Google AdSense is one of the most popular display advertising programs in the world.
Ease of use and wider integration with the Google ecosystem make it an appealing choice for many.
However, the system is not without some flaws. These include lower-than-expected payouts, questionable ad quality that can impact the overall user experience (UX), and issues with site loading speeds after its implementation.
As more publishers seek to monetize their content, its myriad flaws are driving many publishers towards seeking out AdSense alternatives that offer higher rates, flexible pricing models, advanced ad technology, improved visibility, and minimal UX impact.
With that in mind, here's our list of the best AdSense alternatives, evaluated on criteria such as niche, traffic requirements, payout, and ease of integration with a publisher's website.
What Is AdSense?
AdSense is an online advertising program owned by Google that allows website owners to earn money by displaying digital ads on their websites. Launched in 2003, the AdSense program is part of Google’s wider Google Ads platform.
Website owners who enroll in the program are called publishers. Advertisers are businesses and brands who want to run online ads to promote their products or services. AdSense acts as the intermediary between these two parties.
Here is a quick explanation of how the AdSense works:
- Sign Up: Publishers have to sign up and create an AdSense account. Account creation is subject to approval from Google.
- Insert Code: Approved publishers receive a code snippet from Google. Publishers then have to place the code on the websites where they want to run ads.
- Ad Auctions: When people visit the website, AdSense runs auctions in real time. Interested advertisers have to bid to display their ads on the site. The automated auctions end within milliseconds.
- Ad Placement: The ad from the winning bidder is displayed on the website by AdSense. While placing the ads, the program ensures that the ads are relevant to either the individual visitor or related to the website's content.
- Generate Revenue: The publisher earns money when visitors view or click on the ads. AdSense will track this behavior and ensure publishers get their fair share of the ad revenue.
The three parties in this system each have different responsibilities that come up at various stages of the ad placement process.
Let’s take a closer look at them:
Publisher Responsibilities
Once they’ve placed the AdSense code in the HTML of their website, publishers’ responsibility is limited to optimizing their website to improve monetization through the following steps:
- Choosing the best/optimal locations for ad placements on the website.
- Selecting the appropriate ad size and format, for instance, banners, square ads, responsive ads, etc.
- Blocking inappropriate ads from specific industry niches or advertisers through filtering.
- Using various tests to fine-tune ad placement for improved revenue generation.
Advertiser Responsibilities
Advertisers have a more proactive role to play in the AdSense implementation process. Their responsibilities include:
- Designing and creating attractive ads using text, video, and images.
- Setting budgets to decide how much they can spend on ad campaigns.
- Choosing a bid strategy, such as cost per click (CPC), cost per action (CPA), or cost per thousand impressions (CPM).
- Defining their target audience based on factors like location, demographics, and browsing behavior.
AdSense Responsibilities/Functions
The AdSense bidding and ad placement process is entirely automated. Publishers and advertisers do not have to manually perform any actions. All they have to do is specify their preferences and strategies. AdSense then handles the following responsibilities:
- Matching the websites with relevant ads based on publisher preferences, advertiser targeting preferences, bidding strategies, and various other factors.
- Holding automated auctions to ensure that publishers get the best possible price for their ad inventories.
- Displaying the ads from winning bidders on the websites whenever users visit them.
- Ensuring that publishers are paid their ad revenues on time.
- Tracking the entire process and providing various metrics to help publishers improve their monetization strategies.
An important thing to understand about AdSense is that it is merely an ad network, collecting ad inventory from its publishing partners and selling it to advertisers. This is a different mechanism from programmatic advertising platforms such as Google Ad Exchange where publishers and advertisers buy ad space in real time bids.
Ad Exchanges such as Google AdX are also capable of what is called header bidding which connects publishers to multiple ad exchanges, thereby increasing competition for a publishers inventory, and eventually driving up revenue.
Header bidding is different from real time bidding (RTB) in that where real time bidding involves sequential auctions by each ad exchange involved, header bedding allows for simultaneous bidding through the involvement of header bidding partners.
What Are the Requirements to Use Google AdSense?
Compared to several other ad networks, AdSense has relatively easier eligibility requirements for publishers. These include: .:
- Publishers must be at least 18 years old to apply for AdSense. Anyone under 18 has to use an account created by a parent or guardian.
- Publishers must have access to the HTML source code of the site where they want to place the ads. This usually requires full ownership of the site.
