22 Best Ad Networks for Publishers [2023] | State of Digital Publishing

Ad revenue represents one of just three monetization pillars publishers have access to — with the others being subscriptions and affiliate marketing. As such, those publishers that have prioritized ad revenue need to ensure they pick the right ad network. The global digital advertising market is projected to hit $1.09 trillion by 2027, driven by factors such as the growing adoption of smartphones and the ongoing rollout of the Internet of things (IoT). The role of digital advertising remains pivotal to brand strategies, with SERP Watch research showing that consumers are 155% more likely to dig into a brand after they’ve watched its display ads. The growth of digital advertising offers immense monetization opportunities for publishers that are in a position to capitalize. A key element of that positioning is the ad networks they choose. What Is an Ad Network? Ad networks are online advertising intermediaries that broker deals between publishers who want to display ads and businesses that want to place them. Ad networks mainly solve the fill risk, in other words the publisher's risk of having unsold ad units. They collect unsold inventory from multiple publishers and sell it in aggregated packages to advertisers. This allows the ad network to offer more ad impressions to advertisers than a single publisher could provide and consequently charge a higher price for the ad space. In turn, the ad network passes on a share of the revenue to the publisher. In a nutshell, ad networks benefit both sides by providing a service that makes it easier for advertisers to reach their target audience and for publishers to monetize their unsold inventory. How Does an Ad Network Work? Step 1: Pooling Inventory From Publishers An ad network collects unsold inventory from multiple publishers and stores it in a central location. The most popular ad networks, such as AdSense, only choose high-quality websites to work with so as to maintain ad inventory quality. Some networks are less selective and work with a larger number of publishers with less or lower-quality traffic. The selected publisher in turn puts an ad network's tag or a snippet of code in their website's HTML code. Step 2: Getting Campaign Details From Advertisers Ad buyers create a campaign in the ad network's campaign management panel, or the ad network can manage the campaign on behalf of an advertiser or ad agency. In both cases, the ad network needs to receive information from the advertiser, such as their target audience, budget and what kind of ads they want to display — e.g., image, video or text. Step 3: Selecting the Right Inventory for Advertisers Once the advertiser's campaign requirements match the publisher data, ad details are sent to the publisher via the ad network's ad server and with the help of the previously-inserted ad tag that is responsible for calling the ad. Step 4: Tracking Ad Performance Ad performance is tracked via the ad network's tracking pixel, which is placed on the advertiser's conversion page(s). Ad networks earn money either by taking a portion of ad revenue or by initially marking up the inventory of the publisher. Publishers are primarily paid according to the number of ad clicks, impressions or conversions. Why Are Ad Networks Important? Segregation Ad networks segregate inventory collected from multiple publishers and segment it based on demographics. This allows advertisers to select their target audience more accurately instead of blindly placing their ads. Specialization Some ad networks specialize in a single ad format, such as display ads, videos, etc. This allows publishers in specific niches to work only with networks that offer the most appropriate ad placements for their website content and audience. On the other hand, advertisers benefit from specialized ad networks in the confidence that their ads will be placed on websites with similar content, resulting in better chances of conversion. Time Savings Advertisers no longer need to look for individual websites to place their ads, while publishers gain leads by simply signing with an ad network instead of looking for advertisers. Additionally, advertisers do not sign separate orders for different publishers but rather work with one ad network that has a contract with many publishers. Reach and Measurement Campaigns are much easier to measure as results are aggregated. Ad networks offer reporting tools that show a campaign’s performance in terms of reach and impressions. This allows advertisers to make changes necessary to improve their campaigns without tracking each publisher's efficiency separately and comparing the results. How Ad Networks Benefit Publishers Effectiveness Ad networks have direct relationships with advertisers and demand-side platforms (DSPs), enabling them to aggregate demand and sell inventory in bulk. Monetization Methods The best ad networks provide monetization solutions for a variety of ad formats, such as display ads, video ads