Best Ad Networks For Small Publishers 2021

Whenever we talk about monetizing websites, the first name that pops up in mind is Google AdSense. 

While there’s nothing wrong with that—it is, after all, the world’s largest ad network— it is unwise to assume that AdSense can’t be outdone by any other ad network.

Thus, you want to focus on the best as networks for small publishers that have:

  1. Easy setup and ad implementation
  2. No minimum traffic requirement
  3. Reliable payouts and fast turnover schedule
  4. Helpful support for your questions

Now, if you’re new to blogging, setting up display ads may sound technical and even intimidating. But don’t worry, I’ve hand-picked the top ad networks that are easy to work with. Thus, you don’t need to deal with technical jargon or know how to code. Yay! We have prepared a list of best ad networks for small publishers.

Why Ad Networks?

For all intents and purposes, ad networks are the collective watering holes of Internet commerce…  Inside an ad network, you’ll have an advertiser and a publisher.

If you’re familiar with a lot of our other work, our Axis CRM Project called Triggers, you know that we talk a LOT about being on the advertising side…  You know, getting traffic…

Now, take everything you know about advertising – and flip it.

When you’re a ‘publisher,’ you’re offering space on your website or your blog that advertisers can put their ads on!  That means, there will be ads showing up in your sidebars and below your blog posts about other people’s products.

We don’t care what’s being advertised…

Why?  Because we get paid in one of two ways…  CPM or CPC.

CPM vs. CPC

Two terms you’ve no doubt heard a lot is CPM and CPC.

  • CPM – Cost Per Thousand Impressions
  • CPC – Cost Per Click

Best Ad Networks For Small Publishers 2021

1: Infolinks

Infolinks is another favorite of mine among the best ad networks for small bloggers. Their setup process is beginner-friendly, too.

You can use a variety of slightly different ad units than most networks offer, such as: Infolinks is one of the best ad networks for small publishers. 

  • InText: Ads displayed within your the text of your highest-paying keywords.
  • InFold: Ads appearing in the fold at the bottom of the screen.
  • InTag: Ads displayed according to the content and context of a page.
  • InFrame: Ads that fit into the white space along the left and right side of the screen.
  • InArticle: Native display and video ads between your blog post paragraphs.

Conclusion

  • 65% revenue share
  • Payments are issued no later than 45 days from the end of the month
  • Minimum payout: $50 for PayPal, eCheck, ACH, and Payoneer – $100 for Bank Wire Transfer

2. AdPushup- Best Ad Network for Small Publishers

 

Managed Demand. Adblock Recovery. Greater Revenue.

AdPushup is a full-stack ad revenue optimization platform for publishers. The features include ad layout optimization, header bidding implementation, automated A/B testing, and adblock recovery.

The ad ops team at AdPushup takes care of all the heavy lifting of tasks related to operations and inventory management. 

Additionally, they have demand-partnership with top-tier ad networks and exchanges such as Google AdX, AppNexus, Rubicon, and OpenX, among others.

AdPushup is a Google Certified Publishing Partner and trusted by 300+ publishers including CNET, Deccan Chronicle, NDTV, and more.

Conclusion

On an average, AdPushup offers a 40% revenue uplift for their publishing partners. Get on a call with AdPushup to understand the potential of your inventory.

3: PropellerAds

PropellerAds is quite a new ad network for me, but it’s great for small publishers and new bloggers! You can apply in just a few minutes and the approval usually comes almost right away.

PropellerAds - Top display ad networks for small bloggers

The best thing about PropellerAds is their insanely fast payout schedule. You’ll get paid every week (Thursdays) and the minimum payout is just $5.

And to maximize your earnings, they offer extensive, global coverage for ads. Thus, regardless of where your readers are located, they’ll always be served targeted, local ads.

Conclusion

  • Payments issued every week on Thursdays
  • Minimum payout: $5
  • Get paid via PayPal, Payoneer, ePayments, WIRE

4. Media.net

media net

Media.net runs contextual ads and is fueled by the Yahoo! Bing Network. A major advertiser, the network boasts high-quality advertisers with millions of sponsored ads. 

Mix this together with no minimum traffic requirement and multiple ad formats, and you have the perfect ad network for smaller publishers. Media.net is one of the best ad networks for small publishers.

Mobile ads can even be displayed through the platform.

Robust targeting, dynamic optimization, and innovative ad units make Media.net a very attractive choice for publishers. The company also offers:

Conclusion

  • No traffic requirements.
  • All CPC offers.
  • Dozens of ad size.
  • Payment terms of NET 30 ($100 threshold).

5. Adsterra
 


 

Adsterra is a reliable ad network with Partner Care, serving over 30 billion ad impressions per month worldwide. 

It is famous for its experienced and qualified team, unique direct traffic from all over the world, three levels of anti-fraud protection, and a wide range of advertising formats and payment methods. 

Recently, Adsterra recorded more than 100K campaigns across 248 geographies serving over 30 billion impressions per month.

Conclusion

  • Models: CPC, CPM, CPI, CPA, CPL
  • Minimum traffic: None

6. AdMaven- Best Ad Network for Small Publishers

AdMaven is widely popular amongst bloggers and small publishers. The minimum traffic required to use this ad network is zero. 

That means if your blog is new and has no traffic then also you can apply for this program and can monetize your blog using their ads.

So, to use AdMaven you do not need to worry about traffic. The basic criteria to use this ad platform is to create an account here and then place their ads on your blog.

Now, you know how easily you can apply for AdMaven. Let us now discuss what types of ads you can run while using these networks.

