Best Display Advertising Network
If you’re looking to monetize your Web traffic through advertising, there are a number of different opportunities out there. If selling direct to advertisers is neither practical nor possible at present, utilizing an ad network to fill your inventory is likely the most effective alternative.
The hard part, of course, is knowing which ad network will be the best fit for monetizing your website, blog, app, or other Web-based asset; for most publishers, there are dozens of networks that would love to have your business. We’re here to help: we’ve categorized and reviewed the top ad networks operating in 2016. Don’t have a web-asset yet? Click here and learn how to start your own blog.
Media.net are currently offering MonetizePros readers 10% extra earnings for their first 3 months here.
Table of Contents:
- Best Display Advertising Networks: Google AdSense, Adblade, Advertising.com, Chitika,
Clicksor, Infolinks, Media.net, PulsePoint, Tribal Fusion, Vibrant Media. - Best Affiliate Marketing Networks: Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate by Conversant, Rakuten LinkShare.
- Best E-mail Advertising Networks: LiveIntent, NewsletterDirectory.co.
- Best Mobile Advertising Networks: AdMob, Airpush.
Comparison of the Best Ad Networks for Web Publishers
The following tables just show the top-rated ad networks which have been reviewed by MonetizePros.
Featured Ad Network of the Month
Every single month at MonetizePros, we choose a featured ad network. They stand out by exceptional earnings, reported to us by our readers.
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infolinks (Read Review) | CPC |  | None | Yes | Unknown |
Best Display Ad Networks for Web Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google AdSense (Read Review) | CPC |  | None | Yes | 2 million publishers |
| Media.net (Read Review) | CPC | | None | Yes | Unknown |
| BuySellAds (Read Review) | CPM, Fixed-Rate | | None | Yes | “Thousands of publishers” |
| Clicksor (Read Review) | CPC, CPI, CPM, CPV | | 50,000 monthly impressions | Yes | Unknown |
| Conversant (Read Review) | CPC, CPM |  | 3,000 monthly impressions | Yes | Unknown |
| Adblade (Read Review) | CPC, CPM |  | 500,000 monthly impressions | Yes | Unknown |
Best In-line Text Ad Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infolinks (Read Review) | CPC | | None | Yes | Unknown |
| Chitika (Read Review) | CPC | | None | Yes | Unknown |
| Kontera (Read Review) | CPC |  | None | Yes | Unknown |
Best Affiliate Marketing Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Associates (Read Review) | CPA | | None | Yes | 1.6 million sellers |
| CJ Affiliate by Conversant (Read Review) | CPA | | None | Yes | 2,500+ advertisers |
| Rakuten LinkShare (Read Review) | CPA | | None | Yes | 1,000+ advertisers |
Best Co-registration Ad Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoregMedia (Read Review) | CPL | | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Best Email Ad Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiveIntent (Read Review) | CPM | | 3 million monthly impressions | Unknown | Unknown |
| NewsletterDirectory.co (Read Review) | CPC, CPM | | None | No | 4,000+ publishers |
Best Mobile App Ad Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdMob (Read Review) | CPC, CPM | | None | Yes | Unknown |
| AirPush (Read Review) | CPA, CPC, CPM | | None | Yes | 100,000+ mobile apps |
| iAd (Read Review) | CPC, CPM | | None | Yes | 150,000+ mobile apps |
Best Sponsored Content Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outbrain (Read Review) | CPC | | 10 million monthly US page views | Yes | Over 100,000 blogs and websites |
Best Video Ad Networks for Publishers
| Network | Offer Types | Rating (?) | Traffic Min. | Mobile Units | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Partner Program (Read Review) | CPC, CPM | | None | Yes | Unknown |
| Google DFP Video (Read Review) | Unknown | | Unknown | Yes | Unknown |
| Videology (Read Review) | Unknown | | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
The King of Display: Google AdSense
Google’s AdSense is one of the largest and perhaps the best known display advertising network. This platform allows publishers to monetize standard display ads, mobile and video, and search results as well.
It’s free to sign up for AdSense and the program will accept the smallest of publishers provided they meet certain quality guidelines. AdSense also integrates smoothly into other Google products (such as DFP) and generally pays publishers monthly for revenue generated the previous month.
Example of Google AdSense 300×250 ad unit
Google AdSense at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Display, Video
- Offer Types: CPC
- Payment Methods: Check, EFT, Rapida, Western Union
- Payment Threshold: $100
- Payment Terms: Net-30
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Google AdSense.
Display Advertising Alternatives to Google AdSense
While AdSense is the most popular choice of display monetization among Web publishers, there are several viable alternatives for those seeking to either compliment existing AdSense units or replace AdSense entirely. The following are the best Google AdSense alternatives, listed in alphabetical order.
