Google AdSense is one of the most popular ways of generating revenue on the internet. One of the reasons for this is that it is intended for web sites that have a good combination of content and traffic – a lot of both.
For the smaller web sites that are either just starting out or having trouble generating traffic, do not expect any significant revenue from AdSense. And if you do get a lot of traffic, it might still be hard to get approved depending on your location.
Don’t get me wrong, Google Adsense is awesome, and I use it on a couple of my sites. But there are several other Google AdSense alternatives you can deploy on your website, and it is only smart to check out all your options. Not just any alternative will do, there are some basic criteria you should consider if you hope to make any worthwhile revenue. A few qualities would be:
- Reputation – Here we are not just talking about scams, but the success others have experienced using the ad network.
- Terms – Consider the payout terms, do they allow you to use other ad networks alongside their ads, do they allow you to customize your ads, when and how do you receive your payments.
- Advertisers – You must consider the kind of adverts they serve to publishers in relation to your blog. You cannot be blogging about personal development and be displaying ads for “pharmaceutical”.
4 Popular AdSense Alternatives
1. Mediavine
Mediavine is by far the best AdSense alternative I have ever used. They also have a great reputation in the community and their support is by far the best you’ll find in this industry. I currently use them on a couple of my websites. I increased my earnings 25% overnight just by moving one of my sites from Google AdSense to Mediavine.
What are the requirements for getting into this awesome network?
- You must produce original content in categories such as food, parenting, DIY, health, fitness, fashion, travel, crafts, education, finance, lifestyle, or entertainment. However, they still said to apply, even if you are outside of these niches.
- Exclusive access to both your mobile and desktop ad inventory.
- Your site must have at least 25,000 sessions a month (per Google Analytics) and be in good standing with Google AdSense. Your site design must be one that accommodates Mediavine’s ad placements.
Payment methods: They support the following methods of payment every 30 days:
- Direct Deposit / ACH
- PayPal
- Wire Transfer
- Check
They also have an awesome loyalty program. The longer you are with them, the more you can make on top of your regular earnings.
2. Ezoic
Ezoic is a technology company (NOT an ad network) that has been around since 2010 and consists of an impressive 9,000+ active publishers. They are also a long-standing Google Certified Publishing Partner.
They create a layer of machine learning that lives between your ads and readers. Their technology uses AI and multivariate testing to determine the exact combination of ad locations, sizes, and quantities that resonates best with each unique reader – guaranteeing all visitors have a positive experience on your site while optimizing ad revenue simultaneously.
Ezoic’s website optimization platform helps you improve revenue and user experience metrics at the same time by learning from visitor behavior over time and then adapting the ad layout for each user based on these learnings.
This means better user experiences for each visitor (improved time on site, bounce rate and page views per visit), and as a result more revenue for you! Typical improvement is at least 50%. Here’s an example of how their technology is able to customize the ad layout for each unique visitor:
How It Works
Ezoic uses Google Adsense. So your site still needs to be approved with AdSense to use Ezoic. But I still view this as an AdSense alternative, due to the fact that they are delivering a lot more for your site than just monetization.
You also must have at least 10,000 visitors per month. The primary request for this requirement is because with fewer visitors their AI-driven technology simply wouldn’t be able to help improve your revenue. In other words, AI needs a good amount of data to make decisions. And of course, content-driven sites are their primary focus.
Ezoic supports all technologies and all CMS platforms (WordPress of course) when integrated via nameservers or CDN. This is because their system operates at the DNS/Proxy level.
You can keep all of your existing ad demand and ad partners as well. Ezoic is simply a testing layer that does not affect any existing ad relationships or programmatic settings (if you’re integrating with your DFP).
Pricing
Ezoic has two different types of plans that sit on top of their free core platform. They also have different free trials and no crazy long-term contracts. This means you can give their additional features a try before fully committing.
After a 30-day free trial (where you keep 100% of the site’s earnings), Ezoic then keeps the revenue of a single ad at the bottom of the page that looks like this:
Their system is, therefore, ad-supported (paid for by ads generated by the system). And they claim that most publishers still make 50-300% more ad income (net – even after Ezoic keeps the revenue from a single ad), Ezoic is paying for itself and is essentially free.
If you do not want to opt for using the ad-supported version, you can opt for a subscription-based on the amount of income you earn.
Payment Methods
Payments go out at the end of the month, between the 27th and 31st. The minimum payout amount is $20. But this can also be changed to whatever you prefer.
They support the following methods of payment:
- Direct Deposit / ACH via Payoneer
- International Bank Transfer via Payoneer
- PayPal
- Check
If you have any questions about Ezoic, feel free to ask me below in the comments. Or you can reach out to Marc Leipold, a Business Development Manager at Ezoic: mleipold@ezoic.com.
3. Media.net
One of the top choices for small and large businesses alike, Media.net is the result of a cooperative effort between Yahoo! and Bing to be a significant competitor for Google’s AdSense in the online advertising industry.
The reputation of both of these companies is unquestionable as they still hold strong name recognition and consumer influence in their respective industries. Media.net, on the other hand, has a questionable reputation with publishers. Most publishers complained about their RPM falling or media.net suspending their accounts so close to payout periods.
Media.net terms are fairly realistic, your website should meet the following requirements:
- A significant amount of original English content
- Most of your traffic should come from US / UK / Canada
- A good amount of visitors already using the website
- No excessive advertising
You can read more on their program guidelines here – Media.net Program Guidelines
Payment Methods: Payments due to Publishers are paid on a 30-day basis for accounts with at least $100 or more in earnings. Payments are made via wire transfer or PayPal.