Conclusion

I would recommend to all the new publishers to apply for this ad networks if you have just started blogging because according to me it is one of the best ad networks for small publishers who have just started blogging

7. Google Adsense

Google AdSense is still the best ad network for small publishers. A brand that everyone is familiar with, Google offers a near 100% fill rate with high-quality ads and decent overall performance in terms of revenue.

AdSense has the following publisher benefits:

  • No traffic requirements.
  • Net 30 payments ($100 threshold)
  • CPC and CPM offers

You must adhere to AdSense’s terms of service and follow their program policies.

Conclusion

Contextually, Google will choose ads that are most relevant to your page’s content.

And, the company has video resources that are perfect for a small publisher. These videos include steps to optimize your ads and can help you make more money as a publisher. Google adsense is one of the best ad networks for small publishers.

8. RevenueHits

RevenueHits is a massive network that offers a 100% fill rate and displays over 2 billion ads per day. Established in 2008, the company is known for their reliable payments and offers a wide variety of ad formats, including:

  • Display / rich media
  • Text ads
  • Popups/unders
  • Apps and widget monetization
  • XML feeds
  • Custom formats

Finding a network that is willing to work with publishers of all sizes and offers custom formats is a rarity. Meeting the needs of publishers, you can request a unique ad format, and the company may comply if it’s a reasonable request.

Conclusion

  • There are no traffic requirements to join.
  • Payment is sent wire, PayPal or Payoneer on NET 30 terms.
  • Fill rate is 100%.

RevenueHits is one of the biggest ad publishers in the world in terms of inventory, and the company always pays on time.

9. Bidvertiser:

The fourth best ad network for small publishers is Bidvertiser. It has a minimum payout is 10 USD. The best thing about this ad network is that it provides many ad formats, and it provides a payout for $10, $20, and $50 $, respectively. Bidvertiser is one of the best ad networks for small publishers.

For example, for PayPal payout, it is $10. If you take money using checks, then the payout is $20. And if you do a bank transfer, then the minimum payout is $50.

10. Outbrain

Features

  • End-to-end platform
  • Flexible Placements
  • Sells remnant inventory

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Simple setup
  • Large distribution network

Cons

  • Weak support
  • Terms and conditions change rapidly.
  • Most of the traffic comes from the top of the funnel.

11: Fomo Ads

Fomo Ads hasn’t been around for too long, but they’ve won my heart over and over again. When I found about them, it was like they solved every problem I had with the ad networks I used to work with before.

Fomo has the easiest setup process I’ve seen so far.

You simply need to apply with your blog and wait for the approval. Then, you embed a little ad snippet into your website or blog. And don’t worry about this, they have a great step-by-step tutorial to walk you through everything. Fomo Ads is one of the best ad networks for small publishers.

Also, you’ll earn more ad income with Fomo as a small publisher than with most other networks. They pay a fixed amount of $2.00 for 1,000 ad impressions. And since their ads work like push notifications, a single page view can yield up to 10 impressions. Neat!

Conclusion

  • Fixed ad revenue of $2 per 1,000 impressions
  • Payments are issued 3-10 days after the end of the month
  • No minimum payout threshold

12. Adcash

Features

  • Multiple ad formats
  • High fill rates – monetize all impressions
  • Anti AdBlock technology

Pros

  • Option to control offers manually
  • Variety of ad types
  • Good customer support
  • Multiple language site support

Cons

  • Difficult to find the pay rate on a website
  • High minimum payment

Conclusion

  • Fixed ad revenue of $2 per 1,000 impressions
  • Payments are issued 3-10 days after the end of the month
  • No minimum payout threshold

13.Verizon

Features

  • SSP
  • Multiple ad formats, including native ads, video ads, and mobile ads
  • Video Syndication
  • Open bidding

Pros

  • Easy setup and management
  • Inventory management
  • Consistent demand
  • Monetize display inventory

Cons

According to Trust Radius reviews:

  • Pixels and Rules – the rules are less intuitive to follow
  • Poor UI
  • Slow system
  • Low viewability
  • Cannot hold against premium partners

Conclusion

  • Fixed ad revenue of $2 per 1,000 impressions
  • Payments are issued 3-10 days after the end of the month
  • No minimum payout threshold

14. Hilltop Ads

One of the very few ad networks with anti-adblocker technology, Hilltop Adsoffer CPA, CPM, and CPC-based ads with real-time tracking statistics for medium and big publishers

Hilltop Ads is not very feasible for websites with low traffic. Since the ads have anti-adblocker technology, you can get paid for almost all the traffic. 

The network is easy to use and offer many different types of ads. The minimum payout is 50$ and they pay via Payoneer and Bitcoin. 

So these are ten of the best ad networks available for WordPress bloggers which are great for all kinds of publishers. 

They provide trusted ad delivery and timely payouts in various ways so that publishers across the world earn through their ads

How to Use Multiple Networks to Get The Most From The Publishers?

As a publisher, you can integrate more than one ad network. However, keep in mind not all networks are allowed to combine with Google AdSense. 

Google has a list of ad networks you can run along with their own. Once you know you can run multiple networks, how do you do it? There are two methods you can use to choose the right network for your waterfall or header bidding. 

This system sells your ad impressions based on real-time market value, encouraging advertisers to win the impressions. This ensures you will get the highest possible revenue for space.

If you have a specific niche, then look for networks that cater to that niche. For instance, if your niche thrives on video content, then search for ad networks that serve video ads. If you

Knowing your audience will help you find ad networks that serve this audience. For example, if your company caters to fitness fans, then you may require a broader ad network than if your company caters to kombucha followers

How to Optimize Your Advertising by Choosing the Right Website Category and Ad Network

To choose the right network, take all the information and follow these simple steps:

1. Weed out irrelevant networks and find the relevant ones

Classify according to the three factors we mentioned above: budget, niche, and audience.

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