5 Questions to ask a SMS API Provider

A sound mobile marketing plan is in place, and now you’re looking for a SMS API provider to handle your messaging needs. You’ve done your research and recognize what can be accomplished with SMS. With multiple providers out there choosing the right one can be a difficult task. AvidMobile has compiled a list of five questions you should ask a potential mobile marketing providers about their API.

What is the SMS message throughput?

Take a look at their message delivery rates. The majority of mobile marketing providers can send, on average, between 30 – 40 messages per second from a short code. As an SMS API provider Avidmobile built established relationships with tier one aggregators and can has a SMS message throughput that delivers a minimum of 60 messages per second.

Do they have redundancies in their architecture?

Take a look at the application and find out what measures they have put into place to ensure their application stays up and running. With the right security settings and access to several short codes we’ve  taken extra steps put redundancies in place to ensure our partners SMS messages are delivered successfully.

What type of connection are they using to deliver SMS messages?

Some SMS providers will advertise they have their own aggregator set up in-house. While this may be true, many of these SMS API providers function as a tier 2 aggregator and their connection to the carrier and reliability are not as strong. Did you know AvidMobile works with tier one aggregators to ensure quality connections, reduce downtime. This increase the delivery rate for our SMS messages.

Have they built an established SMS API?

Take a look at their SMS API and their documentation. The documentation should be clear and easily accessible. A fully interactive SMS api should be able to interact with all of the SMS marketing features of the application. AvidMobile provides clear examples using JSON requests. This makes it easy for developers to get started with our application.

Do they provide the best bulk SMS pricing?

Examine their pricing structure and run the numbers. By doing this you can better estimate ROI. An SMS API provider that offers price breaks for bulk SMS enable their users to make more money. AvidMobile provides significant price breaks based on volume, providing our partners with thousands of extra dollars in revenue.

Take your time. Choosing the right SMS API provider is an important decision. Know what you want to accomplish with SMS. This guides you in asking the right questions and partnering with a provider that meets your needs. Take a look at AvidMobile’s PHP SDK and example JSON requests to better understand our SMS API functionality. As always you can grab your SMS trial account here!