AdMob Android SDK
Installation Instructions
For upgrade instructions, see final page
AdMob Android SDK Installation Instructions
The AdMob Android SDK contains the code necessary to install AdMob ads in your
application. This PDF will guide you through a simple XML implementation. For more
technical information, please see the Javadocs that are included with the SDK
download. If you're upgrading from an older AdMob SDK, please refer to the last page
of this document for upgrade instructions.
Step 1 – Adding the JAR
In your project's root directory, create a subdirectory called libs. This will already be
done for you if you used Android's activitycreator tool. Copy the AdMob JAR file
(admob-sdk-android.jar) into that libs directory.
For Eclipse projects:
• Right-click on your project from the Package Explorer tab and select “Properties”
• Select "Java Build Path" from the left panel
• Select "Libraries" tab from the main window
• Click on "Add JARs..."
• Select the JAR that's been copied to the libs directory
• Click "OK" to add the SDK to your Android project
Step 2 – Editing Your Manifest File
First you will need to note your AdMob publisher ID. It was given to you when
registering your Android application on www.admob.com. It is a 15-character code
like a1496ced2842262 and can be found by locating your app in the Sites & Apps tab of
your AdMob account and clicking "Manage Settings":
Just before the closing </application> tag of your AndroidManifest.xml file, you will
need to add three things:
1. Your publisher ID from admob.com
2. Install tracking receiver
3. AdMobActivity for in-app landing pages
Copy and paste the following XML just before the closing </application> tag to add
these three elements, replacing YOUR_ID_HERE with your 15-character publisher ID:
<!-- The application's publisher ID assigned by AdMob -->
<meta-data android:value="YOUR_ID_HERE" android:name="ADMOB_PUBLISHER_ID" />
<!-- AdMobActivity definition -->
<activity android:name="com.admob.android.ads.AdMobActivity"
android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar.Fullscreen"
android:configChanges="orientation|keyboard|keyboardHidden" />
<!-- Track Market installs -->
<receiver android:name="com.admob.android.ads.analytics.InstallReceiver"
android:exported="true">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER" />
</intent-filter>
</receiver>
</application>
Note: If you are using Google Analytics, use the code above, and do not separately list
the Google Analytics receiver in your Manifest (package name:
com.google.android.apps.analytics.AnalyticsReceiver). AnalyticsReceiver will be called
by InstallReceiver in the code you've just added here.
Make sure Internet permission is included. If it isn't already included, paste this XML
after the </application> tag and before the closing </manifest> tag:
</application>
<!-- AdMob SDK requires Internet permission -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
</manifest>
If your application has ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION or ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
permission, optionally instruct the AdMob SDK whether to use location for targeting ads.
The default is not to use location and to log a warning asking you to explicitly opt in or
opt out. Either call AdManager.setAllowUseOfLocation before making ad requests or
insert the following line in AndroidManifest.xml just before the
closing </application> tag with either "true" or "false":
<meta-data android:value="true" android:name="ADMOB_ALLOW_LOCATION_FOR_ADS"
/>
</application>
Your final AndroidManifest.xml may look something like this:
Step 3 – Adding AdMob AdView Attributes to Your attrs.xml File
The attrs.xml file specifies custom AdView attributes in XML layout files. Paste the
following into your attrs.xml file:
<declare-styleable name="com.admob.android.ads.AdView">
<attr name="backgroundColor" format="color" />
<attr name="primaryTextColor" format="color" />
<attr name="secondaryTextColor" format="color" />
<attr name="keywords" format="string" />
<attr name="refreshInterval" format="integer" />
</declare-styleable>
If your project does not already have an attrs.xml file, then create one in the
/res/values/ directory of your project, and paste the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<declare-styleable name="com.admob.android.ads.AdView">
<attr name="backgroundColor" format="color" />
<attr name="primaryTextColor" format="color" />
<attr name="secondaryTextColor" format="color" />
<attr name="keywords" format="string" />
<attr name="refreshInterval" format="integer" />
</declare-styleable>
</resources>
Step 4 – Editing Your Layout
Create a reference to the attrs.xml file in your layout element by adding an xmlns
line that includes your package name (your package name is specified in
AndroidManifest.xml). For example, if your package name were
com.example.SampleApp, you would include this line:
xmlns:myapp="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/com.example.SampleApp"
For a simple screen with only an ad, your layout element would look like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:myapp="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/com.example.SampleApp"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<com.admob.android.ads.AdView
android:id="@+id/ad"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
myapp:backgroundColor="#000000"
myapp:primaryTextColor="#FFFFFF"
myapp:secondaryTextColor="#CCCCCC"
/>
</LinearLayout>
AdMob AdViews can be included in any type of XML layout. If you'd prefer to create
your AdView programmatically, please see the Javadoc for a description of relevant
constructors.
