Ad Networks for Bloggers

Updated on: by Miranda Grimm

Ad Networks for BloggersBlogging is one of the obvious ways we know to make money online. But writing a lot of great content and having thousands of readers isn’t going to make you money unless you have ads alongside your posts.

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Let me explain how this works.

Bloggers write amazing articles that cause people to flock to their site. While the readers are on the blog they will usually see ads placed around the site. Some of those ads pay the blogger for the number of times their ads are loaded (or viewed) while most of the ads pay when they are clicked. Only a very small percentage of people viewing blogs click ads. Unbounce.com reports “People are more likely to survive a plane crash than click a banner ad.” It is understood that the average rate of which people click through ads on a website/blog is around 2%. So, choosing the right ad network(s) is essential.

You want to be sure the ads appearing onyour blog is relevant to what you are talking about. It would be such a waste of your web space if the ads appearing are not of interest to your readers.

In my time blogging I have found many ad networks for bloggers.

 

6 Ad Networks I Have Used

I operate and manage many other blogs in addition to Work at Home Adventures. Here are many of the ad networks I have been a part of testing- beginning with my favorite.

 

1. Google Adsense

Google AdsenseGoogle by far is the highest paying ad network I have been a part of. It has become something I depend on every month for paying my bills. I love that I get what I put into blogging as far as Adsense is concerned. If I focus on a subject Google delivers quality articles that are usually very relevant to what the readers are interested in. In 2009 it was estimated that Google had over 1.5 MILLION advertisers in their network!

 

2. Infolinks versus Kontera

Infolinks Ad NetworkInfolinks provides a variety of ways to add advertising to your blog than just with ad blocks. They are most known for their in-text advertising. I have compared Infolinks to their biggest competitor, Kontera, and have found Infolinks to be superior. Infolinks not only pays more than Kontera did but it delivered quality ads. When I tried Kontera, I noticed a lot of spammy type of ads. The last thing I want is to have spammy get rich quick schemes advertised on my blog that talks about legit ways to make money! Kontera did not last long and Infolinks is here to stay.

 

3. Media.net

Media.net Advertising for bloggersMedia.net is an ad network I have only been active with for a few month but have been thrilled with the results. Media.net uses Yahoo! and Bing to provide your blog with relevant ads. What I like the most about Media.net is the variety of ad sizes and dimensions. I like that no matter what size of space I want to place an ad, media.net is likely to have the perfect one for me.

Additionally, Media.net is different in that they don’t serve image based ads but text based using a stylish box (that you can customize with colors and layout). This gives your readers the ability to find more information on the subject related on your blog using their related search queries.

 

4. Rivit Media

Rivit Media Ad NetworkThe Rivit Ad Network is geared toward Do-It-Yourself and Crafting type of blogs. Which I happen to have a few of. Rivit pays bloggers based on the number of times their ads are viewed, rather than how many time the ads are clicked. This was great for me because it allows you to place the ad in inconspicuous places to avoid your site looking bogged down by ads. They guarantee a pay of anywhere from 40 cents to 4 dollars per 1000 ad views (per ad). So, if you place 3 ads on your site- you can expect to earn anywhere from $1.20 to $12.00 per 1000 views.

I have only been using Rivit for a couple of months and so far it seems I only make the minimum (40 cents per 1000) and according to my stats, I am actually earning LESS than the minimum (around 38 cents)- but I am hoping that means before they pay that they will  honor their guarantee.

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I am still testing this ad network and plan to find out if it is because I sort of ‘hid’ those ads on the site that they are not performing very well. Regardless, it is still nice to earn ANYTHING for simply slapping an ad in the footer of the blog!

 

5. Lijit

LijitLijit is an ad network I did not use for long because it did not seem to perform well for me. However, one of the sites I manage is doing pretty well with it. She has 1 ad on her site and is happy with the $1-2 dollars a day it makes her. It begins to feel like free money when all you do is place ad code on your site and forget it even exists until you receive payment. So far, Lijit has offered quality ads to her site. If I weren’t so thrilled with the ads I am currently running or had more space for ads, then Lijit would probably get a second chance from me.

 

6. Izea through Social Spark

IzeaAt one time I loved the ad I had through Izea. Unfortunately my love faded and I have since removed it. This ad network for bloggers requires you place the ad ‘above the fold’- which means anywhere at the top of your blog so that people who visit see the ad before ever scrolling down. This area of your blog is generally the highest performing area- making it valuable space. You don’t want to just hand it over to anyone- it better make good money. Unfortunately I made more than twice with Google adsense placement than I did with Izea. Then, there were several months that payment was late with no communication from Social Spark. That is when I decided to remove the ads from my site.

