Ads suck as a business model (generally speaking).
Ads are a “nice to have” supplementary income for a website, but it’s never a good idea to build a site with the sole intention of running ads on it.
The main issue is that you’re business model is at the whim of an algorithm change as well as current ad rates. Either one of these items fluctuate and it’s bye bye your income.
Instead, strive to build a business (businesses sell things ladies and gentlemen) and use advertising for content where there is no specific offer to promote.
Like a blog post on “how to download YouTube videos” for example is strictly an informational post. Someone who hits that page is just looking for an answer to their search query.
They are not looking to buy anything or to subscribe to anything. They just want a clear and direct solution to their search query.
So for this type of content, ads are a fantastic way to monetize your blog.
So while I’m not a big proponent of ads, they do work for a wide range of websites. Here are my top advertising networks for blogs and websites you need to be aware of.
Google AdSense – The original and best starter network
Leading off my list is the Google AdSense program.
Look, I know they are not the “best” network around nor are they the highest paying.
But they are a solid option for smaller websites and blogs that are under 50,000 monthly visitors and are the network everyone who is new to running display ads uses for the first time.
I like AdSense because:
- It’s easy to get started and approved with them.
- You can use AdSense auto ads that use machine learning to run high converting ads.
- You get a base level income for your ad income that you can compare to other networks.
- You’re able to run ads on specific pages on your blog and not others if you like. You have total control.
What I mean by “base income” is that when you run AdSense, you now have a general idea of how much you can earn from ads. So when you start to qualify for other networks, you have some base level to compare earnings to.
Finally, because there are no minimum traffic levels, you can run AdSense on specific blog posts and not others if you like.
Why pray tell would you want to do this?
Because if you have a post ranking for something like best cameras for YouTube, that post will make more from the affiliate side than ads.
You may also have other pieces of content that are quite effective at driving traffic to a low priced offer or your email list so you don’t want to distract the visitor with ads
Other blog posts that are strictly informational that have no relevant offer are then a good candidate for running ads.
Pros:
- AdSense is not too strict about who they allow into their program. So long as your website is advertiser friendly, your account should be approved if you have minimum traffic levels.
- Auto ads for optimal performance. Google AdSense will literally optimize ad placement for you without you lifting a finger (except to click on Auto Ads).
- You can exclude ads on specific blog posts and pages as well. So if there are only a handful of pieces of content where you want to run ads, Google AdSense is for you.
- You can manually place ads if you like. Maybe you have 100 blog post, but only 5 of those posts you want to display ads, with Google AdSense you can manually do this.
Cons:
- While you can still make a good income with AdSense if you have the traffic, you’ll almost always make more by joining an ad network.
- Pay attention to your user experience and site speed, you don’t want excessive ads slowing everything down.
Google AdSense requirements
Here are their requirements:
- Unique and interesting content.
- You must be 18 years old.
- No minimum traffic or pageviews.
- Comply with their terms of service.
Media Vine – Full service ad management
Media Vine is my favorite ad network but the catch is that you have to have a minimum of 50,000 monthly visitors to apply, but if you can get in with them, it’s worth it.
What Media Vine does is that they act as the middle man between your website and advertisers. This is ideal for you because you don’t have to do anything other than build a great website and collect a paycheck once a month from Media Vine.
To get started, you’ll have to apply to be accepted into Media Vine, you can checkout the application here. You’ll have to answer a wide range of questions like:
Are you under contract for ad representation?
Do you have another website running Media Vine?
How many sessions has your website had in the last 30 days (you must be running Google Analytics for proof)?
Simply fill out the application and in a few business days Media Vine will let you know the results of your application.
Payments and loyalty
Media Vine pays out via direct deposit, PayPal or a wire transfer.
Minimum payments are $25 except for international ACH which is $200. If you remain in good standing with them and loyal to the platform they do offer a yearly bonus payment.
What this bonus payment is, is them being able to negotiate for higher rates on your behalf from advertisers.
Pros:
- High quality ad network with a proven track record. Made by content creators for content creators.
- High earning potential with Media Vine compared to other networks. However, they are selective about who can join. Meeting the minimum traffic levels is just one requirement.
- You get an account manager to ask questions too and have a direct contact at Media Vine.
- Lazy loading ads – Media Vine optimizes your ads for UX and performance.
Cons:
- If you’re approved for Media Vine, they will run ads across your website. If you’re only wanting to monetize a few pieces of content, then they are not a good choice.
Media Vine Requirements:
- Have at least 50,000 pageviews a month.
- Good standing with Google AdSense.
- Don’t have invalid traffic.
- Have a design that can fit their ad placement sizes.
- Exclusive access. No other advertising allowed.
- Original content that is “brand safe.”
- From my experience, have an website/blog in the education, travel, food, fashion, parenting, entertainment or home and garden niche for best results.
Raptive – Ideal for high traffic websites
Raptive only deals with large publishers who are over 100,000 monthly visitors. That’s over 3,000 visitors a day which is actually quite difficult to achieve.
