Direct advertising networks such as Google AdSense make it easy for anyone to monetize their online content. For smaller websites, the revenue from displaying ads can bootstrap their operations. Working with ad networks can generate substantial income streams for websites with enormous traffic.
AdSense from Google is the most popular advertising network because it works well for most creators and offers reasonable commissions. However, getting started on the network is challenging, and its constantly changing rules make it a complex tool. As such, it’s no surprise that you’re considering alternatives to AdSense. This article will show you the best AdSense alternatives for your website.
Key Highlights
- Using another advertising network with AdSense can increase your monthly income and insure you if Google disables ad serving on your account
- Ezoic is our best alternative to Google AdSense because of its higher earning potential and increased customization options
- Media.net is an excellent option for people who enjoy using Google AdSense but don’t want to be limited by their policies
- PropellerAds is the best Google AdSense alternative for websites with little traffic
- Adversal is a Google AdSense alternative for people looking to earn more revenue share from ads displayed on their website
What Do You Mean By Google AdSense?
AdSense is a free advertising program offered by Google. Anyone can use it to generate income by showing third-party ads on their websites. The third-party advertisers pay Google, and website owners get a part of that payment based on clicks or ad impressions.
Google AdSense is entirely free and compatible with most types of websites but is best suited for:
- Blogs
- Forums
- Free online tools
For instance, you can create an online forum for web hosting for small businesses and generate revenue from it using Google AdSense. However, there are many reasons why you may want to avoid using AdSense ads on your site. But first, let’s explain how Google AdSense works.
How Does Google AdSense Work?
Here’s how Google AdSense works in five steps:
1. Sign Up
The first step is to create an AdSense account and apply to be a publisher. When you do, Google checks if your website complies with its policies before approving your account. Once your application is approved, you’ll get a code to add to your website. You can also choose where and how you want the ads to appear.
The available placement options include:
- in-page (within the main body),
- anchor (edge of the screen), and
- vignette (full screen)
2. Advertisers Bid
AdSense requires advertisers to bid on advertising spaces. The highest bidder gets to show their ads on your website. You can also learn about how AdSense auctions work so you can increase demand and potential profit.
3. Ads Are Displayed
The ad with the highest bid will be displayed on your website as a banner or text ad. You earn money when your web visitors click on or view these ads.
4. Revenue Is Shared
You’ll receive a percentage of the payment AdSense received from the advertiser. Publishers receive 68%, but the revenue to be shared depends on factors such as the type of ad and the advertiser’s bid.
5. Payments Are Made
Google pays the website owner monthly, typically by direct deposit or checks. However, it will take about 60 days before you receive the money.
What Are the Reasons People May Consider an Alternative to Google AdSense?
Despite the popularity of Google AdSense, many people are still searching for alternatives. This is due to the many disadvantages that come with using AdSense. Here are some of the top reasons why many people consider switching to an AdSense alternative:
Requirements
Most websites are eligible for AdSense. However, there are instances where your website might not get approved by Google. It could be due to the nature of your content or other reasons. If your website isn’t approved, you must find an alternative.
Policy
While most websites can quickly get approved by Google, staying approved can be an issue. AdSense employs a strict set of policies and uses a rigorous control system to ensure advertising websites comply with their policies. Because of this, it is common for many creators to find their websites removed from AdSense when they breach the suspension policy.
For instance, Google holds publishers responsible for the content on their websites, including those from their web visitors and forum members. If any of the content violates AdSense content policies, the chances of the website being kicked off the network are extremely high.
Customization
Google AdSense uses a generic design to accommodate a broad slate of websites, blogs, video platforms, and other online content. They offer a degree of customization. You can choose ad layouts, colors, and location, but that’s where it stops.
If you are in a niche sector or want better customization, AdSense is unsuitable. Thankfully many alternatives can offer more customization options for your specific case.
Revenue Share
As a publisher, you receive 68% of what the advertiser pays to AdSense. While that is a fair share, the actual income might not be enough to cover operations if you have little web traffic. If you run a high-traffic website, you will benefit more from a more robust revenue-sharing arrangement.
