40+ Google AdSense Alternatives To Make Money Blogging
Sami Aslam
Google AdSense is undoubtedly the best advertising network out there that follows a pay-per-click advertising model. When Google AdSense was first launched they were accepting almost all websites with over 100 content rich pages and that comply with their basic program policies. So almost anyone was able to get an AdSense account (even with scraped content) in less than a week or two.
But today, your website must not only comply with Google AdSense Program Policies but must also comply with Google Webmaster Guidelines. It means that you they can deny your AdSense application if your website is selling text links or is hosting copyrighted content, etc. Even if your website complies with these program policies and guidelines they may still reject the application based on the content quality.
Is It Possible To Make Money Blogging Without Google AdSense?
In a word, Yes. But what you should know is that Google AdSense is
almost unassailable when it comes to monetization simply because they
have the largest ad inventory. Since pay-per-click ad networks
determines the cost per click based on bidding, when more and more
advertisers are bidding for the same ad position the cost per click
increases naturally. That exactly is the reason why AdSense outperforms
any other ad networks out there.
And that
doesn’t mean that you can’t make more money that you used to make with
AdSense from other networks. For instance, if you use the right
affiliate program then its earnings may be more than all your ad
revenues combined. But the problem with affiliate programs is that
they’re not so reliable. For example, if your organic rankings drop then
it will impact your earnings directly or if those affiliate programs
reduce commissions or change their business model then it may affect
your earnings. So it’s not a good idea to rely on affiliate programs
alone in the long term.
So what are the options and alternatives to Google AdSense?
Luckily
there are a lot of websites to monetize our content in several ways
without using AdSense. Some of them are: banner ad networks (for CPM
ads), affiliate networks (for CPA ads), alternate pay-per-click ad
networks (for CPC ads), text links, sponsored posts, paid guest posts,
in-text ads, in-image ads, etc.
You
can consider these AdSense alternatives if Google – banned your account
for whatever reason, denied your application, or if you want to try
something else or if you don’t want to depend upon AdSense income alone.
Sell PPC Ads: The 7 Best Google AdSense Alternatives
I
have reviewed few pay-per-click ad networks, in-text ad networks, CPM
ad networks, and other ways to monetize your content. If you’re looking
for Cost Per Action (CPA) or Pay Per Lead (PPL) networks then check out
the Top 10 Affiliate Networks for affiliate marketing
which is again an alternative to Google AdSense. You can place ads from
almost all the below mentioned networks along with your Google AdSense
ads.
Media.net is
probably the best alternative to AdSense as it’s powered by Yahoo Bing
Network. Bing has a search market share of around 18% and they also have
a good ad inventory. I’ve tried Media.net few months back and the
average CPM was better than any other AdSense alternatives. Also, if
you’re from Russia or your targeted visitors live in Russia then then
you can try Yandex Advertising Network instead of Media.net.
Clicksor is
one of the best Google AdSense alternative which allows publishers to
display advertisements related to their website content by using their
contextual technology. You can place Clicksor ads along with Google
AdSense ads and can even set minimum prices for CPV, CPC, CPM and CPI
ads. The ad formats include Inline Text Links, Text banners, Graphical
banners, Pop-unders and Interstitial ads. You receive up to 85% of the
ad income and can earn extra income by referring other publishers.
Clicksor pays 10% additional income every time you refer a publisher or
advertiser to Clicksor network.
Programs Offered: Cost Per Click, Cost Per Impression
Clicksor: Sign Up | FAQ
3. Superlinks
Superlinks is
an ad network that offers a variety of products like — premium banner
ads, full page ads, footer ads, tower ads, exit links, etc. You can
create multiple ad units on a single page (up to 5 ad units per page).
Superlinks has partnered with DoubleClick Ad Exchange, OpenX and other
premium ad networks so that it can offer higher CPM than Google AdSense
(because of higher ad inventory). It’s worth a try when your traffic
quality is high and the AdSense earnings is low.
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Payoneer, Wire Transfer
Programs Offered: Cost Per Click
Superlinks: Sign Up | FAQ
4. BidVertiser
BidVertiser is
another top alternative to Google AdSense which pays you for valid
clicks on ads placed on your website as well as for conversions
generated from those clicks. You display ads on your website or blog and
advertisers bid against each other so that you earn the maximum cost
per click.
Chitika is
an online advertising network that allows publishers to display ads on
their website, blog, app or mobile site. They offers publishers and
advertisers user targeted, search targeted, mobile and local ads for
websites, blogs, apps and mobile sites. As a publisher you can also
refer other publishers to them and earn 10% of their CPC revenue for up
to 10 months from their approval date.