and native ads. This gives publishers more options to generate revenue from ad inventory than working with a single advertiser. Higher ROI The prices set by ad networks are generally higher than what publishers could secure on their own for unsold inventory. This is mainly because ad networks can provide bulk impressions to advertisers, which are then passed on to publishers through higher cost per 1,000 views (CPM), which we’ll delve into a little later on. Better Targeting Ad networks have access to large amounts of data they can use to target ads more effectively. This results in higher click-through rates (CTRs) and conversion rates, leading to higher revenue for publishers. Google AdSense, for example, is one of the largest ad networks with more than 2 million advertisers. 4 Different Types of Ad Networks Choosing the right type of ad network is crucial for the quality and volume of the traffic. Here are the four main types of networks publishers can use to generate ad revenue. Premium Ad Networks A premium ad network works exclusively with big brands and well-known companies to provide high-quality traffic at a higher price. The advantage of working with such networks is that publishers access big budgets and well-crafted ad campaigns that usually convert well. The downside is that it can be hard to secure a premium network’s approval as they are very selective with the inventory they offer advertisers. Examples: Google Display Network Yahoo Gemini AdCash Vertical Ad Networks A vertical ad network focuses on a specific industry or niche, providing access to websites that are related to this particular niche. Examples of niches that vertical networks target are healthcare, finance and travel. As the target audience here is very specific, campaigns that run through vertical ad networks usually generate less traffic but have a higher conversion rate. Examples: Gourmet Ads Start.io AdPulse Media Inventory-Specific Ad Networks Inventory-specific ad networks for publishers provide access to a specific type of inventory, such as video, mobile or rich media ads. They usually have a great deal of experience with the type of inventory they offer, and provide insights on how to make the most out of it. Examples: Unruly UberCPM MediaFem Affiliate Ad Networks Affiliate ad networks provide performance-based advertising, meaning the publisher is only paid for ad conversions. These ad networks connect content creators, bloggers and other online publishers with companies ready to pay for the promotion of their products or services. Publishers earn commissions for the promoted products and often do it transparently by disclosing their use of affiliate links. Examples: Amazon Associates ShareASale CJ How to Choose the Best Ad Network Publishers need to evaluate different ad networks to see which one is the best fit for their website. The most fitting ad network for a website should generate enough profit without harming the quality of the content and user experience. Here are some factors to consider when choosing the best ad network. Size Though there is no single accurate measure of an ad network's size, one can gauge this by the number of advertisers and publishers the ad network already has in its system. This information is usually publicly available on the network's website, and it can help publishers understand whether the network is big enough to guarantee a constant flow of advertisers. If there is no relevant information available, publishers should evaluate the quality of the network's main advertisers. If the network boasts reputable clients that are more likely to have big advertising budgets and demanding traffic requirements, then the network is more likely big enough to support the publisher’s needs. Reputation Popular ad networks, such as AdSense and AdRoll, have been around for many years and have built a solid reputation within the industry. When working with these networks, publishers can have confidence that payments will be processed on time. However, when cooperating with lesser-known ad networks, it’s necessary to check their reputation before signing a contract. Reading reviews and talking to other publishers who have already worked with the network are smart choices. If the ad network is new on the market, it’s a good idea to look into the team behind the curtain. If that team has experience in the industry and comes from a well-established rival, then the network is worth considering. Quality of Ads It’s essential that publishers carefully scope out the type of advertisers that the ad network works with, as this will determine the quality of the ads publishers will be expected to display on their websites. Ad quality is usually determined by a website’s content quality, relevance and design. For publishers to ensure they’ll receive high-quality and contextually relevant ads, they should check the ad network's advertiser requirements. Networks that have strict requirements and vet their clients carefully are more attractive. Alternatively, publishers