Your reward for crushing this blogging milestone is that you’re now a valuable publisher for ad networks who would love for you to join them.
Raptive is difficult to get in, but if you do they are one of the highest pay ad networks, sharing 75% of the revenue they generate with you the publisher.
Like Media Vine, they act as a middle man between your website and the advertiser. Instead of you dealing with, negotiating and optimizing ad placement – Raptive does this on your behalf.
A win-win for all involved. Advertisers get a high converting placements, you get a big fat paycheck and Raptive takes a nice cut on top of it all.
Like other networks, you have to be okay with running ads across your website. For Raptive that’s 3 ads minimum in high converting spots.
How to get paid
Raptive pays net 45 days. You can get paid via PayPal, wire transfer or direct deposit. Minimum payout is 25$ except for wire transfer which is $100 minimum. If your not a US citizen then you’ll have to accept an additional fee for non-USD payments.
If you’re on Raptive, you’re going to be making way more than $25 a month. If you’re a US citizen just setup direct deposit into your business bank account.
Pros:
- They are on average the highest paying ad network for high traffic websites. They will continually work with your website to get your the highest paying ads to help you make the most money.
Cons:
- It’s difficult to get accepted by Raptive. They have strict requirements and a waiting list of prospective publishers.
- You have to have primarily US traffic as well to get accepted.
- Must accept running ads across your website in high converting locations. This will impact your UX and conversion for email sign-ups and affiliate marketing.
Raptive requirements
- A secure website (https) with 100,000 month visitors, verifiable from Google Analytics.
- Majority US based traffic.
- Original, unique content that is advertiser friendly (no AI garbage).
- 3 ads running on all pages in high converting locations.
- No previous problems with other ad networks.
Monumetric – Full service ad partner
Monumetric is another premium ad network that can generate serious cash from your traffic; they also have a very catchy name if I do say so.
The are a middle man between you and the advertiser, placing ads and negotiating rates and then sharing that income with you.
They have various partnership plans for website that get 10,000 pageviews a month all the way to millions of pageviews a month.
Take a look:
- Propel: 10k-80k visitors. You get advertising management but you do need to pay a $99 setup fee.
- Ascend: 80K-500k visitors. Ad management and access to all ad types and a shared ad optimization team.
- Stratos: 500k-10 million monthly visitors. Everything in Ascend but you get a dedicated ad optimization team and a testing and data team.
- Apollo: 10 million+ monthly visitors. Same as Stratos but you get to be on the Apollo team because your website traffic is so ridiculously huge.
Overall I like Monumetric because you can pay your way into access to this platform if you’re not quite at the 50K monthly visitors for Media Vine or 100K for Ad Thrive.
You will also have to agree to display up to 6 ads on each of your pages as part of the Monumetric program on both desktop and mobile.
Not all at the same time obviously, just in various spots within the page. This will impact your UX and conversion for other aspects of your website. Particularly if you’re trying to sell things and grow an email list.
Pros:
- A quality ad network on par with Media Vine and Ad Thrive. The only difference is you can pay your way into access to this platform if you have a smaller website.
- Ad optimization team helps both you and Monumetric make more money.
Cons:
- You have to display 6 ads on a web page.
Monumetric Requirements:
- Must have a WordPress powered website.
- Your layout must have a sidebar that is 300 pixels wide.
- You have to be getting a minimum of 10,000 pageviews a month.
- If under 80,000 pageviews you will need to pay a $99 setup fee.
- Must accept having 6 ad slots on your website.
- Major ad providers must approve your website.
Propeller Ads – Pop-up ad network
Yep, pop-up ads. Are they intrusive and annoying?
You bet.
Do they work?
Yes.
Propeller Ads is an ad network that specializes in alternative ads like:
- Push notification ads: These are “Short personalized messages delivered to your target audience even when they are not browsing – across major platforms and devices.”
- In-page push ads: Browser based pop-up notifications for all platforms and devices including IOS and Android. They do not require user consent like push notification ads.
- Interstitial Ads: Huge overlay banner that covers the web page.
- Popunder Ads: Full page ads that pop from under the web browser.
- Survey exit ads: When the user goes to leave your website that are directed to an exit survey.
The appealing thing about Propeller Ads is that it’s easy to sign-up as a publisher. They don’t have strict requirements and can be used in conjunction with Google AdSense.
The minimum payout as a publisher is only $5 and they payout via PayPal, Pioneer, bank wire, WebMoney, Skrill and ePayments.
For bank wires the minimum threshold is $500 so I suggest using PayPal if it’s available to you. They also payout weekly as well.
Pros:
- Very easy to sign up. They don’t have strict requirements and no minimum traffic thresholds.
- Payment is sent out weekly.
- This platform is compatible with AdSense as they are not a contextual ad network.
- Available worldwide for all sorts of traffic, not just US based traffic.
