Create an ad unit for each ad format that you want to use in your application. You manage your monetization by means of a waterfall on the ad unit’s page.
To create an ad unit, first open MAX > Mediation > Manage > Ad Units in the AppLovin dashboard.
To create an ad unit for an existing app in the store or for an app for which you initialized AppLovin SDK with your unique AppLovin SDK Key, click Create Your Ad Unit in the top-right. The Create New Ad Unit page appears. Name your ad unit, and choose your application’s platform and ad format.
If you do not see any content in the AppLovin dashboard, only a spinning icon, you may be using a browser extension that interferes with MAX. To fix this, disable your browser extensions and then reload the AppLovin dashboard.
Next, enter your application’s name, package name, bundle ID, or numerical iTunes ID in the input box. If your input matches your live app, choose it from the drop-down that appears:
If your app is not yet live, you can add it to MAX. To do this, click Manually Add Your Package Name, then type in your app’s package name, with capitalization that exactly matches what you have in your app code.
MAX does not officially support alternative app stores (such as Huawei App Gallery), but you can mediate such inventory with MAX at your own risk by using this Manually Add Your Package Name flow.
Multiple Ad Units per Ad Format
AppLovin strongly recommends that you use a single ad unit ID for each format within an app. This ensures an ad is always cached and avoids unnecessary app/user bandwidth usage.
If you use the same ad format in multiple placements within your app, you can name and tag each one within the SDK to measure the performance of each unique placement. You can learn how to do this in the Advanced Settings: Ad Placements section in this documentation.
Building Your Waterfall
After you add your app and ad unit, you see a list of ad networks that are available for you to add to your waterfall.
The Default Waterfall is your primary waterfall for monetization. After you configure your ad networks, MAX automates waterfall management through a combination of in-app bidding and CPM updating. You have to build custom waterfalls if you want to tailor monetization and ad experience for specific users or devices. Learn more about this feature in the Waterfall Segmentation and Cloning page in this documentation.
You can add the following demand sources to your waterfall:
- Bidding Networks:
- SDK based networks that compete simultaneously in a real-time auction to serve an impression. Learn more about in-app bidding here.
- Other Networks:
- Traditionally-mediated, SDK-based networks that sequentially respond to an ad request within a waterfall prioritized by the highest CPM price. Learn more about ad networks here.
- Custom Networks:
- SDK or JS-tag networks that are not officially supported by AppLovin. You can work directly with such a network to build a connection to MAX.
- Direct Sold:
- Advertiser-direct campaigns with advanced targeting options and the ability to set campaign goals. This feature can also be used for promo campaigns. Learn more in the Direct Sold documentation page.
Visualizing Waterfalls
To see how your ad partners rank in the waterfall click the ⋯ to the right of Bidder Networks and select Preview Waterfall. Then choose the country for which you want to see the waterfall configuration.
Set Ad Unit Settings (optional)
After you create your ad unit, you can set a frequency cap for full-screen and rewarded formats or the refresh interval for banner and MREC formats. You can also change these values later.
Bid Floor (optional)
The bid floor ensures no ads are served at less than a CPM value you choose. You can set a bid floor by country or region. Because this limits the number of ads you receive, AppLovin recommends that you keep this disabled to avoid any negative impact to revenue or fill.