Minimum Payout
You need to earn at least $100 before you can request payment from AdSense. You can exceed that payout threshold monthly if you have a big website. However, small websites and personal blogs might not have the traffic required to meet a minimum payout of $100. They should use AdSense alternatives with lower payout thresholds.
Additional Revenue
Income diversification is another reason people seek alternatives to AdSense. Every business needs to study revenue diversification. Using another advertising network with AdSense can increase your monthly income and insure you if Google disables ad serving on your account. However, you need to review the terms of AdSense and the companion networks to ensure you are not breaching any ToS.
Top 10 Best Alternatives To Google AdSense
Here are the top ten best AdSense alternatives. We’ll provide a brief overview and briefly mention their types of ads, such as native ads, their features, and eligibility criteria.
1. Ezoic
Ezoic is our top best AdSense alternative because of its higher earning potential and increased customization options. The platform records trillions of monthly impressions using advanced algorithms to show ads best suited for each website visitor.
How Ezoic Works
When you sign up as a publisher for Ezoic, the bot crawls your site and analyzes every page to determine the best banner or text ad to display on each web page. The algorithm also factors in your audience demographics and geographical location to determine how to display each ad on your website. The ads it displays have a click-through rate of up to 15%.
This careful analysis of your website and ad placement ensures that the ads don’t disrupt user experience while maximizing engagement. As a result, the publisher has a real chance to earn more with each ad. Ezoic also helps its customers with hosting via the Ezoic Partnership.
Monetization Models
Ezoic offers many monetization models, including video ads, native ads, sponsorship banners, and text links. Each of these models is highly customizable based on your unique preferences. Furthermore, the bot only displays high-quality ads that blend in with your online content to promote a seamless user experience.
Eligibility Criteria
Here are the requirements for joining the Ezoic advertising network:
- Google policies: All publisher sites must comply with Google’s policies
- Original content: Your website content should be constructive, attractive, and unique
- Language: Your website content must be written in languages that AdSense support
- Website type: Ezoic focuses on content-rich sites. They do not support corporate or e-commerce websites
2. Media.net
Media.net is an excellent option for people who enjoy using Google AdSense but don’t want to be limited by its policies. It is a better alternative to Google AdSense because it offers completely different types of advertisements and has high-paying CPM rates and low minimum payout requirements. Media.net pays double Google AdSense’s rates for impressions.
How Media.net Works
Media.net, like Ezoic, uses an algorithm to determine the best ad for your site. Once your account has been approved, you will start seeing contextual ads and behavioral ads on your website. Furthermore, the platform is compatible with all types of online content platforms, blogs, and news websites.
Also, you have a lot of flexibility regarding how ads are displayed on your website. You can choose only to show localized ads and custom media formats.
Monetization model
Media.net is under the same company as Yahoo! Bing Network, so they have a powerful reach. This reach attracts a lot of advertisers, which translates to more income for you. In addition, you can run ads on both desktop and mobile websites, allowing you to earn from any platform your web visitors use to view your website. They support native ads, video ads, search, display, and other customized ad layouts.
Eligibility Criteria
Because media.net is a top-level ad network, the criteria for joining criteria are stricter than many other advertising programs:
- Audience type: Your traffic must come predominantly from English-speaking Tier 1 countries such as the US, Canada, and the U.K.
- Language: Your website content must be written in native English
- Content: Your website content must be of high quality and original
- Navigation: Your website must be user-friendly, easy to navigate, and not contain too many ads
3. PropellerAds
PropellerAds is the best AdSense alternative for websites with little traffic. Publishers get 70% of the revenue generated from website ads. The best part is that it is free, and anyone can apply regardless of the age of their website.
How PropellerAds Works
When you sign up with PropellerAds, you’ll get a code to place on your website. When you do, the network stars place ads on your websites. Signing up is free, and you don’t need to wait for approval. Just sign up, get the code, and earn money through your website ads.
