5 Best Ad Networks For Publishers in 2023 | Best CPM, CPA, CPC, CPE Ad Networks by Ideaz Get

 5 Best Ad Networks For Publishers in 2023 | Best CPM, CPA, CPC Ad Networks

Ad revenue is one of the three pillars of monetization that publishers have access to, the others being subscriptions and affiliate marketing. As such, publishers who have prioritized ad revenue need to ensure they are choosing the right ad network.

The global digital advertising market is expected to reach $1.09 trillion by 2027 , driven by factors such as the growing adoption of smartphones and the ongoing deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) .

The role of digital advertising remains essential for brand strategies, with research from SERP Watch showing that consumers are 155% more likely to dig into a brand after watching its display ads.

The growth of digital advertising offers immense monetization opportunities for publishers who are able to capitalize. A key part of this positioning is the ad networks they choose.

What is an ad network?

Ad networks are online brokers that deal between publishers who want to display ads and companies who want to place them.

Ad networks mainly solve the risk of filling, that is to say the risk for the publisher of having unsold ad units.

This allows the ad network to deliver more ad impressions to advertisers than a single publisher could deliver and therefore charge a higher price for ad space. In turn, the ad network passes a share of the revenue to the publisher.

To conclude, ad networks benefit both parties by providing a service that makes it easier for advertisers to reach their target audience and for publishers to monetize their online assets.

How does an ad network work?

Step 1

The most popular ad networks, such as AdSense, choose only high-quality websites to work with in order to maintain quality ad inventory.

Some networks are less selective and work with more publishers with less or lower quality traffic.

The selected publisher in turn places an ad network tag or code snippet in the HTML of their website.

Step 2

The ad network must receive information from the advertiser, such as their target audience, budget, and the type of ads they want to display (eg, image, video, or text).

Step 3

Once the advertiser's campaign requirements match the publisher's data, the ad details are sent to the publisher via the ad network's ad server and using the ad tag previously inserted who is responsible for calling the ad.

Step 4

Ad performance is tracked through the ad network's tracking pixel, which is placed on the advertiser's conversion page(s). 

Ad networks make money either by taking a portion of ad revenue or by initially marking up publisher inventory. Publishers are primarily paid based on the number of ad clicks, impressions, or conversions.

How Ad Networks Benefit Publishers?

Monetization:

The best ad networks provide monetization for different ad formats, such as display ads, video ads, and native ads. This gives publishers more options for generating revenue from ads than working with a single advertiser.

High ROI:

The prices set by ad networks are usually higher than what publishers could get themselves for unsold inventory. This is primarily because ad networks can deliver bulk impressions to advertisers, which are then passed on to publishers via a higher cost per 1,000 views (CPM), which we'll get to a bit later.

Better Targeting:

Ad networks have access to large amounts of data that they can use to target ads more effectively. This translates to higher click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates, leading to higher revenue for publishers. Google AdSense, for example, is one of the largest ad networks with over 2 million advertisers.

How to Choose the Best Ad Network?

Publishers should evaluate different ad networks to determine which is best for their website. The most suitable advertising network for a website must generate enough profit without compromising the quality of content and user experience.

Here are some suggestions to consider when choosing the best ad network.

1. Size

While 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 can help publishers determine if the network is large enough to guarantee a steady stream of advertisers. If no relevant information is available, publishers should assess the quality of major network advertisers.

If the network has reputable customers who are more likely to have large advertising budgets and demanding traffic requirements, then the network is more likely to be large enough to meet the publisher's needs.

2. Reputation

Popular ad networks, such as AdSense have been working for many years and have created a solid reputation within the industry. When working with these networks, publishers can be confident that payments will be processed on time.

However, when cooperating with lesser-known advertising networks, it is necessary to check their reputation before signing a contract. Reading reviews and talking to other editors who have worked with the network before are smart choices.

If the ad network is new to the market, it's a good idea to look into the team behind the curtain. If this team has industry experience and comes from an established rival, then the network is worth considering.

3. Ad Quality

It is essential that publishers carefully define the type of advertisers the ad network works with, as this will determine the quality of ads that publishers are expected to display on their websites. Ad quality is generally determined by the quality, relevance, and design of a website's content.

For publishers to ensure they receive high-quality, contextually relevant advertisements, they should verify the ad network's advertiser requirements. Networks that have strict requirements and scrutinize their customers are more attractive.

