Navigating growth while prioritizing the user experience
Founded in 2015, Turkish company letgo is a fast-growing digital marketplace for buying and selling used goods and vehicles that has grown to over 100 million downloads. Its website and mobile app offer a seamless experience where users can browse, buy, and sell items locally. letgo relies on a balanced business model, earning revenue through paid visibility features, in-app advertising, and pay&ship transaction fees.
letgo wanted to sustain growth, protect its brand, and maintain a quality user experience for buyers and sellers. However, they were limited in accessing diverse demand sources, and couldn’t create enough auction pressure to meet its goals. To address this issue, letgo began exploring ways to make more for every impression and earn more revenue without showing more ads.
Operational excellence and unified demand with Google Ad Manager
letgo created a more efficient revenue strategy with hybrid mediation in Google Ad Manager, using SDK Bidding and waterfall mediation in one platform. This hybrid model gives letgo more control, making it easier to prioritize high-performing networks through waterfall while building auction pressure through real-time bidding. Google Ad Manager also simplified pricing management and reduced the need for manual waterfall updates. To further drive competition, letgo leveraged automatic data collection to dynamically update prices for each network.
letgo employed a phased approach by adopting SDK bidding first, then waterfall mediation. SDK bidding offered a fast, simple way to improve competition, while mediation provided access to more demand sources.
letgo used the Ad Manager Help Center and developer guides, and talked with its Google team, to find the best setup for their business. The work was completed in just weeks, and did not affect the user experience.
As they adopted hybrid mediation, letgo carefully paid attention to brand quality. As the company added more demand sources, it aimed to protect its users and the overall user experience. letgo used the AI-powered Ad Review Center to help protect their brand safety standards. The Ad Review Center learned from past blocking decisions, flagged ads for review, and helped find and block unwanted ads faster.
An evolved strategy that delivers revenue growth
Google Ad Manager helped letgo solve its two biggest challenges: earn more revenue and keep their brand safe. By providing more control over inventory and access to a broader range of demand partners, letgo saw total revenue grow by 134% and its total average eCPM grow by 226% in Q1–Q3 2025 compared to Q1–Q3 2024.1
Following the early success with hybrid mediation, letgo added more bidders and mediation partners in Google Ad Manager, further increasing competition and transforming their revenue strategy.