4. Infolinks
Infolinks is a global advertising platform offering ad solutions for both publishers and advertisers. Online advertisers utilize the Infolinks Self-Serve Marketplace to customize their own campaign. Advertising with Infolinks means delivering brand messages to engaged users. Online bloggers and website owners monetize their websites with Infolinks while keeping the look and feel of their sites undisturbed.
Infolinks publishers can select their winning Infolinks ad combination from our ad unit buffet: InFold, InTag, InText, and In-screen. It takes less than a minute to integrate Infolinks on a publisher’s site.
Payment Methods: Infolinks offers low payout limits. $50 for PayPal. You can also get payment straight to your bank account.
I have personally used Infolinks in the past and have had great results with them!
Ad Networks That Have Shut Down
- Kontera was acquired by Amobee in 2014.
- Chitika shut down in 2019.
Summary
One thing that evolves from this brief discussion and analysis of AdSense alternatives is that an ad model does not stand alone, apart from the business. Any ad model is not a complete revenue solution due to the lack of a business plan or marketing strategy. The design of the web site itself can be an obstacle to future growth.
So when beginning the process of searching for an alternative to AdSense, remember that AdSense may not be the problem, or the solution, for your revenue-generating issues.
Before leaving you to ponder the possibilities, keep in mind that these various alternatives have an application process you have to go through to get accepted. Like AdSense, there are restrictions that can keep you from being accepted as well as restrictions on your use of the service.
For example, AdSense does not allow you to use a competitor’s campaigns on your site, which obviously limits you from pursuing multiple potential revenue streams. Even if the alternatives look good, the details can be easily missed and can have you wondering why the other guy is no better than AdSense.
I will be honest – I ditched ClickBank and AdSense altogether from my blog….reason being there are too many merchants who’s products and services either get banned or leave ClickBank and as for AdSense, it gives visitors to your website another route to click and leave your site. If you have affiliate programs and products already on your site, you are guaranteed to make more money with them than through AdSense, unless your are driving some serious traffic. I personally say just do away with ads and ad networks and focus on affiliate programs to monetize your blog that have one or few solid products to offer, because like I mentioned, you will make more money that way.
Hey Josh! Yes, it definitely matters on the type of site you have. For example, here on woorkup, we do the same thing. We focus on affiliate programs. On other sites we have, ad networks actually work better. It really comes down to your niche, audience, and traffic. Both strategies can be successful.
I’m not sure why but I don’t trust websites which display ads other than Adsense. Only the highest quality and honest websites display Adsense. Adsense is the best!
I agree Adsense is definitely still #1. But I’ve had a lot more success with networks like Mediavine. Some people also get their Adsense accounts banned and Media.net and Infolinks can be great alternatives.
Last month I sign up for chitika publisher account. My two website were showing pending gold level application. But Now I am not able to signing in Chitika publisher Account. I don’t know why chitika not showing last 30 days my account update? What’s wrong with him.
Unfortunately Chitika shut down in 2019. I recommend checking out Mediavine, Media.net, or Infolinks.
Since Adsense is no longer as profitable as it used to, it is inevitable that bloggers will find other means that will generate them profit. Actually, I never really thought that they were this many. I’ve personally tried Infolinks and Kontera and they do in fact are capable of generating more revenue as compared to Adsense.
Hey Tim. Ya, it depends on your blog. I know a lot of people still having great success with AdSense. But it depends on your niche, your site structure, etc. I have used InfoLinks before and it did work great. If you have good traffic and the right type of site, nothing can beat Mediavine!
Infolinks and Media.net are gold if your AdSense account is not approved. But if you are using AdSense then don’t use these ad networks. In my personal experience, AdSense pays a lot.
Hey Gaurav,
Yes, Google AdSense is still #1 for a reason. But I’ve actually had better success with newer networks like Mediavine.
Actually, I have tried all of them as Google Alternatives. But the truth is that no one competes with Adsense at all.
For smaller blogs I would like to share my own experience about:
1. Amazon Display ads: one of the LOW CPM ad networks.
2. Bidvertisor and Clicksor: serve low-quality ads, so your site may be flagged as malicious.
3. Viglink, Skimlinks, Infolinks, Chitika: Low rates. Infolinks makes blogs look too busy when they use the iframe and infold ads.
4. RevenueHits is a SPAM ad network. You can check its reputation on the internet.
5. Adversal, Adsoptimal, Media[.]net are still BEST high paying Google Adsense alternatives for our blog. They have better designs, which provides a better result next to AdSense.
From my own blog monetizing experience, I would like to say, don’t limit yourself to any one AD NETWORK. Try other ad networks and see which one works the best with your micro-niche blog. Since you are trying micro-niche blog, try monetizing with affiliate products. I would recommend to you & for others to try more network, and figure out which one is working best for their blog type.
Great advice Vinayak! Yes, experimenting with different ad networks is important. What works on one site, might not work as well on another.
I have been using AdSense since I started blogging. But when I used Media.net and Infolinks, honestly, they were making quite a good amount of clicks but conversions were not compared to AdSense. So I had to opt-out. Personally, AdSense always rocks.
Agreed, if you have AdSense you will most likely see the highest return. Mediavine is also amazing.