Microsoft Updates Ad Reports in Windows Dev Center

The Windows App team announced several new features for tracking the performance of your in app advertising through the Windows Dev Center.

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

July 19, 2016

2 Min Read
Microsoft Updates Ad Reports in Windows Dev Center

The app economy is a fickle one.

Many users expect all apps to be free and that is fine for large corporations who can afford to pay a team of developers to build their app offerings or hire freelancers to come in and develop the app and provide support/updates.

However, small developer shops and independent developers depend on one of three methods to try and turn their apps into a revenue stream:

  1. Sell the app

  2. In App Purchases (IAP)

  3. In app advertising

Some will use a combination of theses but rarely do you see the paid options intermixed with in app advertising although some do offer an IAP option to remove ads.

If you are a small scale developer and are using ads in your Windows apps then you will be very pleased with the recent updates Microsoft has made to the Windows Dev Center to improve the reporting of ad performance in your apps.

According to the Windows Apps Team, these are the new features for ad reporting:

  • Faster reporting– Better reporting performance in Dev Center.

  • Fresher reports – Data loads faster into Dev Center, so you should see your reports earlier.

  • Improved accuracy – New system implemented to detect and rapidly correct data discrepancies, so data is more accurate.

  • New reporting capabilities – New date range options, including custom date range and market wise ads performance data in download reports, so that you can better analyze performance data in Microsoft Excel.

The periodicity in which your ad data is uploaded to the Windows Dev Center is now every four hours so that you can see the performance of your ads much quicker.

Having the capability to quickly analyze what ad styles and layouts work best in your app are critical tools for developers to maximize their financial return on their development work. It looks like these updates are targeted right along those lines.

If you want to give Microsoft feedback on these updates or other aspects of the Windows Dev Center just visit the Windows Developer Feedback site and let them know what is working and what is not.

You can also learn more about the Windows Dev Center Advertising Report in the Dev Center.

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

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About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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