can AdMob be used for desktop applications?

Question

I am building cross-platform software that works in the desktop (mac & windows) and mobile (iOS & Android). I am thinking about making it ad supported but while we have a lot of solutions for mobile, I could not found any solution for the Desktop. I am thinking about using AdMob and loading its web code in a little webview in the program. This would work on both mobile and desktop but I don't know if it is allowed. Anyone knows better?

Any developer using some Ad solution for the Desktop? Anyone knows if loading the web code in a web view inside a program is allowed? (I don't see any info about this in their terms)

I know this is not a coding question but a developer strategy question. As many developers look forward to create multiple sources of income, I'd like to know more about what developers here are using for servings ads in mobile and desktop space.

cheers andre

Answer 1

From a bit of experience, there is no way around the fact that the ad code is web-based. You need to do exactly what you described, which is writing a little view that will display the ad in your desktop application. I was also a little surprised by this, but after a while this made more sense to me. Even a 'cached' set of ads will still become stale after a while and need to be updated somehow. This is best done through HTTP and because it is so widely implemented, ad companies do not create special-case code for something like desktops. They only provide the HTTP-based mode.