For a blogger, it is not easy to monetize your blog with so much competition around. However, if you have access to the best ad networks for bloggers, you can keep yourself ahead of the competition and earn more. Check out this list of the best options.
For most beginning bloggers, the prospect of monetizing their blog seems entirely impossible. If you're currently in the same boat, it's time you thought about jumping into the ocean!
Once you get serious about making money with your blog, the possibilities are endless.
Believe it or not, blogging is one of the best online side hustles you can take up, and most popular bloggers even make their living out of it.
For example, according to estimates, Abby Lawson, a blogger who writes Just a Girl and Her Blog, earns around $40,000 a month.
If your blog has creative and exciting content posted with consistency, you can easily monetize your blog using blog ad networks.
You might think that these networks require a blog to have lots of daily traffic to be considered for monetization, but that's not the case with every platform.
To build traffic requires an audience and to have a sustainable blog (that actually makes money), you need an email list.
For me, I created an audience in a short period of time using organic methods and providing helpful resources.
This led to me increasing my email list by 554% in less than 6 months…
With no paid ads.
I used Leadpages to explode my growth during their free trial period. It's an affordable way to create landing pages and guides for your blog.
Here is a graph of the growth over time.
Sign up for my free email course highlighting the very exact secrets I used to grow my email list rapidly.
I'll send you the exact tips in a step-by-step way to help you build an audience and grow your earnings online.
The benefits of growing my email list were tremendous. This resulted in the following:
- More pageviews,
- More engagement and
- Overall more growth.
- Leads to… more profit.
Those three things equal more profit to your bottom line for making cash online.
Here's everything you need to know about the best ad networks for bloggers, so you can start getting the value your content deserves.
Table of Contents
Why Do You Need to Display Advertisements on Blogs?
As a beginner blogger, you're probably new to the concept of display advertising for blogs. So before we get to the list, here is my two cents on the subject.
Whether you create a WordPress blog or get your own website using platforms such as Bluehost, you'll see some empty spaces on your blog or website alongside your content block.
You can actually sell that space to advertising agencies, brands, companies, and affiliate clients, or even use it for ad arbitrage.
They'll use that space for marketing their products and services, and if they get customers through your website, you'll get paid for it.
However, things are a little different when you use ad networks to monetize your blog. In this case, you're not affiliated with a single brand or company, but with an entire network of advertisers on one platform.
You must've come across blogs with advertisements from their genre. This is what most brands are looking for these days.
They need a blog that targets the same audience as their products or services.
Ad networks automatically connect you to such companies, so it's a win-win situation for all three participants: you, the brand, and the network.
Mainly, the ad network does all the dirty work for you. As a blog owner, you'll need to choose a reliable network for the best offers and monetization plans for your blog.
In fact, relying on just display advertising can be pretty lucrative. Some bloggers are earning over $60,000 per month just from display ads. Here is how much money you can really make from blogging.
How Does Display Advertising Help Make Money With Your Blog?
There are many ways in which blog ad networks help you make money. The most common forms are CPM and CPC payment models.
In the CPM model, the networks set a rate according to the number of impressions or views on the ad.
For small publishers, CPM ad networks set their prices for about a thousand impressions, depending on your target niche.
You can make anywhere from about $0.10 per thousand impressions to $1.
Besides that, if you work with the CPC model, you'll get paid for every time someone clicks on the ad. This is slightly more lucrative than the CPM model, but how much you make depends entirely on your content's quality.
Want to get smarter about writing blog posts? Use my free blog post profitability calculator that will help you analyze the value of a potential blog post…
BEFORE you write it.
To use the calculator, you simply need to input just a few different variables to test and optimize your site. It literally takes only 5 minutes to use.
See Related: How to Start a Niche Blog
Best Ad Networks for Bloggers
Now that you know how profitable your blogs can be if you use ad networks, here's our list for the best ad networks so you can choose for yourself.
Mediavine
The reason Mediavine tops our list (which will later mention ad giants like Google AdSense) is that it gives bloggers a chance to earn maximum revenue from their content.
