What is the secret of success in mobile advertising? The traditional answer is banner ads. But up to 50 percent of clicks on mobile banner ads are accidental -- and the average click-through rate of display ads is just a fraction of a percent (0.1 percent)? Considering that more people are spending more time on their mobile devices, what can advertisers do to improve the outcomes of their mobile advertising campaigns?

Content Monetization

It's widely known that mobile banner ads or display advertising has its flaws. The ads can be annoying and they're not always user-friendly, especially on mobile. However, as we've learned previously, mobile banner ads may boost location-based advertising efforts and can be fairly effective in targeting users. Still, there's more to mobile advertising than banner ads. 

Is the secret to mobile advertising content monetization? Engaging content helps attract attention and retain interest from customers. Additionally, non-voice mobile activity accounts for nearly 20 percent of media time. That's a lot of time to interact with blogs, social networks, video and more. It's also an opportunity for companies to leverage that content to your advantage. 

Here are three tools you can use to monetize content on mobile. 

VigLink

What it is: VigLink is a content monetization company that helps online publishers (i.e. bloggers, individuals on social media, email marketers and the like) earn from content they create and the commerce they drive.

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What it does: Upon signing up, users are provided with a short snippet of code that can be added to their websites. When links are clicked and readers buy, VigLink credits your site. With three different products, Convert, Insert and Anywhere, publishers can monetize the links on their site that point towards products and services across multiple platforms, freeing up space on the page without adding additional work for content creators or web managers. 

How it works for mobile: For mobile apps focused on content or shopping, the VigLink Convert API provides seamless, pixel-free monetization. When users follow a link and buy, site owners get paid. Advertisers can spend time building an awesome app, rather than integrating with countless affiliate programs.

Outbrain

What it is: Outbrain is a content discovery platform that powers personalized recommendations to content on most leading publisher websites online.

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What it does: Users can install Outbrain to offer recommendations and help their audiences discover more relevant content. Users can also add a new revenue stream by offering recommendations to third-party content on other sites. Additionally, Outbrain lets publishers grow their audiences by distributing content on related sites where people are looking for something new to discover. The audience coming from Outbrain is already in content consumption mode, therefore more engaged and more likely to stay longer, the company contends.

How it works for mobile: Publishers can use Outbrain to find an audience that is already consuming content on mobile-optimized publisher sites, as well as target traffic by device and across apps. 

Airpush

What it is: Airpush is mobile ad network and application monetization solution for Android developers that gives advertisers a way to reach consumers and gives developers ways to generate revenue to bring new products to market. 

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What it does: Airpush advertisers can choose from a variety of ad formats, including industry standards as well as its proprietary ones such as Push Ads, Icon Ads and Dialog Ads. Unlike traditional mobile ads, Push Ads are not placed inside apps. Rather, each ad is also tagged with a permanent opt-out link, as well as the name of the app which delivered the ad.

How it works for mobile:  Airpush allows advertisers multiple mobile ad solutions, like HyperTarget, which lets advertisers target opted-in users based on their app download history. Because a user's app download history can reveal important information about their interests, advertisers can better target ads.