can opt to manually review ads before displaying them. If some ads are irrelevant or are poorly designed, publishers can report them to the ad network and refuse to display them. However, all this takes and eats up resources on both sides. Compensation Model The most common compensation models are cost per click (CPC), cost per mille (CPM) and cost per action (CPA). With the CPC model publishers are paid every time a user clicks on an ad. Revenue varies depending on the type of the product being advertised, the platform, the ad as well as the niche. For example, Google Ads’ CPC rates for search ads stood at $0.67 in 2021, while Google Ads’ CPC rates for display ads were $2.32. With the CPM model, publishers are paid based on the number of impressions the ad receives, regardless of whether it was clicked or not. The CPM rates largely depend on the website's traffic, the main audience’s location and the CTR. The CPM for display ads usually fluctuates between $0.30 and $2. Finally, with the CPA model publishers are only paid if a user takes a specific action, such as filling out a form, signing up for a newsletter, etc. In other words, the CPA shows the total cost spent on a single customer to move them along the advertiser's sales channel. The CPA model is often used in performance-based advertising, where advertisers are looking to generate leads or sales. Now that we have a bit more insight into the ad network landscape, let's review the best ad networks in 2023 based. 25 Best Ad Networks for Publishers 1. Publift Publift is a premium ad network that works with businesses from around 60 countries, including MetService, Pay Calculator, Envato and others. It's a Google-Certified Publishing Partner, which means it’s accredited by Google for helping publishers succeed with Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager. To become a Publift publisher, a website needs to have $2,000 in monthly earnings, more than 500,000 monthly pageviews and quality content on the website that is not plagiarized, explicit or derogatory. Publift has responsive customer support, replying to the publisher's requests within 48 hours. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: 500,000 pageviews per month Reasons to sign up: Good customer support Google-Certified Publishing Partner Reason to avoid: High requirements 2. Epom Epom supports 30+ rich media ad formats, including video ads, banners, screen modifiers, pop-unders and more. Its intelligent matching algorithm and precise targeting tools provide publishers with an almost 100% fill rate with the highest possible CPMs. The company provides highly responsive customer support to publishers, while the technical support team is available 24/7. Moreover, publishers can have a personal team at Epom advise on the ad formats and ad spaces that will maximize the publisher's earnings. Model: CPM, CPC, CPA Minimum traffic requirement: 500,000 monthly impressions Reasons to sign up: Personal team 24/7 support Wide choice of ad formats Reason to avoid: High requirements 3. Vuukle Vuukle cooperates with 25+ trusted demand-side platforms (DSPs), including Google Ad Manager, Amazon Publisher Services, PubMatic and more. This ad network supports both video and display ad formats and provides publishers with a 40% uplift in CPMs. Publishers can receive reports categorized by ad unit, device or category updated every hour and easily track their performance and earnings. It's one of the most AI-driven ad networks on our list, which is also a very user-friendly platform for both publishers and advertisers. The network works with 420+ publishers around the world. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: Not specified Reasons to sign up: High CPM Transparent reporting system Reason to avoid: Does not support CPC and CPA 4. PubGalaxy PubGalaxy is a global network of 2,000+ publishers with 20+ years of experience. After joining the platform, publishers can sell their inventory on 20+ premium networks. The network is selective with advertisers. PubGalaxy publishers receive ad placement requests from Google Ad Manager, OpenX, Rubicon, Index Exchange and others. PubGalaxy supports multiple ad formats, including native, video, interstitial and more. The ad quality protection technology ensures that 99% of malicious or intrusive ads are blocked. Model: CPC Minimum traffic requirement: An average of 7 million page views per month Reason to sign up: Ad quality protection Reasons to avoid: Very high traffic requirement Does not support CPA, CPM 5. Ezoic Ezoic is a Google-Certified Publishing Partner and is also a certified partner of Cloudflare, JW Player and the Flippa website exchange. Ezoic's unique AI-driven ad testing model allows publishers to test the ads they will display by placement, location and other criteria. This lets publishers see what works best for their visitors and is likely to generate more revenue before they go live. There is no minimum monthly traffic requirement to use Ezoic. If the website has less than 10,000 