Step 5 – Setting Test Mode
When integrating AdMob ads into your application it is recommended that you use test
mode. In test mode, ads are always returned.
Test mode is enabled on a per-device basis. To enable test mode for a device, first
request an ad, then look in LogCat for a line like the following:
To get test ads on the emulator use AdManager.setTestDevices...
Once you have copied the device ID from this LogCat line, you can enable test mode by
calling AdManager.setTestDevices as follows:
AdManager.setTestDevices( new String[] {
AdManager.TEST_EMULATOR, // Android emulator
"E83D20734F72FB3108F104ABC0FFC738", // My T-Mobile G1 Test Phone
} );
A very simple class file might look like this:
When you disable test mode, live ads may not be returned immediately for requests
from a new publisher ID or one that has not been used in the past 24 hours. You
should begin seeing more live ads returned about 15 minutes after your initial live
ad requests.
Performance generally becomes more consistent once your app is in wider
distribution and ad requests are frequently being made from a variety of devices.
Tips for Ad Placement
Ads are best placed at natural break points in your application. Correctly answering
"when" and "where" to show ads can significantly increase revenue. Users are most
likely to click on ads at the end of some activity. For example, ads in games perform
best on game-over screens and worst when shown during game play.
Example Project – Lunar Lander
Included with this SDK is a Lunar Lander example project. This is the same example
found in the Android SDK except that it shows an AdMob ad when the game is paused
or finished.
Debugging
If something is going wrong, the first step is to look in Android's LogCat window. Make
sure the Android Eclipse plug-in is installed. Then open it from the menu Window ->
Show View -> LogCat. All AdMob logging is done using the tag "AdMobSDK".
Additional information can be found in the Javadoc and sample project contained within
the AdMob SDK.
You can connect with other developers using the AdMob Android SDK here:
http://groups.google.com/group/admob-publisher-discuss
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact support@admob.com.
Upgrade Instructions
If you're upgrading from a previous version of the AdMob Android SDK, you'll need to
swap in the new JAR file and also follow a few additional steps.
Step 1 – Swapping in the New JAR File
In Eclipse, simply delete the existing admob-sdk-android.jar file from your libs directory.
Then drag and drop the newer JAR file into the libs directory. When prompted, select
"Copy" rather than "Link to" this new JAR file.
Step 2 – Editing Your Manifest File
Just before the closing </application> tag of your AndroidManifest.xml file, add these
lines of code:
<!-- AdMobActivity definition -->
<activity android:name="com.admob.android.ads.AdMobActivity"
android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar.Fullscreen"
android:configChanges="orientation|keyboard|keyboardHidden" />
<!-- Track Market installs -->
<receiver android:name="com.admob.android.ads.analytics.InstallReceiver"
android:exported="true">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER" />
</intent-filter>
</receiver>
Note: If you are using Google Analytics, use the code above, and do not separately list
the Google Analytics receiver in your Manifest (package name:
com.google.android.apps.analytics.AnalyticsReceiver). AnalyticsReceiver will be called
by InstallReceiver in the code you've just added here.
