account the usage of tiered ad rates that include certain rates for simply showing the ad and then additional payments for users engaging the ads in some way, from simply clicking on ads to learn more to filling out personal requests for more information to actually making purchases. In essence, eCPM is simply the total revenue obtained from an advertising campaign through its various payment schemes per 1000 ad impressions.

While eCPM is highly variable based on platforms, site demographics, ad implementations and services used, an eCPM of $150 is in the neighborhood of an order of magnitude or even much more above typical solid ad performance. The strong performance comes from a premium initial base CPM of $10 for the iAd platform, with an additional $2 charged per click-through by users and 60% of the total revenue is passed along to developers. Consequently, it appears that an extremely high click-through rate of nearly 12% is the primary driver of the high eCPM for this developer's iAd implementation.

A fill rate of only about 35% also suggests that there is plenty of room for expansion of the iAd platform. It is unclear, however, exactly what the reason is for the relatively low fill rate, and it is possible that there simply aren't enough advertisers in the program at the moment to deliver the volume of ads being requested based on application usage.

Despite the strong initial performance, it is somewhat doubtful that developers will be able to sustain Ting's level of performance, as he is benefitting not only from the high-profile launch of the initial wave of iPhone 4 flashlight applications but also from the novelty of the iAd program. While the interactive experience of the iAd platform is certainly likely to result in higher click-through activity from users over the long-term, the novelty of the program, which just launched last week, is likely driving more users than might otherwise be expected to test out the ads.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
best buy snowflakes

Best Buy's New Weekend Sale Has Record Low Prices on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Friday December 8, 2023 7:37 am PST by
Best Buy's month-long holiday sale continues this weekend with multiple all-time low prices on Apple's line of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers. In addition to Apple notebooks, Best Buy's event has discounts sitewide on home appliances, TVs, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive...
beeper mini

Apple Puts a Stop to Beeper Mini's iMessage for Android Feature

Friday December 8, 2023 2:24 pm PST by
Apple appears to have closed the loophole that Beeper Mini used to bring iMessage to Android, putting a stop to blue bubbles from Android devices. Beeper Mini quit working earlier today, with users receiving "failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out" error messages. Beeper said on Twitter that it is investigating the issue, but Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky told TechCrunch that "all ...
maxresdefault

Review: Two Months With the iPhone 15 Pro Max

Thursday December 7, 2023 12:04 pm PST by
Apple's iPhone 15 lineup came out in September, and while most reviews are done shortly after a new device launches, we like to follow up with a longer term review that gives us an opportunity to provide a deeper dive into what it's like using these phones on a day to day basis for months. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been...
anker new gold

Anker Begins Countdown to Christmas Sale With Up to 50% Off Popular Charging Accessories

Thursday December 7, 2023 7:55 am PST by
Anker has launched its newest holiday sale, this one offering a special deal every day in the lead-up to Christmas. These sales offer up to 50 percent off select products, and include discounts on USB-C chargers, portable batteries, and much more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which ...
12

Apple to Launch Two iPad Air and Two OLED iPad Pro Models Early Next Year

Wednesday December 6, 2023 9:53 am PST by
To boost falling iPad sales, Apple has a major refresh planned for the iPad lineup in early 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple plans to debut new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, both of which will feature notable changes. The iPad Air will come in two sizes like the iPad Pro for the first time. The smaller model will continue to measure in at 10.9 inches, but the larger version...