monthly traffic, it can join the network via the "Access Now" monetization program for growing websites. However, websites with less than 10,000 monthly traffic earn little money. Model: CPM, CPC, CPA Minimum traffic requirement: None Reasons to sign up: Websites with any amount of traffic can start monetizing Ad testing Reason to avoid: Websites with low traffic earn little money 6. Sovrn Sovrn is the rebranded version of Viglink, a technology company that provides traffic monetization opportunities for all websites regardless of traffic. One of Sovrn's best features is the automatic insertion of affiliate links into the publisher's existing content. So backfilling the affiliate link after signing up for Sovrn is a breeze. What's also great is that there is no minimum traffic requirement. The platform offers monetization opportunities for all website owners. One thing to consider is that effective CPM (eCPM) rates — an estimate of the revenue for every 1,000 ad impressions — for non-US traffic are lower. Model: CPA, CPC Minimum traffic requirement: None Reasons to sign up: No minimum traffic requirement Automatic insertion of affiliate links Reason to avoid: Lower eCPM for non-US traffic 7. Adsterra Adsterra allows the monetization of any traffic channel, whether it's desktop, mobile or in-app. This is mainly possible due to a social bar, an exclusive ad format that doesn't require specific ad placements. This means the ad's creatives can have any form and shape, and take the form of chats, video teasers, messenger icons, in-page pushes, notifications and more. The network also deploys its signature Anti-Adblock solution, which increases publisher revenue by 20%. The minimum payout — a sum of money an ad network pays the publisher — is $5 on Paxum and Webmoney. The payout for non-wire transfers is $100 and for wire transfers it’s $1,000. Model: CPM, CPC Minimum traffic requirement: 50,000 monthly impressions Reasons to sign up: Any traffic can be monetized Signature Anti-Adblock Solution Reason to avoid: High minimum payout for wire transfers 8. Google AdSense Google AdSense is a leading ad network that matches ads to a specific website based on the content and visitors. AdSense is more accessible for new advertisers as it does not have a minimum traffic requirement and is also known for being more user-friendly for beginners. However, approvals can take a while to go through and some publishers may struggle if their niche is not considered profitable enough. Model: CPM, CPC, Active View CPM, cost per engagement (CPE) Minimum traffic requirement : None Reasons to sign up: No minimum requirement for AdSense Easy to learn Reason to avoid: Approvals may be tricky based on content requirements 9. Mediavine Mediavine is a popular ad network among lifestyle and food bloggers. While it's not a strict vertical ad network blocking publishers from other niches, lifestyle content creators tend to perform better with Mediavine. The network works only with the CPM pricing model, so it may not be suitable for bloggers used to working with CPC or CPA. Mediavine pays the publisher's revenue share every 65 days, which is longer compared to many other networks that pay on a monthly basis. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: 50,000 sessions or around 60,000 pageviews Reason to sign up: More suitable for lifestyle content creators Reasons to avoid: Does not support CPC and CPA models Payments made every 65 days 10. Headerbidding.co Headerbidding.co is a solution from Automad that allows publishers to participate in header bidding, or ad auctions. This advanced programmatic technique allows publishers to receive bids directly from the demand partners. As partners compete for the publishers, the suggested CPMs go up. However, it's worth noting that the bidding auction is conducted when the page loads. This process can cause latency, or slow page loading times, which can frustrate users. One solution to this problem is to have a good server and network infrastructure. The platform accepts websites with any traffic. However, it suggests having 1 million monthly pageviews as an optimal starting point. Model: CPM Suggested minimum traffic: 1 million monthly pageviews Reason to sign up: Higher yield Reason to avoid: May result in increased page load time 11. AdOpsOne AdOpsOne is an ad network that connects publishers with various networks, ad exchanges and header bidders. However, it does not charge intermediate fees by default. It allows publishers to manage campaigns directly with their demand partners and charges an additional fee only if publishers refer to AdOpsOne for managing the campaigns on their behalf. A free revenue growth estimator allows publishers to estimate the monetization potential they have with AdOpsOne. The drawback is that the network does not have a referral tracking system, which means it's unsuitable for affiliate marketers. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: 5 million total impressions per month across all ad units Reasons to sign up: Free ad revenue growth estimator No fees or revenue share Reasons to avoid: Does not support referral tracking Does not support CPA, CPC 12. Amazon Ads Amazon Publisher Services (APS) is the center for ad operations within Amazon's marketing services. It's one of the largest and most reputable ad networks, along with Facebook and Google. The network partners only with highly reputable publishers, enforcing a rigorous selection process. Many small and mid-size businesses find the network too exclusive and difficult to join because of this. On the other hand, APS also cooperates with the best advertisers, so publishers are sure to receive high-quality ads and good payouts. Because of the large size and high quality of Amazon's ad network, publishers rarely experience website slowdown periods or other technical difficulties. Model: PPC Requirements: Only large publishers with a high reputation Reasons to sign up: High-quality ads No negative impact on latency Reasons to avoid: Suitable only for large businesses Does not support CPM, CPA 13. Freestar Freestar is one of the most popular ad networks that provides professional assistance for audience development to publishers. The audience development team offers SEO consultations, group traffic sessions, content strategy and other related services to help publishers increase their web traffic and earn more. One of Freestar's success stories is that Al Jazeera recorded a 135% increase in ad revenue per 1,000 impressions after partnering with the network. Freestars encourages potential publishers to have at least 1 million monthly pageviews, but it accepts websites with less traffic as well. One of the drawbacks to consider is that there is a long lock-in period for publishers, meaning that they will have to stay with Freestar for an extended period before being able to cancel their contract and move to another network. Model: CPM Suggested minimum traffic: 1 million monthly pageviews Reasons to sign up: Audience development support World-class yield management experts Reasons to avoid: Long lock-in period Does not support CPC, CPA 14. Media.net Media.net is one of the world’s leading ad tech companies. One of its best features is that publishers receive exclusive access to Yahoo! Bing Network, and can access high-quality ads with increased revenue. The contextual ads system filters users' intent via relevant search keywords and places only targeted ads, generating higher click-through and conversion rates for publishers. The drawback is that Media.net requires a minimum of 10,000 monthly page views from websites in the US, UK and Canada. Additionally, website content should be primarily written in English. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: 10,000 monthly pageviews Reasons to sign up: Access to Yahoo! Bing Network Contextual ads Reasons to avoid: Specific traffic, location and language requirements Does not support CPC, CPA 15. CodeFuel CodeFuel, which is a native ad network, offers traffic monetization opportunities across multiple channels, including websites, apps, browsers and extensions. The network is mostly concentrated on verticals in education and technology, which means websites with relevant content are more likely to perform well. However, publishers from other niches are also welcome to join the network. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: None Reasons to sign up: Opportunities to monetize on different platforms No minimum traffic requirement Reasons to avoid: Mostly focused on education and technology Does not support CPA, CPC 16. Index Exchange Index Exchange allows publishers to monetize display, video, CTV, mobile and native ad inventory from a single source. Additionally, due to being a trusted partner for many industry-leading DSPs and advertising agencies, Index Exchange helps publishers access a large spectrum of global premium demand. One potential drawback to consider is that the interface is not as user-friendly as other networks on the list. When starting with the platform, publishers are more likely to face a steep learning curve. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: None Reason to sign up: Access to global premium demand Reason to avoid: Steep learning curve 17. AdPushup AdPushup is an ad network that helps publishers with ad optimization and revenue maximization. One key feature is the pro-user adblock monetization solution, which helps publishers recover lost revenue from blocked ads. The advantage of AdPushup's adblock solution is that visitors can still hide the reinserted ads if they don't want to see them. It's challenging for newly started publishers to integrate AdPushup, as the network only works with publishers generating more than $5,000 in monthly ad revenue. In addition, payments are only issued from US banks, which creates additional difficulties for international publishers. Model: CPC Minimum traffic requirement: Not stated, but see the monthly ad revenue requirement. Reasons to sign up: Pro-user adblock solution No minimum monthly traffic requirement Reasons to avoid: Payments are issued from US banks High monthly earning requirements 18. TripleLift TripleLift is a premium programmatic ad network that partners with major advertisers such as Nestle, P&G, Microsoft, Toyota and others. The network supports multiple ad formats, including online video, display, CTV, branded content and native. A highlight of working with TripleLift is the fact that native ads are genuinely native, matching both the look and feel of the publisher's site while being contextually relevant to the content. The drawback is that integrating with TripleLift’s technology can be time-consuming when most other ad networks on the list require little to no integration efforts. