Banner Ads

Banner ads are rectangular ads that occupy a portion of an app's layout. They stay on screen while users are interacting with the app, either anchored at the top or bottom of the screen or inline with content as the user scrolls. Banner ads can refresh automatically after a certain period of time. See Overview of banner ads for more information.

This guide shows you how to get started with anchored adaptive banner ads, which maximizes performance by optimizing the ad size for each device using an ad width you specify.

Anchored adaptive banner

Anchored adaptive banner ads are fixed aspect ratio ads rather than the regular fixed size ads. The aspect ratio is similar to 320*50 industry standard. Once you specify the full width available, it will return you an ad with optimal height for that width. The optimal height doesn't change across requests from the same device, and the surrounding views don't need to move when the ad refreshes.

Prerequisites

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 iOS banners:

ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/2435281174

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.

Create a GADBannerView

Banner ads are displayed in GADBannerView objects, so the first step toward integrating banner ads is to include a GADBannerView in your view hierarchy. This is typically done either programmatically or through Interface Builder.

Programmatically

A GADBannerView can also be instantiated directly. Here's an example of how to create a GADBannerView, aligned to the bottom center of the safe area of the screen:

Swift

import GoogleMobileAds
import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {

  var bannerView: GADBannerView!

  override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    
    let viewWidth = view.frame.inset(by: view.safeAreaInsets).width

    // Here the current interface orientation is used. Use
    // GADLandscapeAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSizeWithWidth or
    // GADPortraitAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSizeWithWidth if you prefer to load an ad of a
    // particular orientation,
    let adaptiveSize = GADCurrentOrientationAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSizeWithWidth(viewWidth)
    bannerView = GADBannerView(adSize: adaptiveSize)

    addBannerViewToView(bannerView)
  }

  func addBannerViewToView(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
    bannerView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    view.addSubview(bannerView)
    view.addConstraints(
      [NSLayoutConstraint(item: bannerView,
                          attribute: .bottom,
                          relatedBy: .equal,
                          toItem: view.safeAreaLayoutGuide,
                          attribute: .bottom,
                          multiplier: 1,
                          constant: 0),
       NSLayoutConstraint(item: bannerView,
                          attribute: .centerX,
                          relatedBy: .equal,
                          toItem: view,
                          attribute: .centerX,
                          multiplier: 1,
                          constant: 0)
      ])
   }
   
}

Objective-C

@import GoogleMobileAds;

@interface ViewController ()

@property(nonatomic, strong) GADBannerView *bannerView;

@end

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
  [super viewDidLoad];
  
  // Here safe area is taken into account, hence the view frame is used after the
  // view has been laid out.
  CGRect frame = UIEdgeInsetsInsetRect(self.view.frame, self.view.safeAreaInsets);
  CGFloat viewWidth = frame.size.width;

  // Here the current interface orientation is used. If the ad is being preloaded
  // for a future orientation change or different orientation, the function for the
  // relevant orientation should be used.
  GADAdSize adaptiveSize = GADCurrentOrientationAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSizeWithWidth(viewWidth);
  // In this case, we instantiate the banner with desired ad size.
  self.bannerView = [[GADBannerView alloc] initWithAdSize:adaptiveSize];

  [self addBannerViewToView:self.bannerView];
}

- (void)addBannerViewToView:(UIView *)bannerView {
  bannerView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;
  [self.view addSubview:bannerView];
  [self.view addConstraints:@[
    [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:bannerView
                               attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom
                               relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                  toItem:self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide
                               attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom
                              multiplier:1
                                constant:0],
    [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:bannerView
                               attribute:NSLayoutAttributeCenterX
                               relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual
                                  toItem:self.view
                               attribute:NSLayoutAttributeCenterX
                              multiplier:1
                                constant:0]
                                ]];
}
  
@end

Note that in this case we don't give width or height constraints, as the provided ad size will give the banner an intrinsic content size to size the view.

Interface Builder

A GADBannerView can be added to a storyboard or xib file. When using this method, be sure to only add position constraints on the banner. For example, when displaying an adaptive banner at the bottom of the screen, set the bottom of the banner view equal to the top of the Bottom Layout Guide, and set the center X equal to the center X of the superview.

The banner's ad size is still set programmatically:

Swift

  bannerView.adSize = GADCurrentOrientationAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSizeWithWidth(viewWidth)

Objective-C

  self.bannerView.adSize = GADCurrentOrientationAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSizeWithWidth(viewWidth);

Load an ad

Once the GADBannerView is in place and its properties configured, it's time to load an ad. This is done by calling loadRequest: on a GADRequest object:

Swift

override func viewDidLoad() {
  super.viewDidLoad()
  ...
  
  //  Set the ad unit ID and view controller that contains the GADBannerView.
  bannerView.adUnitID = "ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/2435281174"
  bannerView.rootViewController = self

  bannerView.load(GADRequest())
}

Objective-C

-   (void)viewDidLoad {
  [super viewDidLoad];
  ...
  
  //  Set the ad unit ID and view controller that contains the GADBannerView.
  self.bannerView.adUnitID = @"ca-app-pub-3940256099942544/2435281174";
  self.bannerView.rootViewController = self;

  [self.bannerView loadRequest:[GADRequest request]];
}

GADRequest objects represent a single ad request, and contain properties for things like targeting information.

