A practical guide for app developers and publishers, verified against independent industry benchmarks
Most app developers assume that using AdMob means they are already tapping into Google’s best advertising demand. After 16+ years working in ad tech and helping thousands of publishers scale their revenue, we at MonetizeMore can tell you: that assumption is costing you real money.
The truth is that AdMob and Google Ad Exchange (AdX) serve distinct roles in the programmatic ecosystem. Using only one of them is like running a live auction with half the bidders locked out. This guide explains the difference, what you are leaving on the table, and how to combine both platforms the right way.
This is the question we get asked most often by publishers coming to us from AdMob-only setups. The short answer: it is split.
AdMob connects you to Google Ads demand and an expanding roster of third-party networks through open bidding. That is a meaningful pool of advertisers. But AdX connects you to a different and generally higher-value tier: demand-side platforms (DSPs), global brand agencies, trading desks, and premium programmatic buyers who simply do not transact through AdMob.
When those two pools compete for the same impression, your revenue goes up. It is not complicated in theory, but getting the implementation right requires experience and technical precision.
AdMob is Google’s mobile-first ad network, designed for app developers of all sizes. It offers a clean SDK, straightforward mediation, and solid demand from Google Ads plus open bidding partners. For developers getting started or operating at a small to medium scale, it is an excellent foundation.
AdMob supports open bidding, which creates real-time competition among third-party networks and gives it more flexibility than a pure waterfall setup. That said, it does not reach the same premium advertiser tier that AdX unlocks.
AdX is a premium ad exchange that lives inside Google Ad Manager (GAM). AdX connects publishers directly to DSPs, global brands, and trading desks through real-time bidding. This is a fundamentally different and higher-value demand pool than AdMob accesses.
AdX also gives publishers granular control that AdMob simply does not offer: price floors, preferred deals, private marketplace arrangements, and detailed inventory reporting. These capabilities matter enormously at scale.
Access note: Google’s direct AdX access is typically reserved for publishers approaching very high traffic thresholds. Most app developers reach AdX through an MCM (Multiple Customer Management) partner. As a Google Certified Publishing Partner with 16+ years in the industry, MonetizeMore provides that access along with the setup and ongoing management that makes it perform.
| Feature | AdMob | Google AdX via GAM |
| Target Users | Small/medium app developers | Large publishers and high-traffic apps |
| Setup | Simple, quick SDK integration | Requires MCM partner; more technical |
| Demand Sources | Google Ads + open bidding partners | Premium DSPs, global brands, open RTB |
| Revenue Potential | Moderate eCPMs | Higher eCPMs via competitive bidding |
| Controls | Basic mediation and standard targeting | Price floors, preferred deals, advanced rules |
| Access | Open to all developers | Invite/partner-only via Google Ad Manager |
AdMob alone is not a bad strategy. It is an incomplete one. Here is what happens when you rely on it exclusively:
Demand is capped. Premium brand campaigns running through DSPs and trading desks are not competing for your inventory. They transact through AdX, not AdMob.
Fill gaps go unfilled. When AdMob cannot find a buyer at your floor price, that impression goes unsold. AdX demand absorbs many of those gaps.
Price floors are limited. Without AdX, you have less ability to enforce meaningful minimum prices on your premium placements. You accept whatever the market gives you rather than setting the terms.
Single-algorithm dependency. Any policy changes, seasonal demand shifts, or outages on AdMob’s side directly hit your revenue with no buffer. We have seen publishers lose significant income during brief AdMob disruptions simply because they had no demand diversification.
ARPDAU stays below its ceiling. More high-quality buyers competing for your inventory means higher average revenue per daily active user. Without AdX in the mix, that ceiling is artificially low.
In our 16+ years working with publishers across the globe, we have seen the same pattern repeatedly: developers who add AdX demand to their AdMob stack see measurable, often immediate gains in eCPM and fill rate. The uplift is real, and it compounds as the setup is optimized over time.
According to our own publisher portfolio data, publishers who layer advanced mediation and real-time bidding on top of AdMob often increase ARPDAU by 20 to 60 percent within three to six months. Standalone AdMob deployments should discount benchmark eCPMs by 20 to 30% compared to properly configured multi-demand stacks.
A common misconception is that there is a single “AdMob eCPM rate.” There is not. Revenue varies dramatically by ad format, geography, app category, and implementation quality. Here are realistic benchmarks reported by Business of Apps mobile advertising rate data:
Approximate benchmarks (global, mixed traffic):
These figures represent what well-configured setups can achieve. A poorly optimized waterfall, or a single-platform setup, will underperform these benchmarks. A well-implemented hybrid stack with AdX competing alongside AdMob demand is how publishers reach the upper end of these ranges.
