• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, March 7, 2019

Microsoft began rewarding users years ago for conducting a search on Bing, and recently made an Android Launcher available through the app store that rewards people, too. Now Google has introduced an in-app program in Google Play that rewards users for watching advertisements.

Rewards Products, an in-game currency or bonuses platform, enables developers to build in a feature that allows those using their app to earn money for each ad viewed.

The first rewarded product will support the video format. App users can choose to watch a video advertisement. When complete, they are rewarded with virtual goods or in-game currency. For example, the user selects "watch ad,” views the video, and then is granted 100 coins.

Earnings made must exceed $100 before payment is redeemed. Earned balances must meet $10.

The idea is to get mobile android developers to use Google’s tool set and build the feature into their apps. Developers can add rewarded products to any app, not just video games, without using an extra SDK. The feature relies on AdMob technology.

Developers will find the option to create rewarded products under the in-app products section in the Play Console. Google has set some lengthy guidelines, and has provided detailed information on how to monetize the apps.

Blocking ads is another feature. Developers can block specific apps from advertising in their own app by searching for a specific app package name or by using a comma-separated list for multiple apps. About 500 is the maximum number of apps the developer can block across all of specific apps and one account.

Using the Play Console, developers can review the app's financial data to see sales, manage products and subscriptions, and monitor how rewarded products perform. Revenue data is based on estimated sales, the amount paid by buyers, including tax.

Ads may not always be available to serve up in the app, per Google. The selection of Ads Content Rating, Category blocks, and App blocks also will impact the amount of advertisements available.