5 Best Advertising Networks – How To Monetize a Blog

Blog monetization is one of the most common questions asked by bloggers. And, while there are many ways to make money on blogs, the ones that earn easy money are advertising networks.

Investing into advertising and promotion of your blog is surely a good idea. But for this, you need to know which ad networks are worth it and how to properly monetize your blog.

There are many ad networks to choose from when monetizing your blog. The best advertising networks provide a high return on investment for publishers, while providing advertisers the best exposure possible.

That’s the reason we’ve made this article – to introduce you top 5 best advertising networks that not only pay well but also provide high quality traffic.

Best Advertising Network for Bloggers

One popular method of earning money blogging is by joining an advertising network. There are numerous options for networks and it’s difficult to determine the most suitable ad network for you.

We’ve performed a thorough evaluation of the various alternatives available today to determine the most effective ads sites for blogger.

The best choice for you will be based on the stage you’re at or have already accumulated more than 100,000 pages viewed per month, or are somewhere in between.

After a thorough analysis of all options and taking a look at hundreds of real-world bloggers’ earnings reports, we discovered the top five advertising websites for bloggers include:

• MediaVine: the best overall ad platform for bloggers who have between 50,000 and 100,000 session per month
• Google AdSense: Best for beginners and those who have less than 10,000 page views per month.
• Ezoic: Best for bloggers who have 10,000-50,000 monthly pageviews
• AdThrive: Best for those who have more than 100,000 page views per month.
• Media.Net: the best Google AdSense alternative for bloggers who have less than 10,000 pages per month.

Non-recommended: PopAds

PopAds is not Recommended

PopAds is a great place to advertise. They have a CPM of $5 and a fast approval. However, they will also accept ads from explicit, pornographic websites. You don’t want to make your clients unhappy if these ads are automatically generated.

How Ad Networks Work

A network of ads works closely with advertising companies on behalf of you taking care of all aspects of the negotiation of ads with advertisers and management of ads.

If you sign up to a network you’ll receive codes to put on your site, usually through an easy-to-use plugin. This plugin determines the location where ads be displayed within your site.

In the majority of instances, you will have control over the location where ads are displayed as well as the amount of ads that are displayed on your website.

As an ad-publisher you are paid a percentage of the revenue that the ad network gets directly from an advertiser.

How much you make depends on a variety of factors that include your website’s total traffic, the niche of your blog as well as the quality of your content, and the overall worthiness of your website to prospective advertisers.

The more successful advertisers experience in putting advertisements on your blog the more money you will make.

Common Ad Network Pricing Models

Bloggers usually receive between 50 to 75 percent of the total advertising revenues that they receive from advertisers. The networks that manage ads receive the rest of the fees to help them acquire clients and in managing this process.

Each network determines their own rules and conditions, while certain do not divulge the formula they use to calculate ad commission.

There are numerous different models of advertising costs however the most well-known method of charging advertisers is:

• Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM): Advertisers pay a fee for every thousand impressions a single ad receives.
• Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Advertisers pay a fee when someone clicks on an ad.
• Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA): Advertisers pay a fee when someone makes a purchase or takes a specific action after clicking on an ad such as signing up for a free trial.

When posting ads on your site from a network, you will usually be referred to as a publisher. Ad networks may discuss publisher compensation in terms like Revenue-Per-Thousand (RPM), Revenue-Per-Click (RPC), or Revenue-Per-Acquisition (RPA).

This is just the flip side of the coin, where networks are talking about what you as a publisher receive minus the ad network’s cut for managing the advertising process.

5 Best Advertising Networks for Bloggers

The best ad network for you will depend heavily on your total monthly blog traffic. The higher your traffic, the greater your earnings potential.

In our review of dozens of ad network options, we found that MediaVine, Google AdSense, Ezoic, AdThrive, and Media.Net were all top choices—each for different reasons which we’ll discuss now.

#1. MediaVine

The best Ad Network for Bloggers , with between 50,000 - 100,000 sessions per Month

The primary reason MediaVine ranks high on the list of top ad networks is because its payouts are affluent in comparison to other advertising networks.

Bloggers have reported earning between 200 and 400 times more from MediaVine than they earn using Google AdSense.

With Mediavine it is possible for publishers to earn an advertising revenue share of 75%. MediaVine reserves the remaining 25 percent for its own share. Additionally, you can earn an annual bonus to loyalty of 1 to 5 percent after the first year.

