With Android now accounting for almost 50 percent of all mobile impressions served, it is catching up to iOS on the monetization front, according to Opera Mediaworks. The company released its State of Mobile Advertising report for the second quarter of 2014 based on aggregated information across its Opera Mobile Ad Platform and Opera Mobile Ad Exchange servers.
- Android's gain did not come at the loss of iOS's total share of the mobile ad space, which Opera Mediaworks said actually grew to over 53 percent this quarter.
- While still trailing iOS by a healthy margin, Android closes the quarter accounting for more than 38 percent of revenue, up from 33 percent last quarter.
- More than 36 percent of Android revenue was based on smartphone traffic vs. 2 percent on tablets. On iOs, the revenue split was 43 percent on iPhones vs. about 9 percent on the iPad.
- BlackBerry and Windows combined don't account for even 1 percent of mobile ad revenue.
- For the first time in almost two years, Business, Finance & Investing lost its position as the top revenue generator per impression. This honor now belongs to Health, Fitness & Self Help.
Android extended its lead in traffic and began to chip away at iOS's lead in monetization. (Source: Opera Mediaworks)
"Almost from the day of its release, iOS has been a market leader in delivering results for mobile advertisers," the report said. "Then, in the fourth quarter of 2013, Android replaced iOS as the top smartphone platform in traffic volume. In Q1 of this year, Android moved into the No. 1 position as a mobile platform, exceeding Apple's combined total for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch impressions."
This is one of the first reports in a while that shows the traditional thinking developers may have around money-producing platforms may be flawed. Of course, Android still has some work to do, particularly in emerging markets where traffic is high but revenues aren't necessarily on par. There's also some interesting data here that reflects how major events, like the recent World Cup, can have an impact on mobile ad traffic and revenues. According to Opera Mediaworks, traffic from U.S. audiences associated with football content accounted for the greater share of monetization, but it was audiences in various parts of Africa where engagement scored higher.
For more:
- see the Opera Mediaworks report here
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