Google AdSense is one of the most popular website monetization tools on the market. It connects you with various advertisers, who place their ads on your site. However, there are also many drawbacks to this network that may be a deal-breaker for some people.
In this article, I will give you a list of Google AdSense alternatives that you can opt for!
Why Google Adsense Isn’t for Everyone?
Here are some reasons why Google AdSense might not be the perfect choice for everyone:
- Google AdSense is somewhat exclusive — it doesn’t allow non-Google ads to be displayed at the same time as theirs. Not a good idea for people looking for an easy way to earn an additional source of income.
- Not everyone is eligible to apply — this network is known to be strict about their rules and requirements to sign up. If you’re a start-up website with little to no traffic, even getting accepted might be tricky for you.
- Strict ban policy — they have very specific rules that you must follow. Not following these rules may result in the banning of your AdSense account — or even worse, your website. Some people even got banned for simple mistakes.
- High minimum payment threshold — there’s a minimum amount of payment threshold you need to fulfill. You’ll get your first check when your website earns $100 a month.
- Might damage your SEO — with the new updates, AdSense lets you display more than one type of ad on your website. However, showing them all at once will slow down your site.
Top 10 Google Adsense Alternatives Worth Checking Out
Now you’re probably asking yourself “Then, what other monetization options do I have?” Well, don’t worry! Here are the top 10 best Google AdSense Alternatives that you might be interested in.
1. Media.Net
Since it supports display-to-search (D2S) ad formats, Media.net identifies users’ search intent and accordingly chooses the most relevant ads. This boosts the chance of visitor interaction with the ads displayed on your website.
Once you sign up for Media.net, you’ll find that you don’t have to wait for weeks to be approved. As of right now, the average waiting time is only two days.
Getting accepted in their program isn’t that hard either. As long as you have enough content on your website, you’re all set. What’s even greater is the fact that signing up for one account allows you to place ads on multiple websites at the same time.
When it comes to payment methods though, Media.net only supports payouts through Payoneer or Wire Transfer. Luckily, a 10% bonus revenue each user gets for the first three months makes up for this.
The Good
- Auto-pilot feature — if you don’t have time to create and customize the ads on your website, Media.net has ad specialists to make it easier for you.
- Mobile-Friendly Ads — this ad network is working towards mobile-friendly ads. Though this feature is currently in beta testing, it still means more additional income for your website!
The Bad
- High minimum payout — like most ad providers, you will receive your first check when you earn $100 at a minimum.
The Verdict
If you’re a beginner with no experience dealing with ad services, this might be a good choice. Media.net provides its users with ad specialists and agents who will guide them through the whole process of setting up. It definitely makes things easier for you.
2. Adsterra
This ad network may be a good option for you if you’re looking for a way to fund your bitcoin investment. Adsterra offers flexible payout methods which include PayPal, Paxum, Web Money, wire transfers, and of course, bitcoins.
Other than offering responsive ads that would look great on any device, Adsterra also supports various ad formats such as pop rounders, pop-under ads, direct links, pre-roll videos and push notifications.
There’s also a fraud detection system that prevents spam and malware ads to be displayed on your website so it won’t look like an advertisement page.
However, if you’ve just started your website journey, it may be hard for you to get accepted in their ad program. Adsterra is known to reject sites under 1M Alexa Rank.
The Good
- Get your money without ad clicks — Adsterra offers a 100% fill rate with the highest CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) rate in the industry. You get compensation for the number of visitors you receive on your website.
- Account managers — there’s an account manager to help you with the set-up and everything else.
The Bad
- No online chat options — there’s no direct support. You have to contact them through email or Skype for questions and help.
The Verdict
Adsterra may be a good option for those who run moderately big websites with good enough traffic. With the help of CMPs, publishers will still be able to earn money with web traffic alone. No dependency on the number of clicks you get! In terms of customer support though, don’t expect much.
3. Amazon Associates
As the name implies, Amazon Associates is the affiliate program of the huge ecommerce website. It can be used to review products or just putting the ads on your website.
Earning money from this association can be as easy as encouraging your followers to shop using your affiliate link. Don’t overdo it though, as Amazon is somewhat strict when it comes to that.
One of the best things about this program is that you can post affiliate links on your social media platforms as well. Moreover, there are no minimum requirements you need to fulfill to withdraw your commission.
The Good
- Get commission easily — you will get a set amount of commission for every purchase made through the link you provide on your sites.
- Easily approved — with the new updates, to get approved for this program is no longer a fuss. You don’t need to have a huge following to be their affiliate.
The Bad
- Content creation – to successfully integrate affiliate links into your website, you need to work on creating relevant content.
The Verdict
Review blogs and personal blogs with the intention to sell products are perfect for this affiliate program. However, as it is affiliate marketing, you will only earn when someone buys something through your links. Websites with a little following might take a while to earn money.
