Smart Segmentation is being deprecated soon. If you'd like to continue using your smart segmentation ad unit as a standard ad unit, you must disable the toggle for smart segmentation before June 1, 2023. Otherwise, the ad unit will be automatically removed from your account.
You can use Google Analytics & Firebase to continue offering customized ad experience to non-purchasers instead.Smart segmentation enables you to identify and monetize app users who are unlikely to spend in your app. Smart segmentation uses machine learning to predict your users’ purchasing behavior and segments them into two groups:
- Predicted non-purchasers: Users who are not likely to make in-app purchases.
- Predicted purchasers: Users who are likely to make in-app purchases, like buying extra lives, etc. Limiting the amount of ads shown to these users may help to improve their overall in-app experience and lifetime value.
With smart segmentation, ad requests for predicted non-purchasers will be filled, while ad requests for predicted purchasers will not be filled. This may help to unlock new revenue by monetizing the non-purchasers with ads, while preserving an ad-free experience for the purchasers.
On average, predicted non-purchasers make up about half of your users.
Note: Behind the scenes, smart segmentation predicts the likelihood that a given user is a non-purchaser and serves only those users ads. When a user is ineligible for personalized ads or has disabled them, Google does not predict purchase behavior. Accordingly, such users will not be identified as likely non-purchasers and will not be served ads.
Overview and benefits of smart segmentation
Using smart segmentation
You can use smart segmentation with interstitial and/or rewarded ad units. Smart segmentation ad units should be used in addition to existing ad units.
Note that replacing existing ad units with smart segmentation ad units can result in lower revenue and impressions.
Also note that smart segmentation will not work if you are using third-party mediation.
Learn how to create an ad unit with smart segmentation.
App eligibility
In your Home dashboard, the smart segmentation card lists your apps that are not already using the ad format and are eligible to use smart segmentation. App eligibility is based on user traffic and the amount of in-app purchases visible to AdMob. Additionally, iOS apps must be linked to Firebase to be eligible for smart segmentation.
Revenue estimates
The smart segmentation card estimates the increase in ad earnings that a smart segmentation interstitial or rewarded ad unit could provide when used in addition to existing ad units. Note that replacing existing ad units with smart segmentation ad units can result in lower revenue and impressions as smart segmentation ad units only show to a portion of your users.
Reporting
You can monitor the performance of your smart segmentation ad units in your App overview dashboard. To view your app overview dashboard, click Apps in the sidebar. Select the name of your app, then click App overview in the sidebar.
Use your AdMob reports to monitor revenue changes after enabling smart segmentation. View the ad unit with smart segmentation enabled in your AdMob Network report.
You’ll be able to measure the progress of the smart segmentation ad units with the following metrics:
- Est. ad earnings: The estimated amount of revenue generated by the smart segmentation ad units.
- eCPM: An estimate of the revenue you receive for every thousand ad impressions for smart segmentation ad units.
- Impressions: The total number of ads shown to users for smart segmentation ad units.
- Model accuracy: The percentage of purchasers who were accurately predicted by smart segmentation.
- Non-purchasers: The percentage of users that smart segmentation predicted to not make any in-app purchases. These users are shown ads.
