Monetize your Metro style app with Microsoft AdCenter

Today, the Microsoft Advertising team announced an update to their AdCenter SDK to include support for monetizing your Metro style apps.

In a blog post announcing the update, Ian notes that if you were using the previous SDK that there have been breaking changes and to use the updated SDK.  This update includes support for XAML applications and adding the ad units couldn’t be easier.  After installing their SDK (which was developed using the same distribution concepts in my post about creating a distributable custom control previous post), you will be able to use Add Reference in Visual Studio, navigate to the Windows/Extensions area and add the SDK.  After that it is as simple as adding the control in your project:

   1: <Grid Background="{StaticResource ApplicationPageBackgroundBrush}">

   2:     <Border Background="Red" VerticalAlignment="Bottom">

   3:         <ads:AdControl xmlns:ads="using:Microsoft.Advertising.WinRT.UI" 

   4:                        VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Width="728" Height="90" 

   5:                        AdUnitId="YOUR_AD_UNIT_ID" 

   6:                        ApplicationId="YOUR_APPLICATION_ID" />

   7:     </Border>

   8: </Grid>

Now you do, of course, have to have a pubCenter account and create the ad units beforehand in order for this to work, but that setup time didn’t take long at all.

You may have some time for your own ad units to be provisioned and start serving ads, but the ad team created some test values you can use to see how things all work.  Download the Ads SDK today!

Hope this helps!