10 Best Ad Networks For Publishers

Whenever we talk about monetization, the first name that pops up in mind is Google AdSense. While there’s nothing wrong with that—it is, after all, the world’s largest ad network. However, to sit on the assumption that AdSense can’t be outdone by any ad network isn’t wise.

The ad tech industry is highly disruptive. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Google has competitors who give them a good run for their money. It may take a lot of hit-and-trials to figure out which ad network, or even combination of ad networks, generate the highest revenue for publishers. However, when you finally do figure it out, it would be worth the effort.

What is Ad Network and Why Do Publishers Need One (or More)?

In a simple inventory selling process, think ad network as a mediator responsible to introduce right impression with the right buyer. It partners up with bunch of publishers (supply-side) and bunch of advertisers (demand-side) to help them reach their ad campaign goals.

Now as the inventory exchange cycle gets complicated, the role of ad networks varies. For publishers, ad networks sometimes directly sell publisher’s inventory and other times, buys inventory from SSPs or ad exchanges and sell it for a greater profit.

Most publishers are know to specialize in one particular type of ad format. Hence, publishers looking to monetize via one particular format should consider ad networks. For instance, there are CPM Ad networks like Criteo known to offer best CPM rate and then there are video ad networks like Unruly serving best to publishers with video content.

Also, ad networks are known to efficiently work to sell remnant ad inventory. Basically, ad networks take remnant inventory from multiple publishers, segregate them based on demographics and sell the segmented impressions to advertisers specifically looking for similar impressions. Doing this makes sure that the publishers inventory makes it to the right advertiser in the right time.

So here are some of the best ad networks for publishers looking to boost their yield:

1. Media.net

Media.net serves ads from Yahoo! Bing contextual ad network, which comprises a large pool of national and local advertisers, ensuring a 100% fill rate across all verticals and ad formats. Some of Media.net’s publishers include Forbes, Elle, Reuters, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, and more.

The ad network supports standard IAB ad sizes and has access to high-quality ads from all major DSPs. Moreover, Media.net supports display units desktop interstitial, in-content native, and mobile docked ads.

Model: CPM, CPC, CPA

Minimum traffic: None

Note: By signing up for media.net using our partner link, Media.net pays you 10% extra over your base revenue for the first three months.

2. Infolinks

Firstly, banner ads have one big problem that results in revenue losses: banner blindness, where users (consciously or subconsciously) ignore the ads because they are viewed as an intrusion.

Infolinks gets around this problem by offering an innovative set of free-to-use and profitable ad units viz. InFold (overlay ads), InText (text links ads), InTag (tag cloud ads), InFrame (banner ads in margins and frames), and InScreen (smart interstitial ads).

All this combined leads to better SEO, less intrusion to users, increased relevance, and better space utilization. Infolinks generate high monthly revenue for over 100,000 publishers. They are known to work with the biggest advertisers namely Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and eBay.

The platform is simple to integrate with a website and is open to any publisher with no setup fees and no minimum page views or visitors requirements.

Model: CPM, CPC, CPA, CPV, CPI, Auction

Minimum traffic: None

3. RevenueHits

RevenueHits uses contextual and geo-targeted ad serving technology which makes it a favorable choice in the times of GDPR一monetize websites, mobile sites, add-ons, widgets, toolbar, and more.

It serves over 2 billion ad impressions each day with a promise of 100% fill rate across all geographic regions. Other than display ads, the ad network lets publishers monetize their website using text ads, pop-ups, apps, widgets, XML feeds, and other custom formats.

Model: CPM, CPC, CPA, CPV, Auction

Minimum traffic: None

4. SmartyAds

SmartyAds SSP is a media-selling network created for publishers who seek intelligent revenue optimization. Their cross-environment header bidding program (desktop, mobile or in-app) and high-volume private marketplace deals intensify competition for inventory and help grow publishers’ yield. They serve over 2 billion daily impressions driving the highest eCPMs, CTRs, and fill rates across all geographies which climb up to 100%.

SmartyAds also offers a range of desktop and mobile ad formats viz. Rewarded Videos, Interstitials, Native Ads, and Banners. Their lightweight and latency-free IOS and Android SDK enable mediation which sends requests to a large number of ad networks and DSPs. Their partnerships with top demand partners in global monetizing geographies benefit publishers with highly-targeted personalized advertising with ease.

Model: CPM

Minimum traffic: None

5. AdBlade

AdBlade is one of those ad networks that focus on quality over quantity. Further, FoxNews, Hearst Corporation, Yahoo!, and ABC are among the 1,000 that comprise this ad network. AdBlade supports standard IAB units, as well as proprietary NewsBullets® units that claim to deliver up to 3X better performance.

Model: CPM, CPC

Minimum traffic: 500,000 monthly impressions.

6. Undertone

Undertone specializes in providing high-impact ad formats in addition to standard IAB formats. To clarify, formats like IAB rising stars, video formats, and its own range of flagship display formats are designed for higher user engagement.

This is coupled with the fact that many of Undertone’s proprietary ad units use the publisher’s ad inventory in non-traditional ways, ensuring there’s no cannibalization of existing ad products. So this means that Undertone can offer CPMs 100%-1500% higher than traditional display ads.

Model: CPM, CPC, CPA, CPV

Minimum traffic: 500,000 monthly impressions

7. BidVertiser

Though your mileage may vary, Bidvertiser is an ad network with an interesting monetization model. In addition to earning money for each ad that is clicked, the publisher also earns additional revenue when the click leads to a conversion, i.e., sales for the advertiser.

BidVertiser supports multiple ad formats including banners, skyscrapers, rectangles, and others. And publishers can use the provided point-and-click tool to customize the layout of these units to match their website’s look.

Their bidding system ensures that publishers always get the highest possible revenue from each ad unit. Using the reporting interface, publishers can easily monitor their ad performance, clicks, click-through rate, and the total amount they’ve earned.

Model: CPM, CPC

Minimum traffic: None

8. Vibrant Media

Vibrant Media offers Better-Ads and chrome filter-friendly ad formats such as in-text, in-image, lightbox, storyboard, mosaic, and brand canvas in addition to the standard IAB display ad units.

Depending on the needs, publishers can choose to use Vibrant Media as their primary display ad network or can employ their native ad solutions to increase revenue without changing their existing ad configuration. As a result, the ads are responsive and can be delivered across multiple platforms seamlessly.

Model: CPM, CPC

Minimum traffic: None

9. VerizonMedia

Known as Oath the advertising company until January 2019, Verizon Media provides publishers with access to advertisers and ad server technology solutions; currently serving over 1000 direct publishers.

Their solutions allow publishers to choose from header bidding solutions to traditional publisher waterfall setup to attain premium demand for ad inventories. In addition, publishers are offered brand safety controls and seamlessly integrable tools to manage ad inventory. The ad formats they support include display, mobile, native, and video ad inventories.

Model: CPM, CPC, CPA

Minimum traffic: 300,000 monthly impressions

10. Epom Market

Epom Market is a cross-platform ad network associated with leading advertisers and publishers in over 40 countries across 15 verticals. Subsequently, the ad network serves 13 billion ad impressions reaches an audience of 320 million unique monthly visitors per month.

It offers category-targeted, mobile, and local ads to ensure better user targeting, which leads to higher eCPM rates. In addition to standard banner ads, Epom also supports footer, in-text, and mobile-specific ad units.

Model: CPM, CPC, CPA, Auction

Minimum traffic: 500,000 monthly impressions