10 Best Ad Networks For Bloggers [Highest Paying]
So you just bought a nice niche site and now you are wondering what the best ad networks for new bloggers are, so you can start earning back your investment…
If you are looking to start advertising on your website to increase its revenue, joining an ad network is a great way to start.
What is an ad network? In layman’s terms, it’s a platform that serves as a broker between groups of publishers (you) and groups of advertisers. The ad network will provide your ad inventory to advertisers that align with your content to ensure premium placement for their advertisements.
Some networks run differently than others, so let’s discuss some of the best ad networks for bloggers!
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10 Best Ad Networks For Bloggers To Join
Monumetric
Monumetric tops our list, and is one of my favorite ad networks around.
It’s our #1 pick for the very best ad network for bloggers.
They really pride themselves on their “creator first” approach and ensure that you find yourself satisfied with the payouts of their service.
In fact, they have a second program, and influencer platform called Maker that you can use to connect with brands for sponsored work.
They try to create a healthy balance between influencer marketing and programmatic advertising. These are essentially connecting you with ads that align with your niche.
With Monumetric you’ll only need 10,000 monthly page views to apply. So even a blogger with a fairly new website can be approved!
Another plus? Monumetric will help you strategically place ads on your website and play the long game with you!
Google Adsense
Adsense is one of the most well-known ad networks on the internet. With Adsense, you have tons of options for things like color display and fonts to make sure that Google’s advertisements still align with your brand.
Adsense offers a CPM, or cost per mille, model, meaning per thousand impressions, which means this model is based on how many impressions a single ad gets.
The minimum monthly payout with Adsense is $100. Meaning, you’ll need to make $100 by the end of the month in order to receive your cheque.
If you are short, your earnings will carry over into the next month and you will receive your payment once you’ve earned $100.
AdThrive
AdThrive is a prestigious ad network that is tough to get in. You’ll need 100,000 monthly page views to apply, and it’s worth knowing that AdThrive approves less than 15% of applicants.
Infolinks
Infolinks is a good option for newer blogs that are just starting to gain interest in advertising on their site.
This ad network is keen on intent targeting so that your keywords reach your audience. You can also easily track the source of your traffic with the Infolinks Referral Analyzer, helping you recognize the intent of your audience.
A huge benefit of Infolinks is that your blog will receive exclusive placements from their 25,000 publishing partners so you don’t have to worry about your ads looking scammy to your viewers.
The minimum payout for Infolinks is $50 and you are not restricted to using PayPal, you can also opt for direct deposit with your bank.
BlogHer
BlogHer exudes girl power! Their mission is to provide “economic empowerment for all women” and they do just that with a reach of over 10 million women business owners.
They have a huge library of on-demand videos and content ready for your use, as well as resources for small business education. BlogHer doesn’t just want to help make you money through ads, they also want to help you improve as a business owner.
This ad network is perfect for smaller niche blogs with a predominately female audience. Minimum monthly earning is only $25 and you will receive your check through PayPal.
Some possible downsides, depending on your perspective, are that BlogHer requires you to display only their advertisement at the top of your website and you are locked into a one-year contract.
Revenue Hits
Revenue Hits is different from the previous ad networks that we’ve discussed because it runs on a CPA, or cost per acquisition, model. This means that the user must sign up or make a purchase with your advertisement link in order for you to see profits.
In my opinion, this is a great option for blog owners with an established following that need assistance with marketing. The onboarding for this service is very simple and easy to manage for those who may not be the most savvy in this field.
All you have to do is select the placement of the ad, enter the code from your website and wait! After a few days you’ll be able to track the progress of your ad and receive payment through PayPal or wire transfer depending on your preference.
Revenue Hits requires a minimum of $50 each month, which can be easy to reach with an enthusiastic and engaged audience, but difficult if you have limited traffic to your site.
This can be much more difficult than CPM, but the payout is much greater. Where you might see a few dollars for every thousand clicks, here Revenue Hits provides you with the potential to receive $10-15 per action.
Another difficulty of this model is the lack of impact your monthly pageviews have on your ad revenue. With the CPA model, pageviews and ad views do not matter when it comes to receiving payment and it is much harder to boost engagement than views.
Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is known as an affiliate program, but because of it’s Native Shopping ads, it’s also a bit like an ad network, too.
This ad network program gives you the option for a little more lax approach. You can join as an affiliate to place the ads yourself, or you can join the ad network so they place the ads for you.
With this, you have the option to use Native Shopping Ads which will provide you with a CPA model where percentage of commission varies up to 10%.
Amazon will display contextual products in advertisements on your website and if a user completes a purchase using your link you receive a percentage of the profits.