Why? That’s because the site itself is owned by small publishers and bloggers.
This aspect matters because, as content creators, Mediavine owners realize how important ad quality is for small publishers. They place only high-quality ads that don’t take much time to load, which won’t slow down your website performance or hinder your user experience.
Besides that, compared to other ad networks, Mediavine gives content creators a staggering 75% share from their ad revenue, while only keeping 25% for themselves.
This means publishers affiliated with them earn about 200 to 400 times more than they would earn with other ad networks.
Anyone can join Mediavine, but the platform has some eligibility requirements you’ll have to meet to get accepted. Mainly, you’ll have to produce engaging content that gets about 50,000 sessions every 30 days.
You’ll have to produce a proof for these statistics from Google Analytics. If you’re a beginner, it might take you anywhere from a few months to a year to reach this threshold, as long as you keep posting high-quality content regularly.
However, you cannot be a part of any other ad network once you join Mediavine. The good news is, the more impressions you get on your content, the more you can earn on the platform.
They offer about 85-90 percent of ad revenue for high-traffic websites, so you can increase your earnings in the long run even if you’ve signed up for only one platform.
Google AdSense
Google AdSense is the go-to and one of the top options among the best ad networks for bloggers.
It's one of the pioneering networks of its kind and still holds its position as the most trusted platform for blog monetization. More than two million small publishers are making money through AdSense as we speak.
What makes Google AdSense a reliable option is that it gives its users full access to its advertisers. You can choose the ads and manage them according to your needs.
The platform offers advanced features to help you integrate the most profitable ads for your niche. Also, the signup process is easy and straightforward.
The reason most beginner bloggers don't go for Google AdSense is that it's only lucrative if you have heavy traffic on your page.
You see, the platform's minimum payout threshold is $100. So, until you get enough traffic to generate that amount, you'll get little to no profit from the platform.
Don't worry, even though it's a preferable option, Google AdSense is not the only ad network you can go for. There are many AdSense alternatives I'll mention in this list.
So, keep reading.
Media.net
Media.net is another popular ad network for blog monetization. The platform is managed by Yahoo and is one of the most reliable places to go for contextual ads.
Besides monetizing your content, contextual ads help you get exclusive access to the Yahoo and Bing search pages. Meaning, you can increase the organic traffic on your page using this network.
You'll be surprised to know that tech giants such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Forbes are affiliated with media.net. Most importantly, the website is the first ad network to bring in a server-side bidder system, which you can use to make the most of your programmatic display.
Furthermore, there are many ad options to choose from if you're using Media.net. These include in-content native ads, mobile-friendly ads, and desktop interstitials to diversify your reach. Moreover, all of the platforms' advertisements are high-quality and will not hinder user experience on your website.
PropellerAds
PropellerAds is one of the best ad networks for small publishers today. It's mainly popular for the full range of ad formats it offers. You can choose advert banners, push notifications, and sponsored links to make money through your blog.
Similarly, the platform is easy to use and has a hassle-free signup process so you can start earning through your content in no time. Besides that, it provides productive insights for your overall monetization campaign as well.
The platform will show you how well your ad placement is working through real-time performance graphs. This way, you can earn and improve your monetization strategies at the same time.
If you think you can’t figure out where to place ads yourself, you can get an automated ad optimization option from PropellorAds.
Here, the website will use its AI to integrate the ads into your content to bring maximum conversions. This way, you can generate a steady income through your posts without putting in any manual effort.
See Related: Are Blogs Still Relevant?
Infolinks
One of the top ad networks that you can go for is Infolinks. Whether you have an established blog with lots of organic traffic or are just starting out, Infolinks is a great option to get in some extra cash.
With this ad network, bloggers can choose from a huge variety of display ads. All you need to do is sign up by entering your email and blog URL. After getting approval from the platform, you can start customizing ad placements and locations.
To increase your income, they also offer high-conversion ad placement options such as in-text ads. The maximum payout threshold for Infolinks is $50. You’ll get secure payout options through online bank transfers, which makes it easy for you to receive your earnings.
Infolinks has an automated ad-generation system where you can let the platform decide which ads to place on your blog. They'll pick out the most relevant products or services to maximize your profit.
Monumetric
Monumetric, previously known as The Blogger Network, is a well-known ad network to increase your blog's revenue. Unlike other blog ad networks, Monumetric works on making your blogging website more productive and exciting, rather than trafficking in irrelevant ads.
Most importantly, Monumetric uses the CPM model to pay bloggers. This means the platform is more profitable for established bloggers with ample organic traffic.
But, that doesn't mean it's a no-go for new bloggers. It's known to have one of the best CPM rates in the market, so it's an excellent option, even if you're a beginner.
To start making considerable income with Monumetric, you'll have to get at least 10k views monthly on their ads. On the downside, the site charges some set-up fees for bloggers, which can cut out a considerable amount from your earnings.
See Related: 8 Important Pros and Cons of Blogging: Is It Right for You?
PopAds
PopAds is a profitable pop-under ad network for your blog. The platform has an easy signup process you can complete quickly and start monetizing your blog. It's affiliated with a variety of reliable brands that offer high-quality ads.
These pop-under ads have no adverse effects on your user experience and are strategically placed to bring you maximum conversions.
Most importantly, PopAds lets you extend your reach to a global audience. It allows you to access advertisers from more than 50 different countries. This way, you get a more extensive scope while choosing keywords and devising SEO strategies for your content.
The platform offers both CPC and CPM monetization methods. You can start with the CPC model as a beginner blogger and move on to the CPM model when you start getting regular traffic on your website.
See Related: Should You Create an LLC for Your Blog?
BidVertiser
BidVertiser is an ad network that offers unique monetization models for beginner bloggers. Not only does this platform offer the usual CPC and CPM models, but it also pays you when a visitor conducts an activity on the advertiser platform.
For example, you'll get paid for every click on the ad banner, but if the click leads to a purchase or a transaction, you'll get an extra commission.
Besides that, BidVertiser has a wide range of ad formats to choose from. These include ad banners, rectangles, and skyscrapers. You can customize your ad setup by using the point-and-click tool.
The best part is that the platform lets you modify the ad layouts to match your website's interface. This means the ads won't look forced or overbearing to the visitor.
Furthermore, BidVertiser lets you keep track of your performance and earnings through your dashboard.
It has no minimum traffic limit, so you can sign up and monetize your blog even if you're a beginner.
See Related: How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform to Make Money
Sovrn
Last on our list of the best ad networks for bloggers, Sovrn is the ultimate advertising platform for beginner bloggers and small publishers. They offer a variety of ad formats, including onScroll ads, video ads, header ads, and banners.
All of their ads are displayed in high-quality.
Besides that, they have unique monetization tools that help you choose the best ads for your blog. These tools help create a demand for your content amidst relevant advertisers so that you can get the best price for your advertising space.
The website also gives you detailed insights about your progress with each advertiser you work with. This way, you can work on optimizing your performance and increasing your income.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of ad integration, you can choose to automate the process. The website will select and place the ads for you so you can concentrate on creating appealing content.
You can choose to get paid according to the CPM or CPC model. Along with that, Sovrn pays you for every time a click leads to a purchase or transaction.
To learn more about creating a successful blog and other ways to make money online, check out my free 5-day email course.
Final Words
That concludes our list of the best ad networks for beginner bloggers. You can easily monetize your blog and earn a steady income even if you don't generate lots of views.
The secret to making good money from your content depends on the ad network you choose.
Whichever ad network you choose, make sure it meets your needs and helps you maintain the quality of your blog. Pages overcrowded with irrelevant ads will disappoint your readers.
So, make sure your platform provides content-based ads with a productive automatic placement system, so you don't have to bother much with the layout and settings.
In the end, how much you earn from an ad network depends on how much effort you put into your content. Just keep doing what you love, and you'll get the value you deserve.
Happy blogging!