- The publisher’s site must have content that is unique (not plagiarized or stolen from other sources) and interesting (something that provides tangible value to readers.
- The publisher's site must be easy to navigate, with accessible menus and text that is easy to read. Other elements like links and drop-down menus must be fully functional.
- Publishers must not use artificial methods like bots, repeated manual clicks, and other automated tools to generate traffic and clicks. If Google detects any such activity, the site may be banned from AdSense.
- The site’s content must comply with Google Content Policies. It should not contain any pornographic content, profanity, hate speech, or content promoting potentially illegal activities like the sale of drugs or banned weapons.
- If the website uses a language other than English, it must be on the list of languages supported by Google AdSense.
- The site should not contain elements or content that result in an “abusive experience” for readers. Examples include misleading buttons, scripts that prevent visitors from using the “back” button, and any forms of malware.
- The website must have decent amounts of traffic. Although AdSense does not have any minimum traffic requirements, almost all pages with low traffic (say, less than 2000+ visits per day from organic search) end up getting rejected.
Why Look for an AdSense Alternative?
AdSense is easy to use and has low entry barriers, making it great for small and medium-sized publishers with minimal resources to dedicate to ad management and limited technical knowledge. Nonetheless, it has several disadvantages.
Here are some of the most common reasons publishers look for Google AdSense alternatives:
1. Narrow Range of Ad Types
While AdSense is a great advertising network for beginners, its ad quality and selection can leave a lot to be desired. For instance, Google AdSense does not allow popunder ads.
2. Limited Ad Customization
Several AdSense alternatives specialize in contextual advertising and even customize their ad solutions to the needs of publishers. Several networks even assign dedicated account executives to conduct a website audit and determine the best solution for a specific publisher's needs.
With a large monolith like AdSense, this level of customization and attention to detail is rarely, if ever possible.
3. Limited Revenue Potential
Because AdSense is effectively a self-serve program, publishers are on their own when it comes to optimizing web pages for ad revenue.
Many alternatives will work with their publishing partners to optimize ad layout to boost each page's revenue as much as possible without disrupting the UX.
4. High Revenue Share
AdSense's popularity means it's comfortable charging a much higher share of ad revenue than some other ad partners. For example, while AdSense takes 32% of ad revenue, Publift and many others take as little as 20% share of a publisher’s ad revenue.
5. Lack of Customer Support
With Google AdSense, customer support is non-existent. This means that if publishers ever run into any technical issues with their ads, they have few resolution options other than Google's own online resources.
6. Greater Risk of Being Banned
Google AdSense has strict policies to prevent click fraud and protect advertisers. For instance, one of AdSense's requirements for ads is that they should not draw unnatural attention to themselves.
Such requirements mean that several publishers inadvertently end up violating these, resulting in their AdSense account being suspended or terminated and them losing all accumulated earnings.
It makes sense for publishers to explore other options beyond AdSense, not only as a replacement but as a complement to optimize ad revenue.
Factors To Consider While Selecting the Best AdSense Alternative
The choice of an optimal alternative can only be made after considering a few important factors. They include the following:
1. Availability of Ad Formats
Ad formats may include display ads, text ads, native ads, video ads, social media ads, in-app ads, and more.
Publishers should look for an AdSense alternative that gives them access to the formats that are best aligned with your content niche, audience, and user experience goals.
2. Revenue Sharing Models
Google AdSense typically follows a 68-32 revenue split wherein publishers get to keep 68% of the ad revenue generated by their website. Further, AdSense calculates revenue based on eCPM or effective cost per thousand impressions for advertiser bids.
When choosing an AdSense alternative, publishers should consider how the alternative stacks up compared to AdSense’s revenue sharing.
3. Advertiser Quality and Relevance
Low-quality ads from irrelevant niches can result in fewer clicks. Potentially intrusive or misleading elements in these ads can impact your user experience and tank your SERPs.
This is why it is important to take a look at the kind of advertisers who are available on an AdSense alternative before you make a final decision. Platforms with higher-quality ads from advertisers in relevant niches can significantly improve both revenue and user experience.
4. Reliability and Technical Support
Programmatic advertising is a highly technical field. Publishers often don’t have advanced knowledge of how things work under the hood. A platform with reliable and accurate targeting and consistent uptimes can result in better experiences for both publishers and their audiences.
Best Google AdSense Alternatives
Here's our list of the 27 best Google AdSense alternatives.
