Wayne Gretzky, the former Canadian professional hockey player, holds four Stanley Cups in his 20-season career. He’s known for saying, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The same goes for the digital advertising game. Be in it to win top ad revenue.
Winning in digital advertising means continually working the plays that drive outstanding website revenue. One way to increase your odds as a publisher is to choose a top ad network with a proven track record for scoring and scoring big. By the end of this blog, you’ll know:
- What To Look For When Choosing An Ad Network
- Top Ad Networks For Publishers
Explore this Ad Revenue Guide to learn how much websites make from ads and understand how ad revenue is crucial to maximizing the profitability of your online presence.
What To Look For When Choosing An Ad Network
All ad networks are not created equal. Campaign effectiveness and efficiency depend on various factors, like payout rates. CPM differs by ad network, so look for a platform that suits your revenue targets. Ad relevance is also crucial. How closely does the ad network match ads based on demographics, interests, browsing behavior, and other criteria? This targeted approach enhances the effectiveness of ad placements, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions. Other aspects include:
- Ad quality on par with your publications
- Ease of platform use
- Quality and availability of connected or self-service support
- How well the network manages ad fill rates should be on your checklist
- Informative campaign analytics
Lastly, which unique tools or technologies are available to enhance ad performance and user experience? Their ability to partner effectively and harness growing technologies like AI will drive the premium results you demand when choosing the right ad network for your publications.
Top Ad Networks For Publishers
It’s a crowded space. Your choices expand depending on campaign goals, required demographics, and budget. And while some ad networks work independently, others play well together in the ad sandbox. One thing to consider is how ad networks stack against programmatic advertising to meet digital advertising goals.
Here’s an ad network list with ten well-known brands outperforming others in digital advertising. The list highlights relevant features and benefits that make the network a top choice for publishers looking to increase their website revenue.
- Google Adsense
- Amazon Publisher Services
- Next Millennium
- Media.net
- Adsterra
- Infolinks
- AdRoll
- PropellerAds
- Ezoic
- AdCash
Google Adsense
Google Adsense is a horizontal ad network geared towards both small publishers getting their feet wet in website monetization (100K/month traffic) to enormous publishers getting millions of page views.
- HTML code is inserted into the publisher’s site, serving targeted ads next to relevant content. The network is free to use.
- Its cost-per-click (CPC) or cost per thousand impressions (CPM) platform means the publishers earn each time someone clicks on an ad.
- The estimated average CPM is between $0.30-$10, with a payout threshold of $100.
Factors like geographical location, type of ad formats, the number of ads per page, content quality, and organic traffic influence overall payout.
Google Adsense offers excellent flexibility in ad types, including Google Local Service Ads, native ads, shopping ads, display ads, bumper ads, dynamic display ads, and text ads. Specialized ad units bring additional customization flexibility like in-feed or in-article positions.
There are network eligibility requirements, but generally, publishers find it a low-tech approach when starting to earn ad revenue. The setup is easy, and Google has many apps and tools for beginners to learn the ropes.
Amazon Publisher Services
Amazon Publisher Services is associated with leading SSPs, giving small to large publishers access through a single ad network. Publishers use the marketplace best aligned with their organization size.
- Unified Ad Marketplace, accessible through Good Ad Manager, is best for small to medium-sized publishers.
- Transparent Ad Marketplace is by invitation only for larger or enterprise publishers.
- Connection Marketplace connects publishers to ad tech services for creative, advertising identity, formats, and more to grow your business.
Amazon PPC costs are impacted by the number of ad campaigns in play, bid amounts, keyword targets and relevancy, listing quality, and the competitiveness of the product category. Publishers can choose from sponsored product ads, sponsored brands, or product display ads that appear in Amazon’s search results and competitors’ product listings. The average CPC on Amazon ads is $.095, with a payout threshold of $5. Amazon consolidates earnings from all bidders and issues one payment on a net 60-day basis.
Overall, Amazon is a self-service platform that’s easy to use, launching a campaign in as little as five minutes. With a contract, integrations require no extra development work and come with APS customer support.
Next Millennium
Next Millennium is a full-service provider of comprehensive digital solutions delivering exclusive ads and premium placements for web publishers and brand advertisers—connecting premium brands with large premium publishers through advanced and cutting-edge ad-serving technology.