Bloggers who have sites with high traffic that generate between five and 15 million impressions over a 30-day period could be able to receive a revenue share of percent to 85 percent.

MediaVine is well-known for its speedy loading ads. This is essential to ensure they don’t slow down the speed at which your website loads. It’s easy to sign up to complete a quick Google application and you’ll hear within a couple of days whether or not you’ve been approved.

It’s necessary to have a top-quality website that is in line with MediaVine’s requirements to be considered.

Additionally, MediaVine requires that you confirm that you have at least 25000 sessions over the past 30 days by using Google Analytics.

Mediavine requires an initial commitment of at least 90 days. It is also impossible to be a part of any other advertising network after you sign up for MediaVine.

The issue to many blog owners is that they aren’t able to reach the minimum 50,000 session per month threshold for traffic that MediaVine strictly applies.

It usually takes bloggers a few months, or one year to meet this requirement.

Example of an ad served through the MediaVine network

(Source: TheWalletMoth.com)

Income Potential with MediaVine

For you to get a better understanding of what you could be earning with MediaVine We found real-world examples of real earnings from income reports of bloggers. Here are some examples of bloggers earning money through MediaVine:

• Money Dot Calm averaged earning between $323 and $922 per calendar month and session counts that range between 25,502 and 48,999 sessions per month.
• The Chasing Foxes blog made the blog $7,595 out of 1,066,534 page visits within a single month.
• The Living the Dream blog was able to earn $299 from 25,360 page views within one month.
• The Twin Cooking Project blog was able to earn the blog $782 with 140,820 page views in just one month.

The intuitive MediaVine dashboard makes it easy to track ad performance and earnings. (Source: MediaVine.com)

#2. Google AdSense

The best Ad Network for Bloggers with less than 10,000 page views

Google AdSense is one of the easiest ad networks to join. It’s also the largest network with over 2 million publishers.

Since Google is the king of online ads, millions of advertisers compete for Google ad space on websites and blogs, which could translate to more money-making opportunities for you.

The sign-up process for Google AdSense is easy and straightforward and you typically hear whether you’ve been approved in less than 48 hours.

One you are approved, you can choose to manually place ads on your blog or add one piece of code to your site that automatically posts ads tailored to your website’s layout and content.

Google has 68% share of its total advertising earnings with the publishers of display-related content advertisements, and 51% of the search ads but they don’t reveal the revenue share of different AdSense products.

Google operates both CPC as well as CPM ads. Advertisers decide how they wish to pay for advertisements and Google will deliver advertisements to your website which it believes will be monetized your site the best (and for Google as well).

Google’s intuitive dashboard makes it easy to track earnings and ad performance.

(Source: Google.com/Adsense)

Most of the top ad networks are Google Certified Publishing Partners that require you to be in good standing with Google AdSense.

This means, if you’re a new blogger, AdSense is a reasonable place to get started. Many bloggers move to other networks once their traffic exceeds 10,000 page views a month.

The most significant drawback of using ads on AdSense can be that it will not earn much.

It’s nevertheless a great method to get your readers used to ads appearing on your website as you increase the number of visitors to your blog.

Income Potential With Google AdSense

For you to get a better understanding of the actual earnings of other people via AdSense We have took real-world examples of bloggers earnings reports.

Here are some examples of bloggers who earn money using Google AdSense:

• The Money Ninja blog earned $158 from 47,594 page visits in a single month.
• The Evolving Table blog has earned $87.30 from 100,340 page views within a month, thanks to AdSense in addition to $191.48 in Gourmet Ads (an advertising network that caters to food-related bloggers).
• She Dreams of Alpine blog made 20 dollars through 762 visits over one month.
• This Online World earned $166.17 from less than 20,000 page views within one month.

Google offers a calculator on its site that helps you see how much you could earn for various niches and traffic volumes. (Source: Google AdSense)

#3. Ezoic

The Top Ad Network Bloggers with at At Least 10,000 Monthly Page Views But fewer than 50,000 Sessions

Ezoic recommends that you have an average of 10,000 page views per month to join the network, and admittance to the program is unlikely if you don’t meet that traffic threshold.

Ezoic also asks that your content be original and that you have a track record of identifiable traffic—in other words, Ezoic wants to know where your traffic is coming from.

Because Ezoic is an official Google Certified Publishing Partner, you’ll also have to adhere to Google’s policies on advertising and remain on good terms with Google AdSense for membership in Ezoic.