1. Publift
2. PropellerAds
3. InfoLinks
4. Monumetric
5. Media.net
6. Revcontent
7. SHE Media
8. BidVertiser
9. BuySellAds
10. ylliX
11. Sovrn
12. Mediavine
13. Raptive
14. Adcash
15. Setupad
16. PopAds
17. Criteo
18. Dianomi
19. GUMGUM
20. Index Exchange
21. Inskin
22. Kargo
23. OpenX
24. PubMatic
25. Magnite
26. Taboola
27. Vidoomy
1. Publift
Publift is a Google-certified publishing partner that has over 15 years of experience in helping publishers understand and implement the latest ad technology. Its industry-leading solutions have helped publishers increase their revenue by up to 55%.
Publift offers advanced revenue optimization solutions such as header bidding, reporting, ad layout optimization, ad block monetization, pricing automation, and Adwizard to block unwanted ads.
It serves as an all-in-one solution for publishers who want to boost their ads revenue and grow their business with a sustainable, long-term partnership. Publift offers publishers a free website or app review and provides steps to improve visibility.
To get started, publishers need to add a small code snippet to their website's header to enable header bidding.
Publishers can also calculate their ad revenues using Publift's Ad Revenue Calculator.
To top it all, it provides excellent customer support at all stages of a publisher's content monetization journey with Publift.
Minimum payout: $100
Minimum traffic requirements: 500,000 page views per month.
Good for: Publishers looking for a one-stop solution ad network with cutting-edge ad tech.
2. PropellerAds
PropellerAds is an all-encompassing self-serve ad platform that provides ad layouts on desktop sites, mobile apps, and mobile sites.
The ad network is the market leader in popunder ads and has since transitioned into banner ads, native ads, and video ads.
PropellerAds has a strong presence in the affiliate marketing niche and uses machine-learning algorithms to optimize ad delivery and improve revenue for publishers.
Integrating PropellerAds with websites is straightforward as publishers simply need to add a code snippet to their website's header or body.
PropellerAds does not have minimum traffic eligibility criteria, making it an attractive Google AdSense alternative for new bloggers.
Minimum payout: $5
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: New publishers looking to add pop-under ads and other non-targeted ads.
3. Infolinks
Infolinks has a focus on contextual advertising. This means it serves ads by analyzing the content of a publisher's website and displaying relevant in-text ads. To this end, it promises a “proprietary real-time contextual technology” that identifies user intent to enhance engagement on pages belonging to its more than 25,000 live website partners.
It offers various ad formats, including in-text, in-fold, in-frame, and in-tag ads.
Infolinks is used by over 350,000 websites worldwide and records over 1.5 billion monthly views on its ads.
The Infolinks platform is open to any online publisher, with no setup fees, and claims that it only has “modest minimum requirements” for page views or visitors.
Infolinks, which aims to approve applications within 48 hours, offers publishers a 65% cut of ad revenue.
Minimum payout: $50
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: Publishers looking for in-text advertising solutions.
4. Monumetric
Monumetric is a platform with a focus on measuring and reporting every aspect of an ad's performance. Hence the name Monumetric.
It provides publishers with a comprehensive performance timeline, customized reporting periods, and the capability to sort revenue by ad type, measure impressions by ad unit, and more.
Monumetric pays publishers on a per-impression rather than a per-click basis, allowing publishers to earn when visitors see ads on their pages.
Publishers can run various types of ads using Monumetric, including display, native, and video ads. It integrates easily with a publisher site by adding a code snippet to the site's header to enable header bidding.
Monumetric has four programs for monetizing client websites that revolve around monthly pageviews. These are:
- Propel: For small or new publishers who have between 10,000-80,000 monthly page views. The setup and optimization of the publisher's account require a one-time payment of $99.
- Ascend: For publishers who receive between 80,000 - 500,000 page views per month. They can benefit from a customized ad strategy without incurring any charges.
- Stratos: Publishers who have monthly page views between 500,000- 10 million. They are eligible for premium features and can avail of a dedicated team that manages operations, advanced reporting, data, and testing.
- Apollo: Publishers who receive more than 10 million monthly views have the opportunity to access a dedicated team of professionals who offer consulting services and manage their advertising efforts.
Minimum payout: $10
Minimum traffic requirement: 10,000 monthly page views.
Good for: Medium and established publishers looking to add targeted and impression-based ads.
5. Media.net
Media.net is a popular ad network that has been around since 2010. With a presence on more than 500,000 websites, Media.net oversees the provision of high-quality contextual ads.
