Google Adsense is the most popular and one of the top-performing ad networks when you want to start monetizing your network. Owned by Google, they have access to a huge advertiser inventory pool to get the best rates for your website. However, there are a lot of great Adsense alternatives you might want to check out and we’ll go over why and which ones below.
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What is Google Adsense?
Adsense is an advertising program owned by Google, the search giant. Launched almost 20 years ago in 2003, Google Adsense is the top-recommended and most popular ad network for bloggers or webmasters trying to make money from their website traffic.
Google Adsense is the best way to get started making money online. Simple as that. However, this doesn’t mean Adsense is always the best option for you and there are many cases where you could be making more money from other networks or monetization methods.
Let’s go over some of the top reasons to go with an alternative to Adsense.
Why should I use a Google Adsense alternative?
Many webmasters aren’t able to apply for Google Adsense for several reasons. Perhaps it’s your fault for not following the rules or sometimes your site just isn’t a good fit for them. Whether it’s your fault or their fault, you’ve got to know it isn’t the end of the world.
With some alternatives, you might end up making a similar amount of money, or sometimes even more. Here are the top reasons we’ve seen so far online:
- Google Adsense rejected your application. This is common for new bloggers who either don’t follow the rules or new websites that barely have traffic. You can always try again in a couple of months once you revamp your site and get more traffic, but meanwhile, you can try an alternative.
- Google Adsense banned your account. This happens frequently as any mistake could lead to bans. Clicking your own ads is one of the top mistakes leading to bans. Make sure you follow their rules properly and always stay on top of what’s happening in your stats. Getting your account back is almost impossible and you’ll be limited to other Adsense alternatives.
- Your website is in a niche that can’t be monetized by Adsense. Similar to the first or second reason, some websites just aren’t meant to be used with Adsense. The good thing though is you can usually make more money with other networks that specialize in your niche. For example, dating, downloads, gambling, etc.
- Google Adsense ad formats don’t fit your website. Sometimes other formats like native ads, interstitials or push notifications are better for your site instead of regular banners and similar ad formats.
- You want to go to the next level. Once you have a ton of traffic (above 25,000-50,000 visits per month), it’s better to go with a premium network to get premium CPMs and payouts. Sometimes this can duplicate or triplicate your revenue overnight.
Now that we’ve mentioned the top reasons not to use Adsense, let’s go over the best alternatives, their best ad formats, and payment terms.
12 Best Google Adsense Alternatives
Here are some of the best Google Adsense alternatives for your website. Tip: Some of them can be used along with Adsense to increase revenue. I’ll tell you how they work and why you should consider them, so let’s start:
1. Ezoic
Ezoic is a programmatic display ad provider that optimizes for earnings via an AI-based system. I’ve used Ezoic on plenty of content sites and have always seen an increase in earnings above Google Adsense.
Ezoic has dedicated managers to help you set up and optimize your site for maximum earnings. They also have a premium program where you can earn more depending on your website.
If you are currently monetizing with Google Adsense, it’s time to switch to Ezoic.
2. PropellerAds
Propeller Ads is one of the biggest advertising networks available nowadays for publishers and advertisers. They started working in 2011 and quickly developed into one of the biggest networks with great CPMs. I’ve made several thousand dollars with PropellerAds with sites that aren’t approved for Google Adsense.
They specialize in monetizing websites for the following niches: entertainment, videos/movies, games, dating, finances, software, gambling, and more. If you’ve got a website in those niches, you could make more money with Propeller than with Adsense. Also, if you’ve got mobile traffic, they’re a great Adsense alternative as they work closely with ad networks that monetize apps and mobile services leading to huge ROI and great CPMs too.
PropellerAds now also offers native display ads (interstitial), web push notifications, in-page push ads as well as pop-unders. They’re a great network and their new ad formats have great performance. Overall Propeller is one of the best Google Adsense Alternatives as they have quite a good portfolio of ad types and monetization methods to test.
Propeller pays on a NET 30 basis but you can also select weekly payments in your account settings and they have a great fill rate for tier 2-3 countries. Payments are made via Paypal, Payoneer, ePayments, and Webmoney. You can also request Wire Transfers with your manager with a higher payment limit though. You’ve still got a ton of options to choose from with a minimum payout of $5 USD. If you start doing some good volume you will get an account manager assigned to help you increase your revenue as well. We also use PropellerAds to promote affiliate links but that’s another story for another post.
If you’re struggling to monetize traffic from countries like India, Singapore, Turkey, South Africa, etc. Propeller has a big ad inventory for them too. Sign up as a Publisher with Propeller Ads here.
