Ad revenue attribution guide

Ad revenue attribution supports different granularity methods. The granularity is monetization network dependant.

• Aggregate granularity:
  • AppsFlyer gets the revenue daily broken down by geo.
  • The effective revenue per action (eRPA) is derived by dividing the revenue by the number of instances of a trigger event.
  • The trigger events are either app open or specific in-app events set in the app. 
• User-level granularity (aka impression-level granularity) [best practice]:
  • The monetization network reports the revenue by user at the impression level. Not all monetization networks support user-level granularity. 
  • This revenue is attributed to the media source that brought the user. Meaning AppsFlyer ad revenue attribution adheres to the attribution rules found in the platform, including retargeting attribution rules. 
  • If you're using a mediation network, make sure to disable ad revenue APIs for partners that mediate via the mediation network before enabling the user-level granularity API.

AppsFlyer provides several types of ad revenue data. Note: Not all ad networks provide all the options listed below.

Attributed revenue: Ad revenue based on the user acquisition source, available at both aggregate-level and user-level. For example:

• User sees an ad from Network A and downloads your app.
• Ad displays inside the app.
• Ad revenue is attributed to Network A (responsible for the user acquisition), no matter who published the ad.

Monetization revenue API: Revenue based on the ad source, not the user acquisition source. For example:

• User sees an ad from Network A and downloads your app.
• Ad from Network B displays inside the app.
• Ad revenue is attributed to Network B.

To implement API ad revenue attribution, follow one of the granularity method workflows in the following table. 

Aggregate granularity implementation:

• The integrated network reports the total revenue per day broken down by geo. 
• AppsFlyer derives the effective revenue per action (eRPA) by dividing the ad revenue with the number of instances of a trigger event.
• Each time a trigger event occurs, AppsFlyer creates a _monetized event, that includes the eRPA. For example, ad_matched_monetized.
• Using eRPA revenue is attributed to media sources.
• You can use one of the following event types: 
  • Unique monetization in-app event requires modifications to the app. 
  • af_app_opened event which is available by default,
• Don't report ad revenue in in-app events. Doing so causes ad revenue to be duplicated in the Dashboard because AppsFlyer gets the revenue data from the monetization network by integration. 

User-level (impression-level) granularity implementation:

This method is the best practice. It provides the greatest level of granularity and ad revenue is attributed without the need to modify the app. Ad revenue is accurately attributed to the UA source. 

User-level ad revenue data: attribution is available in raw data reports. We don't send postbacks of user-level data to integrated partners.

Revenue from app users for which there is no attribution record in AppsFlyer is attributed as organic, with the install date as the day the ad revenue is reported. This can occur, for example, after deleting user-level data from Facebook. 

Migrating from aggregate granularity to user-level granularity implementation notes

• Migrating does not impact historical ad revenue data. This data remains unchanged.
• Ad revenue data is pulled once a day at 1400 UTC using the granularity options selected at that time.
• User-level granularity does not require you to define in-app events (like you do for aggregate-level reporting). You can continue sending these events, but they don't impact the user-level granularity reporting in AppsFlyer. 

Before you begin:

• Request that the ad revenue integrated partner provide you API credentials.

To enable ad revenue integration with the ad revenue network:

1. In AppsFlyer, go to Configuration > Integrated Partners.
   The Integrated Partner window opens. 
2. Select a partner. Tip: Select Active and Ad revenue to display your existing partners that have Ad revenue capabilities.
   The integrated partner's configuration window opens.
3. Go to the Ad Revenue tab and enable Get Ad Revenue Data.
4. Select the type of ad revenue data you want to receive. Note: Not all ad networks provide all the options listed below. If attributed revenue doesn't include the user-level option, it means only aggregate data is available.
   • Attributed revenue. Meaning revenue based on the user acquisition source. Attributed revenue reports can be either:
     • Aggregate-level. For aggregate level, you also need to select the event on which to base the ad revenue. For example, if you choose the event af_app_opened, then the total ad revenue is divided between all app-opened events, which gives you the ad revenue per app open.  
     • SDK-level
   • Monetization revenue API. Meaning revenue based on the ad source, not the UA source.
5. Complete the API credentials, or login, as required by the integrated partner. This is not relevant for SDK level integration.
6. Click Save ad revenue.
7. If the Test Connection button displays, as in the image above, click Test Connection.
   • API key verified displays, you have successfully completed the procedure. 
   • Any other message displays, see Ad revenue API status and testing and repeat the procedure.
8. If there is no Test Connection button, you have completed the procedure.
   AppsFlyer collects the data from the partner multiple times per day. 