There is no need for coding or experience with technology to start using the Ezoic advertising network. The support for publishers on Ezoic is outstanding, since they provide 24/7 online support You even get an account manager who is yours, which is uncommon among advertising networks that have such low traffic requirements.

You have as small or control you’d like over the quantity and locations of ads that are placed on your website.

Ezoic features an easy-to-use dashboard and simple-to-understand monetization reports. (Source: Ezoic)

Ezoic is proud of its site speed accelerator, which it says can actually improve your website speed—unlike some networks that have slow ad servers that bog down your site. With a Net 30 payout schedule, Ezoic has fast payout terms for an ad network.

It also has one of the lowest payment thresholds at $20 (unlike Google where you must earn $100 before receiving payment). Unlike MediaVine which requires a 90-day commitment, you can join and leave Ezoic whenever you want

Income Potential with Ezoic

While Ezoic does not release its exact formula for publisher payouts, it is known for producing earnings that are two to four times higher than Adsense.

Ezoic attributes its superior payouts to its data-driven machine learning functionality that optimizes ad types and ad placement on your site.

Here are some examples of the actual bloggers who have reported earning using Ezoic:

• The Johnny Africa blog makes 95 percent of its advertising revenue via Ezoic and averages monthly revenue of $450 with approximately 2500 page views a day.
• The Mathers on the Map blog made the blog $129 on 13,454 page visits in a single month.
• The Alluring Souls Blog made the blog $1,304 out of 223,322 page visits in a single month.

Capital Matters did a head-to-head comparison of earnings results from AdSense and Google and found Ezoic was dramatically superior in terms of earnings per thousand visitors.

(Source: Capital Matters)

#4. AdThrive

The Best Ad Network If You've Got More than 100,000 Page Views a Month

If your blog receives more than 100,000 page views per month and you are a blogger, you should consider joining the AdThrive network is one that you ought to seriously think about joining.

Like other ad platforms, AdThrive manages everything for you including ad optimization as well as the management of relationships with advertisers.

You can also begin earning money from videos hosted on your site by using the AdThrive customized video player. AdThrive even provides no cost video hosting.

When blogs start to receive huge traffic, blog owners may consider working directly with advertisers in order to negotiate customized ad contracts. This is definitely an alternative.

However, AdThrive boasts it can provide you with an 173 percent increase in revenue over self-managed advertisements. In addition, you always get paid, whether the advertiser is paying the AdThrive company or it doesn’t (which can be the situation when you sell the ads yourself).

AdThrive demands that the bulk of traffic comes via the US and you have to be on good terms with AdSense in order to be eligible, since AdThrive is an official Google Certified Publishing Partner.

It’s straightforward to apply to Adthrive however, this top network is a little selective when reviewing your site’s quality of content and overall.

Pro Tips: To be admitted to the AdThrive network, you’ll require a top-quality blog with excellent blog content.

The AdThrive publisher dashboard makes it easy to track earnings and ad performance. (Source: AdThrive)

As a publisher on AdThrive you’ll earn an ad revenue share of 75%—AdThrive keeps the remaining 25% as its share for the services it provides. This payout model is very similar to MediaVine’s formula (minus the bonus and higher-traffic income bumps).

As a high-end network, AdThrive works with a number of high-quality ad partners which means you could earn more money per thousand page views with AdThrive than with MediaVine.

Every blog is different, though, so you may want to run a test on your site to see which network monetizes best for you.

Income Potential With AdThrive

The income potential with AdThrive is extremely strong and AdThrive payout is Net 45 compared to MediaVine’s Net 65—so you get paid 20 days faster. That’s why many MediaVine publishers move over to AdThrive once they’ve reached AdThrive’s steep traffic requirements.

Here are some examples of blogs that earn money through the AdThrive network.

• The blog Thrive/Strive  average of $3779 and had 4352981 page visits in one month.
• Kate Kordsmeier made $3,516 with 137,925 page views over a single month.
• The SuzanRose.com blog made $8,686 on around 700,000 page visits in one month.
• Living the Blog made $11,268 from more than 4 million sessions within a month.

AdThrive has a simple three-step application process to join the ad network. (Source: AdThrive)

#5. Media.net

Best Alternative to Google AdSense for New & low-traffic blogs

As of now, all the ad networks we’ve listed all are Google Certified Publishing Partners (GCPPs). Media.net isn’t. This is why it’s an excellent alternative for anyone who has problems with AdSense or isn’t keen to use the Google advertising network.

If you are removed from AdSense due to reasons of any kind, you’ll have to join a non-GCPP network.