It offers several ad types including text ads, contextual ads, display, search, and mobile ads.
Media.net was the first to develop a server-side header bidding platform, which maximizes yield and transparency while maintaining user experience.
Minimum payout: $100
Minimum traffic requirements: 50,000 monthly views
Good for: Publishers looking to add display ads, native ads, mobile and video ads. It is the closest to Google AdSense in terms of overall experience.
6. RevContent
RevContent aims to provide personalized and relevant content recommendations to readers, which can drive more engagement and conversions for advertisers.
RevContent specializes in content recommendation. It uses advanced algorithms and machine learning technology to analyze user behavior and interests to deliver content tailored to each individual reader.
It partners with publishers that have more than 50,000 viewers per month.
Integrating Revcontent with websites is easy as publishers only need to insert a single line of code on their websites. Publishers can run various types of ads using RevContent, including native ads and display ads.
It is popular for its high-quality traffic and anti-fraud measures and works with various premium publishers, including Newsweek and The New York Observer.
While RevContent handles more than 250 billion content recommendations each month, applying as a publisher is reportedly quite strict and involves a manual review process to ensure your site publishes high-value content.
Minimum payout: $50
Minimum traffic requirements: 50,000-80,000 monthly views
Good for: High-traffic website publishers looking to add push ads, native ads, video and mobile ads
7. SHE Media
SHE Media is a digital media company that owns several digital properties including BlogHer, SheKnows, and HelloFlo, in addition to their ad management platform.
Founded in 1999 as SheKnows.com, SHEMedia initially focused on creating content for 21st century mothers, before diversifying into a more broad content segment.
SHE Media’s ad management platform has lower traffic requirements compared to other ad networks, with the minimum traffic requirement being 20,000 viewers per month. However, it may also approve sites with lower traffic if they contain interesting content, publish consistently and frequently, and have strong potential for growth.
Sites must also be brand-safe and at least 90 days old, with a higher percentage of US-based traffic and no more than 5% invalid traffic (IVT).
Publishers can run display ads, sponsored content, and sponsored social media posts using SHE Media. The integration process is simple as publishers need to create an account on the SHE Media website, add their website details, and implement the ad code provided by SHE Media.
Minimum payout: $20
Minimum traffic requirement: 20,000 page views per month
Good for: Female content creators
8. BidVertiser
Bidvertiser is a direct advertising network that offers publishers the chance to sell ad inventory directly to the highest bidding advertiser.
This method benefits large publishers the most, given that advertisers will look to bid for space on the most credible websites. For new or smaller publishers, this might not be the most effective method of monetizing a website.
Its direct bidding system also means it doesn't have a publisher approval process.
Bidvertiser uses ad formats such as direct navigation, popunder, push notifications, in-page push, injections, and native ads.
BidVertiser pays for both conversions and clicks.
Minimum payout: $10
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: Publishers that prefer a bidding campaign system and looking to add banner ads, popunders, and smart links
9. BuySellAds
BuySellAds is a contextual advertising marketplace that sits somewhere between a self-service platform and a fully automated solution. Publishers and advertisers sign up to the platform, and BuySellAds tries to find the right match between the two sides.
Publishers need to share their website's information with the platform, which advertisers can then preview. If the stats are impressive, they can purchase advertisement spots on the site. It's up to the publisher to accept or reject ads. However, publishers are advised to accept ads that resonate with their content.
The platform thus acts like an intermediary, charging a 25% service fee for every successful transaction.
BuySellAds uses ad formats such as native ads, in-content ads, podcast ads, display ads, and email ads. One of its strengths is that it goes beyond monetizing just websites and even helps podcast and newsletter creators connect with the right advertisers for their audiences.
Minimum payout: $20
Minimum traffic requirements: 10,000 page views per month
Good for: Popular website owners looking to add content ads, podcast ads, email ads, etc. from renowned advertisers
10. ylliX
ylliX provides solutions to two most common AdSense bottlenecks—getting approved and getting paid. It lets users create a free account in a matter of minutes and offers instant account approvals to those who meet its fairly relaxed eligibility criteria.
Further, it makes daily payouts to publishers, compared to monthly or weekly payouts made by other platforms.
It grants users complete control over targeting specific campaigns and welcomes publishers from all countries, irrespective of size and reach.
ylliX offers banner, slider, anchor, in-app, redirect, pop-up, pop-under, tab-up, tab-under, a direct link, and push notification ad tags.