If your ad fails to load, you don't need to explicitly request another one as long as you've configured your ad unit to refresh; the Google Mobile Ads SDK respects any refresh rate you specified in the AdMob UI. If you haven't enabled refresh, you will need to issue a new request.

Ad events

Through the use of GADBannerViewDelegate, you can listen for lifecycle events, such as when an ad is closed or the user leaves the app.

Registering for banner events

To register for banner ad events, set the delegate property on GADBannerView to an object that implements the GADBannerViewDelegate protocol. Generally, the class that implements banner ads also acts as the delegate class, in which case, the delegate property can be set to self.

Swift

import GoogleMobileAds
import UIKit

class ViewController: UIViewController, GADBannerViewDelegate {

  var bannerView: GADBannerView!

  override func viewDidLoad() {
    super.viewDidLoad()
    ...
    bannerView.delegate = self
  }
}

Objective-C

@import GoogleMobileAds;

@interface ViewController () <GADBannerViewDelegate>

@property(nonatomic, strong) GADBannerView *bannerView;

@end

@implementation ViewController

-   (void)viewDidLoad {
  [super viewDidLoad];
  ...
  self.bannerView.delegate = self;
}

Implementing banner events

Each of the methods in GADBannerViewDelegate is marked as optional, so you only need to implement the methods you want. This example implements each method and logs a message to the console:

Swift

func bannerViewDidReceiveAd(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  print("bannerViewDidReceiveAd")
}

func bannerView(_ bannerView: GADBannerView, didFailToReceiveAdWithError error: Error) {
  print("bannerView:didFailToReceiveAdWithError: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}

func bannerViewDidRecordImpression(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  print("bannerViewDidRecordImpression")
}

func bannerViewWillPresentScreen(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  print("bannerViewWillPresentScreen")
}

func bannerViewWillDismissScreen(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  print("bannerViewWillDIsmissScreen")
}

func bannerViewDidDismissScreen(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  print("bannerViewDidDismissScreen")
}

Objective-C

-   (void)bannerViewDidReceiveAd:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  NSLog(@"bannerViewDidReceiveAd");
}

-   (void)bannerView:(GADBannerView *)bannerView didFailToReceiveAdWithError:(NSError *)error {
  NSLog(@"bannerView:didFailToReceiveAdWithError: %@", [error localizedDescription]);
}

-   (void)bannerViewDidRecordImpression:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  NSLog(@"bannerViewDidRecordImpression");
}

-   (void)bannerViewWillPresentScreen:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  NSLog(@"bannerViewWillPresentScreen");
}

-   (void)bannerViewWillDismissScreen:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  NSLog(@"bannerViewWillDismissScreen");
}

-   (void)bannerViewDidDismissScreen:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  NSLog(@"bannerViewDidDismissScreen");
}

See the Ad Delegate example for an implementation of banner delegate methods in the iOS API Demo app.

Swift Objective-C

Use cases

Here are some example use cases for these ad event methods.

Adding a banner to the view hierarchy once an ad is received

You may want to delay in adding a GADBannerView to the view hierarchy until after an ad is received. You can do this by listening for the bannerViewDidReceiveAd: event:

Swift

func bannerViewDidReceiveAd(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  // Add banner to view and add constraints as above.
  addBannerViewToView(bannerView)
}

Objective-C

-   (void)bannerViewDidReceiveAd:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  // Add bannerView to view and add constraints as above.
  [self addBannerViewToView:self.bannerView];
}

Animating a banner ad

You can also use the bannerViewDidReceiveAd: event to animate a banner ad once it's returned, as shown in the following example:

Swift

func bannerViewDidReceiveAd(_ bannerView: GADBannerView) {
  bannerView.alpha = 0
  UIView.animate(withDuration: 1, animations: {
    bannerView.alpha = 1
  })
}

Objective-C

-   (void)bannerViewDidReceiveAd:(GADBannerView *)bannerView {
  bannerView.alpha = 0;
  [UIView animateWithDuration:1.0 animations:^{
    bannerView.alpha = 1;
  }];
}

Pausing and resuming the app

The GADBannerViewDelegate protocol has methods to notify you of events, such as when a click causes an overlay to be presented or dismissed. If you want to trace whether these events were due to ads, register for these GADBannerViewDelegate methods.

To catch all types of overlay presentations or external browser invocations, not just those that come from ad clicks, your app is better off listening for the equivalent methods on UIViewController or UIApplication. Here is a table showing the equivalent iOS methods that are invoked at the same time as GADBannerViewDelegate methods:

GADBannerViewDelegate method iOS method
bannerViewWillPresentScreen: UIViewController's viewWillDisappear:
bannerViewWillDismissScreen: UIViewController's viewWillAppear:
bannerViewDidDismissScreen: UIViewController's viewDidAppear:

Additional resources

Examples on GitHub

Next steps

Collapsible banners

Collapsible banner ads are banner ads that are initially presented as a larger overlay, with a button to collapse the ad to a smaller size. Consider using it to further optimize your performance. See collapsible banner ads for more details.

Inline adaptive banners

Inline adaptive banners are larger, taller banners compared to anchored adaptive banners. They are of variable height, and can be as tall as the device screen. Inline adaptive banners are recommended over anchored adaptive banner ads for apps that place banner ads in scrollable content. See inline adaptive banners for more details.

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