Getting AdMob and AdX working together is not a one-click process, but it is well-defined. Here is how it works:
Most app developers cannot access AdX directly. That is where a Multiple Customer Management (MCM) partner comes in. As a Google Certified Publishing Partner, MonetizeMore provides direct AdX access without the uncertainty of a direct application. We have been doing this for over 16 years and have the established relationships and infrastructure to get publishers live quickly.
You will need a GAM account linked to your MCM partner. This is the technical backbone that pipes AdX demand into your mediation. The setup is non-trivial. Misconfiguration can cause revenue leakage, reporting inaccuracies, or policy issues. This is one of the areas where our ad ops team adds the most immediate value.
Create matching ad units in Google Ad Manager for every placement running in AdMob. Precise mapping keeps your reporting clean and makes performance optimization tractable.
In AdMob Mediation, add Google Ad Manager as a custom event or bidding source in your mediation group. If you are running MAX or IronSource, plug in GAM/AdX as a network using the provided SDK keys and reporting APIs. The goal is the same: AdX becomes a live bidder competing for every impression.
Position AdX demand at or near the top of your waterfall, or enable open bidding so AdX competes simultaneously with all other demand sources. Open bidding is generally preferable at scale because it eliminates the ordering bias and latency of traditional sequential waterfalls, letting the highest bidder win every time.
The formula is straightforward: more high-quality buyers competing for the same impression equals higher prices. When AdX’s brand and programmatic demand compete directly against AdMob’s performance demand, you get a genuine auction.
Here is what each layer brings to the stack:
AdMob delivers strong fill rates, solid performance demand, rewarded video and app-install campaigns, and consistent coverage in Tier 2 and Tier 3 geographies.
AdX delivers premium CPMs from brand advertisers, DSPs, and trading desks. It also enables preferred deals and private marketplace inventory that commands a price premium because it is transacted directly rather than through an open auction.
Open bidding and real-time competition eliminate the inefficiencies of sequential waterfalls and ensure your inventory goes to the highest bidder every time, not just the first one in line.
We have worked with publishers who added AdX demand through our mediation stack and saw 20% ARPDAU gains within weeks. That is not a ceiling; it is a starting point. Publishers who continue to optimize their price floors, demand mix, and ad unit configuration typically see further gains over the following months.
Sticking with only AdMob means turning away advertisers who would pay more for your audience. AdX unlocks those premium opportunities, but the real gains come from making both platforms compete for every impression you have.
We have the experience, technology, and partnership infrastructure to implement this hybrid strategy correctly and efficiently. Do not leave money on the table. Let us audit your current setup, identify the gaps, and build a monetization stack that performs at the level your app deserves.
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Disclaimer: Revenue figures cited in this article draw from MonetizeMore’s publisher portfolio data and independent ad tech research from Business of Apps and Google’s developer documentation. Actual results vary by app category, geography, traffic quality, and implementation. MonetizeMore does not guarantee specific revenue outcomes.
AdX provides access to more premium advertisers and generally delivers stronger eCPMs, particularly for Tier 1 geographies (US, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia). AdSense and by extension, AdMob can outperform AdX in lower-tier regions where AdX demand is thinner. The right answer depends on your audience's geography.
There is no universal answer because eCPM depends on format, geography, app category, and traffic quality. Google AdX generally provides higher eCPMs for premium placements due to its access to brand demand, but only when the integration is set up correctly.
Not directly in most cases. But through an MCM partner like MonetizeMore, small and mid-sized developers can access AdX demand as part of a managed setup. We handle the technical complexity so you do not have to.
There is a setup curve, primarily at the initial configuration stage. Once correctly built, the systems run in parallel and day-to-day management is manageable. The bigger risk is incorrect setup, which is why getting the integration right from the start matters. Our team has been doing this for 16+ years across thousands of publisher accounts.
It depends on your current setup, traffic geography, and ad formats. Based on what we have seen across our publisher base over 16+ years, 20%+ ARPDAU improvement is a realistic expectation for publishers moving from AdMob-only to a properly configured hybrid stack. Well-optimized setups do better. We provide a free consultation to assess your current setup and give you an honest projection.
Marketing MBA and Global Marketing Manager at MonetizeMore.
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