Alexa Rank: 2,326
Minimum Payment Amount: $10 (PayPal); $50 (Check)
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Cost Per Click
Chitika: Sign Up | FAQ
6. Sovrn (formerly Lijit)
Lijit offers
many advertising options like remnant banner ads, homepage takeovers,
rich media ads, contextual ads, image ads, social engagement ads, etc.
They say they have direct partnership with major ad agencies and
networks to maximize your CPMs.
Alexa Rank: 2,326
Minimum Payment Amount: $10 (PayPal); $50 (Check)
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Cost Per Click
Lijit: Sign Up | FAQ
7. Yllix
Yllix is
an ad network that supports CPM, CPC, CPA and even Pop Up ads. You can
earn additional income by referring new advertisers and publishers. When
you refer an advertiser, you get $100 bonus plus 1% of lifetime ad
spend. And when you refer a publisher, you get $50 bonus plus 2% of
lifetime publisher earnings.
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression, Cost Per Click, Cost Per Action, Pop Up Ads
Yllix: Sign Up | FAQ Also try, AdSupply, SwitchAds
Sell Direct Ads
If
your website is in a competitive niche and is getting good traffic then
you can sell direct ads. It works the best when you have banner ad
spots on your website so that potential advertisers can contact you to
buy those ad spots. For some big publishers, selling direct advertising
is their only way of monetization because they can control the CPM and
thereby their income. All you need to do is to create an “Advertise”
page on your blog or website with your Google PageRank, Alexa Traffic
Rank, Traffic Statistics (by Google Analytics) and the available ad
formats with their rates per month. Or you can try the following
networks to make selling easier.
8. BuySellAds
BuySellAds is
an online advertising network where publishers can list their ad
inventory. You get access to thousands of advertisers through their
market place. The BuySellAds network supports web, mobile web, RSS,
Tweets, apps (desktop, iOS, Android) and e-mail. BuySellAds is a good
alternative to AdSense and is used by most professional bloggers.
Beacon Ads is
an alternative to BuySellAds. In fact, the user interface of Beacon Ads
looks just like BuySellAds. But the thing is…. Beacon Ads takes 30%
commission, while it’s only 25% at BuySellAds.
Alexa Rank: 127,420
Minimum Payment Amount: $20 (PayPal); $50 (Check)
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression, Fixed Rate Banner Ads
Beacon Ads: Sign Up | FAQ
10. BlogAds
BlogAds specializes
in blog advertising and it’s comparable to BuySellAds. You can sell ads
directly to advertisers, and can set the prices by yourself. You can
earn an additional 15% revenue by referring new advertisers (they take
30% commission for all ad sales).
DoubleClick by
Google offers publishers a complete ad revenue engine and it helps you
to manage your ads so effectively that you can capture the most value
for every page view that your website receives. If you are unable to
find advertisers by yourself then BuySellAds may be a better choice but
they do charge 25% commission. DoubleClick is a self-serve ad platform
that is so flexible that you can control your entire ad inventory using
only this platform. If your website is popular then you get inquiries
from potential advertisers and in that case DoubleClick gets you the
best value for every page view.
DoubleClick For Publishers: Sign Up | FAQ
Sell Text Links
If
you have a good quality website then it’s super easy to make money
selling text links because advertisers are willing to spend thousands of
dollars to improve their organic ranking. But wait, selling text links
is against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and they may even ban your website from its search results unless the links are rel=”nofollow”.
12. Matomy SEO
Matomy SEO (formerly
Text-Link-Ads.com) connects you to high quality advertisers who are
looking for relevant websites to buy text links. They place text link
ads on your website so that your earnings don’t depend upon the clicks
or page views of your website – you get a flat rate for a 30-day period.
Alexa Rank: 11,337
Minimum Payment Amount: No Minimum (PayPal, Payoneer); $25 (Check)
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Payoneer, Check
Programs Offered: Fixed Rate Text Link Ads
Matomy SEO: Sign Up | FAQ
13. LinkWorth
LinkWorth is
another popular text link ad network and it’s alternative to Matomy
SEO. With LinkWorth, you can monetize your website using text link ads,
paid blog reviews, in-text ads, in-content pay per click ads, rotating
text ads, hosted content pages and many more.
Programs Offered: Text Link Ads, Content Ads, Banner Ads, Sponsored Reviews
LinkWorth: Sign Up | FAQ
14. Text Link Brokers
Text Link Brokers makes
selling links easy because they find link buyers related to your
website that you actually want to link to. They also have a Hosted Marketing Pages program similar to a sponsored review in which you host a new page on your website with unique content and embedded links.