Bonus: Check how this case study on how to make $300 per day with Propeller Ads and viral websites.
3. Media.net
If you’re looking for the most effective Adsense Alternative, here you have it: The Adsense alternative from Yahoo and Bing. Media.net is an industry-leading technology company in the advertising space that develops innovative digital advertising products for both publishers and advertisers. They have over 500 employees in key operation centers across – New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Zurich, Mumbai & Bangalore.
All of their payments are made now via Payoneer (lower commission). They used to offer Paypal but not anymore, unfortunately. They pay on a NET 30 basis.
By Revenue, Media.net runs the #2 largest contextual ads program globally. Media.net powers the Yahoo! Bing Network Contextual Ads program. Media.net exclusively manages technology, business operations, and relationships with respect to publishers worldwide for this program.
Media.net has strict minimum traffic requirements and works much better with English speaking countries, so keep that in mind or try some of the other AdSense alternatives if your traffic doesn’t meet this criterion. If you meet their requirements, you’ll make great money with their display and contextual ads.
Media.net takes only 2 days on average to get your account approved and will give you an extra 10% over your earnings for the first 3 months! (way better than waiting weeks for an Adsense approval just to get denied). Sign up here.
That’s why Media.net is being named the best alternative to Google Adsense in this list until further change. But there are many networks rising that will be considered in the future as well. My account manager has been super helpful as well.
Bonus: Check out our full Media.net review and learn how to get started ASAP.
4. Adsterra
Adsterra is a great advertising network for publishers with great CPMs and a lot of different ad formats for both mobile and desktop traffic around the world. They pay on a NET15 basis via wire transfer, Bitcoin, Paxum, PayPal, WebMoney, ePayments, etc.
Adsterra has updated its minimum payment requirements and you can withdraw your money once you go over $5 USD, which is pretty convenient for small webmasters. Check out our Adsterra review.
Their ad formats include many categories like display ads (banners), popunders, direct links, web push notifications, video ads, etc and their platform allows you to filter and select the type the ads you like to run in your site to get the best CPM for your traffic. So far Adsterra has been one of my best alternatives to Adsense and my personal account manager always answers fast with great support via Skype.
So far they’ve paid me on time without problems every single month and it’s a network I’ve known since the end of 2015. Adsterra is getting bigger every year in this advertising space. Sign up and start earning with Adsterra here.
5. Infolinks
Infolinks is one of the largest monetization networks in the world today, helping more than 200,000 online publishers in 128 countries earn money from their unused ad space. Their native and contextual ads work perfectly with all ad solutions and don’t interfere with the user’s experience! From effective contextual and video ads to engaging display ads – Infolinks’ highly customizable products will guarantee you make the most out of your traffic.
Their platform is very simple to integrate into your site, and is open to any publisher, big or small, with no setup fees, no minimum traffic requirements for page views or visitors and no hidden commitments. Infolinks advertisers are selected based on quality, that’s why they work with worldwide leading brands such as Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Ali Express, Pizza Hut, TripAdvisor, Hyundai, and many more. Sign up here to create your account or check out our Infolinks review for more info.
6. Amazon Native Ads
Amazon is the biggest online store in the world, so they must be doing something good. Well, if you have a website that talks about any product that can be found on Amazon, then Amazon associates could work for you. Amazon allows you to put display ads, native ads, links (known as affiliate links), carousel ads and more in your blog so that you can promote their inventory and while this isn’t a (PPC) Pay-Per-Click or CPM program, it will pay you a small commission for everything they sell from your links.
So let’s say you have a blog about Apple products and you put an ad driving them to buy an iPod or just a cable. If they buy it, a small commission will be for you. So if you sell a $10 cable you might receive a few cents, but sell a $1500 Laptop and you might receive $50.
The Amazon Associates program is probably one of the most commonly used advertising networks to make money online, although it’s not the best way to monetize your site on many occasions. The power of the Amazon brand and the availability in many countries make it very attractive.
Sign up and get started here.
You can also apply for the Amazon Associates program in several other countries to promote local products and get paid via direct wire transfer in your country, as long as you have local traffic. This is the closest thing Amazon has as an Adsense alternative, so I put it in number 10 because for many websites it won’t apply as you’re probably looking for an ad network instead.
You can also use this alternative with Adsense at the same time. We also have more information about Amazon’s affiliate websites in the blog.
7. PopAds
PopAds is a performance advertising network specialized in Pop-Under ads for publishers and advertisers. They have good rates and they can monetize all countries (including tier 3 countries which can be difficult to monetize sometimes).