Publishers can also choose to manually review ads before displaying them. If certain ads are irrelevant or poorly designed, publishers can report them to the ad network and refuse to display them. However, all of this takes and consumes resources from both sides.

4. Remuneration model

The most common compensation models are cost per click (CPC), cost per thousand (CPM) and cost per action (CPA).

With the CPC model, publishers are paid each time a user clicks on an ad. Earnings vary depending on the type of product advertised, platform, ad as well as niche. For example, Google Ads CPC rates for search ads were $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, whether it was clicked on or not. CPM rates largely depend on website traffic, primary audience location, and CTR. The CPM of display ads typically ranges between $0.30 and $2.

Finally, with the CPA model, publishers only get paid if a user performs a specific action, such as filling out a form, signing up for a newsletter, etc. In other words, the CPA indicates the total cost spent for a single customer to travel. 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 little more insight into the ad network landscape, let's review the best ad networks in 2023.

1. Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a leading advertising network that associates ads with a specific website based on content and visitors.

AdSense is more accessible for new advertisers as it has no minimum traffic requirement and is also known to be more beginner-friendly.

However, approvals can take a while 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 register: 

• No minimum requirements for AdSense
• Easy to learn

Reason to avoid:

• Approvals can be tricky depending on content requirements

2. Ezoic

Ezoic is a Google Certified Publishing Partner and is also a Cloudflare, JW Player, and Flippa website exchange certified partner.

Ezoic's unique AI-powered ad testing model allows publishers to test the ads they'll show based on location, location, and other criteria. Ezoic allows publishers to see what is best for their visitors and it try to generate more revenue before going live.  

There is no minimum monthly traffic requirement to use Ezoic. If the website has less than 10,000 monthly visits, it can join the network through the "Access Now" monetization program for growing websites.

Model:

• CPM, CPC, CPA

Minimum Traffic Requirements:

• None

Reasons to register:

• Websites with any amount of traffic can start monetizing
• Ad testing

Reason to avoid:

• Low traffic websites make little money

3. Epom

Epom supports over 30 media ad formats, including video ads, banners, screen modifiers, pop-under and more. Its smart matching algorithm and precise targeting tools give publishers nearly 100% fill rate with the highest possible CPMs.

The company provides responsive customer support to publishers, via a technical support team which is available 24/7. 

Additionally, publishers can have a personal Epom team advise on ad formats and ad spaces that will maximize publisher revenue.

Model:

• CPM, CPC, CPA

Minimum traffic required:

• 500,000 monthly impressions

Reasons to register:

• Personal team, 24/7 support
• Wide choice of advertising formats

Reason to avoid:

• High demands

4. Publift

Publift is a premium advertising network that works with companies from around 60 countries, including MetService, Pay Calculator, Envato and others. It is a Google Certified Publishing Partner, which means it is accredited by Google to help publishers succeed with Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager.

To become a Publift publisher, a website must have $2,000 in monthly revenue, over 500,000 page views per month, and quality content on the website that is not plagiarized, explicit, or derogatory.

Publift has responsive customer support, responding to publisher requests within 48 hours.

Model:

• CPM

Minimum traffic requirement:

• 500,000 page views per month

Reasons to register:

• Good customer support
• Google Certified Publishing Partner

Reason to avoid:

• High demands

5. Vuukle

Vuukle cooperates with more than 25 trusted demand-side platforms (DSPs), including Google Ad Manager, Amazon Publisher Services, PubMatic and many more. This ad network supports both video and display ad formats and offers publishers a 40% boost in CPMs.

Publishers can receive hourly updated reports categorized by ad unit, device or category and easily track their performance and revenue. 

It is one of the most AI-based ad networks, which is very user-friendly platform for publishers and advertisers. The network works with more than 420 publishers around the world.

Model:

• CPM

Minimum traffic requirement:

• Not required, as long as the majority is from the United States

Reasons to register:

• High CPM
• Transparent reporting system

Reason to avoid:

• Does not support CPC and CPA

Final Verdict

Working with ad networks is one of the main monetization strategies for publishers. However, ad network partners should be chosen carefully to avoid low quality and irrelevant ad placement requests. Such ad placements can benefit publishers in the short term, but run a serious risk of ruining their reputation in the long term.

The top ad networks listed above are all reliable and have strong working relationships with advertisers and publishers.

Yes, some have high requirements in terms of traffic and content quality. But if the publisher's goal is to build a sustainable online business, these requirements shouldn't be an obstacle.