- Clients gain access to exclusive inventory sold through partner agencies, offering premium placements that are typically inaccessible to most budgets.
- Our clients benefit from exclusive inventory, providing premium placements that drive significant revenue and enhance brand visibility.
- With performance metrics that include 4X Google’s CTR benchmark, 16% above-target ROAS, 10X Google’s engagement benchmark, and a 13% reduction in lead and customer acquisition costs, Next Millennium sets the standard for industry-leading ROI.
We empower clients to maximize their website earnings using a strategic mix of monetization techniques. Our approach includes optimizing ad placements, improving user experience, and utilizing sophisticated programmatic advertising solutions to fully leverage each visitor interaction.
- Diverse range of ad formats, including standard display, high-impact, video, and in-app ads.
- Real-time dashboard provides publishers with critical metrics on ad revenue and performance.
- Whether through plug-and-play to custom made solutions, we enhance ad revenue for verified traffic without compromising inventory by selling to competitor apps.
Publishers drive the downloads, and Next Millennium does everything else, with a suite of features to optimize revenue and UX, account management, and AdOps support.
Check this out. There’s a reason Next Millennium is reviewed and trusted by the world’s leading publishing brands and affiliated and rated with the very best, like IAB, TAG, and PreBid.
Media.net
Media.net is a contextual ad network with ads related to the site’s content. Notably, these ads don’t rely on cookies–they use Yahoo! Bing Network to display ads. They work with large global brands, small and local businesses, and performance advertisers.
The CPC rates generally vary between .05 and .10 cents for U.S. traffic and can be higher for product-based sites. Media.net’s minimum payout threshold is $100. They pay out on a NET 30 schedule. Payout factors include the website’s region and niche, with some regions and niches having higher payout rates than others.
Media.net ad formats include display ads, native ads, video ads, and sizeless, which can be customized to user sites. Account managers monitor and tweak performance using Autopilot ad tags. Media.net offers high speed, low latency, good UX, and has a user-friendly reporting dashboard.
Adsterra
Adsterra is a solid ad network for publishers who want to monetize as they grow or who want to earn with or without a website. The ad network offers various targeting options, including geographic, demographic, and behavioral targeting, through fine tuned AI algorithms that send the most relevant CPM rates and ad feed. Adsterra’s CPC rates vary depending on the ad type, format, and target audience and range from $0.001 to $0.01; publishers can get payouts in local currency when hitting a minimum of $50 on their balance twice a month.
- Advertisers automate bidding strategies with Traffic Estimator and Smart CPM or set rules to optimize traffic by conversions.
- Custom Bid allows for the finest bid adjustments, sending higher payouts to the best-performing placements.
- Adsterra supports many ad formats: popunders, native banners, display banners, in-Page Push, and interstitials.
They promise advertisers a 100% fill rate. Praise for Adsterra centered on strong CPMs, transparency, and powerful self-serve platforms. There is an easy start with its intuitive interfaces, automating routines, and maintaining a great user experience.
Combining an ad network and an ad exchange can be a strategic approach to maximize advertising goals: Ad Network Vs. Ad Exchange: What’s The Difference?
Infolinks
Infolinks is a global advertising platform working with over 350,000 global websites and generates 1.5 billion monthly ad views.
Infolinks targets users’ intent more directly to engage users. Good search engine traffic from the U.S. and the U.K. will earn higher CPM on the platform.
Infolinks does not offer fixed CPM rates but works individually with each advertiser to set a unique price per view. Publishers can use Infolinks without having to meet a minimum traffic requirement but must meet the minimum threshold of $50 USD at 45 days from the end of the month.
Advanced intent targeting and contextual targeting capabilities help publishers reach their ideal audience. Infolinks’ specialized ad products include Intop for smartphone viewability, Inframe for increasing available ad space on wide screens, and Intext for intricate keyword-to-content mapping.
On the plus side, reviewers mentioned Infolinks’ welcoming attitude toward all publishers, even those who might not have been approved for Google AdSense.
AdRoll
AdRoll is an e-commerce marketing platform that helps direct-to-customer brands of all sizes to advertise to customers wherever they are. A machine learning engine takes confirmed buying behavior on 70% of the world’s online shoppers to predict user actions, engagement, and conversions. AdRoll allows publishers to create cohesive campaigns that combine display, social, and email formats through behavioral targeting.