Alexa Rank: 10,595
Minimum Payment Amount: N/A
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Text Link Ads, Sponsored Reviews
Text Link Brokers: Sign Up | FAQ
15. Adbeans
Adbeans is
a text link ad network that works with publishers who want to sell text
links on their website or blogs. When you sign up for Adbeans you will
get text link ad offers in your account so that you can accept or deny
it. When you accept an offer they pay you a fixed rate for each text
link that you place on your website.
Alexa Rank: 56,057
Minimum Payment Amount: GBP 20
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Text Link Ads
Adbeans: Sign Up | FAQ
16. TNX.net
TNX.net is
a text link marketplace that connects advertisers and publishers. You
can sell links on your website and get payments every month in advance
by adding their codes on your webpages. The pricing of text links are
based on your website’s Google PageRank, topic, link profile, etc.
Alexa Rank: 29,581
Minimum Payment Amount: Unknown
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Webmoney, Check, Wire Transfer
Programs Offered: Text Link Ads
TNX: Sign Up | FAQ
Also try, LinkAdage, Digital Point, and WarriorForum which are alternate marketplaces for buying and selling text links.
Sell Sponsored Reviews
Once
again, selling sponsored articles without rel=”nofollow” is against
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. But it’s the easiest way to make money
blogging as you can earn at least $50 per sponsored review if you have a
good quality blog.
17. Sponsored Reviews
Sponsored Reviews is
a blog advertising network that allows you to build backlinks, increase
traffic and improve search engine rankings of your website. If you’re a
blogger then you can make money by reviewing advertiser’s websites.
Alexa Rank: 6,055
Minimum Payment Amount: No Minimum
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Fixed Rate Sponsored Reviews
SponsoredReviews: Sign Up | FAQ
18. PayU2Blog
PayU2Blog is
a a blog network that pays you to blog. When you become their member
you will get writing assignments. Basically you will be asked to review a
product or a service. And you have to write only your honest opinion
about a product or a service and don’t have to endorse it.
Alexa Rank: 8,591
Minimum Payment Amount: N/A
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Fixed Rate Sponsored Reviews
PayU2Blog: Sign Up | FAQ
19. Blogsvertise
Blogsvertise allows
you to monetize your blog in several ways. You can make money by
displaying banner ads, selling text link ads, or sponsored posts. The ad
rates depend upon the pricing set by you and the demand for that ad
spot.
Alexa Rank: 10,029
Minimum Payment Amount: N/A
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Fixed Rate Sponsored Reviews, Banner Ads, Text Link Ads
Blogsvertise: Sign Up | FAQ
20. ReviewMe
ReviewMe allows
you to make money by reviewing products you find interesting. Price is
determined by the reach of your blog. Reviews can range from $40 to $500
per review and it will be a one time fee.
Alexa Rank: 62,596
Minimum Payment Amount: No Minimum (PayPal); $25 (Check, Prepaid Card)
I’m
not a fan of pop up or pop under ads and I never tried those on any of
my websites. But I feel that it’s a good advertising option for traffic
heavy websites like downloads, image hosting, file sharing, etc. Why?
For those kind of websites showing a couple of pop-under or pop-up ads
won’t affect the user experience in a big way but if you place these
kind of ads on your blog then it will affect user experience and your
visitors may never return.
21. PopAds
PopAds appears
to be the best advertising popunder ad network as the average revenue
of their publishers for 1,000 U.S. visitors was never below $4. If it’s
true then I think it can deliver better results than AdSense itself. You
can request payment anytime you want or may use that money to buy
advertising for your own websites.
Alexa Rank: 207
Minimum Payment Amount: $5 (PayPal and AlertPay); $500 (Wire Transfer)
Payment Method(s): PayPal, AlertPay, Wire Transfer
Programs Offered: Cost Per View
PopAds: Sign Up | FAQ
CPX24 is
a leading media company founded in 2007. With over 10000+ active
members it offers one of the most competitive eCPM in the market.
Payment terms are flexible with several payment methods and virtually no
minimum.
Sponsored (?)
22. InfinityAds
InfinityAds (or Paypopup) is another Pop Under and Pop Up ad
network that pays you for every thousand impressions shown on your
website. The average payment rate according to their website is $1.80
per 1,000 impressions. All the websites gets auto approval and the
minimum payout is just $5.
