Ad Events

There are a number of important events in the lifecycle of a banner or interstitial ad: loading, opening, closing, and so on. The Google Mobile Ads SDK allows developers to listen for these through the AdListener class. This guide shows you how to use AdListener with your banner ads and interstitial ads as well as some common use cases for each of its available methods.

To see banner ad events in action, download the Android API Demo app.

Download API demo

Prerequisites

Complete the Get Started in Android Studio guide.

Use AdListener with banner ads

To use an AdListener with an AdView object, simply call the setAdListener() method. Here's an example using an anonymous inner class:

Set up an ad listener

mAdView.setAdListener(new AdListener() {
    @Override
    public void onAdLoaded() {
        // Code to be executed when an ad finishes loading.
    }

    @Override
    public void onAdFailedToLoad(int errorCode) {
        // Code to be executed when an ad request fails.
    }

    @Override
    public void onAdOpened() {
        // Code to be executed when an ad opens an overlay that
        // covers the screen.
    }

    @Override
    public void onAdLeftApplication() {
        // Code to be executed when the user has left the app.
    }

    @Override
    public void onAdClosed() {
        // Code to be executed when when the user is about to return
        // to the app after tapping on an ad.
    }
});

Each of the overridable methods in AdListener corresponds to an event in the lifecycle of an ad:

onAdLoaded()

The onAdLoaded() method is executed when an ad has finished loading. If you want to delay adding the AdView to your activity or fragment until you're sure an ad will be loaded, for example, you can do so here. If you're using a third-party analytics package to track impressions, this is also where you can place the call to record them.

onAdFailedToLoad()

The onAdFailedToLoad() method is the only one that includes a parameter. The errorCode parameter indicates what type of failure occurred. The possible values are defined as constants in the AdRequest class:

ERROR_CODE_INTERNAL_ERROR

Something happened internally; for instance, an invalid response was received from the ad server.

ERROR_CODE_INVALID_REQUEST

The ad request was invalid; for instance, the ad unit ID was incorrect.

ERROR_CODE_NETWORK_ERROR

The ad request was unsuccessful due to network connectivity.

ERROR_CODE_NO_FILL

The ad request was successful, but no ad was returned due to lack of ad inventory.

onAdOpened()

For banner ads, this method is invoked when the user taps on an ad. If you're using an analytics package to track clickthroughs, this is a good place to record one.

onAdLeftApplication()

This method is invoked after onAdOpened(), when the activity launched by Android to handle the destination URL has been created.

onAdClosed()

When a user returns to the app after viewing an ad's destination URL, this method is invoked. Your app can use it to resume suspended activities or perform any other work necessary to make itself ready for interaction.

See the AdMob AdListener example for an implementation of the ad listener methods in the Android API Demo app.

Use AdListener with interstitial ads

The InterstitialAd class provided by the SDK has a setAdListener() method identical to the one used for banner ads. You use it in the same way and with the same events. There are some important things to note for two of the methods, though:

onAdOpened

With banner ads, this method is invoked when the user taps on an ad. With interstitial ads, however, it's executed when the ad is displayed, covering the device's screen.

onAdClosed

This method is invoked when the interstitial ad is closed due to the user tapping on the close icon or using the back button.

If your app paused its audio output or game loop, this is a great place to resume it. In addition, if you plan to show more than one interstitial ad, you can call loadAd() with a new request object here to begin loading the next one.

Further reading

For more details on specific methods, see the class reference for AdListener.

FAQ

My ad units are set up to use mediation. Will I still be able to use AdListener?

Yes, mediation adapters are required to send all of these events, and they are forwarded to your app.

Can I make the method call to show an interstitial ad from within the onAdLoaded() method?

It's not a good idea. Interstitial ads are meant to be loaded in advance and shown when the app has reached a natural pause, such as between levels in a game. It's better to let the ad wait until the user is ready, rather than the reverse.