There were 12,000+ banner requests at one app but nobody clicked on a banner. How to improve this situation?
Here is my answer.
It must be improved, or you are out of the business.
1) Are the ads that are currently showing relevant ?
I’d try to see which ads are actually showing for all those requests. Probably, these requests come from banner ads that appear on every page of the site and are, thus, untargeted. It is better not to serve untargeted ads at all.
2) Steer your visitor towards offers that will convert better
You want money from your app and it is up to you to think, imagine and concoct what your users want BEYOND your app and its content. Think of your app as of a magnet to get the visitor into your app, but once there, what else can you offer your visitor? Much will depend on the availability of digital rewards, so to call them. If you have a music app, showing ads to buy a CD would not really work in this day and age. Instead, go to amazon.com, key in keywords for you app name and see what amazon has to offer. I’m not saying here that you should become an affiliate of Amazon, although it is possible, just to see what you demographics want.
3) Use eBay to get ideas what else to offer / sell
You can also go to ebay and see what your demographics buys there. See what you can offer them while in your app!?
4) Take offers from large affiliate networks
Go to any large affiliate network, say Commision Junction and ShareaSale, and see what can you offer your visitor from these sites. Again, digital content will work the best, but coupons or vouchers are also a game.
5) Gain intelligence on web sites in your niche
Go to web sites for your keywords and see how they monetize the traffic. Can you take one offer from these sites and turn it into a money maker?
The Golden Rule of Internet Marketing: give your visitor what they want. If you have an app about thyroid diet, sell them the pills for that diet that they will buy month after month. They buy the pills, you get the affiliate commission, month after month.
Treat your app as you would a site — just a meeting place, where the visitor is being transferred from one reality to another, and you get the commission in the process (sometimes).
6) Run your own ads!?
You may also want to run your own ads. (The easiest way would be to use splash screen as an advertisement.) Then change the offers and track. Running this kind of ads would be similar to running an AdWords campaign. First you have to lure them into clicking your front ad, then tell them the benefits, then the actual sale etc.
7) Whatever you do, implement a tracking scheme.
This may be your own code, or Google Analytics or any other kind of tracking specifically made for apps. But you must have one, otherwise you will be lost; people will come to your app you will not make any money, as is the situation right now.