Which Is the Best Ad Network for Bloggers?

Joining an ad network is a common method to earn money blogging. However, with so many network alternatives, determining which is the ideal ad network for you may be tough.

To determine the best ad networks for bloggers, we conducted a thorough analysis of all the possibilities currently accessible. The best network for you depends depend on whether you’re just getting started, have over 100,000 monthly page views, or fall somewhere in the middle.

We determined the best five ad networks for bloggers after doing a comprehensive assessment of all the possibilities and looking at hundreds of real-life bloggers’ revenue reports:

• For bloggers with 50,000 to 100,000 monthly sessions, MediaVine is the best overall ad network.
• Google AdSense is best for novices and those who have fewer than 10,000 monthly website visits.
• Ezoic is best for bloggers with 10,000 to 50,000 monthly page visits.
• AdThrive: For those with over 100,000 monthly page visits, this is the best option.
• For blogs with fewer than 10,000 monthly page visits, Media.Net is the best Google AdSense option.

How Advertisement Networks Work

An ad network negotiates directly with advertisers on your behalf, taking care of all the intricacies including ad design and administration. When you join a network, you’ll be given code to put on your website—often in the form of an easy-to-use plugin—that decides where advertising displayed on your blog. In most circumstances, you have some control over where and how many advertisements show on your site.

You get a cut of the price that the ad network gets from the advertiser as an ad publisher. The amount of money you make is determined by a variety of factors, including your total website traffic, blogging niche, content quality, and generally perceived appeal of your site to prospective advertisers. The more successful marketers have with their ad placement on your site, the more money you may make.

Pricing Models for Ad Networks

Bloggers often get 50 to 75 percent of the total ad money received by the network from sponsors. For their efforts in attracting advertisers and administering the process, ad networks keep the rest of the money. Each network establishes its own conditions, and some do not reveal their ad pay formula.

There are a variety of advertising cost models in use, however, the following are the most common ways networks charge advertisers:

• Advertisers pay a price for every thousand impressions a single ad gets under the cost-per-thousand (CPM) model.
• Advertisers pay a price when someone clicks on their ad, which is known as cost-per-click (CPC).
• Advertisers pay a charge when someone makes a purchase or completes a certain activity after clicking on an advertisement, such as signing up for a free trial.

When you use a network to place adverts on your site, you’re commonly referred to as a publisher. Ad networks may use words like Revenue-Per-Thousand (RPM), Revenue-Per-Click (RPC), or Revenue-Per-Acquisition to describe publisher pay (RPA). This is the other side of the coin, where ad networks discuss what you get as a publisher after deducting the ad network’s share for handling the advertising process.

How Did We Assess Ad Networks?

People join ad networks to earn money blogging, so you’ll want to maximize the amount of money you make from advertisements on your site. When weighing possibilities, the possibility for monetization was the most important aspect.

The following aspects were considered

• Easy setup: You want an ad network that is simple to set up so you can start collecting ad money as soon as possible.
• Help: The top ad networks provide extensive support to its publishers and rapidly respond to inquiries.
• Remuneration levels and timing: For most bloggers, receiving timely payment is critical. You also don’t want to have your profits held in limbo while you wait to reach a high payout threshold.
• Dashboard and reporting feature: You must be able to immediately examine how your blog’s adverts are doing.
• We looked at the traffic requirements for each network we looked at since many ad networks have minimum traffic requirements that might be rather high.

In order to write this piece on the finest ad networks for bloggers, we combed through hundreds of blogger revenue reports. MediaVine was by far the most popular ad network.

MediaVine is used by successful bloggers more than any other ad network. The only catch is that to join the network, you must have at least 50,000 monthly sessions.

Many ad networks demand a particular number of page views be accepted; MediaVine instead utilizes sessions. Single visits to your website are referred to as sessions. If a visitor to your blog reads three separate pages, the session count is just one, but the page view count is three. Because of Mediavine’s high session count requirement, not all bloggers—especially those who are just starting out—are eligible to join.