- AdRoll has multiple pricing options, ranging from pay-as-you-go to advanced packages, self-service, and managed.
- Their CPM model ranges from $1-$2.50, and they tout a 2:1 return on every dollar spent. The AdRoll platform combines advanced technology with customizable options.
- It accommodates display ads, social media, video, behavioral email and native ads.
Their interface is perceived as user-friendly for brands. They also integrate marketing automation options to create efficient, personalized, and timely nurturing of potential customers. Positive reviewers tended to praise AdRoll’s retargeting capabilities and a low technical barrier to entry.
This beginner’s guide will help you maximize your ad revenue by explaining the ins and outs of ad fill rate.
PropellerAds
PropellerAds is an independent advertising network that provides robust performance marketing solutions on a global scale for brands, agencies, and affiliates. Thousands of advertising campaigns are launched daily across desktop and mobile.
PropellerAds is not affiliated with Google and operates as a separate entity. It is considered the best network for “pop and push” traffic. They register 12+ billion ad impressions daily and cover 195+ GEOs. PropellerAds’ CPC rate is $0.005, with the minimum “step” +$0.001. The minimum payment threshold is $5; payment terms are net-07 (every Thursday).
Ad types include push, in-page push, popunder, interstitial, and survey exit. PropellerAds has developed manual and automated performance-boosting tools, including audience targeting and ad customization, with rich online resources to aid users. Users find high volume available, fast approval times, and tons of targeting options to optimize and scale up campaigns. PropellerAds is easy to use and free if qualified.
Ezoic
Ezoic is a self-serve platform that connects thousands of websites globally by leveraging innovative AI-powered tools. It has a tiered offering for small to large publishers up to enterprise size.
- Many low-traffic publishers just starting with content monetization find Ezoic a great CPM ad network. Ezoic offers CPM earnings of .03 to $3.
- The minimum payment threshold is $20; they pay out every 30 days. Some of Ezoic ad types include anchor, vignette, native, floating video, expandable article, siderails, and sticky sidebars.
- Their industry-first AI-powered video solution Humix, helps creators reach more than 1 billion viewers monthly to grow their brand and diversify traffic sources. They also Ad Tester and Leap options to its partners for campaign effectiveness.
Ezoic offers plenty of tools to support its partners via the self-serve dashboard for launching campaigns and tracking metrics. There is no minimum number of ads that have to be displayed; however, publishers will want to monitor ad rates to ensure a good ad experience for users. Customer support levels vary depending on the size of the publisher.
Master the programmatic advertising discussion – what it is and how programmatic advertising works.
AdCash
Adcash is a self-managed platform serving the following verticals: Entertainment, Software, Finance/Crypto, Sports, VOD, iGaming (Casino, Betting, Sportsbook), Dating, VPN, Sweepstakes and eCommerce.
Minimum Ad payout is $25 USD/EUR; with a minimum deposit of $100 for the self-managed platform and $1000 for the managed platform. Validated payments are NET +30. It offers several cost models and receives 10+ billion ad requests daily from its exclusive direct supply sources and 100+ trusted RTB partners.
AdCash offers several ad types, including pop-under, interstitials, in-page push, native ads, display ads; and auto-tag and direct link ads for publishers. Overall, it is viewed as an easy-to-use platform to run, manage, analyze, optimize, target, and control and more in one place, with quick set up for campaigns. They offer dedicated account managers exceeding the minimum monthly spend of $1000. They offer 24/7 customer support in multiple languages.
Next Millennium: The Best Ad Network For Programmatic Advertising
Choosing the best ad network or the top ad network for publishers may seem daunting. How do you decide when reviewing these ad network lists?
Like Wayne Gretsky, it’s all about the results. You want an ad network that performs against and outperforms the competition, with sophisticated technologies driving ad innovation.
Next Millennium is the best ad network for programmatic advertising solutions. The Daily Hodl discovered this when its ad revenue skyrocketed 322% in one year of working with us. The Daily Hodl specifically wanted to improve revenue generation from its AMP pages and attract new brand name advertisers to cater to its audience. Today, the Daily Hodl thrives with a significant boost in revenue, a fantastic result of a highly successful collaboration.
Want more proof? Book a discovery call today.
