• by Steve Smith  @popeyesm, April 19, 2012

In an effort to help app developers promote their downloads, Google’s AdMob mobile ad network is enhancing its text banners. The Google Mobile Ads Blog noted that the new banners that can run in Google Play and iTunes Store apps on the AdMob network can carry more detailed information about the apps being promoted. The new format allows the current price of the app, its user-generated star rating and the number of reviews for the app to be integrated on the banner.

“By providing more details in the ad unit, we empower users to make more informed decisions about what they are getting, what they have to pay for it and how other users like the app,” says Software Engineer for Google Mobile display Ads David Lewis in the post. Lewis says that having more information up front in the ad creative itself will lead to improved conversion rates for developers.

Google Play and the Android OS must be hoping to improve their relationship with developers. While AdMob serves ads for both Android and iOS apps into both platforms, the company has a special interest in improving the metrics and the reputation of the Android app ecosystem among developers. Google has struggled against lower rates of monetization for Android app developers. App analytics firm Flurry recently reported that for every dollar of revenue the iOS platform generates for developers, the same app sees only 23 cents. Even Amazon’s fledgling Android app store fares much better, delivering 83 cents for every dollar in iOS revenue.