The Top Five Advertising Networks

The optimal ad network for you will be determined by the number of visitors your blog receives on a monthly basis. The more traffic you have, the more money you may make. We discovered that MediaVine, Google AdSense, Ezoic, AdThrive, and Media.Net were all great picks in our assessment of hundreds of ad networks—each for distinct reasons that we’ll go through today.

1. MediaVine; best ad network for bloggers with 50,000 to 100,000 monthly sessions.

The fact that MediaVine’s payments are high in comparison to many other ad networks is the major reason it ranks first among the finest ad networks. Bloggers claim that MediaVine pays them 200 to 400 times more than Google AdSense.

Most publishers obtain a 75 percent ad revenue split with Mediavine, with Mediavine keeping the remaining 25%. After the first year, you may receive a 1 percent to 5% yearly loyalty incentive. Bloggers with high-traffic blogs that generate five to fifteen million impressions in a 30-day period may earn an 80 percent to 85 percent income split.

MediaVine is recognized for its fast-loading advertisements, which is vital so that your website doesn’t take too long to load. Signing up is simple; just fill out a brief Google form and you’ll be told if you’ve been approved within a few days. To get approved, you’ll need a high-quality website that satisfies MediaVine’s requirements. In addition, MediaVine wants you to validate that your Google Analytics account has at least 25,000 sessions in the previous 30 days.

A 90-day first commitment is required by Mediavine. You also can’t join any other ad network after joining MediaVine.

The disadvantage for many bloggers is that they do not fulfill MediaVine’s rigorous 50,000 sessions per month traffic criterion. Bloggers often take many months, if not a year, to reach this level of output.

An example of a MediaVine-served advertisement (Source: TheWalletMoth.com)

With MediaVine, there’s a lot of money to be made.

We collected real-world examples of actual earnings from bloggers’ income reports to offer you some perspective for what you could be able to make with MediaVine. Here are some instances of bloggers that have profited through MediaVine:

• Money Dot Calm earned an average of $323 to $922 per month, with monthly session counts ranging from 25,502 to 48,999.
• In a single month, the Chasing Foxes blog made $7,595 from 1,066,534 page views.
• In a single month, the Living the Dream blog earned $299 from 25,360 page views.
• In a single month, the Twin Cooking Project blog earned $782 from 140,820 page views.

The MediaVine dashboard makes tracking ad performance and profits simple. (Image courtesy of MediaVine.com)

2. Google AdSense: The Most Effective Ad Network for Bloggers With Less Than 10,000 Page Views

Google AdSense is one of the most user-friendly ad networks. With over 2 million publications, it is also the biggest network. Because Google is the king of Internet advertising, millions of marketers fight for ad space on websites and blogs, which might mean more money for you.

The Google AdSense sign-up procedure is simple and uncomplicated, and you usually find out if you’ve been authorized in less than 48 hours. Once you’ve been authorized, you can either manually put advertisements on your blog or add a piece of code to your site that will automatically publish ads that are suited to the style and content of your site.

For display content advertisements, Google splits 68 percent of overall ad income with publishers and 51 percent for search ads; the revenue share for other AdSense products is not disclosed. CPC and CPM advertising are both used by Google. Advertisers pick how they wish to pay for adverts, and Google serves ads to your site that it thinks would monetize your site the most effectively (and for Google too).

Google’s user-friendly interface makes tracking profits and ad performance a breeze. (Source: Adsense.google.com)

Most of the main ad networks are Google Certified Publishing Partners, which means you must have a decent Google AdSense account. This implies that AdSense is a good place to start if you’re a beginner blogger. Once their audience reaches 10,000 page views per month, many bloggers switch to another network.

The major disadvantage of using AdSense to run advertising is that you are unlikely to gain any money. Still, as your blog traffic grows, it’s a terrific method to get your readers used to see adverts on your site.

With Google AdSense, there’s a lot of money to be made.

