• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 4, 2015

Google this week rolled out Trial Run Ads -- an app ad format that lets users play games for up to 60 seconds by streaming content from the app before downloading.

Google is betting that the demo will increase the likelihood that users will install the apps.

“Users get a taste of the game before going through the download process,  and the app developer attracts better qualified users who’ve chosen the game based on their experiences in the app,” Sissie Hsiao, director of product, display and Pasha Nahass, product manager, display, explain in a new blog post.

The search giant also launched a beta for Interactive Interstitial ads, which are HTML5 ads that offer a customized user experience tailored to individual advertiser's app.

The offering should give advertisers creative freedom to use HTML5 instead of standard templates and pull in data dynamically, according to Hsiao and Nahass.

“This is particularly valuable for advertisers that are looking for higher user engagement in installers,” they explain.

Advertisers can use Interactive Interstitials to show off their latest product offerings through galleries, highlight elements of their personal branding, and to demonstrate the value of their app before someone installs.

The additions follow similar efforts by Google to help developers, including its recent decision to redesign a popular in-app ad format, and return some details from within apps served on Google.com based on users’ search queries.

Beginning early next year, Google plans to warn mobile users who are downloading apps when they contain an ad. All apps in the Google PlayStore containing ads and offers for in-app purchases will have a label in the description.