Something great about PopAds is that they can pay daily as long as you earn $5 or more per day, so you don’t need a lot of traffic to meet their minimum payout limit. Their quality is good, and they also have pop-ups, tab ups/tab under, and other monetization methods. Their approvals are easy and setting your ads takes just a few minutes. Sign up as a publisher here.
8. She Media
SHE Media is an advertiser’s network that focuses on monetizing websites for female audiences. A network created by women, for women. They have more than 50 million visitors per month and offer great CPMs for niches targeted at women such as lifestyle blogs, vanity, clothing, etc.
SHE Media helps you earn more money from those niches by connecting flagship websites with targeted advertisers to meet better quality traffic and achieve higher ad rates. Sign up here if you think this network is for you.
9. Evadav
Evadav is a new advertising network focused on native ads both for publishers and advertisers. They provide a variety of ad formats including native, video sliders, mobile interstitials, banners, push notifications, and more. All creatives are approved to be brand-safe and they have competitive CPMs that work for both desktop and mobile devices.
Evadav also recently added pop-under ads but their main moneymaker so far seems to be push notification ads. You can customize and select your ad units based on your website’s design and you’ll be happy to know they provide weekly payments which are very convenient for publishers with minimum traffic requirements. Sign up here and get started with Evadav.
10. RevContent
Revcontent is a Native Ads Network with some of the best quality ads and approval process in the industry. Native Ads have high engagement vs. regular display ads (a.k.a. banners) and they blend pretty well with your blog or website as they just look like related articles.
Revcontent has great CPCs, paying 1-10 cents per each click and having a super wide network of advertisers from all over the world.
If you can drive enough volume you will also get your private account manager which helps a lot when optimizing your ads for maximum revenue. RevContent has strict minimum traffic rules though, so it’s not meant for new bloggers and small sites.
Some of the biggest websites in the world like Forbes and PCWorld use Revcontent to add revenue aside from their Adsense earnings. But it’s also considered as a great alternative to Google Adsense if you work with them independently. Revcontent is a network you should definitely try and you can easily mix it with other networks in this list to improve your earnings. Sign up here.
11. Adcash
Adcash is a network with more than 10 billion ad requests per day and serves 196 countries. With multiple ad formats including banners, interstitials, push notifications, pop-unders, and video ads, you’ve got plenty of options to monetize your website. We have a full review of Adcash here.
Adcash can provide you with high CPMs in many verticals, as we explained in our review. As for payment methods, they offer Bank transfers, PayPal, Skrill, Webmoney, Payoneer, and Bitcoin with a minimum payout of $25. Create your Adcash account here and get started.
12. PopCash
PopCash is another alternative to Google Adsense that has been in business for a long time and usually gives me similar (albeit a bit lower) results as PopAds (see number 5). PopCash has PopUnder ads with a great CPM and good inventory for all countries both for mobile and desktop traffic.
PopCash has minimum traffic requirements and very low minimum payout thresholds. You can request your payments inside the dashboard and they pay via Paypal, Payza, and Paxum. Money transfers usually take 24-48 hours which isn’t bad at all. Sign up here and get started with PopCash.
13. Yllix Media
Yllix is an advertising network I have heard a lot in the last years that has a decent CPM and many monetization options. Their homepage might look simple but their dashboard is great and it’s easy to get started.
Yllix has Pop-under ads, mobile redirects, sliders, layer ads, and full-page ads so you can get a good CTR and make money with them. Definitely a good option for starters and their approval is fast. Sign up here.
BONUS option: Use an AI ad tester to increase your revenue
I’m adding this option because we have gotten great results for the last year or so. Using an ad tester for Adsense or many other networks like Adpushup or Ezoic, you can increase your earnings significantly.
In our tests, we have managed to increase our regular CPMs and earnings by 70% or more just by adding an ad tester such as Ezoic that automatically selects the best ad sizes and locations on your site. These solutions are not necessarily Adsense alternatives, but something additional and more premium once you start getting some decent traffic.
For the rest of our traffic, it’s better to monetize it with other networks like Adsense or Revcontent.
Also, Ezoic has a great affiliate program with recurring commission potential.
Which Adsense Alternative is the best then?
As you can see, there are many alternatives you can try and test. Some of them can be used along with Adsense if you follow their rules, and some of them are meant to be used alone to replace or get you better ad rates, such as Ezoic.
The key here is testing. Pick 2-3 networks that fit your niche and test them to find the best performers in your website.
The secret word here is to “diversify“. Try to have as many income streams as you can by adding and testing different ad services, and you’ll find your way to the top. These Google Adsense alternatives will help you develop as a webmaster even more.
