Interstitial ads are full-screen ads that cover the interface of their host app. They're typically displayed at natural transition points in the flow of an app, such as between activities or during the pause between levels in a game. When an app shows an interstitial ad, the user has the choice to either tap on the ad and continue to its destination or close it and return to the app. Case study.
This guide explains how to integrate interstitial ads into an Android app.
Prerequisite
- Import the Google Mobile Ads SDK, either by itself or as part of Firebase.
Create an interstitial ad object
Interstitial ads are requested and shown by
InterstitialAd
objects. The first step is instantiating InterstitialAd
and
setting its ad unit ID. This is done in the onCreate()
method of an Activity:
Java
package ... import com.google.android.gms.ads.InterstitialAd; public class MainActivity extends Activity { private InterstitialAd mInterstitialAd; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); MobileAds.initialize(this, new OnInitializationCompleteListener() { @Override public void onInitializationComplete(InitializationStatus initializationStatus) {} }); mInterstitialAd = new InterstitialAd(this); mInterstitialAd.setAdUnitId("ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712"); } }
Kotlin
class MainActivity : Activity() { private lateinit var mInterstitialAd: InterstitialAd override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) setContentView(R.layout.activity_main) MobileAds.initialize(this) {} mInterstitialAd = InterstitialAd(this) mInterstitialAd.adUnitId = "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712" } }
A single InterstitialAd
object can be used to
request and display multiple interstitial ads over the course of an activity's
lifespan, so you only need to construct it once.
Always test with test ads
When building and testing your apps, make sure you use test ads rather than live, production ads. Failure to do so can lead to suspension of your account.
The easiest way to load test ads is to use our dedicated test ad unit ID for Android interstitials:
ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712
It's been specially configured to return test ads for every request, and you're free to use it in your own apps while coding, testing, and debugging. Just make sure you replace it with your own ad unit ID before publishing your app.
For more information about how the Mobile Ads SDK's test ads work, see Test Ads.
Load an ad
To load an interstitial ad, call the InterstitialAd
object's
loadAd()
method. This method accepts
an
AdRequest
object as its single parameter:
Java
package ... import com.google.android.gms.ads.AdRequest; import com.google.android.gms.ads.InterstitialAd; public class MainActivity extends Activity { private InterstitialAd mInterstitialAd; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); MobileAds.initialize(this, "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713"); mInterstitialAd = new InterstitialAd(this); mInterstitialAd.setAdUnitId("ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712"); mInterstitialAd.loadAd(new AdRequest.Builder().build()); } }
Kotlin
class MainActivity : Activity() { private lateinit var mInterstitialAd: InterstitialAd override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) setContentView(R.layout.activity_main) MobileAds.initialize(this, "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713") mInterstitialAd = InterstitialAd(this) mInterstitialAd.adUnitId = "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712" mInterstitialAd.loadAd(AdRequest.Builder().build()) } }
Show the ad
Interstitial ads should be displayed during natural pauses in the flow of an app.
Between levels of a game is a good example, or after the user completes a task.
To show an interstitial, use the
isLoaded()
method to verify that it's done loading, then call
show()
.
The interstitial ad from the previous code example could be shown in a button's
OnClickListener
like this:
Java
mMyButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() { @Override public void onClick(View v) { if (mInterstitialAd.isLoaded()) { mInterstitialAd.show(); } else { Log.d("TAG", "The interstitial wasn't loaded yet."); } } });
Kotlin
mMyButton.setOnClickListener { if (mInterstitialAd.isLoaded) { mInterstitialAd.show() } else { Log.d("TAG", "The interstitial wasn't loaded yet.") } }
Ad events
To further customize the behavior of your ad, you can hook onto a number of
events in the ad's lifecycle: loading, opening, closing, and so on. You can
listen for these events through the
AdListener
class.
