Sign in Subscribe
Display Featured

Google launches major AdMob mediation updates with new bidding partners

AdMob mediation platform receives significant feature expansion including new bidding partnerships and optimization tools.

Luis Rijo

• 5 min read
Pablo Alvarez, Google AdMob Group Product Manager, announces new mediation platform updates and features.
Pablo Alvarez, Google AdMob Group Product Manager, announces new mediation platform updates and features.

Google announced substantial updates to its AdMob mediation platform on July 7, 2025, introducing new bidding partnerships and enhanced monetization tools for mobile app publishers. According to Pablo Alvarez, Group Product Manager at Google AdMob, "These powerful new platform features have been meticulously developed to elevate your monetization strategy, offering enhanced control and greater revenue potential."

The updates include expanded bidding support from multiple ad networks, new optimization features, and enhanced management tools designed to streamline publisher workflows. These changes represent one of the most comprehensive AdMob mediation updates in recent months, targeting both revenue optimization and operational efficiency.

Summary

Who: Google AdMob, mobile app publishers, advertising partners including InMobi, ironSource, Unity, Liftoff, Mintegral, Moloco, and LINE

What: Major platform updates including new bidding partnerships, enhanced eCPM floors, improved AB testing (3-day recommendations), bulk management tools, engagement ads, enhanced brand safety controls, and upcoming immersive in-game advertising format

When: Announced July 7, 2025, with additional bidding partners expected in July 2025 and immersive ads launching later in 2025

Where: AdMob mediation platform globally, affecting all AdMob publishers with access to new bidding partners and optimization tools

Why: To elevate publisher monetization strategies through enhanced control, greater revenue potential, faster optimization cycles, and improved user experience while addressing privacy regulations and brand safety requirements

New bidding partnerships expand demand sources

The platform now supports bidding from InMobi, ironSource, and Unity, making these demand sources accessible to all AdMob publishers. According to the announcement, Liftoff and Mintegral have enhanced their integration by adding support for open ads, expanding available inventory for publishers using these networks.

Additional bidding releases are scheduled for July 2025, with Moloco and LINE expected to join the platform. The company indicated it will share details on bidder expansion and additional demand sources as they become available. This expansion addresses a key trend in mobile advertising where publishers seek diverse demand sources to maximize revenue potential.

The timing of these partnerships coincides with broader changes in mobile advertising infrastructure. Recent policy center improvements introduced new classification systems for ad serving issues, while technical ad delivery features were launched for traffic without consent in early 2024.

Bidding eCPM floors and AB testing improvements

Publishers can now set CPM floors in mediation groups through the new bidding eCPM floors feature. This functionality enables optimization for specific user segments and experimentation with different floor values through AB testing. According to the announcement, mediation AB tests now provide recommendations in as little as three days, representing a significant reduction in optimization cycle times.

The enhanced AB testing framework addresses ongoing improvements to AdMob's reporting capabilities, which were updated in August 2024 to improve metric clarity and user experience. The accelerated testing timeline allows publishers to iterate more quickly on monetization strategies.

Technical specifications indicate that the bidding eCPM floors operate at the mediation group level, providing granular control over different user segments and traffic sources. Publishers can experiment with various floor configurations while monitoring performance through the enhanced reporting interface.

Management tools receive bulk functionality updates

The platform introduces new bulk action capabilities, network eCPM field functionality, and enhanced search features. Publishers can now directly add or remove line items within mediation groups from the respective Bidding and Waterfall Ad Sources tabs. The Network eCPM field for Mappings has been added to enhance clarity and reduce potential configuration errors.

Search and filtering capabilities have been improved, allowing publishers to locate specific information using AdMob app or ad unit IDs, as well as third-party ad source app, placement names, and IDs. When adding a single ad unit to a mediation group, a consolidated view enables bulk addition of previously created line items, streamlining setup processes.

These management improvements complement broader AdMob platform enhancements introduced in May 2024, which focused on first-party data utilization and privacy-compliant monetization strategies.

Engagement ads and user experience features

The update introduces engagement ads, described as activating "high-performing ads that boost engagement and improve ad performance." These advertisements are designed to help publishers reach revenue goals while maintaining control over ad strategy customization. The feature represents part of ongoing efforts to balance monetization with user experience quality.

Publishers can access enhanced reporting through the eCPM Trends report for benchmarking performance against peers, while the improved Ads Activity report provides comprehensive user metrics. The platform now includes holistic earnings reporting, incorporating data from custom event adapters for more complete revenue tracking.

The reporting enhancements build upon previous updates to user activity metrics that simplified terminology and improved data interpretation for app developers and advertisers.

Immersive in-game advertising format preparation

Google announced preparation for an upcoming immersive in-game advertising format, scheduled for release in the later part of 2025. According to the announcement, these ads are "designed to integrate seamlessly within your spatial content," generating new revenue streams without impacting user experience.

The immersive format represents an expansion of AdMob's advertising capabilities beyond traditional display and video formats. Technical details about implementation requirements and integration processes will be provided closer to the launch date. This development aligns with broader industry trends toward more integrated advertising experiences within mobile applications.

The spatial integration approach suggests these ads will work within three-dimensional or augmented reality environments, potentially targeting gaming applications and immersive content platforms specifically.

Enhanced brand safety controls

Brand safety controls have been expanded to include third-party bidders, providing publishers with visibility and control over creatives from select third-party SDK bidders directly within the Ad Review Center (ARC) and Blocking controls. According to the announcement, "This empowers you to ensure a high-quality ad experience for your users."

These safety enhancements address increasing regulatory scrutiny of mobile advertising practices, with privacy regulations continuing to evolve in major markets. The improved tools for managing regulatory compliance may prove particularly valuable as requirements become more complex.

Publishers can now review and approve or block specific creative content before it appears in their applications, providing an additional layer of control over the advertising experience. This functionality extends previous brand safety measures to encompass the expanded bidding partner network.

Case study demonstrates revenue impact

Google highlighted the success of Shimmer Games, which achieved a 36% increase in revenue and 9% improvement in eCPMs through AdMob mediation optimization. According to the case study, Shimmer Games benchmarked their mediation settings and performance against industry top performers, then adjusted floor prices and integrated diverse ad networks.

The case study demonstrates practical implementation of the optimization features included in the update. Publishers can use similar benchmarking approaches through the eCPM Trends report to compare their performance against peer applications in similar categories.

Performance improvements of this magnitude suggest significant potential for publishers who actively optimize their mediation configurations using the enhanced tools and expanded demand sources now available through the platform.

Industry context and implications

These AdMob updates arrive as mobile advertising continues adapting to privacy-focused changes and increased regulatory oversight. Privacy-first advertising tools from companies like Adobe indicate industry-wide movement toward first-party data utilization and consent-based advertising models.

The expanded bidding partnerships and optimization tools position AdMob publishers to navigate these changes while maintaining revenue performance. Enhanced testing capabilities allow faster adaptation to market conditions, while improved brand safety controls address regulatory compliance requirements.

For marketing professionals, these updates represent opportunities to refine mobile advertising strategies through more sophisticated optimization tools and expanded demand sources. The accelerated AB testing timeline enables more agile campaign management and revenue optimization approaches.

Timeline