Utilizing user feedback to assist software developers to better use mobile ads in apps

2019-04-25In the mobile app ecosystem, developers receive ad revenue by placing ads in their apps and releasing them for free. While there is evidence that users do not like ads, we do not know the aspects of ads that users dislike nor if they dislike certain aspects of ads more than others. Therefore, in the first part of this dissertation work, I analyzed the different ad-related topics in app reviews from users. In order to do this, I investigated user reviews of apps that contained complaints about ads (ad reviews). I examined a sample set of 400 ad reviews randomly selected to identify ad-related topics in a systematic way. I found that most ad complaints were about UI-related topics and the three topics discussed predominantly were: the frequency with which ads were displayed, the timing of when ads were displayed, and the location of the displayed ads. I also found users reviewed non-UI aspects of mobile advertising, such as ad blocking or slowing down the host app’s operation. My results provide actionable information to software developers regarding the aspects of ads that are most likely to be complained about by users in their reviews. ❧ The results of the above work indicate that although the apps are ostensibly free, they do, in fact, come with costs. To analyze ad costs related to non-UI aspects, I designed a systematic approach to study 21 real-world Android apps. The results showed that the use of ads led to the consumption of significantly more network data, increased energy consumption, and repeated changes to ad-related code. I also found that complaints about these costs were significant and could affect the rating (on a scale of one to five stars) given to an app. My results provide actionable information and guidance to software developers in weighing the tradeoffs of incorporating ads into their mobile apps. ❧ In the third part of my dissertation work, I systematically investigated UI aspects of mobile ads. My prior results showed the improper use of ads could become a source of complaints and bad ratings for the app. Hence, developers must know how, where, and when to display ads in their apps. Unfortunately, very little guidance is available for developers, and most advice tends to be anecdotal, too general, or not supported by quantitative evidence. To address this, I investigated UI-related ad topics, which my prior work had identified as the most common type of ad complaint. To carry out this investigation, I developed analyses to quantify aspects related to these UI topics and then analyzed whether there existed a relationship between these values and the ratings assigned to the app by end users. I found lower ratings (with statistical significance) were generally associated with apps that had different visual patterns regarding ad implementation, such as ads in the middle or at the bottom of the page, and ads on the initial landing page of an app. Based on the results, I created a set of guidelines to help app developers more effectively use ads in their apps