 

Additional Ad Networks for Bloggers

 

 

As you can see, you have many options for Ad Networks to use on your blog. My suggestion is to take it seriously and consider your niche. There are many ad agencies that focus directly on specific audiences (moms, food, design etc). Try searching for ad networks for your niche for what may be the best performing and obviously most relevant to your audience.

My Blog Earnings

Before I let you go, I want to let you know that I plan to begin sharing my blogging success. I will be calculating my 2012 earnings and will share with you how much I have earned and where it came from. Blogging is one of the main ways I make money from home, I think it is about time I share more about that with you.

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Comments

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Patti Hale

January 3, 2013 at 1:33 pm

Wow! Very valuable information you’ve shared here! Thanks so much! Sharing!

Leisa Good

January 3, 2013 at 10:14 pm

Thanks, Miranda. I have recently started blogging on a fairly regular basis with one of my three blogs. So this is great information. I am learning so much more about not only writing content, but also the necessity of having alt tags in photos and ads as well.

So, please do share. Share away.

As, for the other blog, well…I think it may end up in the Cyber Cemetery. Poor abandoned thing!

Again, thanks for the excellent and timely information.

Punrun

January 6, 2013 at 2:31 am

Quite a long list for someone, like me, who is looking for an alternative to google adsense.

Sabrina

January 14, 2013 at 7:42 am

On my previous sites, I’ve used Google Adsense, Commission Junction, and Maxbounty, but I am definitely looking to branch out. Are there any good networks that accept newbie blogs? Most that I have researched seem to want a site to have been around for a few months.

Miranda Grimm

January 14, 2013 at 10:21 am

Off the top of my head- Rivit Media and Chitika are for blogs of all sizes

Sabrina

January 14, 2013 at 11:41 am

Okay, I’ll check those out. Thank you for your feedback.

Suzy

January 25, 2013 at 2:45 pm

Thanks for the post! I have used rivit media in the past & have a question regarding taxes. I know they require a w9 so even the smallest of blogs need to pay taxes. Would you still pay in quarterly? Do you have any advice on navigating taxes for bloggers? I tried to google it & came up empty!

Michelle

June 25, 2013 at 2:07 pm

Definitely valuable info. I signed up with Google Adsense a few months ago.

Laura

June 25, 2013 at 2:38 pm

Thanks for this information. When I first started blogging, I used AdSense, but didn’t seem to make any money, so I removed it. But now that my blog is doing better, it may be time to try ads again.

Nithya

June 27, 2013 at 11:37 pm

Very valuable information.. Thanks for sorting the ad networks and also providing the big ad list.

Jami

July 23, 2013 at 2:25 pm

When we monetize blogs for our clients we try a layered approach after heatmapping. It helps us determine which area of the site will perform best and get the most clicks . We also work on monetizing the social media as well. Blog owners should be earning coming and going . There are ways to improve layout and get more niche targeted offers . But I think , like real estate in general, the key to getting more from your advertising is location, location, location

Silver Moon

December 28, 2013 at 11:09 am

What about admedia.com ?
I started using them recently, and find them serving cheap spammy ads in demographics where good ads are not available.

Miranda Grimm

December 30, 2013 at 9:39 pm

I haven’t used them myself. I get a lot of emails from them trying to get me to try them out but I haven’t found the emails to be quality and personal – so they are mostly being ignored. Sounds like I’m not missing out on anything though.

J.T. Smith

February 19, 2014 at 5:38 pm

I really enjoyed your article “Ad Networks for Bloggers” I too have a website http://getting-paid-to-take-surveys-guide.com I don’t sell anything there. I just offer my advice on some money making opportunities. Where I do make my money is in Ads. Adsense is my main one. Like you said in your article, “People are more likely to survive a plane crash than click a banner ad.” That is SO true. Ad placement is VERY important. I have my ads to blend in with my site as much as possible with breaking any of Google’s Guide lines. So far So great. I guess my point is… Try to blind your Ads in as much as you can and make sure you read the guide lines and check them often for they are always changing. Thank you again for the great article. J.T. Smith

Manohar

April 11, 2014 at 12:40 am

Nice information but i have a question that is how much money we can earn from infolinks per month?

Miranda Grimm

April 11, 2014 at 10:37 am

that really depends on your traffic and your keywords.

Danielle

April 17, 2014 at 1:51 pm

What were you using IZEA for? Display ads? Social Spark is more about writing content for brands.

Wanify

October 27, 2014 at 8:02 pm

I’d like to throw Wanify.com into the mix. It’s specifically designed for the online dating community.

Sara

January 11, 2016 at 6:33 am

Also a good ad network is tribaladnetwork.com. I use for my sites and i earn around 0,20$ per click.

Julie Reynolds

June 24, 2016 at 9:14 pm

This is a solid list. I think I’ve worked with over half of these networks. A couple others that generate good CPM’s is Envero Media which provide sponsored content at the bottom of articles and  provide games widgets which monetise high CPM video ads.