Cons:
- These are pop-up ads, as such they provide a poor user experience.
- No header bidding. Header bidding allows a a publisher to collect multiple bids for ad space which help drive up rates.
- Low rates for non English speaking sites.
What about other ad networks?
There are plenty of other ad networks you can checkout too like Media.net, Ezoic, Infolinks, and SHE Media.
I didn’t mention them because my list is of the best ad networks that I think you, the content creator with a website should pay attention to and be aware of if and when you’re ready to run display ads.
To recap:
Google AdSense: Good starter network and also good if you want to run ads on select pages instead of your entire website.
Media Vine: A proper ad network you should consider using if you have the traffic levels (50K monthly visitors) and website topic to apply.
Raptive: Same as Media Vine, once you’re over 100k they are typically the best performing ad network in terms of income generated. Which one is best? Honestly you’ll have to compare them as no one can answer this.
Monumetric: An excellent ad network that pays well, I also like how you can pay to gain access to their ad network if you’re under 80K visitors a month. If your blog is stable at 30k visitors a month and you don’t see your traffic growing any time soon then apply to Monumetric.
Propeller Ads: Annoying pop-up ads but you can use this ad network in conjunction with AdSense. Try them out on informational posts that don’t have a specific offer.
Why I don’t use ads on my blog (generally speaking)
Like I started off with, ads suck as a business model.
With what I’m doing with my blog, YouTube and social media is to sell my own stuff to my audience. Ads running on most of the pages here on this blog are a total distraction.
I can make more from affiliate marketing and growing an email list than I can from display ads.
With that said, I’m fine running Google AdSense auto ads on select pages that get search traffic and have no clear and specific offer.
To be clear, I’m not against running ads. They work for a wide range of websites, they are just not in alignment with what I’m trying to build here.
Ad revenue is lower than my other income sources
Ad revenue for this blog is actually pretty decent as I’m in a high CPM (cost per thousand ad impressions) topic (website builders, web hosting, online business etc).
But compared to what I can make if I focus on email marketing, selling my own stuff and affiliate marketing, there simply is no comparison.
Even with other websites I’ve run, ads were always a nice to have but never made up the bulk of my income.
Like my website about online teaching at it’s peak was making $800-$1200 a month from Amazon Associates and around $100 from AdSense.
Ads can provide a poor user experience
Display ads provide a poor user experience.
Let’s be honest, ads never look that great running on a website. Websites in a lot of ways I view as an artistic creation and slapping ads all over the design take away from the beauty, elegance and conversion.
Since ads don’t really move the proverbial needle for my with regards to my income, it’s not a big deal for me to sacrifice running ads.
Ad networks slow down your website
I love that davidutke.com loads fast. Ad networks will slow down your website which affect your page load speeds and can potentially increase bounce rates which are an SEO signal.
All blog ad networks work by way of you injecting code into the header or footer of your website in order to have ads running on the web page. This by default will slow down your website.
When I design any type of blog, I’m really strict on load speeds and elegant design with a strong focus on conversion.
Because, that’s the whole point.
To create a high converting website that helps people which in turn helps you make money.
If you want to run a quick audit on your blogs page speed then I suggest you use two tools:
Page speed insights – Learn what to fix to make your website load fast on both mobile and desktop.
Lighthouse tool suite – Made by Google, these suite of tools help you get feedback on how to adjust your website for optimal performance.
Who should run ads?
I think ads are an excellent choice for informational, high traffic websites that are producing a lot of content.
Think a multi-author blog that is churning out 5+ blog posts a day and is getting 3000+ visitors a day.
A website like this will make a good income from partnering with Media Vine or Raptive.
Display ads are also great for monetizing pieces of content that don’t have a specific offer but get a lot of views.
It’s passive income through and through
Display ads to me are the text book definition of passive. Once you’re getting at least 500 visitors a day, you can start earning a solid income through running ads on your website.
You don’t have to do any sort of copywriting, direct people to affiliate offers or build out a sales funnel. You just copy and past ad code and collect a monthly paycheck.
It’s useful to learn how display ads work
Display ads are almost everyone’s first source of income online.
I get it, you build a website and blog, you’re getting 100 visits a day and are curious to try out ads.
Go for it, sign up to Google AdSense, run ads for a month and see how much you make.
You’ll also get a lot of useful data like your CPM rate and how much you could potentially earn if you are getting 1000+ visitors a day.
A baseline to compare to other ad networks if you decide that running ads are inline with what your business goals are.
Best ad networks for blogs and websites – wrap up
While I prefer to build an online business that sells things, ads do work for a wide range of publishers.
Running display ads as a way to make money blogging is simply a function of traffic which make it very scalable. So if you have the topic and traffic to benefit from ads, then give it a go.
Finally, ads are a great way for monetizing any piece of content where it there is no clear offer like signing up to your email list, buying a low price product or an affiliate offer.
Hope you found this helpful, consider sharing it!
Thanks, till next time
-David