You can manage ad placement on your site via the PropellerAds dashboard. You can choose the pages, posts, or categories for the ad display.
Monetization Model
PropellerAds works with a list of ad networks to display ads on your site. They also offer sponsored posts. When you publish those posts on your website, you earn money.
Eligibility criteria
- Open registration: Anyone with a website can apply. There’s no special requirement.
- Content: PropellerAds Allows all kinds of content except questionable content, such as adult content or content promoting racial discrimination
4. Amazon Native Shopping Ads
Amazon Native Shopping Ads is a great way for publishers to earn income from displaying ads on their websites. The ads are contextual, meaning the keywords and content on the page determines them. When a visitor clicks and buys anything on Amazon, you get paid. Whether the visitor bought the item in the ad or something else doesn’t matter.
How Amazon Native Shopping Ads Works
Amazon Native Shopping Ads differ from Amazon’s affiliate program. The affiliate program pays you a commission when someone uses your link to buy a product on Amazon. It requires you to register as an affiliate with Amazon and decide the products you want to market. The Native Ads displays ad content on your website based on the keywords and content of the page.
Amazon Shopping Native Ads is great for both large and small websites. Many people will happily click on the ads due to the excellent reputation that Amazon has built over the decades. The minimum payout is $10 by direct deposit, but you only receive payment 60 days after each month. For instance, your payment for January will come in at the end of March.
Monetization Model
Amazon shows ads based on your webpage content, search phrases determined by you or your visitor, or for specified products. The ads can appear in grid format or list format. You earn a commission each time someone purchases through your link.
Eligibility Criteria
To serve Amazon Shopping native Ads on your website, you need to become an Amazon Associate. To do so, you must have an active website pre-populated with valuable, original, and helpful content.
5. Adversal
Adversal is a Google AdSense alternative for people looking to earn more revenue share from ads displayed on their website. The platform pays publishers up to 96% of the ad payments.
How Adversal Works
The platform leverages an advanced advertisement personalization system to ensure click-through rates ranging from 0.05% to over 20%.
The drawback of Adversal is its lengthy approval process. It takes a while before your website is approved for displaying ads. The review process takes a few business days to a couple of weeks, depending on the volume of applications.
Monetization Model
Once approved, you can choose from many advertising options, such as ad units, pop-ups, interstitials, etc. The ads work on both desktop and mobile devices. Furthermore, the network has the largest coverage in the ad networking industry, with a 100% fill rate.
Eligibility criteria
- Page views: Your website must have a minimum of 50,000 page views per month
- Content: Your website content must not include objectionable content such as adult material and/or associated with illegal activities
- Access: Your content must not be behind a login
6. Sovrn //Commerce (Formerly VigLink)
Sovrn (formerly known as VigLink) is an ad network that inserts contextual ad links into your online content. While Sovrn is compatible with most websites, it is ideal for blogs linking to online stores and other e-commerce sites.
How Sovrn Works
Sovrn works like an affiliate program. It converts regular links into affiliate links and places them within your site’s content. You get a commission when a visitor uses the link to buy a product or service. As such, the platform is popular among affiliate marketers.
Since the platform adds links to existing content rather than text ads or large banners, it is a solid option for those who don’t want to place large obtrusive banners on their site. The only challenge is that most beginners might require assistance setting up the ads. But once that is complete, you have no worries since the system automates the ad campaigns.
Monetization Model
Sovrn pays you when someone buys a product through your link.
Eligibility criteria
Sovrn doesn’t have pageview requirements, but there are strict guidelines for site quality.
- Content: Your website should not contain restricted content based on Integral Ad Science (IAS) guidelines. Restricted content includes adult content, hate speech, and violence
- Audience-oriented: Your website content should focus on providing value to your readers
7. BuySellAds
BuySellAds offers an opportunity for publishers to determine their prices. It is ideal for high-traffic websites that need a better alternative to the flat rates that Google AdSense offers.