Alexa Rank: 26,412
Minimum Payment Amount: $5
Payment Method(s): Check, PayPal, Wire Transfer
Programs Offered: Cost Per View
InfinityAds: Sign Up | FAQ
23. CPMoz
CPMoz is
a pop under advertising network that shares up to 70% revenue. Your
earnings depends upon the traffic quality of your website, and you can
also earn additional revenue by referring other advertisers (10% of
their ad spending) or publishers (10% of their earnings).
Alexa Rank: 22,200
Minimum Payment Amount: $5
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Cost Per View
CPMoz: Sign Up | FAQ
In-Text Advertising Networks
In-Text
advertising can’t be considered as an alternative to Google AdSense but
you can use it along with AdSense or any other contextual ad networks
like BidVertiser or Clicksor.
24. Infolinks
Infolinks is
the leader in in-text advertising which offers 70% revenue share even
if you’re a newbie blogger. Infolinks follows a pay-per-click
advertising model. Whenever a visitor hovers over one of these
double-underlined words, an ad related to what they’re reading appears
and you get paid every time a reader clicks on one of those ads. They
offer advertising options like: insearch ads, intext ads, intag ads,
inframe ads.
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Wire Transfer, eCheck, Western Union, Payoneer
Programs Offered: Cost Per Click
Infolinks: Sign Up | FAQ
25. Kontera
Kontera discovers
the best editorial content and dynamically delivers brands’
advertising, content and social assets for optimal results. Their In Text ads are a highly effective and profitable online advertising solution for websites and blogs.
Alexa Rank: 20,403
Minimum Payment Amount: $50
Payment Method(s): Check, PayPal, Wire Transfer
Programs Offered: Cost Per Click
Kontera: Sign Up | FAQ
In-Image Advertising Networks
If
your website or blog is image heavy then you can turn your images into
ad inventory with the following in-image advertising networks. They
place targeted ads over images so that you’ll make money on a cost per
view or cost per click basis.
26. GumGum
GumGum is one of the largest in-image advertising (In-image advertising is a term used to describe targeted ads overlaid on images)
platform, reaching over 150 million unique users worldwide. GumGum
doesn’t require any minimum number of visitors but they require at least
500,000 monthly page views targeting U.S. based audience.
Alexa Rank: 21,430
Minimum Payment Amount: $50
Payment Method(s): Check, PayPal
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression
GumGum: Sign Up | FAQ
27. Luminate
Luminate makes
images interactive. They offer an Image App Platform, which enables
consumers to conduct their favorite online activities such as shopping,
sharing, commenting and navigating directly from a picture. Luminate
publishers can offer innovative consumer features that increase audience
engagement, website traffic and drive incremental revenue.
Alexa Rank: 30,969
Minimum Payment Amount: $10
Payment Method(s): Check, PayPal
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression, Cost Per Click
Luminate: Sign Up | FAQ
CPM Ad Networks
CPM (Cost Per Mille) stands
for Cost Per 1,000 Impressions. A high paying CPM advertising network
is actually the best alternative to Google AdSense. As you probably
know, Google AdSense (or any other pay per click network) pays for only
clicks so it means that your monthly income varies a lot as AdSense
CPC/CPM is very volatile. A CPM network pays you for every 1,000 page
views you generate. So it means that if the CPM set by your CPM Network
is $1 then you will earn $30 per month (if you generate 1,000 page views
daily or 30,000 page views per month). High traffic websites and blogs
rely on CPM networks than CPC networks since it generates guaranteed
income.
28. Technorati Media
Technorati Media is
one of largest social media advertising network which accepts sites
with great original content and deliver targeted campaigns from top
brands at high CPMs.
Alexa Rank: 10,575
Minimum Payment Amount: $50
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression
Technorati Media: Sign Up | FAQ
29. Yes Advertising by Clicksor
Yes Advertising is
a new ad network by Clicksor that allows you to make money through
their CPM program. They say their publishers are currently earning an
average of $5 CPM.
Burst Media gives you high CPMs, quality campaigns and full control of which ads run on your site.
Alexa Rank: 10,174
Minimum Payment Amount: $50
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check, Electronic Funds Transfer (US Only)
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression
Burst Media: Sign Up | FAQ
31. PulsePoint
PulsePoint (formerly
ContextWeb) is one of the top CPM (Cost Per Mille) Network that exists
today. With PulsePoint you can set your own prices. Set your current
eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) so that the advertisers
compete to beat your current eCPM. If they don’t beat your current eCPM
then it will show backup ads from other networks like Google AdSense.
So, you’ll always make the maximum money when you work with PulsePoint.
