I've built a few websites for fun and college projects, but I've never published one. I'm trying to understand how advertising works from a design and implementation perspective. Do I decide where each ad appears, such as placing one at the top and another in a sidebar, or does the ad provider control that? For mobile games, is there a code or SDK function that displays an ad after an event such as the player dying, completing a level, or changing screens?
3 Answers
You can sign up with an advertising network, create an ad unit, and paste its snippet into the part of the page where you want the ad displayed. Some networks support standard sizes such as sidebar rectangles or mobile banners, while others can choose placements automatically. Keep in mind that major providers may review your site and expect useful content and some legitimate traffic, so a small college project might not qualify immediately.
For a website, the ad network usually gives you an ad unit and a code snippet. You place that snippet inside a container in your layout, so the placement is largely your decision: a banner at the top, a sidebar unit, or an in-content ad. Some providers also offer automatic placement. It’s a good idea to reserve space for the container so the page doesn’t jump while the ad loads. For a mobile game, you normally integrate the network’s SDK and call it at a natural pause, such as game over or a level transition. Avoid showing an interstitial after every action, since that can quickly frustrate players.
The basic pattern is event-driven. On a website, the ad code is associated with a specific layout slot, while in a game your code requests an ad when an event occurs. Interstitials are commonly shown after a level ends or when a run is over, and many games limit them to one every few minutes rather than displaying one on every death or screen change.
Starting with one ad network and one placement is usually easiest. Check the provider’s documentation carefully because the setup and terminology vary between networks.