4. Infolinks
Once you sign up for Infolinks, you’ll find that this ad provider has some unique ad formats to choose from. Some of it is in-text ad formats that will be inserted into the written content on your website. These ads will pop out when your visitors scroll through or hover over them.
As long you have enough original text-based content on your blog, you’re good to go. Moreover, there’s no minimum traffic required to get approved for an account. Perfect for small websites!
Compared to most, this ad provider offers one of the smallest minimum payouts. As soon as your website earning hits $50, you’ll be able to receive the money through PayPal, bank wire, Payoneer, e-Check and more.
The Good
- Popup ads — types of ads that boost conversion rates. These ads will be able to generate more leads and opt-ins for your website.
- Various ad formats to choose from — as of right now, in-fold, in-screen, in-article, in-frame, and in-tag ads are available for its users.
The Bad
- SEO damage — pop-ups ads slow down your site and too much of it will increase your bounce rate. So definitely be mindful when placing these ads on your website.
The Verdict
If you run text-based websites, then this may be a good option for you. Infolinks automatically places appropriate ads to your written content. However, if you don’t know how to manage the number of links on your website, this may look a little spammy. It might also slow down your page which may affect your SEO rank.
5. PropellerAds
This ad provider offers content locking as one of its best features. It is a specific tool that limits access to some pages on your website asking your visitors to do a certain action. Other ad formats like push notifications, on-click ads are also available.
Real-time reporting is also an advantage that you don’t want to miss. ProperllerAds completes its dashboard with an in-depth live reporting to monitor the website growth and traffic. Plus, if you’re familiar with Google Analytics, you won’t be having a hard time getting used to it.
When it comes to the revenue share, this ad network has one of the highest shares in the market right now. There’s no minimum traffic requirement to be accepted by this ad network, however, $100 minimum payout still applies in the first month.
The Good
- Small minimum payout — after the initial $100 withdraw, you get to withdraw your next website earning for only $25. It doesn’t matter whether you have a website with only a few or high traffic.
- Easy to use self serve platform — simplified and easy to navigate platform for its users. Beginner-friendly dashboard with and ad editor and a tool to estimate traffic.
The Bad
- Lack of professionalism on your website — content locking may result in your website looking spammy. Most don’t find this enjoyable so plan carefully.
The Verdict
Propeller ads can be considered to be one of the best AdSense competitors. Not only do they offer a higher revenue share, but they also offer some ad formats that Google AdSense doesn’t – such as content locking. Remember to keep the content locking at bay to prevent looking like a spam website though!
6. Primis
Being TAG (Trustworthy Accountability Group) certified, Primis is one of the safest ad providers out there. This ad network is fighting against fraud and spam ads to ensure the utmost digital advertising experience for its users.
Other than that, Primis also has a computer-generated algorithm used to sew up the appropriate recommendations and ads to match the needs of your audience. This may raise the engagement rate for your website visitors.
Once you sign up for this ad network, you’ll find that the minimum payout is only $50 whether you have a website with a lot or little traffic. However, in terms of payout methods, don’t expect much. Right now, Primis only offers two types of payout methods, wire transfers, and checks.
The Good
- Native design — they offer ad units designed to look like parts of your website. This way advertising seems more natural with non-intrusive ads!
- Video discovery for your sites — in most cases, people are more attracted to videos than text. Video discovery lets advertisers promote their products on your website in a more appealing way!
The Bad
- Limited payment methods — Primis only offers two types of payment methods: wire transfers and checks.
The Verdict
This ad network is perfect for people who dabble in video content creation. Primis offers video ads that are designed to look like elements of your website. You even get to customize the videos! To add, if you’re concerned with spam and bad ads on your website, this ad network is the answer.
7. AdRecover
If you’re looking for a solution to limit AdBlock users on your website, this one may interest you. This ad network reaches out to adblocker visitors on your website by offering permission enabled ads.
Once you sign up for AdRecover, you’ll be able to start measuring your websites AdBlock users right away. There’s a 24/7 monitoring feature available on the dashboard as well.
However, getting approved is a different story. It takes them around a week to review whether your website is eligible or not.
Payout methods offered by this ad network are also quite limited. The $50 minimum payout will only be sent through PayPal, e-check, or wire transfers.
The Good
- No spammy looking ads — this ad provider provides user-friendly and non-intrusive ads. Ad units will only be shown when the system detects adblocker users.
- AdSense compatible — this ad network works well with AdSense ads, you don’t have to worry about getting banned.
The Bad
- Somewhat high traffic requirement — your sites will have to gather around 10,000 AdBlock page views per day.
The Verdict
If your website traffic is packed with Adblock users, you may want to this one a try! This ad network detects adblocker users and shows permission enabled ads. Perfect for those who want to keep good relationships with their website users but still earn money from ads.