How BuySellAds Works
BuySellAds stands out due to its high-quality advertising network and non-invasive ads. You can choose from sponsored content, display ads, emails, native ads, RSS feed ads, banner ads, and text ads.
Since you can determine what your ad space is worth, you can influence how much you make by showing ads on your site. However, it would be best if you kept your price competitive to not drive advertisers away.
Monetization Model
You get a 75% commission per click, much more than Google’s average commission rate of 62% per click. Furthermore, the minimum payment threshold is $20 if you withdraw with PayPal. And since you’re selling your advertising space directly to advertisers via the BuySellAds marketplace, you can control the ads you display and your potential earning.
Eligibility Criteria
BuySellAds doesn’t have any special requirements. When you submit your application, they will determine if the platform is the right fit for you.
8. Monumetric
Monumetric is an excellent alternative to Google AdSense due to its higher revenue share, increased customization options, and ad control. The network only displays ads relevant to your page’s content and pays publishers 70% revenue share.
How Monumetric Works
You can monetize your website with Monumetric with just a few clicks. Once you have set up your account, you can choose from advertising options such as banner ads, interstitials, and overlay advertisements.
During the setup process, you can test each ad with the Monetizer View to see how they will display on your website. During the test, you can tweak the ad colors, banner sizes, animations, and other settings to ensure the ad blends well with your web pages. You can also choose advertisers and see how much money you can make from each advertiser.
Monetization Model
Monumetric also offers you a wide range of settings and flexibility to determine how you want to profit from ads. You can choose which pages to display on, the types of ads you want to choose, and bid per click or cost-per-impression.
You can set up all these monetization settings without difficulties or complications from your dashboard. The dashboard also shows you statistics for each advertiser, including impressions, clicks, and earnings.
Eligibility Criteria
- Content: Your website content should be original and free from copyright violation
- Age: You must be at least 18 years old to apply
- Page views: You need a minimum of 10,000 page views per month to get approved. At least half of your traffic should be from the U.S., U.K., and Canada
- CMS: Your website must be running on the WordPress or Blogger platform
- Size: Your website sidebar must be at least 300px wide
- Fees: You will pay a one-time $99 implementation fee
9. Infolinks
Infolinks is the best Google AdSense alternative for people who want to use in-text link advertisements relevant to their website’s content.
How Infolinks Works
The page crawler reviews your web pages to determine the best ads to place on your website, thereby increasing CTR by 300%. The ads show up as hyperlinked keywords within your online content. When a visitor clicks on the hyperlinked text, the link opens in a new browser window. This approach offers readers helpful information instead of simply showing ads like other networks do.
Monetization Model
Infolinks uses a pay-per-view model, so you earn income each time someone visits your website. It is a great ad network for bloggers, app developers, and publishers who want to earn revenue from their content without affecting their search engine rankings or user experience. Furthermore, the platform allows you to customize the ad size and choose the position and color scheme.
The company pays within 60 days after you request payment, and you can disable the Infolinks code at any time with no penalty.
Eligibility criteria
You can start using Infolinks on your website by simply opening an account. There are no minimum traffic requirements. However, they reject websites with objectionable content, such as illegal, violent, or offensive content.
10. ylliX
ylliX, as a Google AdSense alternative, is ideal for small websites. Their minimum payout is $5, which even personal blogs can meet up with within a month.
How ylliX Works
You join ylliX by opening an account. Once you’ve opened your account, you can display ads on your website. The ad network only accepts ads from verified sources to ensure quality and increase conversions. Thanks to their partnership with ad networks worldwide, you can expect a 100% fill rate regardless of where your target audiences are located.
They also offer a wide variety of advertising options for both desktop and mobile viewing. These options include full-page ads, sliders, layer ads, mobile redirects, and pop-up ads. They provide a self-serve platform, allowing publishers to control their website ad campaigns.
Monetization Model
Currently, the platform offers monthly, weekly, and even daily payments. The payout minimum is $5 by PayPal. To receive payment via crypto, you need to earn a minimum of $10. Other options include Payoneer ($50 minimum), international bank wire (100 minimum), and Ethereum and Tether ($1,000 minimum).