Adblade
This network of premium publishers currently consists of about 1,000 high profile publishers. Adblade offers its publishers an opportunity to fill IAB standard ad units (such as the 300×250 rectangle or 728×90 leaderboard) as well as a proprietary “NewsBullet” unit designed to increase engagement and CPMs.
For smaller publishers, Adblade won’t be much use. This network accepts only ultra-premium (i.e., really large) publishers; Fox News, Daily News, and the McClatchy properties are among those that make the cut.
Example of Adblade NewsBullets unit
Adblade at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: 500,000 monthly pageviews
- Ad Types: Display
- Offer Types: CPC, CPM
- Payment Methods: Check, PayPal
- Payment Threshold: $100
- Payment Terms: Net-30
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Adblade.
Advertising.com
This network, a unit of AOL, is one of the largest out there with nearly 2 billion impressions monetized daily. Ad.com offers opportunities for publishers to monetize display ads, video, mobile, and some custom implementations as well.
This network now offers Display University, an online educational resource for publishers and advertisers looking to learn more about display ads, the process of building a campaign, and executing on creative.
Advertising.com at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Display
- Offer Types: CPA, CPC, CPM, Revenue Share
- Payment Methods: Check, PayPal
- Payment Threshold: $25
- Payment Terms: Net-30
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Advertising.com.
Chitika
Chitika boasts a network of more than 300,000 publishers, making it one of the largest networks in the world based on that metric. Chitika ads can be used on their own, or alongside ads from other networks (such as AdSense).
Chitika is also open to just about anyone, and the process for getting approval and ad implementation is generally very fast. Chitika has been a popular alternative for advertisers unable to use or frustrated with AdSense, with great results in certain niches and less impressive earnings capabilities in others.
Example of Chitika Inline Text Link ad unit
Chitika at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Display, Inline Text
- Offer Types: CPC
- Payment Methods: Check, PayPal
- Payment Threshold: $10
- Payment Terms: Net-30
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Chitika.
Clicksor
Clicksor had a lot of trouble a few years back with malware but in 2016 they’re one of the best ad networks on the market again. They’ve dealt with their issues, learned from them and are stronger than ever.Infolinks
Infolinks has experienced a quick growth to become one of the top players in in-text advertising. Signup is quick and approval is granted to usually granted to even the smaller Web publishers and bloggers.
Infolinks offers a number of ways to deliver their ad units: inText double underlines valuable keywords, and when a user hovers over one of them, a relevant ad will appear; inFrame monetizes the unused screen margins on either side of a site’s design with contextual banner ads; inSearch only monetizes search traffic, without disturbing a site’s regular visitors; and inTag places a link unit within a webpage’s content with valuable contextual keywords.
Example of Infolinks inText ad unit
Infolinks at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Display, Inline Text
- Offer Types: CPC
- Payment Methods: ACH Transfer, eCheck, Payoneer, Paypal, Western Union
- Payment Threshold: $50
- Payment Terms: Net-45
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Infolinks.
Media.net
This platform can be used by publishers to serve contextual ads from the Yahoo! Bing Network, which offers up a large pool of national and local advertisers.
The Media.net platform allows advertisers to pick from about 15 different ad sizes (including a few non-standard ones) and customize each placement. There’s also an option to build ads from scratch, allowing more advanced users to come up with an implementation that works best with their site layout.
Example of Media.net 300×250 ad unit
Media.net at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Display
- Offer Types: CPC
- Payment Methods: PayPal, Wire Transfer
- Payment Threshold: $100
- Payment Terms: Net-30
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Media.net.
PulsePoint
More than 1 billion real-time ad transactions are processed each day through PulsePoint, which is the result of a merger between ContextWeb and Datran Media. PulsePoint is a bit unique; it’s an ad exchange that allows publishers to set an “ask price” for their inventory. That allows publishers to effectively set a minimum CPM they’re willing to accept; if PulsePoint is able to find buyers for the inventory at that level, publishers will receive 100% of their desired revenue level.
PulsePoint also offers a multi-channel marketing solution designed to help publishers expose new users to their content.
Example of PulsePoint 300×250 ad unit
PulsePoint at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Display
- Offer Types: CPM
- Payment Methods: Check, PayPal
- Payment Threshold: $50
- Payment Terms: Net-30
Tribal Fusion
This platform has the ability to reach more than 430 million people worldwide each month, which represents a substantial portion of the overall Internet audience. Qualified publishers are able to run in-text advertising, lead generation portals, and other monetization opportunities through Tribal Fusion.
Tribal Fusion accepts only publishers that have at least 500,000 unique users per month, so this network won’t be all that useful for smaller sites.