Media.net is a specialist in contextual ads from the Yahoo-Bing network. The company also makes use of video, display, as well as native advertisements that can be tailored to match the style of your site.

Contextual advertisements are those that are related to your website, based on keywords that are used. For instance, if person came across your site when they were looking in search of “stress managing” and you’ve written an outstanding article that offers strategies to manage stress, a contextual advertisement for products to help relieve stress could be displayed.

Pro Tips: If you want to increase traffic and consequently increase your advertising revenues, you must learn how to utilize keywords correctly.

Although the Yahoo-Bing network is smaller than Google however, its quality of ads is comparable to Google’s, and some claim it is even better.

Media.net does not have any requirements for minimum traffic, but you’ll need to have a great web design, a user-friendly navigation, and multiple articles and pages on your website prior to submitting an application to this advertising network.

It’s quick and simple to sign up and you’ll usually be informed of acceptance within 48-hours.

Income Potential With Media.Net

Although Media.net does not reveal the exact method of payment however, many bloggers have reported that they get around $3-$6 per thousand impressions of ads on the platform. That means you can earn as much or slightly higher than AdSense but not so much as MediaVine as well as AdThrive.

It’s hard to find income reports published online by Media.net publishers since successful bloggers – the ones who write income reports tend to increase their traffic rapidly. When they reach more number of page visits, they usually switch to higher-paying networks such as Ezoic, MediaVine, and AdThrive.

Here are some examples of bloggers that are part of media.net. Media.net network:

• The Ladies Making Money blog posted $621 in just one quarter (page views are not available) using Media.net before switching to MediaVine after it had reached the minimum requirement of 25,000 sessions.
• Its Simply Organized Home blog has earned $62.33 from 36,016 page views in a single month. it also made $91.33 from AdSense during the same month. This is permissible because neither of the networks has an exclusive policy.

With Media.net, you have access to all types of ads, including display, native, contextual, and video ads. (Source: Media.net)

Other Ad Networks You Should Consider

While the networks listed above are the absolute most bloggers There are occasions where other options perform well, too. Let’s look at a few alternative ad networks you may want to look into should the top five not be the right fit for you.

#6. Propeller Ads

There are many ways to monetize your website through your site’s Propeller Ads network, including pop-under ads, native advertisements or push notifications.

Propeller Ads offers a free push service, which means that publishers can provide updates on content to users who sign up to receive push notifications.

The benefit of Propeller Ads is the low payout threshold, which is only $5. The average payout per 1,000 impressions is between $2 and $4.

There aren’t any minimums for traffic necessary to join the platform, making it an ideal option for bloggers who are just starting out. Furthermore, you are able to make money from both your US and international traffic using Propeller advertisements.

#7. Monumetric

Formerly the Blogger Network, Monumetric is a solid alternative to Ezoic, as publishers with 10,000 monthly page views or more can join the network.

Unlike Ezoic, Monumetric is not a Google Certified Publishing Partner.

You need to have an WordPress or Blogger site in order to join to the Monumetric Propel program–that’s the network’s advertising program for websites with 10,000-80,000 daily pageviews. Other programs are available to websites with more traffic.

If you sign up with Monumetric it is required to install an minimum of six ads slots, both on mobile and desktop devices as well as the website must be approved by the major advertisers.

In addition, you’ll have to pay a one-time $199 to implement the site which is unusual for advertising networks. Payments are due within 60 days of the time that revenue has been realized. According to user feedback, earnings potential is comparable to Ezoic however it is not as lucrative as MediaVine.

The Monumetric dashboard makes it easy to keep track of ad performance and earnings.

(Source: Monumetric.com)

#8. Adsterra Advertising Network

Adsterra cooperates with publishers across nearly 200 countries. They serve ads with a geo-targeted approach and provides CPM, CPC, and CPA campaigns for ad placement.

Adsterra does not have a minimum traffic requirement and can be used alongside other advertising networks.

Adsterra pay on an Net 15 basis. This is more efficient than the majority of networks. The minimum payout amount will be $5 in the case of Paxum as well as Webmoney while the threshold is 100 dollars for PayPal as well as Bitcoin.

Although many bloggers have experienced very little or no issues with Adsterra however, there have been concerns from their followers regarding Adsterra ads that appear be fraudulent or fake.

#9. SHE Media Partner Network

SHE Media, formerly SheKnows Media has been a Google Certified Publishing Partner that offers a range of monetization options for advertising that include display ads, mobile video, and brand-named content.

