Aidan Hughes and Micah Koffron used money from their retirement accounts to fund a new app development business, Digitalchemy. The pair’s Calculator Plus app is now widely popular, with more than 10 million users worldwide. Named one of the “25 Essential Apps” by USA Today, it has received more than 80,000 five-star reviews. The company’s app portfolio has grown to include Fraction Calculator Plus, the #1 calculator for fractions used by an array of people from students to woodworkers.
To monetize Calculator Plus and their other successful apps, Hughes and Koffron chose Google AdMob as their primary mobile advertising platform. Digitalchemy also implemented AdMob’s mediation platform to tap into ads from multiple networks. As a result, revenue increased by 30%.
Monetizing popular calculator apps with AdMob
Digitalchemy offers a series of re-imagined calculator apps that solve everyday problems and improve daily life. Inspired by working with his 10-year old daughter, Hughes realized the world needed an intuitive calculator app.
Having landed on a highly successful development strategy, Digitalchemy began looking for a way to monetize its apps across both iOS and Android devices. The team chose Google AdMob as its chief mobile advertising platform.
“We chose AdMob because it was easy for us to get started marketing on multiple platforms, and we trust Google technology,” says Hughes. “Also, we were impressed with the global coverage, quality, and performance of AdMob.”
AdMob mediation adds to the bottom line
AdMob now constitutes about a quarter of Digitalchemy’s revenue, which has increased dramatically since the company began using AdMob mediation to traffic ads from multiple mobile ad networks.
AdMob mediation offers dynamic bidding and direct integration with other ad networks, allowing automatic cost-per-thousand impression (CPM) updates. Digitalchemy does not have to manually adjust bidding floors, saving time and effort.
The team stays focused by using Google Analytics on the AdMob platform, which shows who is using the apps, where they are from, and how long they are using them. The team can look at form factor data to help determine whether to focus its development efforts on tablets or phones. Digitalchemy has also begun to examine loyalty and recency data to formulate business projections that help them make smarter funding and app investments.
Consistent income transforms hobby into sustainable business
Since adopting AdMob, calculator apps have become a full-time job—and not just for Digitalchemy’s founders. A staff of seven at Digitalchemy is now dedicated to providing ever richer calculator apps to the world.
“AdMob has helped us transform our passion for apps into a growing business, rather than just a hobby,” says Hughes. “We couldn’t do this full-time without the consistent income AdMob provides.”
Interested in taking your monetization strategy to the next level? Request a consultation with one of our AdMob specialists today.
