Publication date: 25 Sep 2019

The AppsFlyer company released its global rating of platforms for mobile advertising for the first half of 2019. In the ninth edition of its Performance Index, AppsFlyers analyzed 370 media networks, 20 billion app installations, 11,500 apps, and 39 billion app openings.

Advertising on Google Ads results in the greatest number of mobile app installs—Google Ads overtook Facebook Ads in this respect for the very first time. Google’s growth is attributed to the dominance of Android in the mobile market, the report says. From a regional perspective, the growth was strongest in Latin America (+18%) and Southeast Asia (+8%).

Facebook, however, retained its leadership in the Index’s power ranking which takes into account quality of users delivered, volume, and client adoption.

In addition, Facebook took the No. 1 spot in the Global Retargeting Index. Retargeting is getting more popular among mobile marketers, with a 57% year-over-year growth in the number of apps running this activity. The growth might become particularly strong in the gaming app sector which is currently accounting for only 2% of all retargeted conversions.

TikTok became the fastest growing platform

TikTok Ads took the No. 1 spot in the Growth Index owing to its aggressive monetization of users via TikTok ads, the report says. The company increased its share in the global mobile ads market almost 10 times. The growth was particularly prominent in the Asia-Pacific region, North America, and Europe. TikTok entered the TOP-10 most installed apps.

“Looking back, we can see a persistent trend in the Growth Index. For most media sources, making the ranking is a one-time thing,” said Shani Rosenfelder, head of Mobile Insights at AppsFlyer.

The major platforms for gaming in-app ads

Regarding gaming in-app ads, Google and Facebook are the clear leaders. AppLovin took the No. 3 spot. ironSource came in fourth but is pushing forward—ironSource increased its share by 32%, compared to AppLovin’s 10% growth rate. Unity and Vungle were also listed among the TOP-6.

Though the Google-Facebook duopoly is still dominating the sector, AppLovin, ironSource, Unity, and Vungle are increasing their presence, the report says.

App promotion on App Store became more popular

Apple Search Ads (ASA), which helps to promote apps on the App Store, is gaining popularity. Compared to the previous year, its share in the global app install pie increased by 82% owing to the launch of ASA in 42 additional countries and regions in the second quarter of 2019.

ASA has plenty of untapped growth potential, as fewer than 20% of iOS apps use it to run ads.

Apple also improved its quality rankings. The company was among the TOP-6 quality players across all categories of apps.