The integration process with ylliX is relatively simple and can be done through their self-serve platform.
The platform boasts a 100% international fill rate.
Minimum payout: $1
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: New publishers looking for a self-service platform that offers a variety of ads and campaigns
11. Sovrn
Sovrn brands itself as the ad network for the independent web that offers three primary services—an ad exchange, an ad management software, and a data decisioning engine.
Sovrn's bidding options are flexible, offering waterfall bidding for small content creators, which makes it easier for them to switch from AdSense. Then, they have the option to switch to more advanced server-to-server bidding and header bidding.
Sovrn offers a full-service solution in which publishers can outsource their ad operations as Sovrn develops customized strategies to optimize monetization through different ad types including display, native, and video ads.
Sovrn offers a variety of integration options including a WordPress plugin and a JavaScript tag for easy integration with websites.
Sovrn also allows a publisher to earn through an affiliate link model. It has a similar system to Bidvertiser and allows for competition among advertisers to buy ad space on a desirable site.
Minimum payout: $25
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: Low to moderate traffic website owners running cost-per-install campaigns
12. Mediavine
Mediavine is a full-service ad management platform that partners with publishers to generate highly tailored advertisements with a focus on lifestyle niches such as fashion, DIY, finance, and food.
Mediavine was started by a group of bloggers with hands-on experience and an understanding of publishing demands, making it an attractive option for bloggers.
Mediavine serves ads through display, video, and native ad formats. The integration process with Mediavine is relatively simple and involves adding a JavaScript tag to the website.
Mediavine has a strict focus on website quality to safeguard an advertiser's brand image and prefers to work only with publishers who put out quality content.
Minimum payout: $25
Minimum traffic requirements: 50,000 sessions in the last 30 days
Good for: Lifestyle publishers
13. Raptive
Raptive, formerly known as Adthrive, is a CPM ad network that promises to empower content creators to compete with large media brands by maximizing their revenue.
Raptive serves ads on websites by utilizing header bidding technology, which allows multiple ad exchanges to compete in real-time for each ad impression. Publishers can run display ads, video ads, and native ads using the Raptive platform.
The integration process involves submitting an application, providing access to website analytics, and adding ad code to the website.
Raptive requires that publishers have at least 100,000 monthly page views, with the majority of that traffic from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The network offers publishers a 75% revenue share.
Minimum payout: $25
Minimum traffic requirements: 100,000 monthly page views
Good for: Prominent publishers looking for lucrative payouts.
14. Adcash
Adcash is a global self-serve online advertising platform that offers different ad formats ranging from text and banner ads to display and video ads.
Adcash's integration process involves registering for an account, selecting ad formats, and adding ad code to the website. Adcash also offers a plugin for popular content management systems like WordPress.
Adcash's notable feature involves analyzing real-time reports of ad performance, and anti-adblock technology, enabling publishers to build a strong trust in site monetization culture.
Minimum payout: $25
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: Beginners who prefer the CPA model
15. Setupad
Setupad is a header-bidding platform that allows publishers to maximize their revenue by allowing multiple bidders to bid on available inventory within the webpage's header. To achieve this, it has partnered with over 31 supply-side partners (SSPs).
In addition, it provides several other features such as lazy loading to ensure site speed is not impacted when displaying ads, content recommendations, and adblock monetization.
Setupad requires publishers to have more than 100,000 monthly views to join. The platform's benefits include a diverse portfolio of ad formats that include interstitial ads and both out-stream and instream ads.
To integrate Setupad with their websites, publishers need to add a code snippet to their website's header or body section.
Setupad is used by over 500 international websites and serves over 4 billion ad impressions worldwide each month.
Minimum payout: €100 ($110)
Minimum traffic requirements: 100,000 monthly page views
Good for: Publishers who wish to increase revenue using a bidding model
16. PopAds
PopAds is an ad network specializing in popunders. It boasts of a faster payment processing, claiming to make payments within 24 hours.PopAds allows publishers to withdraw their earnings any time they want, irrespective of the amount earned.
PopAds offers flexible customization of popunder ads whenever the site's audience views the website. It allows publishers to choose and select bidding rates.
PopAds is popular among small and medium-sized publishers because of its low payout thresholds and fast payment processing. Publishers need to add a code snippet to their website's header or body section to integrate PopAds with their websites.
PopAds claims to pay publishers at least $4 for every 1,000 US visitors. Rates for traffic from other countries vary.
