Many people create websites and blogs with the intention of earning money. Unless you are selling a product or service, your main source of revenue will likely be advertising and affiliate marketing. Using various ad network services, you can display advertising on your website and get compensated every time a visitor clicks an ad or makes a purchase through a third-party.
Out of all the ad networks, AdSense is used the most. It is easy to setup and implement on your website, whether you are using WordPress or another website platform. While it does have its benefits, AdSense has a limited set of options and customization, which may not work well with every site.
AdSense may be the most used option for earning money on your website from advertising, but it is not your only choice. There are plenty of methods for using advertising and affiliate marketing to earn free money from your website. Here are the 10 best AdSense alternatives.
1 – Infolinks
Infolinks is very similar to AdSense, in that it offers access to a large ad network and includes an easy to use interface. After setting up your account, you can begin monetizing your blog, while monitoring your earnings through a web-based dashboard or their Android app.
One area where Infolinks has an edge over AdSense is with payments. Infolinks offers a higher CPM than many of the other ad networks and provides several choices for receiving your payment. The minimum payout is $50 and you can get paid through PayPal, wire transfers, eCheck, Western Union, ACH, and Payoneer.
2 – Content
Content is another option for displaying sponsored content on your blog. You can get paid based on the number of clicks and impressions. They are a trusted ad network with a long track record of completing payouts on time. The rates for CPM and impressions is a little lower than AdSense, but this is outweighed by the increased click-through-rate.
Content supplies your site with quality advertisements that are more likely to fit your niche market and appeal to your visitors. With other ad networks, you may find a lack of diversity in the ads that appear on your website, which is not an issue with Content. The ads blend in seamlessly to your website, making Content a useful method for generating a little extra revenue.
3 – BuySellAds
BuySellAds has a thorough vetting process to ensure your website meets their standards. Due to the high-quality publishers that BuySellAds is able to attract, they are able to draw quality advertisers. They claim to have over 12,000 advertisers and over 1,500 publishers.
Like most ad networks, BuySellAds also has WordPress plugins, offering a streamlined method for placing ads in your blog. For those that use other blogging platforms, you can easily place the provided code in your website.
4 – Viglink
Viglink is a blog monetization program that uses a unique method of helping you generate income. Instead of displaying ads directly on your blog, Viglink monetizes all of your outbound links. The program automatically tracks your traffic to ensure you receive a commission for products that are purchased through outbound links on your site.
Viglink uses streamlined JavaScript that works with AdSense, so you can continue using the Google service. A single line of code is all that is needed to integrate the Viglink system with your site. The only downside is that the user interface and dashboard may be confusing for people that are new to affiliate marketing and advertising.
5 – Media
Media is one of the few ad networks that can directly compete with AdSense in terms of commissions for CPM rates. They provide an easy to use interface that allows you to create and customize ad units and access performance reports. The application process is fairly standard and it will take a few days for you to get approved. Media maintains a high standard, which helps increase the quality of advertisers.
Payouts are handled either through PayPal or wire bank transfer when you reach a minimum payout of $100. With Media, you get high commission rates and access to ads that are relevant to the content on your blog.
6 – Chitika
Chitika is an ad delivery network that some may use as their only resort. If you have been denied approval for some of the other ad networks in this list, then try setting up an account at Chitika. They are not very restrictive and will allow almost any site to display content from their ad network.
Unfortunately, this results in a lower payout. You may find yourself only earning a single cent for every click, compared to the 30 to 60 cents that you are likely to get from Google AdSense.
7 – Adversal
Adversal ensures you have the option to place ads that fit your site. Choose from standard banners, leaderboards, pop-under ads, and large skyscraper advertisements. This program does not contain any ad network restrictions so that you are free to use this in conjunction with Google AdSense and other ad networks.
Adversal has a lot of advantages, including a $20 minimum payout, competitive CPM rates, and low minimum traffic requirements. On the downside, your site must be in English and over half of your website traffic must come from the United States. This means that Adversal may not be suitable for those outside of the US.
8 – Skimlinks
Skimlinks is an affiliate marketing program that aims at providing affiliate marketers with a simple interface for linking to products. Instead of having to individually signup with various merchants, once you create a Skimlinks account, you will have access to over 17,000 affiliate merchants. Skimlinks is a powerful affiliate marketing program with competitive rates.
9 – Amazon Affiliates
Amazon affiliates is a more detailed affiliate marketing and ad network program. You will have direct control over which ads you place on your blog. This is the perfect option for those that provide reviews or tutorials related to products available through Amazon. The largest online retailer, millions of people have Amazon accounts.
Amazon Affiliates allows you to place advertisements of your choice on your blog. After a visitor follows one of these links to the Amazon product page, you will receive a commission based on their total purchase, even if they do not buy the product that directed them to Amazon.
10 – ClickBank
ClickBank has been around for nearly 20 years. During this time, they have developed a large network of online retailers to become of one of the largest online marketplaces. As a ClickBank affiliate, you can display ads from the large ClickBank network.
Choose the products and services that you would like to promote. This lets you tailor your choice of ads and find products or services that your visitors may be more interested in. Another advantage to using ClickBank is their high commission rate, with earning as high as 75 percent.
Consider All of Your Options
As you start looking for ways to monetize your website, do not limit yourself. AdSense is not the only available choice. Consider using some of these AdSense alternatives to earn more money from your website and target your websites visitors with more relevant advertising. Just keep in mind that some of these programs require you to not include code from other affiliate marketing and advertising companies.
Monetizing a website is a useful way to earn a few extra dollars from your website. Before making a final decision on which program to use, explore all of your available options, including these 10 best AdSense alternatives.