Facebook, Google, And Twitter’s War For App Install Ads

An unexpected consequence of our love apps is that now there’s just too damn many of them.

The app stores are overcrowded, leaving developers desperate for a way to get their games and utilities discovered.

That is why the app install ad has become the lifeblood of the mobile platform business. Big brands aren’t the only ones to suck up to anymore.

No one buys a car or Coca-Cola on their phone, at least not yet, so proving the return on investment of mobile ads to these businesses is tough.

There is one thing people will instantly plop down a few bucks for on the small screen, though: Apps.

(...) Facebook and Twitter really have Apple and Google to thank. The critical need for app install ads stems from their negligence around app discovery.

Read more: The App Store and Google Play provide search engines and Top 10 charts, but little in the way of personalized, social-proofed browsing or discovery.