Example of Tribal Fusion Firefly Video ad unit
Tribal Fusion at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: 500,000 monthly uniques
- Ad Types: Display, Video
- Offer Types: CPE, CPM
- Payment Methods: Check
- Payment Threshold: $50
- Payment Terms: Net-45
Vibrant Media
Vibrant Media is best known for their text ads that allow publishers to create incremental monetization opportunities within content. (Here’s an example of their technology.) In addition to the in-text advertising opportunities, Vibrant also offers traditional display advertising opportunities for publishers now.
Vibrant’s roster of display advertising clients and partners is much smaller than many of the other networks on this list, but nevertheless offers publishers another option for display ad monetization.
Example of Vibrant Media Inline Text ad unit
Vibrant Media at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: 500,000 monthly pageviews
- Ad Types: Inline Text
- Offer Types: CPC, CPM, CPV
- Payment Methods: ACH Transfer, Check, Wire Transfer
- Payment Threshold: $5
- Payment Terms: Net-45
Affiliate Marketing Advertising Networks
Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is the affiliate marketing program offered by the world’s largest online retailer. Web publishers who sign up for the program (no minimum traffic requirement) can display on their sites custom banner ads and text links that point to Amazon category or product pages. The publisher then receives a commission from each click through that results in a sale.
Amazon has one of the largest affiliate networks on the Internet, boasting 1.6 million sellers and countless products. While their commission rate is on the low side (starting at 4%, going up to 8.5%), publishers get a cut of everything that a shopper buys during the first purchase.
Example of Amazon Associates product implementation on affiliate site
Amazon Associates at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Affiliate
- Offer Types: CPA
- Payment Methods: Amazon.com Gift Card, Check, Direct Deposit
- Payment Threshold: $10
- Payment Terms: Net-60
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Amazon Associates.
CJ Affiliate by Conversant
CJ Affiliate by Conversant, formerly known as Commission Junction, is one of the oldest and largest affiliate networks, operating in dozens of verticals from education to matchmaking to Web hosting and much more. There are currently over 3,000 active advertisers on the network. And with no traffic minimum, CJ is accessible by even the smallest blogger or Web publishers.
The CPA dollar amounts and commission rates at CJ are set by each individual seller, each of which has its own terms that publishers need to adhere to.
Example of CJ affiliate link offers
CJ at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Affiliate
- Offer Types: CPA
- Payment Methods: Check, Direct Deposit
- Payment Threshold: $50
- Payment Terms: Net-20
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of CJ Affiliate by Conversant.
Rakuten LinkShare
Rakuten LinkShare is another long-established affiliate network, very similar to CJ, but less than half the size in terms of number of advertisers. Still, they are a worthwhile affiliate network to have a publisher account with, as they do have some high quality advertisers who do not advertise through CJ. If payment threshold is a concern, they have a very low minimum of $1, compared to CJ’s $50 minimum.
Like CJ, the CPA dollar amounts and commission rates at LinkShare are set by each individual seller, each of which has its own terms that publishers need to adhere to.
Example of Linkshare affiliate link and skyscraper ad for jewelry company
Rakuten LinkShare at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: Affiliate
- Offer Types: CPA
- Payment Methods: Check, Direct Deposit
- Payment Threshold: $1
- Payment Terms: Varies
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of Rakuten LinkShare.
Email Advertising Networks
LiveIntent
LiveIntent is one of the largest providers of email monetization, though they’ve only been in existence since 2009. Their service integrates seamlessly with almost any email service provider, including SilverPop and MailChimp, to deliver display ads within the body of emails to publishers’ subscribers. Note that LiveIntent requires a minimum of 3 million monthly impressions, so they are not suitable for publishers with smaller lists.
LiveIntent is trusted by some of the largest publishers on the Web today, including The Weather Channel, Conde Nast, and The Wall Street Journal. Fill rates with LiveIntent are very high, often nearing 100%.
LiveIntent at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: 3 million monthly email open impressions
- Ad Types: Email Display
- Offer Types: CPM
- Payment Methods: Unknown
- Payment Threshold: Unknown
- Payment Terms: Unknown
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of LiveIntent.
NewsletterDirectory.co
With NewsletterDirectory.co, publishers can list their email newsletters in the directory and then get offered proposals by different advertisers. The CPC ads at NewsletterDirectory.co are offered as image- or text-based 468×60 banners that easily integrate with MailChimp and a variety of other email service providers.
NewsletterDirectory.co also allows advertisers and publishers to meet and then work out a deal outside of their purview. There are opportunities then for CPM, per diem, flat-rate advertising, or other options.
NewsletterDirectory.co at a Glance
- Publisher Traffic Requirement: None
- Ad Types: CPC
- Offer Types: Email
- Payment Methods: PayPal
- Payment Threshold: $50
- Payment Terms: Net-15
- More Info: Read MonetizePros’ in-depth review of NewsletterDirectory.co.
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