Get Started

This guide is for publishers who want to monetize an Android app with AdMob and aren't using Firebase. If you plan to include Firebase in your app (or you're considering it), see the AdMob with Firebase version of this guide instead.

Integrating the Google Mobile Ads SDK into an app is the first step toward displaying ads and earning revenue. Once you've integrated the SDK, you can choose an ad format (such as native or rewarded video) and follow the steps to implement it.

Prerequisites

• Use Android Studio 1.0 or higher
• Target Android API level 14 or higher

• Recommended: Create a Google AdMob account and register an app.

Import the Mobile Ads SDK

Apps can import the Google Mobile Ads SDK with a Gradle dependency that points to Google's Maven repository. In order to use that repository, you need to reference it in the app's project-level build.gradle file. Open yours and look for an allprojects section:

Example project-level build.gradle (excerpt)

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
        maven {
            url "https://maven.google.com"
        }
    }
}

Add the maven directive above if it's not already present.

Next, open the app-level build.gradle file for your app, and look for a "dependencies" section.

Example app-level build.gradle (excerpt)

dependencies {
    implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.1.0'
    implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:17.0.0'
}

Add the line in bold above, which instructs Gradle to pull in the latest version of the Mobile Ads SDK. Once that's done, save the file and perform a Gradle sync.

Update your AndroidManifest.xml

Add your AdMob App ID to your app's AndroidManifest.xml file by adding the <meta-data> tag shown below. You can find your App ID in the AdMob UI. For android:value insert your own AdMob App ID in quotes, as shown below.

<manifest>
    <application>
        <!-- Sample AdMob App ID: ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713 -->
        <meta-data
            android:name="com.google.android.gms.ads.APPLICATION_ID"
            android:value="[ADMOB_APP_ID]"/>
    </application>
</manifest>

Important: This step is required as of Google Mobile Ads SDK version 17.0.0. Failure to add this <meta-data> tag results in a crash with the message: "The Google Mobile Ads SDK was initialized incorrectly."

Initialize MobileAds

Before loading ads, have your app initialize the Mobile Ads SDK by calling MobileAds.initialize() with your AdMob App ID. This needs to be done only once, ideally at app launch.

Here's an example of how to call the initialize() method in an Activity:

Example MainActivity (excerpt)

Java

package ...
import ...
import com.google.android.gms.ads.MobileAds;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    ...
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        // Sample AdMob app ID: ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713
        MobileAds.initialize(this, "YOUR_ADMOB_APP_ID");
    }
    ...
}

Kotlin

package ...
import ...
import com.google.android.gms.ads.MobileAds;

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    ...
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

        // Sample AdMob app ID: ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713
        MobileAds.initialize(this, "YOUR_ADMOB_APP_ID")
    }
    ...
}

Note: If you haven't created an AdMob account and registered an app yet, now is a great time to do so. If you're just looking to experiment with the SDK in a Hello World app, though, you can use this App ID to initialize the SDK: ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713.

Select an ad format

The Mobile Ads SDK is now imported and you're ready to implement an ad. AdMob offers a number of different ad formats, so you can choose the one that best fits your app's user experience.

Banner

Banner ads are rectangular image or text ads that occupy a spot within an app's layout. They stay on screen while users are interacting with the app, and can refresh automatically after a certain period of time. If you're new to mobile advertising, they're a great place to start.

Implement a banner

Interstitial

Interstitials are full-screen ads that cover the interface of an app until closed by the user. They're best used at natural pauses in the flow of an app's execution, such as between levels of a game or just after a task is completed.

Implement an interstitial

Native

Native is a component-based ad format that gives you the freedom to customize the way assets such as headlines and calls to action are presented in your apps. By choosing fonts, colors, and other details for yourself, you can create natural, unobtrusive ad presentations that can add to a rich user experience.

Native is currently in a closed beta with a limited group of publishers.

Implement Native Ads

Rewarded Video

Rewarded video ads are full-screen video ads that users have the option of watching in their entirety in exchange for in-app rewards.

Implement Rewarded Video