Set up an app-ads.txt file for your app

For AdMob to find and verify your app-ads.txt file, be aware of the following:

• Your app must be registered with Google Play or the Apple App Store.
• The store listing for your app must include a developer website. Learn more.

In this article:

• Step 1: Establish your developer website
• Step 2: Create your app-ads.txt file
• Step 3: Publish your app-ads.txt file on your developer website
• Step 4: Wait for AdMob to crawl and verify your app-ads.txt file
• Step 5: Check that your app-ads.txt file is verified in your AdMob account

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Step 1: Establish your developer website

A developer website lets your users learn more about your apps and other content. It’s also how the app-ads.txt standard establishes who owns an app. Your developer website must be linked in your store listings in Google Play or the App Store in order for AdMob and other ad platforms to establish your app’s ownership.

If you don’t currently have a website set up for your app development business, then you’ll need to establish one prior to participating in app-ads.txt. Various free and paid web hosting options are available.

Once established, update your app’s listing in the app stores to include your developer website in the developer contact URL. You may optionally publish any relevant marketing and support information for your app on that website.  

Note: You don’t need to list your full app-ads.txt URL in the app store listing. AdMob crawls for your app-ads.txt file using the hostname (domain) portion of the website’s URL. Learn more about how we find your app-ads.txt file in Step 3. 

 Step 1a: Add your developer website in your app store listing

To add your developer website in your app store listing:

• For Google Play: Add the website URL in the contact information of your app listing:
  1. Sign in to your Play Console.
  2. Select an app.
  3. On the left menu, click Store presence > Store listing.
  4. Scroll to Contact Details.
  5. Add your developer website URL.
• For Apple App Store: Add your developer website in the marketing URL field of your store listing. 

If you add or update a developer website within your app listing in Google Play, allow up to 24 hours for AdMob to detect these changes.

Step 2: Create your app-ads.txt file 

View an example app-ads.txt file:

Note: Your app-ads.txt file must be formatted as specified by the IAB Tech Lab in order to be verified. If you need additional help, review the Authorized Sellers for Apps specification provided by the IAB Tech Lab. 

Step 2a: Add your personalized code snippet into your app-ads.txt file

AdMob provides a personalized code snippet that makes it easier to set up your app-ads.txt file. The personalized code snippet includes your publisher ID. 

Note that your publisher ID must be included and formatted correctly for your app-ads.txt file to be verified. 

To get your personalized code snippet, which includes your publisher ID:

1. Sign in to your AdMob account at https://apps.admob.com.
2. Click Apps in the sidebar.
3. Click View all apps.
4. Click the app-ads.txt tab.
5. Click How to set up app-ads.txt. 
6. Click  next to the code snippet to copy. 
7. Paste the code snippet into your app-ads.txt file. 

Step 2b: (Optional) Add other authorized seller IDs to your app-ads.txt file  

If you’re using another ad network, remember to add that network to your app-ads.txt file. This allows your third-party seller to also find and verify your app-ads.txt file. Contact your ad network for their app-ads.txt information. 

Step 3: Publish your app-ads.txt file on your developer website

The AdMob app-ads.txt crawler looks for your app-ads.txt file based on the developer website in your app's store listing. In accordance with the app-ads.txt specification, crawlers will look for files at the following URL patterns:

• https://<<hostname>>/app-ads.txt
• http://<<hostname>>/app-ads.txt

The hostname is determined from your app's developer website. This is the website's domain or (in certain circumstances) a subdomain, as described below.

The following table shows general examples of where the AdMob crawler will look for an app-ads.txt file for different developer website URLs.

If the developer website is:	Crawler looks in the following order:
https://example.com/game	https://example.com/app-ads.txt http://example.com/app-ads.txt
http://help.example.com/game	https://help.example.com/app-ads.txt http://help.example.com/app-ads.txt https://example.com/app-ads.txt http://example.com/app-ads.txt

The app-ads.txt specification has specific rules regarding subdomains. Crawlers will probe up to one subdomain level from the developer website when constructing an app-ads.txt URL. For example:

If the developer website is:	Crawler looks in the following order:
http://support.help.example.com/game	https://help.example.com/app-ads.txt http://help.example.com/app-ads.txt https://example.com/app-ads.txt http://example.com/app-ads.txt Note: "help.example.com" is at the first subdomain level and used for crawling, while “support.help.example.com” is at the second subdomain level and not used for crawling.

The specification excludes "www." and "m." subdomains as locations where crawlers will look for files.

If the developer website is:	Crawler looks in the following order:
https://www.example.com/game	https://example.com/app-ads.txt http://example.com/app-ads.txt
https://m.example.com/game	https://example.com/app-ads.txt http://example.com/app-ads.txt

 Your web server may redirect the crawler to an app-ads.txt file hosted elsewhere (including a “www.” subdomain). 

If the crawler looks for a file here:	Valid redirect destinations could include, but not limited to:
https://example.com/app-ads.txt	Your website’s “www.” subdomain: https://www.example.com/app-ads.txt Another subdomain and subdirectory: https://static.example.com/files/app-ads.txt Another subdomain, subdirectory, or file name: https://static.example.com/files/2020-02-15-app-ads.txt Another domain, including multiple subdomains: https://www.cdn.files.example-company.com/app-ads.txt

To investigate whether you published your file correctly, check that you successfully see your file's content when you access the app-ads.txt URL in your web browser.  If you can see the file in your web browser, it is likely that crawlers will successfully find it.

View the details about AdMob's attempts to crawl your app-ads.txt file in your AdMob account. 

Step 4: Wait for AdMob to crawl and verify your app-ads.txt file

It can take up to 24 hours for AdMob to crawl and verify your app-ads.txt files. AdMob routinely checks your latest file, but you can also request AdMob to crawl your app for a faster response: 

1. Sign in to your AdMob account at https://apps.admob.com.
2. Click Apps in the sidebar.
3. Click View all apps.
4. Click the app-ads.txt tab.
5. In the row of the app you want to see details for, click . This will open additional details and the option to request AdMob to crawl your app. 
6. Click Check for updates. When you request AdMob to crawl for an app-ads.txt file, AdMob will update the status for all apps that share the same app-ads.txt file.
   • In some cases, the Check for updates button may be unavailable. Note that AdMob routinely crawls your latest file for updates. 

It can take up to 24 hours for AdMob to crawl and verify your app-ads.txt files. Wait at least 24 hours for the app-ads.txt status to update. 

If you’ve recently added a developer website or updated your app listing in Google Play, allow up to 24 hours for AdMob to detect these changes.

Step 5: Check that your app-ads.txt file is verified in your AdMob account

You can view the status and details of your app-ads.txt file for all your apps in your AdMob account. 

If your file wasn’t found or verified, review the information provided in your AdMob account or learn more about troubleshooting app-ads.txt issues.