We collected real-world samples from bloggers’ revenue reports to give you a sense of what others make with AdSense. Here are some instances of bloggers who have made money with Google AdSense:

• In one month, the Money Ninja blog earned $158 from 47,594 page views.
• In one month, AdSense paid $87.30 for 100,340 page views on the Evolving Table blog, while Gourmet Ads paid $191.48. (an ad network for food bloggers).
• In one month, the She Dreams of Alpine blog made $20 from 762 sessions.
• In one month, This Online World made $166.17 from a little more than 20,000 page visits.

On its website, Google has a calculator that may help you figure out how much money you might make in different areas and visitor levels. (Image courtesy of Google AdSense)

3. Ezoic: Bloggers With at Least 10,000 Monthly Page Views But Less Than 50,000 Sessions

To join the network, Ezoic suggests that you have a monthly average of 10,000 page views, and if you don’t match that criterion, you’re unlikely to be accepted. Ezoic also requires unique content and a track record of traceable traffic—in other words, Ezoic wants to know where your visitors are coming from.

Because Ezoic is a Google Certified Publishing Partner, you must follow Google’s Ad standards and be in good standing with Google AdSense in order to participate.

To use the Ezoic ad network, you won’t need any coding or technical knowledge. Ezoic’s publisher support is outstanding, with 24/7 online assistance and your own account manager, which is uncommon among ad networks with such minimal traffic requirements. You may have as much or as little control over the amount and placement of advertising on your site as you choose.

Ezoic has a user-friendly interface and straightforward monetization reports. (Image courtesy of Ezoic)

Ezoic is proud of its site performance accelerator, which it claims may truly speed up your website—unlike other networks that bog down your site with sluggish ad servers. Ezoic features quick payback conditions for an ad network, with a Net 30 payout schedule. It also has one of the lowest payout thresholds, at $20 (as opposed to Google, which requires $100 in earnings before getting money). Unlike MediaVine, which demands a 90-day commitment, Ezoic allows you to join and quit at any time.

Ezoic’s Income Potential

While Ezoic does not disclose its specific compensation algorithm, it is recognized for generating profits that are two to four times more than Adsense. Ezoic’s improved payments are attributed to its data-driven machine learning technology, which optimizes ad kinds and placement on your site.

Here are a few samples of what Ezoic has earned for real bloggers:

• Ezoic provides 95 percent of the ad revenue for the Johnny Africa blog, which generates $450 a month on an average of 2500 page views per day.
• In one month, the Mathers on the Map blog earned $129 from 13,454 page views.
• In one month, the Alluring Souls blog earned $1,304 from 223,322 page views.

In a head-to-head comparison of AdSense and Google profits, Capital Matters discovered that Ezoic was much better in terms of earnings per thousand visits. (Image courtesy of Capital Matters)

4. AdThrive: Best Ad Network if You Get 100,000+ Monthly Page Views

If your site has 100,000 or more monthly page views, you should seriously consider joining the AdThrive network. AdThrive handles everything for you, including ad optimization and advertiser relationship management, much like other ad networks. You may also start earning money from videos on your website by utilizing the AdThrive custom video player, which includes free video hosting.

When a blog’s readership grows to a particular level, the owner of the site may explore dealing directly with advertisers to negotiate bespoke ad contracts, which is a viable alternative. AdThrive, on the other hand, claims to be able to increase income by 173 percent on average when compared to self-managed advertisements. Even better, whether the advertiser pays AdThrive or not (which isn’t usually the case when selling your own advertisements), you’ll always be compensated.

Because AdThrive is a Google Certified Publishing Partner, the bulk of your traffic must originate from the United States, and you must be in good standing with AdSense. It’s simple to apply for Adthrive, yet this top network might be tough when it comes to content and general quality while reviewing your site.

Tip: You’ll need a high-quality site with exceptional blog material to be accepted into the AdThrive network.

AdThrive’s publisher dashboard makes tracking profits and ad performance a breeze. (Photo courtesy of AdThrive)

As an AdThrive publisher, you’ll receive a 75 percent ad revenue split, with AdThrive keeping the remaining 25% for its services. This reward scheme is quite similar to the one used by MediaVine (minus the bonus and higher-traffic income bumps).