Minimum payout: N/A
Minimum traffic requirements: 1,000 monthly visitors
Good for: Low-traffic website owners who favor popunder ads
17. Criteo
Criteo is a programmatic advertising platform that leverages its large purchase and intent data set to display ads with higher chances of converting. It draws its data from its data set of over 750 million daily users, 4 billion products, and 3,500 product categories. It then uses an advanced AI-based algorithm to derive insights from it and delivers tailored solutions to its publishing partners.
Criteo, while a valid AdSense alternative, is a demanding platform, connecting premium brands with a premium brand inventory. It can serve different ad types, like display ads, native ads, and video ads. It can also go around ad-blockers.
Publift uses Criteo extensively and has had strong success with their demand. Due to the large amount of retargeting campaigns conducted through Criteo, they are particularly strong during November and December around Black Friday and Christmas.
Minimum payout: $50
Minimum traffic requirements: No specific requirement. It depends on the niche and audience demographics of the site
Good for: Retargeting campaigns
18. Dianomi
If you're a publisher looking to specifically target the financial sector, Dianomi might be ideal for your needs.
It's a digital native content marketing platform that connects business/financial advertisers with an audience interested in finance-related content, running over 7 billion ads per month.
Dianomi also claims that its ads reach an affluent audience whose average annual income is over $100,000. Ads are run with videos, articles, buying guides, as well as product information or reviews. Every campaign is run on a cost-per-click (CPC) standard.
Publishers can run native ads, sponsored content, and promoted stories on Dianomi's platform.
The integration process with websites is easy and involves placing a JavaScript tag on the website.
Dianomi's quality is evident in the partnership signed with Apple News to display ads on iOS devices. Its lead management system ensures that a publisher gets automated lead surveys, analysis for a campaign run, and relevant reporting.
Dianomi works with over 350 publishers in the financial and business sector, including the likes of the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Bloomberg. So while their audience may be narrow, it's perhaps best in class if this is your market. That narrowed audience can translate into a better ROI if the ads are on topic.
Minimum payout: $10
Minimum traffic requirements: 250,000 monthly page views
Good for: Premium publishers from marketing, lifestyle, corporate and financial verticals
19. GUMGUM
GumGum's main strength is its proprietary Leverage Verity technology which is accredited by the Media Regulatory Council (MRC) for content level analysis. GumGum leverages this technology to deliver highly contextual ads based not on the past digital footprints of consumers, as most other platforms do, but rather by predicting their present and future behavior.
GumGum’s software is capable of scanning both pictures and videos across the internet to help ensure the smooth integration of ads in places that are both highly visible and relevant.
GumGum claims their method produces seven times more engagement with a 37% higher brand lift than the industry averages. The network focuses its attention on in-image and in-video advertising, offering a platform that allows advertisers to market their products and services using pictures and videos. All advertising content must be engaging and relevant to the target audience.
Integration with GumGum's platform can be done by placing a JavaScript tag on the website.
Publift has had strong success with GumGum in implementing their mobile sticky units for publishers which get very high CPMs due to their rich media ‘wow factor' and overall quality. It claims large brands such as Sephora, Popeye, and Canon among its publishing partners.
Minimum payout: $50
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: Publishers looking for full control over pricing and configuration of the ads.
20. Index Exchange
Index Exchange is a global independent ad network and marketplace that seeks to solve the problem of increasing customer interest fragmentation across channels by providing a single omnichannel exchange for all formats and devices.
Publishers can set up their private marketplaces with Index Exchange, allowing them more control over who can buy ads on their sites. Publishers also have access to yield optimization features to maximize revenue from their ads. It also offers a complete suite of real-time analytics.
Publishers on Index Exchange are screened, categorized, and authenticated before they can sell their ads on the ad exchange. It's an alternative to AdSense that puts a higher premium on its publisher vetting process, which guarantees ad quality for both advertisers and publishers.
To integrate with Index Exchange's platform, publishers need to embed a JavaScript tag on the website.
Index Exchange has one of the toughest approval processes from what we have seen at Publift, but brings strong demand and is consistently one of our top five demand partners. It processes more than 300 billion daily auctions.
Minimum payout: Ad network does not publicly disclose this information.
Minimum traffic requirements: None
Good for: Established publishers looking to transact ad impressions in real-time and access to premium advertisers.