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: None Reasons to sign up: Native, non-disruptive ads Access to premium advertisers Reasons to avoid: Integrating into the network takes time Does not support CPA, CPC 19. Criteo Criteo is a global technology company that provides a performance marketing platform for the world’s largest advertisers. From display and video ads to native ads, Criteo covers a wide range of ad formats. The two key features of Criteo include RTB and the opportunity for publishers to set up direct deals with advertisers. This allows for more transparency and control over the entire process, from ad creation to delivery. Payments are made monthly, which adds stability to publisher budgets. The drawback is that a comparatively more complicated UI takes a long time for first-time users to learn. Model: CPM, CPC Minimum traffic requirement: None Reasons to sign up: Monthly payment schedule Publisher flexibility Reasons to avoid: Complicated UI Does not support CPA 20. Revcontent Revcontent is a native advertising platform with wide monetization opportunities for many devices, including desktop, mobile, a multitude of geographies and more. It offers enhanced support to publishers and optimization solutions that can be used to improve the user experience and content performance. What's special about Revcontent is its granular brand safety. In other words, publishers have control over the content they are requested to display. They can block certain ads by keyword, image, category and more. One drawback, however, is its long payouts — Net 50, meaning payments are made once every 50 days. Model: CPM, CPC Minimum traffic requirement: 50,000 monthly visitors Reason to sign up: Control over displayed ads Reasons to avoid: Payment every 50 days Does not support CPA 21. AdThrive AdThrive is a premium ad network that is mainly focused on publishers and bloggers in the lifestyle niche. There is no strict requirement restricting publishers and bloggers from other niches. However, the food, travel, home, DIY, parenting industries and similar niches are more suitable for AdThrive partnerships. Besides the niche focus, AdThrive requires a minimum of 10,000 monthly traffic, which should come mostly from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The geographic restrictions make the network less suitable for small international bloggers. One of the advantages of AdThrive is payment security. If a certain publisher does not pay AdThrive, the network will make ad payments on their behalf to the publisher. Model: CPM Minimum traffic requirement: 10,000 monthly pageview Reasons to sign up: Payment guarantee Low traffic requirement Reasons to avoid: Not suitable for publishers outside of the lifestyle niche Traffic location requirements 22. AdMaven AdMaven is mostly known for supporting pop-under ads, but it also works with lightboxes, display advertising, slider ads and interstitial ads. AdMaven has one of the lowest traffic requirements on the list, making the network accessible to many small-to-midsize website owners. One great advantage is a flexible payment plan, which allows the publisher to choose the payment method and payment schedule according to their preferences. Additionally, it supports many ad models. One drawback of AdMaven is that its user interface is complicated. It takes some time to learn. Model: CPA, cost per install (CPI), cost per lead (CPL), CPC and CPM Minimum traffic requirement: 2,500 monthly visitors Reasons to sign up: Flexible payment plans Supports many advertising models Very low monthly traffic requirement Reason to avoid: Complicated user interface Final Thoughts Working with ad networks is one of publishers core monetization strategies. However, ad network partners need to be chosen carefully to avoid placement requests for low-quality and irrelevant ads. Such ad placements may benefit publishers in the short-term, but run a serious risk of ruining their long-term reputation. The best ad networks listed above are all trusted and have solid working relationships with advertisers and publishers. Yes, some do have high requirements in terms of traffic and content quality. But if the publisher's goal is to build a sustainable online business, then these requirements shouldn’t be an obstacle.