AdThrive works with a variety of high-quality ad partners as a high-end network, which means you might make more money per thousand page views with AdThrive than with MediaVine. However, since every blog is different, you may want to do a test on your own to find which network works best for you.

With AdThrive, there’s a lot of money to be made.

AdThrive has a high earning potential, and its payment is Net 45, compared to MediaVine’s Net 65, which means you get paid 20 days sooner. That’s why, after they’ve met AdThrive’s stringent traffic standards, many MediaVine publishers switch to AdThrive.

Here are a few examples of blogs that use the AdThrive network to make money:

• In one month, the Thrive/Strive blog made $3,779 from 435,2981 page views.
• In one month, Kate Kordsmeier made $3,516 from 137,925 page visits.
• In one month, the SuzanRose.com blog earned $8,686 from nearly 700,000 page views.
• In one month, Living the Blog made $11,268 from over 4 million sessions.

To join AdThrive, there is a straightforward three-step application procedure. (Photo courtesy of AdThrive)

5. Media.net: The Best AdSense Alternative for New and Low-Traffic Blogs

All of the ad networks we’ve discussed thus far are Google Certified Publishing Partners (GCPPs). Media.net isn’t, which makes it a wonderful option for anybody having trouble with AdSense or who doesn’t want to cooperate with Google’s ad network. You’ll need to work with a non-GCPP network if you ever get banned from AdSense for whatever reason.

Media.net specializes in Yahoo-Bing contextual advertising. The network also employs display, video, and native adverts that are tailored to your website’s appearance.

Contextual advertising is adverts that are relevant to the content on your site and are based on keywords. For example, if someone came to your site looking for “stress management” and you have a great article with various stress-relieving tactics, a contextual ad for stress-relief items may show.

Tip: If you want to improve your visitors and, as a result, your ad income, you need to know how to employ keywords effectively.

While the Yahoo-Bing network is far smaller than Google’s, its ad quality is comparable to, if not better than, Google’s.

Although there are no minimum traffic criteria for Media.net, you should have a strong website design, easy navigation, and multiple pages and articles on your site before applying. Signing up is simple and quick, and you’ll usually hear back within 48 hours if you’ve been accepted.

With Media.Net, there’s a lot of money to be made.

Although Media.net does not reveal its actual compensation scheme, several bloggers claim to get between $3 and $6 per thousand ad impressions via the network. To put it another way, you may make as much as or a little more than with AdSense, but not as much as with MediaVine or AdThrive.

Because successful bloggers—the ones who provide revenue reports—tend to build their popularity rapidly, it’s tough to discover income reports posted online from Media.net publishers. They generally shift to better-paying networks like Ezoic, MediaVine, and AdThrive as they reach more page views.

Here are some instances of bloggers who make use of the Media.net network:

• The Ladies Making Money blog made $621 in one quarter with Media.net (page views unknown) before switching to MediaVine after it met the 25,000 session criteria.
• In one month, the Simply Organized Home blog earned $62.33 from 36,016 page views, as well as $91.33 from AdSense, which was permitted since neither network had an exclusivity restriction.

You may find all forms of advertisements on Media.net, including display, native, contextual, and video ads. (Image courtesy of Media.net)

Other Ad Networks to Think About

While the ad networks listed above are the best of the best for most writers, other solutions may also be effective. Let’s take a look at some more ad networks you may want to look into if the top five aren’t perfect for you.

Propellers

The Propeller Advertisements network offers a variety of options to monetize your site, including pop-under ads, native ads, and push notifications. Publishers may use Propeller Ads’ free push service to provide content updates to website subscribers who have opted in for push alerts.

The Propeller Ads network has a low payment threshold of just $5, which is a benefit. The average pay-per-thousand impressions range from $2 to $4. There are no minimum traffic requirements to join the network, making it an excellent option for novice bloggers. Propeller advertisements may also be used to monetize both domestic and international traffic.

Monumetric

Monumetric, formerly the Blogger Network, is a good alternative to Ezoic since it allows publications with 10,000 monthly page views or more to join. Monumetric is not a Google Certified Publishing Partner, unlike Ezoic.