21. Azerion
Azerion, formerly known as Inskin, is an ad exchange that also offers expert assistance with layout and design for ad creatives. Using an HTML5 framework, its tools can customize ads for both mobile and desktop, enrich ads with custom borders, and also handle multimedia ads.
Azerion's strength lies in delivering impactful creatives that ensure pleasing aesthetics regardless of screen size, without compromising on highly visible CTAs that drive campaign goals. In short, they cut down on the work of readying ads on your end.
Azerion integrates with websites through its proprietary ad-serving technology, which can be easily implemented via a tag or a plugin.
Publift has found Azerion particularly effective on desktop where CPMs can be upwards of $20 when it does fill.
Minimum Payout: Ad network does not publicly disclose this information.
Minimum traffic requirements: The ad network does not publicly disclose this information.
Good for: Publishers looking for visually rich ads with a focus on user experience
22. Kargo
Kargo is a niche ad company specializing exclusively in enhancing mobile-specific advertising to deliver better business outcomes for marketers and premium publishers.
Kargo serves ads through its mobile-specific ad formats, including full-screen takeovers, in-feed ads, and interactive units. Kargo integrates with websites through its SDKs for iOS and Android, as well as through standard ad tags for the mobile web.
Kargo works with 70 top-notch publishers in the United States and uses them to reach smartphone users. The platform uses identity enhancement, sentiment targeting, and dynamic allocation to create ad experiences that drive competitive yield and grow eCPMs while serving publishers' audiences and respecting their brands.
Kargo has Oracle's cloud-based analytics and intelligence platform, MOAT, as its accountability partner to ensure accuracy, transparency, and quality within its inventory.
Minimum payout: Ad network does not publicly disclose this information.
Minimum traffic requirements: The ad network does not publicly disclose this information.
Good for: Premium publishers looking for mobile-centric ads.
23. OpenX
OpenX is one of the largest ad exchanges among Google AdSense alternatives. Its programmatic ad marketplace offers over 34,000 advertisers access to the ad inventory of 1,200 publishers, generating 1.8 trillion bids per month.
It integrates with websites through its ad tags, which can be easily implemented within the website's HTML code.
The platform's complexity requires having an ads ops expert on your team, even though their support team includes yield analysts and technical advisors.
OpenX has already begun the shift away from third-party cookies by planning to create deal IDs based on data from its relationships with publishers and OpenAudience, which is then transacted in private marketplaces through a buyer's demand side partner (DSP) of choice.
Minimum payout: OpenX does not disclose this information publicly.
Minimum traffic requirements: OpenX does not disclose this information publicly.
Good for: Heavy traffic website publishers looking for premium advertisers
24. PubMatic
Another premium Google AdSense alternative, Pubmatic was launched in 2006, and currently serves 100 billion ad impressions and 1.4 trillion advertiser bids per day.
PubMatic integrates with websites through its ad tags and its various SDKs, which are available for both mobile and desktop. It serves ads through its programmatic advertising platform, which includes real-time bidding, header bidding, and private marketplace options.
Pubmatic is open to independent app developers and publishers who like to be in full control of their advertising business. The platform enables advertisers to drive ROI by reaching and engaging their target audiences in brand-safe, premium environments.
Pubmatic can also be used to create private marketplaces, allowing publishers to manage access to their ad space while simultaneously providing advertisers with greater transparency about the bidding process.
Minimum payout: PubMatic does not share this information publicly.
Minimum traffic requirements: PubMatic does not share this information publicly.
Good for: Publishers looking for quality ads, real-time bidding, and private marketplace.
25. Magnite
Thanks to its merger with Telaria in April 2020, Magnite (formerly Rubicon Project) has become the world's largest independent sell-side advertising company, operating in TV, display ads, video, audio, and mobile.
With its innovative Seller Cloud platform, Magnite creates an independent advertising marketplace avenue for sellers all over the world to connect with trusted buyers. The platform is fully automated and provides numerous benefits for both parties to enjoy.
The cloud platform records trillions of transactions every month. Its automated platform lets top publishers transact businesses with some of the biggest brands in the world.
Magnite integrates with websites through its ad tags, as well as through its various SDKs for mobile and desktop.
Magnite is a full supply-side platform with its header bidder that also does server-side header bidding. This allows publishers to use more than one ad network inside Magnite. The ability to optimize ad operations inside Magnite can help publishers improve their earnings.
However, Magnite is also a significantly more complex AdSense alternative, which means it will require time and resources to be properly managed.
