When AdSense Is No Good: Powerful Alternatives for More Profit

One of the most popular display advertising platforms today is Google AdSense.

Its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with the broader Google ecosystem make it a popular choice for many website owners.

However, AdSense does have its drawbacks. These include lower-than-expected earnings, questionable ad quality that can negatively impact the user experience (UX), and potential issues with site loading speed after implementation.

As more publishers are looking for ways to monetize their content, these shortcomings are pushing many toward exploring AdSense alternatives. These alternatives often offer higher payouts, flexible pricing models, advanced ad technologies, better visibility, and minimal impact on the UX.

Keeping that in mind, we've put together a list of the best AdSense alternatives, evaluating them based on factors like niche focus, traffic requirements, payout structures, and ease of integration with websites.

AdSense Explained

AdSense is an online advertising program owned by Google that allows website owners to earn revenue by displaying ads on their sites. Launched in 2003, it is a part of Google’s wider Google Ads platform.

Website owners who join the program are referred to as publishers, while advertisers, like businesses and brands, are seeking to promote their products or services through online ads. AdSense serves as the mediator between these two groups.

Here’s a quick overview of how AdSense works:

1. Sign up: publishers sign up and create an AdSense account, which must be approved by Google.
2. Insert code: once approved, publishers receive a code snippet from Google, which they place on their websites to display ads.
3. Ad auctions: when users visit the website, AdSense runs real-time auctions where advertisers bid to display their ads. These auctions happen within milliseconds.
4. Ad placement: the winning ad is displayed on the website, with AdSense ensuring that ads are relevant to either the visitor or the site’s content.
5. Generate revenue: publishers earn money when visitors view or click on the ads. AdSense tracks this activity to ensure fair revenue distribution.

Each party in this system — publishers, advertisers, and AdSense — has distinct roles throughout the ad placement process.

8 Reasons to Look for AdSense Alternatives

Google AdSense is user-friendly and has low entry barriers, making it an attractive option for small and medium-sized publishers who may lack the resources or technical expertise for complex ad management. However, it does come with several downsides.

Here are some common reasons why publishers are looking for alternatives to Google AdSense:

• Limited ad types. AdSense is a solid choice for beginners, but its range of ad types can be restrictive. For example, it doesn’t support popunder ads, which can limit monetization options.
• Limited ad customization. Many alternatives outdo AdSense in contextual advertising and offer customized ad solutions to meet the specific needs of publishers. Some networks even provide account managers who conduct website examinations to identify the best ad strategies. Such personalized service and customization are often lacking with AdSense.
• Limited revenue potential. As a largely self-serve platform, AdSense leaves publishers to optimize their web pages for ad revenue on their own. In contrast, many alternative networks collaborate with publishing partners to optimize ad placements, maximizing revenue as much as possible without compromising the UX.
• A higher revenue share. AdSense’s widespread use allows it to charge a higher percentage of ad revenue. While AdSense takes a 32% share, some alternatives take as little as 20%, allowing publishers to keep more of their earnings.
• Lack of customer support. Customer support is almost nonexistent with Google AdSense. If technical issues arise, publishers have limited options for resolution beyond Google's online resources.
• Higher risk of account bans. AdSense has strict policies to prevent click fraud, protecting advertisers. For example, one of AdSense's requirements for ads is to not draw attention to them unnaturally. Which can inadvertently lead to account suspensions or terminations, causing publishers to lose their accumulated earnings.
• Geographical performance. AdSense performs well in Tier 3 GEOs, but publishers with traffic from Tier 1 or 2 GEOs might earn more with alternatives that specialize in those regions.
• Control over ad setup. AdSense manages most of the ad setup, offering limited customization, which is a good thing when you are just starting. However, header bidding partners provide greater control over ad formats and settings, though they often require advanced technical skills for optimal performance. With alternative platforms, publishers can enjoy both flexibility and hands-on management, as well as customizable ad tech.

Given these factors, it’s a good idea for publishers to explore alternatives to AdSense, not just as replacements but also as complementary solutions to optimize their ad revenue.

