A lack of clarity and trust in ad network providers mean that 70 per cent of developers are “frustrated with the current state of app marketing”, a survey from app promotion network AppFlood found.

According to the research, when it comes to selecting an advertising partner, cost is only number three in the propriety list. Instead, almost half of those surveyed said the most important factor is the ability to “trust the advertising partner to deliver effective results at a reasonable price”, with the variety of ad networks, formats and mechanisms contributing to a sense of confusion.

When asked if they felt that the users they had acquired from their investment in mobile marketing were good value for money, nearly half of the respondents (48 per cent) felt the acquisition cost was too expensive.

Some 71 per cent of respondents said they felt that ad networks “often exaggerated” claims for effective cost per thousand. Overall, medium-sized developers are the most dissatisfied, with more than 80 per cent stating that they believed the numbers were overstated.

The majority (78 per cent) of developers have a per-app marketing budget of $5,000 or less, with 12 per cent in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, and just 10 per cent having more than $10,000.

When it came to choosing their marketing channels, 26 per cent of small developers, 19 per cent of medium developers, and 12 per cent of large developers said they “took a chance” when making decisions, which AppFlood suggests “a gap in developers’ knowledge on how to objectively assess the credentials and performance of the various networks and services on offer”.

Si Shen, CEO of PapayaMobile, the company behind AppFlood, said, “Currently, developers instinctively gravitate towards big name ad networks and service providers in the belief that they can “trust” these brands to offer an effective app marketing service. However, the fact that the vast majority of developers – especially smaller ones – are also unhappy with the results achieved relative to the cost suggests a gulf in expectations between themselves and the ad network providers.”

The survey polled more than 1,000 independent small, medium and large developers on their attitudes toward ad networks and providers.