To join the Monumetric Propel program, which is the network’s ad program for sites with 10,000 to 80,000 monthly page views, you must have a WordPress or Blogger site. For sites with a greater level of visitors, there are more options available.

You must agree to implement a minimum of six ad spots on both desktop and mobile when joining Monumetric, and the site must be authorized by significant advertisers. You’ll also have to pay a one-time $99 setup cost, which is rare for ad networks. Payments are paid 60 days following receipt of income. Users say the earning potential is comparable to Ezoic but not nearly as good as MediaVine.

The Monumetric interface makes tracking ad performance and profits simple. (Image courtesy of Monumetric.com)

Adsterra

Adsterra works with approximately 200 publishers from across the world, provides geo-targeted advertisements, and has CPM, CPC, and CPA ad campaign formats. Adsterra has no minimum traffic requirements and may be used with other ad networks.

Adsterra pays on a Net 15 basis, which is far quicker than the majority of networks. Paxum and Webmoney have a $5 minimum payment barrier, whereas PayPal and Bitcoin have a $100 minimum payout requirement. While many bloggers have had little to no problems with Adsterra, some have received complaints from their readers concerning Adsterra advertising that looks to be phony or fraud.

SHE Media Partners

SHE Media, previously SheKnows Media, is a Google Certified Publishing Partner that provides display advertisements, mobile ads, video ads, and branded content as ad monetization alternatives. To operate with SHE Media, your audience must be mostly female (70 percent or higher). You’ll also need at least 80% of your traffic to come from the United States. In addition, you may only apply to this network after your monthly page views have reached 20,000 or higher.

Bloggers with female readership have a lot of earning possibilities with SHE Media. With SHE Media, you can monetize both your website and your social media networks. Payments are made on a Net 60 basis, with a $20 minimum payment barrier and payments made by PayPal and direct transfer.

You can monetize both your website and your social media platforms with the SHE Media Partner Network. (Image courtesy of She Media)

AdMaven

Ad Maven is another ad network that novices should check out since there are no traffic requirements. Push notifications, pop-ups, interstitial (full-screen advertisements), and banner ads are examples of ad formats. Signing up for an account is straightforward, and you can start adding ad codes to your site almost immediately. PayPal and Payoneer have a $50 minimum payment barrier. Net 30 is the basis for the payment of earnings.

Revenue Hits

Revenue Hits is just a cost-per-action (CPA) company. That means you’ll only be paid if your site visitors click on the ad and complete a certain action—usually a purchase, but it might also be something as simple as signing up for a newsletter, enrolling in a program, or taking a survey. You can’t make money no matter how many ad impressions you have if your audience doesn’t take action.

Some bloggers believe that this remuneration arrangement is beneficial to them, while others do not. If your ad income seems to be poor, you may want to test Revenue Hits for a few months to see if you can increase your profits. Payments are processed by PayPal and Payoneer, with a $20 minimum payment requirement. You may also get paid by wire, however, there is a $500 minimum payment requirement.

Final Thoughts on Increasing Ad Revenue

For your topic and visitor volume, the optimal ad network is one that gives the most income possibilities. The sort of advertiser that actually publishes on your site, as well as the type of material you provide, all have a role in how much money you’ll make.

Your revenues will be limited if your blog has less than 10,000 page views each month—possibly just $2 to $6 per thousand impressions. Upgrade to higher-paying networks like MediaVine and AdThrive as your audience rises, since here is where your ad revenue may surge.

I’d be negligent if I didn’t point you that advertising is just one option to monetize your site, and it’s certainly not the most lucrative. Publishing sponsored pieces, starting an online shop, offering online courses, and affiliate marketing are just a few of the ways a blogger might earn a career. The most successful bloggers are continuously diversifying their revenue streams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which ad network pays the best?

You should contact the individual companies in your area and ask them what rates they pay according to location, traffic volume etcetera.

Does AdThrive pay more than Mediavine?

Mediavine pays $10 per 1000 clicks while AdThrive pay $12-14 for 10% of their revenue.