Aside from displaying ads, you can earn from ylliX when you refer a publisher or advertiser. ylliX offers up to $100 for each new active publisher or advertiser you refer. You also get 2% of their lifetime earnings (when you refer a publisher) or spend (when you refer an advertiser).
Eligibility criteria
Anyone can join ylliX. The ad network even accepts adult and gambling sites.
Factors To Consider While Selecting the Best AdSense Alternative
When switching from Google AdSense to another ad network, you must consider certain factors. Here are some crucial considerations.
Ad Format
Ad format refers to how the ads will appear on your website. There are several ad formats, and each can influence user experience and earning potential. So when choosing an ad network, you must ensure they offer an ad layout suitable for your content and web visitors.
Some of the ad formats include:
- Banner: This ad format appears at the top and bottom of your website
- Interstitial: This is a full-page ad that appears within your web content, usually at the end of a section
- Native ads: This ad layout is fully customizable to match the look and feel of your website. It typically appears in line with web page content.
Revenue Potential
The goal of displaying ads on your website is to make money. Google pays publishers 68% of the revenue they realize in connection with the ad. If you are looking for a higher percentage, go with an alternative like Monumetric (they pay up to 70%).
However, percentages don’t tell the whole story. Consider other factors, such as ad revenue and click-through rates. These will help you choose a good program.
Targeting Options
If you target audiences in Tier 1 countries such as the US and the UK, you can use virtually any ad network. However, if most of your audience is from Tier 2 or Tier 3 countries, you need ad programs that offer up to 100% fill rates.
For instance, Media.net only accepts websites whose traffic majorly comes from Tier 1 countries. Tier 1 countries include Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Germany, France, Austra, Spain, Italy, the US, and the UK.
ylliX, on the other hand, works with other ad networks distributed worldwide to ensure a 100% fill rate, so regardless of where your web traffic comes from, you can always earn from showing advertisements on your website.
Ad Quality
Ad quality significantly influences user experience and your ad quality score. The best ads are the ones that align with your web content and blend well with your website pages. Many people use Google alternatives simply because Google uses a uniform design for all their ads. If you are in a niche industry, you need an ad network to ensure the ads are relevant to your content.
Ad Management Tools
Management tools allow you to manage advertising campaigns, track your earnings, and customize the ads on your website. They are essential for websites that want control over the ad types and format displayed on their online content. PropellerAds does well in this regard as they offer a repost ad management tool that allows you to customize ads and optimize revenue.
Payout Options
The three critical considerations for payout options are minimum payout, payout timeline, and payment channels.
- Minimum payout: This is the lowest amount you can withdraw from your account. AdSense’s minimum payout is $100. That might not be an issue if you have a high-traffic website. Those with low traffic might want a network with a lower minimum payout threshold.
- Timeline: It can take 30 to 90 days to receive payment after you make a payment request. Ensure you read the network’s terms to know how long it will take to receive payments.
- Payment channels: The most popular payment channel is PayPal. However, if PayPal is unavailable due to your country’s regulations or personal issues, check the other available payment channels. Note that other payment channels, such as internal bank transfer and crypto, often have higher minimum payment thresholds.
Reputability and Support
An ad network is as good as its reputation. If the platform has a reputation for delaying payments or not paying, you should pass on their program. You should also check to see if they offer customer support. You may need assistance setting up your account, installing the ad code, or handling other aspects.
We recommend you check reviews from other users to be safe.
Conclusion
AdSense is one of the popular ad networks, but there are better ones for all cases. If you can’t use AdSense for any reason or want to run a companion ad network on your site, there are plenty of options. However, you should choose carefully. The new option should offer you all the benefits you want without disrupting the user experience or creating more challenges.
Some of the best alternatives to AdSense include Ezoic, Media.net, and PropellerAds.
Next Steps: What Now?
- Do you want all your websites, hosting, and web building under one roof? Then check our list of the best web hosting providers. Many of them also offer domain registration and some of the best website builders.