Again, a downside of a CPA model is only seeing profits if the customer checks out. But, a benefit with Amazon Associates is that you can also receive profits on other items added to the customers cart if they check out with your link!
Amazon Associates has a low monthly payout minimum of only $10, which can easily be reached with an engaged audience.
Media.net
The last ad network that I want to discuss in this post is Media.net. This ad network currently works with over 500,000 websites with licenses from some of the largest publishers and ad technology companies.
Media.net aims for sustainability and longevity in their value-add. Their algorithm is self-optimizing so that it learns from past behaviors and results to improve in the future.
With this ad network, you will be provided with both text and display ads on your website. There is also an option to let Media.net figure out the optimal sizes for your site for higher probability of seeing revenue.
They are believers in the CPC, or cost per click, model. This is great for blogs with engaged audiences, as you receive income each time the ad is clicked on.
Typically with the CPC model, you will receive $1-5 per click depending on how your website is optimized. But, this may be subject to change with different ad network services.
Like Adsense, the minimum monthly payout with Media.net is $100. This is easily achieved if your website has high engagement rates, but could be difficult to reach with a newer blog.
Ezoic
Ezoic is another ad network that can be good for smaller sites that don’t have enough traffic yet to qualify for Monumetric.
Oddly, Ezoic doesn’t classify itself as an ad network, even though they do place ads and pay publishers for advertising, Ezoic calls itself an “AI technology platform” that helps creators do more than just earn revenue.
As such, Ezoic also has some helpful techy speed-enhancing tools that replace the need for any other third-party caching tool or plugins, they host fun growth challenges and go the extra mile to ensure their clients get the most out of the platform.
Common questions about monetizing your site with ad networks
What Companies Pay Bloggers?
Most companies these days pay bloggers in some way, either indirectly via ad networks, or directly via their affiliate programs and/or influencer programs. Take a look at this big list of companies that pay bloggers commissions for recommending their products!
Which Blog Is Best For AdSense?
Google Adsense has specific eligibility requirements for all websites that wish to apply. The actual types of blogs that perform best on Adsense is….any site that gets a lot of traffic!
How Do Bloggers Get Advertisers?
There are a few different ways bloggers get advertisers.
- Ad networks – when a website’s traffic meets an ad network’s requirements, the site owner can apply to become a publisher with that network. Ads from various advertisers will appear on the blogger’s website, and the blogger will earn money when the ads are clicked, and/or per 1000s views.
- Affiliate marketing – With this model, the blogger will partner with a brand to promote their products. When someone buys something after clicking their partner link, the blogger will earn a commission for referring the sale. Usually, it is a percentage of the sale from 10% – 75% of the sale price. This can be extremely lucrative, earning some bloggers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Learn more about affiliate marketing.
- Sponsorship/Influencer marketing – Bloggers can partner with brands for paid sponsorship campaigns where the brand will pay the blogger a flat amount to mention their products on their blog and social media. Learn more about working with brands and influencer marketing.
How Can I Get Paid Per Click?
With most ad networks, when someone visits your site and clicks on an ad, you will earn a few cents (or more) for that click. There isn’t anything you need to do once the ad code is placed, aside from ensuring that you are sending traffic to those pages.
Can I Use Multiple Ad Networks?
You can use multiple Ad Networks alongside Adsense in some cases, yes. For example, Media.net and Monumetric allow you to place Adsense codes alongside theirs.
What Is The Highest Paying CPM Ad Network?
Monumetric is recommended as the highest-paying CPM ad network.
Which ad network pays the best?
In our experience, we find that Monumetric and AdThrive pay publishers the best.
Is Monumetric Better Than AdSense?
Yes, Monumetric is known for being better than Adsense, as it pays more than. But, like most ad networks, you still must be accepted by Google’s ad exchange in order to be eligible to use Monumetric.
That doesn’t mean you need to use Adsense first (you don’t!) it just means that even though Monumetric is better, it still must play by Google’s rules.
The 10 Best Ad Networks For Bloggers – Conclusion
Ad networks are a great way to start optimizing your ad space and bring in some extra cash at the end of the month.
I hope this helped show how helpful ad networks can be for bloggers that don’t have the time or knowledge necessary to place ads on their websites!
This is by no means an exhaustive list of ad networks to join, but rather a jumping-off point to start looking into which ad network is best for you.
Make sure to join our community for niche site investors to get our weekly blogs for sale listings when they drop. And, take a look at our current blogs for sale listings, many of which earn hundreds or thousands of dollars per month from ad revenue and are ready for their new owner!