Magnite has consistently been one of Publift's top-performing demand partners.
Minimum payout: The ad network does not disclose this information publicly.
Minimum traffic requirements: The ad network does not disclose this information publicly.
Good for: Publishers looking for real-time analytics and access to multiple ad formats.
26. Taboola
Taboola is one of the largest content discovery and native advertising platforms in the world. It has over 9,000 publishers and 15,000 advertisers serving more than 500 million daily active users. It produces 500,000 recommendations per second by processing 100 TB of data every day.
Taboola is well-known in the industry for amplifying brand awareness across different platforms by incorporating native placements on popular sites.
What makes Taboola unique is the fact that you can optimize paid acquisition through page RPM and improve revenue ROI per visit. Its audience exchange also helps drive qualified traffic to you and partner sites.
Taboola can also be run in combination with other ad strategies like display advertising, meaning it's often an addition to your existing strategy with new revenue rather than a replacement.
Taboola can be integrated into a website by adding a piece of code to the site's header or footer.
Minimum payout: Taboola does not disclose this information publicly.
Minimum traffic requirements: Taboola does not disclose this information publicly.
Good for: Established publishers looking for audiences across geographies who respond well to targeted and personalized ads.
27. Vidoomy
Vidoomy is a platform specializing in video advertising.
For a publisher to be eligible, his/her site must have a minimum traffic of at least 3 million page views monthly. Also, the site must have 500 high-quality, plagiarism-free articles.
Vidoomy serves ads by providing programmatic advertising solutions and offering a variety of ad formats. The advertisement formats include inText, slider, inStream, and interstitial.
Vidoomy can be integrated into a website by adding a code to the site's header or footer.
Bidding methods for Vidoomy's contents include cost-per-view and cost-per-mile. Vidoomy has a data management platform (DMP) that collects data from website impressions and feedback. The information gathered is used to filter performances and churn out video ads based on user's opinions.
Minimum payout: Vidoomy does not disclose this information publicly.
Minimum traffic requirements: Vidoomy does not disclose this information publicly.
Good for: Publishers interested in video ads.
Final Thoughts
This list contains an exhaustive coverage of the best AdSense alternatives. Several of these networks also provide solutions tailored for app developers, which makes them a good alternative to Google AdMob as well.
If you're unclear about the difference between the two, this guide on Google AdMob vs AdSense provides a comprehensive understanding of what sets them apart.
As mentioned above, even if you are happy with AdSense, developing an “AdSense Plus One” strategy is also worth some consideration. Such an approach may help to provide context to your existing advertising strategy.
Publift helps digital publishers get the most out of the ads on their websites. It has been helping its clients realize an average 55% uplift in ad revenue since 2015 through the use of cutting-edge programmatic advertising technology paired with impartial and ethical guidance.
Contact us today to learn more about how Publift can help boost your ad revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Google AdSense the Best Ad Network?
Google AdSense is one of the popular ad networks today, though it may not be the best ad network for most publishers. It has several drawbacks including strict policies and a relatively high minimum payout amount. Its tendency to sometimes ban accounts even for inadvertent policy violations has been criticized by some publishers as being a little too harsh.
Which AdSense Alternatives Pay More in 2024?
There are several AdSense alternatives that pay more than AdSense, including Publift and Mediavine. Before considering an alternative, it is a good idea to make sure that you're using AdSense the right way to maximize your earnings.
You can read this detailed guide on how to make money with AdSense to learn about AdSense best practices and growth hacks. Once you've made the most out of AdSense, it would be a good idea to graduate to a higher-quality partner such as Publift.
How Can I Earn Money in Ways Other Than AdSense?
To earn money from sources other than AdSense, publishers should work with multiple ad networks. They should also consider including affiliate links on their website to earn affiliate commissions. A subscription-based readership model is another option to explore to diversify income.
Which Is the Best AdSense Alternative in 2024?
Publift is one of the best AdSense alternatives in 2024. It uses programmatic advertising technology for ad monetization and has partnered with more than 250 publishers. It boasts a team of ad tech pros that help improve revenue and serve quality ads with minimal impact on user experience.
Is Publift Better Than AdSense?
Publift is one of the best ad networks and may be a better option than AdSense for small to medium-sized publishers. Publift comprises a specialized team of optimization experts and a highly customizable ad technology tailored to achieve your business goals. It is an all-in-one solution for medium to high-level publishers looking to boost their ROI and improve their site's performance.