8. VigLink
If you have a text-based website, this one is worth a try. VigLink will automatically turn links and key phrases on your website to affiliate links. Plus, as soon as you sign up for this ad network, you’ll get the option to monetize your old content with a click of a button.
Signing up for VigLink is easy, too. It’s almost an instant approval as they don’t really have any requirements. As long as your website is not a spam website, you’re fine.
If you’re using WordPress, this ad provider even has a plugin that does all the heavy lifting for you. All you need is to click install.
And much like Amazon associates, VigLink also has a VigLink everywhere program with direct affiliate links to be shared on other social platforms. An option for people with no websites
The Good
- Low payment threshold — you get to withdraw your money when you meet the threshold requirement of $10. A very low number compared to most ads providing networks.
- No exclusivity — VigLink doesn’t limit you to use other ads providing networks. Which means you get to optimize the monetization of your website!
The Bad
- Limited options of payout — payout is only supported by PayPal, American Bank Accounts, and checks.
The Verdict
VigLink works best with review blogs and text-based websites. Placing affiliate links throughout your website is a simple copy and paste. To add, this ad network also offers a direct sharing of the links through social media. Definitely makes it a bit easier to earn money!
9. PowerInbox
If you’re looking for a way to earn money from your email subscriber list, this email ad provider may be a good option. PowerInbox monetizes newsletters and emails with non-intrusive and targeted ads for your subscribers.
This ad network offers two ad units called stripes which can be placed either horizontally or vertically in your newsletter. Each email is allowed only two stripes, making your emails appear clean despite the ads.
PowerInbox does offer other ways to monetize your website such as web monetization, and push notifications. However, as the name implies, these methods are not nearly as effective as their email list monetization.
The Good
- Engaging advertisements — ad units are made to cater to the needs of your subscribers. This ad network detects your subscribers’ previous click history and displays appropriate ads.
- No sign-up requirements — you don’t have to meet certain requirements to be approved. Quite beginner friendly!
The Bad
- Not as effective — email advertising generally doesn’t generate the same amount of revenue as you would with your usual ad network.
The Verdict
Despite not offering much, this ad network is good for people with a huge number of subscriptions. Ads are placed in your email and newsletter which means an increase in the engagement of your ads. If you’re hoping to make your living through ads though, this is not a good option.
10. Skimlink
With about 48,500 affiliate online merchants, Skimlink is one of the best options if you have a lot of outbound links but you don’t know how to monetize them.
This ad network will convert your related outbound links to affiliate links right away once you sign up for their program.
Sign up requirements are not that hard to fulfill too. Within 72 hours, their support team will send you an email to let you know if you’re accepted. As long as your website contains appropriate content and actual visitors, you have a pretty good chance.
In terms of payout methods, Skimlink offers payout through Paypal, or Direct Deposits if you have a US or UK bank account. The payment threshold of this ad network as of right now is $65.
The Good
- Large revenue share — 75% of the revenue share is given to its users.
- A monthly report — publishers have access to a monthly report on all of the performance data needed for you to optimize your next website earnings.
The Bad
- Very slow customer support — it generally takes days for their customer service to reply.
The Verdict
If you run a review blog and you do outbound links often, this one is worth a try! Once you get approved, Skimlink scans your websites and converts your related outbound links to their affiliate links. A monthly report is also provided to help you maximize your website potential.
Time to Make Money Online
There are many ways you can do to monetize your websites other than Google AdSense. Each has its own perks and flaws. But no worries! The perfect ad network for you is pretty much based on your preferences and your needs. So, definitely take those things into account before you choose!
To make things easier for you though, here is a quick recap of everything we’ve learned today.
- Media.Net — easy to use, responsive, and customizable ads network with an auto-pilot feature.
- Adsterra — one of the safest out there with protection against fraud and spam ads.
- Amazon Associates — it’s not that hard to get into and if you have enough followings, you’d be earning quite a lot with a commission for everything purchased through your links.
- Infolinks — with $50 minimum payout, Infolinks is perfect for bloggers and websites with a text-based format.
- PropellerAds — other than a content locking ads format, ProperllerAds also offer an 85% revenue share and a real-time reporting feature.
- Primis — being TAG certified, Primis promises to shield you from lousy ads and fraud.
- AdRecover — if you’re looking for a solution to adblockers, then this ad network is a must-try.
- VigLink — a flexible ad network that turns your links, and related words into affiliate links.
- PowerInbox — this would be a good choice for a company or a business email with newsletters being sent out monthly or even weekly.
- Skimlinks — with thousands of affiliated online merchants and 75% revenue share, SkimLinks offers its users with a monthly report on their website performance.
Before you start your journey, bear in mind that earning money through a website takes patience. It may even take you a while to find the perfect one for you. Don’t give up though. You’ll get there eventually. Good luck!
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