To use an
AdListener
with an
InterstitialAd
object, simply call the
setAdListener()
method:
Java
mInterstitialAd.setAdListener(new AdListener() { @Override public void onAdLoaded() { // Code to be executed when an ad finishes loading. } @Override public void onAdFailedToLoad(LoadAdError adError) { // Code to be executed when an ad request fails. } @Override public void onAdOpened() { // Code to be executed when the ad is displayed. } @Override public void onAdClicked() { // Code to be executed when the user clicks on an ad. } @Override public void onAdLeftApplication() { // Code to be executed when the user has left the app. } @Override public void onAdClosed() { // Code to be executed when the interstitial ad is closed. } });
Kotlin
mInterstitialAd.adListener = object: AdListener() { override fun onAdLoaded() { // Code to be executed when an ad finishes loading. } override fun onAdFailedToLoad(adError: LoadAdError) { // Code to be executed when an ad request fails. } override fun onAdOpened() { // Code to be executed when the ad is displayed. } override fun onAdClicked() { // Code to be executed when the user clicks on an ad. } override fun onAdLeftApplication() { // Code to be executed when the user has left the app. } override fun onAdClosed() { // Code to be executed when the interstitial ad is closed. } }
Each of the overridable methods in
AdListener
corresponds to an event in the lifecycle of an ad.
Overridable methods | |
---|---|
onAdLoaded()
|
The onAdLoaded()
method is executed when an ad has finished loading.
|
onAdFailedToLoad()
|
The onAdFailedToLoad()
method is the only one that includes a parameter. The error parameter of type
LoadAdError describes what error occurred. For more information,
refer to the Debugging
Ad Load Errors documentation.
|
onAdOpened()
|
This method is invoked when the ad is displayed, covering the device's screen. |
onAdLeftApplication()
|
This method is invoked when a user click opens another app (such as the Google Play), backgrounding the current app. |
onAdClosed()
|
This method is invoked when the interstitial ad is closed due to the user tapping on the close button. If your app paused its audio output or game loop, this is a great place to resume it. |
Using an AdListener to reload
The AdListener
class's
onAdClosed()
method is a handy place to load a new interstitial after displaying the previous
one:
Java
... @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); MobileAds.initialize(this, "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713"); mInterstitialAd = new InterstitialAd(this); mInterstitialAd.setAdUnitId("ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712"); mInterstitialAd.loadAd(new AdRequest.Builder().build()); mInterstitialAd.setAdListener(new AdListener() { @Override public void onAdClosed() { // Load the next interstitial. mInterstitialAd.loadAd(new AdRequest.Builder().build()); } }); } ...
Kotlin
... override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState) setContentView(R.layout.activity_main) MobileAds.initialize(this, "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544~3347511713") mInterstitialAd = InterstitialAd(this) mInterstitialAd.adUnitId = "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/1033173712" mInterstitialAd.adListener = object : AdListener() { override fun onAdClosed() { mInterstitialAd.loadAd(AdRequest.Builder().build()) } } } ...
Some best practices
- Consider whether interstitial ads are the right type of ad for your app.
- Interstitial ads work best in apps with natural transition points. The conclusion of a task within an app, like sharing an image or completing a game level, creates such a point. Because the user is expecting a break in the action, it's easy to present an interstitial ad without disrupting their experience. Make sure you consider at which points in your app's workflow you'll display interstitial ads and how the user is likely to respond.
- Remember to pause the action when displaying an interstitial ad.
- There are a number of different types of interstitial ads: text, image,
video, and more.
It's important to make sure that when your app displays
an interstitial ad, it also suspends its use of some resources to allow
the ad to take advantage of them. For example, when you make the call to display
an interstitial ad, be sure to pause any audio output being produced by your app.
You can resume playing sounds in the
onAdClosed()
event handler, which will be invoked when the user has finished interacting with the ad. In addition, consider temporarily halting any intense computation tasks (such as a game loop) while the ad is being displayed. This will make sure the user doesn't experience slow or unresponsive graphics or stuttered video. - Allow for adequate loading time.
- Just as it's important to make sure you display interstitial ads at an
appropriate time, it's also important to make sure the user doesn't have to
wait for them to load. Loading the ad in advance by calling
loadAd()
before you intend to callshow()
can ensure that your app has a fully loaded interstitial ad at the ready when the time comes to display one. - Don't flood the user with ads.
- While increasing the frequency of interstitial ads in your app might seem like a great way to increase revenue, it can also degrade the user experience and lower clickthrough rates. Make sure that users aren't so frequently interrupted that they're no longer able to enjoy the use of your app.
Source code
Additional resources
Samples on GitHub
Mobile Ads Garage video tutorials
Success stories
Next steps
- If you haven't already, create your own interstitial ad unit in the AdMob UI.
- Learn about ad targeting and interstitial ad guidance.
- Try another ad format: