Best Ad Networks For Bloggers

Looking to start advertising on your website to increase your revenue? Joining an ad network is a great way to start!

So, 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.

Not only does the network place advertisements on your website, but they also aid in transactions so when users make purchases from your website, you receive commission on their purchase. Some networks run differently than others, so let’s discuss some of the best ad networks we’ve found.

1. Google Adsense

We’ve talked about Google Adsense before on Blogs For Sale, and with good reason! Adsense is the most popular ad network on the internet.

It is also widely agreed upon that Google Adsense produces the best performing ads. 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.

But, with Adsense, in order to make any profits you must reach at least $100 per month. This might not be the best option for starter blogs with a smaller audience.

So, with the CPM model, if you charge a CPM of $5, you will earn $5 for every 1,000 views of the advertisement on your website.

If you do have the following for this type of model, this is a great option! You also never have to worry about payment because of their automated payment schedule.

2. 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!

3. 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.

4. Mediavine

Mediavine is another very well-known and well-liked ad network by lifestyle niche website owners. They really pride themselves on their “creator first” approach and ensure that you find yourself satisfied with the payouts of their service.

They try to create a healthy balance between influencer marketing and programmatic advertising. These are essentially connecting you with influencers and other brands that align with your niche.

In order to join Mediavine, your website must have received at least 50,000 page views in the previous 30 days, be in good standing with Google Adsense and publish original, engaging, long-form content.

If your website meets this criteria and you want to join their network, you then submit an application to be reviewed by both Mediavine and their third-party advertising partners.

Mediavine is a great ad network option for blogs with high viewer counts and maybe struggle with engagement. This network will help you strategically place ads on your website and play the long game with you!

5. 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.

6. Amazon Associates

Amazon Associates in Amazon’s ad network, or affiliate, program. I know, who would have guessed!

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.

7. 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.

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.

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.