Alexa Rank: 15,863
Minimum Payment Amount: $50
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check, Electronic Funds Transfer (US Only)
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression
PulsePoint: Sign Up
32. Vibrant Media
Vibrant Media have
over 6,000 premium publishers, reaching over 250 million unique users
per month. Some of the products are Vibrant Image, Vibrant In-Text Ads,
Vibrant Display, Vibrant Related Content and Vibrant Lightbox.
Alexa Rank: 24,228
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression, Cost Per Click
Vibrant Media: Sign Up | FAQ
33. Gorilla Nation
Gorilla Nation sells advertisements on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) model to advertisers and agencies around the globe.
Alexa Rank: 22,941
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression
Gorilla Nation: Sign Up | FAQ
Premium CPM Ad Networks
If
you have a high traffic website or a blog then you can apply for the
following programs. They’re premium ad networks that offer maximum CPM.
Exponential (formerly Tribal Fusion)
Federated Media
Content Platforms
Forget
pay-per-click ads, banner ads, affiliate programs, and everything else
as there are even more ways to monetize your website. The earnings from
the following content platforms primarily depends upon your website’s
authority and not necessarily page views (unless it’s CPM).
34. Taboola
Taboola helps
advertisers to acquire traffic to their website using content
recommendation service. So if you’re a publisher then you can monetize
your content by recommending content people may like, using Taboola
personalized recommendations. Taboola monetizes your website with a
premium CPM by inviting your users to discover high-quality articles and
videos from Taboola’s marketplace.
Alexa Rank: 565
Programs Offered: Content Recommendation
Taboola: Sign Up
35. PostJoint
PostJoint is
a content blogger network that connects marketers and bloggers. You can
mention the topics you blog about and can even set a minimum budget
spent so that they will send you notifications when an advertiser is
interested in buying an article on your blog. You will be paid $10 – $500 (or even more) depending upon your monthly unique visitors.
Alexa Rank: 4,266
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Paid Guest Posts
PostJoint: Sign Up | FAQ
36. Content.ad
Content.ad as
the name suggests monetizes your website with premium ads that look and
feel like content. Ads by Content.ad links to a variety of high-quality
sponsored content with user friendly images and headlines. And they
offer high CPM guarantees for top publishers.
Alexa Rank: 15,468
Minimum Payment Amount: $50
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Content Ads
Content.ad: Sign Up | FAQ
Also try, Adblade.
37. Content BLVD
Content BLVD is
another content platform that connects brands and publishers.
Advertisers submit quality sponsored posts or guest posts to a relevant
blog and if it’s accepted then they will get paid. You will be paid $50 – $425 per
sponsored blog post depending upon your website’s Moz Domain Authority.
There’s no payment for guest posts but you will get a placement fee
based on your domain authority.
Alexa Rank: 45,234
Minimum Payment Amount: N/A
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Sponsored Posts & Guest Posts
Content BLVD: Sign Up | FAQ
38. Written
Written helps
brands to increase their visibility and also helps bloggers to monetize
their best content. Written.com licenses your content to other brands
for a specific period of time and you’ll be making money on a monthly
basis. It’s like you’re renting your content to someone else on a
monthly basis so as long as they’re using your content you will make
money.
Alexa Rank: 109,222
Minimum Payment Amount: N/A
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Content Syndication
Written: Sign Up | FAQ
Ad Networks For Women Bloggers
Yes,
the list is not over yet and the next list is for the women bloggers
out there. If you’re a woman blogger then you can try the following ad
networks as they’re looking for blogs written by women or blogs with
female audience.
39. BlogHer Publishing Network
BlogHer Publishing Network is
an ad network for women bloggers. They accept only high quality
bloggers and are accepting new applications periodically so you may be
on a waiting list when you apply. With BlogHer, you can make money by
showing CPM ads and also by accepting their sponsored posts and reviews.
Alexa Rank: 4,154
Minimum Payment Amount: $25
Payment Method(s): PayPal, Check
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression, Sponsored Posts
BlogHer Publishing Network: Sign Up | FAQ(unofficial)
40. Foodie Blogroll Ad Network
Foodie Blogroll Ad Network is
for the food bloggers or blogs with 75% food related content. You can
make money from your blog by showing CPM banner ads and also by using
your social media influence. If you’re an active social media user then
you can accept sponsored posts and other sponsored content to make more
money.
Alexa Rank: 83,203
Minimum Payment Amount: No Minimum
Payment Method(s): PayPal
Programs Offered: Cost Per Impression, Sponsored Posts