Your customers must be predominantly female – 70 percent or higher to work with SHE Media. Also, you must have at least 80 percent of your traffic located in the US. You can also apply for this network after you’ve reached 20,000 or higher on a monthly basis in terms of pageviews.

Potential for earning via SHE Media is strong for bloggers with female audience. You can earn money on both your site and social media platforms with SHE Media.

Payments are processed on the basis of Net 60; the minimum amount for payments is $20. Payments are made via PayPal as well as direct deposits.

The SHE Media Partner Network lets you monetize both your website and your social media channels. (Source: She Media)

#10. AdMaven

Ad Maven is another ad network that beginners might want to try, as the network has no traffic minimums. Ad formats include push notifications, pop-ups, interstitial (full screen ads), and banner ads.

Account sign up is simple and you can get started placing ad codes on your blog nearly immediately. The minimum payout threshold for PayPal and Payoneer is $50.

Earnings are paid on a Net 30 Basis.

#11. Revenue Hits

Revenue Hits is solely based on the cost-per-action (CPA) basis. It means that you’ll only be paid when visitors to your website are able to click the ad and complete a certain action.

This typically means purchasing however it could also mean joining newsletters, registering for a course or even completing an online survey.

No matter how many impressions you’ve made but if your viewers don’t act, you won’t make money.

Some bloggers have found that this method of payment can benefit them, while other bloggers don’t. If your advertising earnings appear small, you may consider giving Revenue Hits an attempt for a couple of months to determine if it can increase your earnings.

The payments are processed through PayPal and Payoneer, where the minimum threshold for payment is $20. Also, you can be paid by wire, however the minimum threshold for wire transfers is $500.

Tips to Optimize Revenue from Ads

The best advertising system for you will be one that has the the highest potential revenue for your specific niche and traffic.

There are a lot of variables that affect the amount you’ll make, from the type of advertising company that is actually posting on your site to the kind of content you write.

If your blog’s traffic is less than 10,000 page views per month, your profits may be minimal, possibly only $2-4 per 1,000 impressions.

As your blog’s traffic grows make sure you upgrade to more lucrative networks such as MediaVine and AdThrive since this is the place where your advertising revenue will skyrocket.

We’d have been remiss if did not tell readers that marketing is only one method of monetizing your blog. Honestly it’s not the best way to earn the highest money from blogging.

There are many different ways to earn money as blogger that include posting sponsored content, opening an online store or launching online classes and affiliate marketing.

Bloggers who are successful expand their monetization strategies.

How We Evaluated Ad Networks

The top reason people join ad networks is to make money blogging, so you want to optimize what you’ll receive from ads on your blog. Monetization potential was the top factor we considered when evaluating options.

The potential for earning money was the most important aspect we looked at when looking at alternatives.

Other Factors We Consider

• Set-up easy: You want an ad network that’s simple to establish so that you can start earning revenue fast.
• Assistance: The best ad companies provide extensive assistance to their publishers and respond quickly to questions.
• Payout thresholds, as well as timing: Paying out on time is essential for the majority of bloggers. Also, you don’t want to endure lengthy delays on your earnings while waiting for a threshold for payout.
• Dashboard and report features: It is essential to quickly assess how ads are performing in your website.
• Requirements for traffic: Many ad networks have minimum requirements for traffic that may be high. we looked at the requirements for traffic for each network we looked at.

We went through thousands of blog income reports during our research for this article about the top advertising platforms for bloggers. The most well-known advertiser was MediaVine.

Successful bloggers use MediaVine more often than other advertising network. The only restriction is that you have to be able to provide at minimum 50,000 monthly sessions for you to join the media network.

Many ad networks require a certain number of page views to qualify for admittance; MediaVine uses sessions instead. Sessions are single visits to your website. For example, if a person visits your blog and views three different pages, the session count is only one while the page view count is three.

Mediavine’s high session count requirement means not all bloggers qualify to join the network— especially when they’re just starting out.

Final Thoughts

There are many ways to monetize your blog, and ad networks are just one of the many options. If you’re looking for some great ad networks to include on your blog or website, be sure to check out the list above.

We hope these options have helped you find a few new places where you can make money through your content!

There are a lot of effective ways to monetize your blog, but these 5 advertising networks should be a good starting point.

The most important thing is that you choose a network that provides ads that relate to your content, and allows you to earn money from the traffic your site generates.

Which advertising network do you use on your website? Let us know by liking our Facebook page or following us on Twitter!

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