Deciding to place ads on your blog is a big decision! You want to earn extra money, but don’t know where to start. Which ad network is the best?
To be honest, it depends on who you ask.
If you asked me, I will tell you to join Mediavine. Ask Randa and she’ll tell you AdThrive. That’s one of the reasons I wrote this post – to show you a few different options and let you do some investigation to figure out which one, if any, is the best fit for your site and your needs.
Here are some of the ad networks we are highlighting (though there are MANY, many more if you do a Google search!).
7 Ad Networks to Earn Money on Your Blog
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1. Mediavine.
I’ve been with Mediavine for Simply Stacie since June 2016. They have been nothing short of amazing. The ads are easy to set up and pay really well. I’ve never earned this much from an ad network in the past and I’ve tried out several. I’ll be a Mediaviner for life.
I like that Mediavine focuses strongly on the user experience. Less is more – meaning you can earn more money using less ads and keep your readers happy.
You can also host videos through Mediavine and embed the code to your site and earn money.
I also appreciate that they are fully transparent. The communication is top notch. I’ve been impressed with all my interactions with Mediavine so far.
To join, you need at least 25,000/month sessions in your Google Analytics. Once we hit that amount on Click Start Club, we will be applying to Mediavine, too. Read why Stacie LOVES Mediavine.
You also need to be in good standing with Google Adsense. Google is one of their largest ad partners. Mediavine is one of the few companies that is a Google Certified Publishing Partner.
2. AdThrive.
The other big ad network that a lot of publishers are with is AdThrive. Randa uses them for her ads on The Bewitchin Kitchen. You’ll need 100,000 monthly pageviews and not be blacklisted with Google Adsense to apply. I’ll let her fill you on how they work!
Since switching to AdThrive, Randa’s ad income went up over 4000%!
Hey! Randa here. I LOVE AdThrive, my RPMs are consistently over $10 (per thousand views) and my RPS today is $16.05 (per thousand sessions). That’s not including Q4, it’s higher then.
AdThrive rejects 75% of applicants, it’s not the easiest to get in they really push hard for quality content, so in other words: SERVE YOUR READERS.
AdThrive is currently #20 in the entire world Comscore’s rankings (Comscore ranks internet entites by size) and reaches over 92.5 million readers a month — the highest reach of any ad management service in the world! Out of all internet entities, AdThrive is #1 in the category of Food, #1 in Family and Parenting, and #2 in Home.
Other reasons I LOVE AdThrive:
- As of today, AdThrive has the highest revenue share in the industry.
- They are Google Partner Certified, that means that Google themselves vet AdThrive and recommends them. They work closely with Google so they’re aware with changes in ads.
- AdThrive holds the award for Best Customer Service out of all Google Certified Publishing Partners in the world, so you can always count on quick service from a knowledgeable, caring, transparent team.
- Cafe Media is now their parent company, which means some great sponsored opportunities are coming our way!
- They pay net-45. Once you’re on track, you are paid once a month around the 14th/15th.
- I make more money that I ever have!
3. Gourmet Ads.
If you’ve been banned from Google Adsense, one option you could try is Gourmet Ads. I had them for my back-up ads when I was with the now defunct Mode Media.
One plus is that they don’t require a contract. You don’t have to give notice if you want to take down your ads.
Your site must be Food, Cooking, Coupons, Craft themed and have at least 10,000 pageviews per month.
4. Google Adsense.
When they first start out, most blogs start with Google Adsense. I had them on my blog when I first started. You’ll need a Google account, original content and a mailing address and phone number. As far as I can tell, there is no minimum pageview requirement.
A word of caution – NEVER EVER click your own ads. Be extremely careful about that or you could risk being banned. Make sure you read their Terms of Service carefully and follow all their policies.
5. BlogHer Publishing Network.
BlogHer is a network for women with predominantly female audiences. They also require exclusivity so you can’t be a part of another network. As far as I can see, they don’t have a minimum pageview requirement.
6. Savvy Mom Collective.
If you’re in Canada, you could also join Savvy Mom Collective for your ads. As an added bonus, they also offer sponsored post opportunities. I believe you only earn money on your Canadian traffic so you’ll still need to find a provider for your US traffic.
7. Monumetric.
This ad network has different tiers depending on your pageviews. The lowest tier, Propel, is for blogs with 10K to 80K pageviews, but you have to pay a $99 fee to join. The next tier, Ascend, is for blogs with 80k to 500k pageviews with no fee. They have two other tiers above these first two tiers.
My advice is to do your research. Reach out to the ad network you are interested in and ask questions.
What ad network are you currently with and why do you like them?