• The operational status of ad revenue integration is available as follows:

  • Cost and ad revenue integration status dashboard: Centralized list of partners for whom ad revenue integration is enabled for one or more apps housed in your account. 
  • Some partners enable you to test the API connection. Where available, a Test connection button displays. 
  • To verify that the API connection is operational:
  • Click Test connection. 
    The message API key verified displays. If this is not the case, follow the corrective action guidance in the table that follows. 

App owners may contract with one or more ad monetization networks, either directly or via ad revenue mediation platforms Examples: IronSource, Admob, DoubleClick (DFP). 

If you implement a mediation platform's SDK in the app, this may cause duplicate reporting of revenue. To avoid duplication, use the flow chart that follows to identify the appropriate way to integrate monetizing networks and mediation platforms.

AppsFlyer requires these platforms to integrate with it to perform ad monetization recording. You can check if the ad monetization platform you use is integrated with AppsFlyer. 

Ad revenue shows the quality of users from different sources over time. As users continue launching the app and engaging with ads, their LTV increases.

Note: There may be discrepancies between the ad revenue data in different dashboards and reports. Learn more. 

Ad revenue attribution is available as follows:

• LTV based:
  • Dashboards being: Overview, events,
  • Cohort analytics
  • Master API
• Activity based:
  • Dashboard: Activity
  • Ad revenue raw data

Overview dashboard - aggregated performance report

In the Overview dashboard:

• Values, including revenue, are LTV. See LTV vs. activity data.
• The Revenue column includes all revenue, including ad revenue and in-app purchases.
• Drill-down into the advertising hierarchy (media source, campaign, ad set, geo) to view the monetized events in the report.

In the Activity dashboard:

• Values including revenue are activity date-based. See LTV vs. activity data.
• The Average Actions per User indicates the tendency of users to engage with the ads presented in the app. 

Ad revenue raw data reports contain data provided by monetization networks having user-level integration with AppsFlyer. 

Principles of ad revenue raw data

• Data is aggregated by the number of unique impressions per user. Unique impressions are derived from the combination of ad monetization network, ad unit, and placement. 
• Raw data freshness is identical to that of user-level ad revenue in the Activity dashboard.

Data characteristics and fields

The fields in ad revenue reports are populated:

• by the ad revenue event itself and listed in the table that follows. These fields are divided into:
  • Specific: Fields specific to ad revenue. For example, impressions and placement. Note! The fields populated differ by monetization partner, as shown in the Fields by network table in this section.
  • Context: Fields having a similar meaning in other raw data reports. For example, event name, event value, currency. 
• as a result of attributing the event to the media source that brought the user. Meaning these fields are copied from the conversion event that brought the user. For example, media source and campaign. These fields are not listed in the table that follows. 

How can I get the total ad revenue from each platform?

• Ad revenue attribution is linked and displays in relation to the user acquisition source.
• This provides the LTV view of your ROI and KPIs.
• To view the total revenue from each monetization platform use a different in-app event for each network and use the following procedure:
  1. In the Overview dashboard, go to the aggregated performance report table.
  2. Select up to four monetized events representing the platforms you want to query. 

     

  3. Download the report by, click Export CSV.

  4. Sum up the Revenue column of the requested platform's monetized event
     

     

Note that this total ad revenue is LTV data, i.e. it's the entire revenue generated by a monetizing network for your app from users, who installed during the specified date range.

Is ad revenue available in the activity page?

Yes!

The Activity page reports on the combined revenue from in-app purchases and ad revenue. Note: Ad revenue data is sent to AppsFlyer on a daily basis, the day following the event. 

Do I need to activate the partner in the Integration tab?

• If you engage with the partner for ad monetization (ad revenue) only: don't enable Activate Partner in the integration tab. 
• Enable only Get Ad Revenue data in the Ad Revenue tab.

How is user-level ad revenue attributed if a user has an app version without the AppsFlyer SDK?

• Ad revenue is attributed as organic.

Is there a discrepancy between ad revenue data in different dashboards and reports? 

There can be discrepancies between ad revenue data in the Overview dashboard and raw data reports, and in the Activity or Cohort dashboards. This is because: 

• Ad revenue data in Cohort and Activity dashboards, as well as data via Master API and Cohort API is updated retroactively; in the Overview dashboard, and via raw data export and Pull API, it is not. 
• Data is sometimes displayed in the Activity and Cohort dashboards before the Overview dashboard.
• Dashboards include events marked as af_ad_revenue and _monetized, while raw data only includes af_ad_revenue events.