Factors to Consider When Choosing an Optimal AdSense Alternative

Selecting the right AdSense alternative involves calculating several key factors to ensure it meets your needs effectively. Here are the most important considerations:

• Ad format availability. Different ad formats, such as display ads, text ads, native ads, video ads, social media ads, and in-app ads, can significantly impact your monetization strategy. Choose an alternative that offers the ad formats best suited to your content niche, audience preferences, and user experience objectives.
• Revenue sharing models. As we’ve mentioned before, Google AdSense operates on a 68–32 revenue split, where publishers retain 68% of the ad revenue generated. Additionally, AdSense calculates revenue based on the effective cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for advertiser bids. When looking for alternatives, compare their revenue sharing terms and ensure they offer competitive rates.
• Advertiser quality and relevance. The quality and relevance of ads are crucial for maintaining user engagement and optimizing revenue. Low-quality or irrelevant ads can lead to decreased click-through rates and negatively impact the user experience and search engine rankings. Estimate advertisers available through each alternative and choose platforms that offer high-quality, relevant ads to enhance both revenue and user satisfaction.
• Reliability and technical support. Given the technical nature of online advertising, it's important to select a platform that provides reliable targeting and consistent uptime. A platform with trustworthy technical support can help address any issues. Make sure the alternative you choose offers dependable performance and adequate support to maximize both publisher and audience satisfaction.

1. HilltopAds

HilltopAds is a global ad network designed to help publishers maximize revenue through a variety of monetization strategies. The platform connects publishers with a wide range of advertisers, ensuring high fill rates and competitive CPMs. HilltopAds offers multiple ad formats, such as popunders, native ads, display ads, and video ads, catering to both desktop and mobile traffic.

What makes HilltopAds stand out is its anti-adblock technology, which helps you recover revenue lost to ad blockers. The platform also offers weekly automated payouts, so you get paid faster, with a low minimum threshold of $20. Whether you're a seasoned publisher or just starting out, the advanced API tools give you more control and options for managing your ads.

The clean, pre-approved ads ensure a positive user experience, and if you’re looking for flexibility, their direct and smart link monetization options allow you to tailor ads to your traffic sources. Detailed postback tracking gives you the insights needed to optimize ad performance, and with worldwide coverage, HilltopAds delivers billions of ad impressions monthly across thousands of sites.

Integration is simple — just add a code snippet to your site, making it accessible even if you’re not super tech-pro. Overall, HilltopAds offers a comprehensive, user-friendly platform that is perfect for publishers looking to diversify their revenue streams and overcome challenges like ad blockers.

If you are ready to get all the perks we’ve mentioned above, feel free to join!

• Minimum payout: $20
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: publishers looking for flexible monetization options with global reach and strong anti-adblock capabilities

2. Index Exchange

Index Exchange is a leading global independent ad network and marketplace designed to address the challenge of fragmented customer interest across multiple channels. It provides a unified omnichannel exchange that supports various ad formats and devices.

Publishers using Index Exchange can create their own private marketplaces, granting them greater control over which advertisers can purchase ad space on their sites. The platform also includes advanced yield optimization tools to help publishers maximize their ad revenue and offers a comprehensive suite of real-time analytics.

The platform prioritizes strict vetting, screening, and authentication of its publishers before they can participate in the ad exchange. This focus on publisher quality ensures high standards for ad content, benefiting both advertisers and publishers.

To integrate with Index Exchange, publishers must embed a JavaScript tag on their website.

Index Exchange has one of the toughest approval processes, but brings strong demand and is consistently one of the top five demand partners. It handles over 300 billion daily auctions.

• Minimum payout: not publicly disclosed
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best suited for: established publishers seeking real-time ad transactions and access to premium advertisers

3. Publift

Publift is a Google-certified publishing partner with over 15 years of experience in helping publishers navigate and implement the latest ad technologies. Their industry-leading solutions have enabled publishers to boost revenue by as much as 55%.

Publift provides advanced revenue optimization tools, including header bidding, reporting, ad layout optimization, ad block monetization, pricing automation, and Adwizard for blocking unwanted ads.

As an all-in-one solution, Publift is a solid option. They offer a free website or app review to help publishers enhance visibility.

Getting started with Publift is simple — publishers just need to insert a small code snippet into their website's header to activate header bidding.

• Minimum payout: $100
• Minimum traffic requirements: 500,000 page views per month
• Best for: publishers seeking a comprehensive ad network with advanced ad technology

4. Infolinks

Infolinks specializes in contextual advertising, delivering ads by analyzing a publisher's website content and displaying relevant in-text ads. It applies exclusive real-time contextual technology to identify user intent, thus enhancing engagement across more than 25,000 active website partners.

Infolinks offers a variety of ad formats, including in-text, in-fold, in-frame, and in-tag ads.

With over 350,000 websites using its platform, Infolinks generates over 1.5 billion monthly ad views worldwide.

The platform is open to all online publishers, with no setup fees and only modest minimum requirements for page views or visitors.

• Minimum payout: $50
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: publishers seeking in-text advertising solutions

5. Monetag

Monetag is an AI-driven platform that allows publishers to monetize various audience types, including desktop, mobile web, in-app, social traffic, email, and remnant ad inventory. It utilizes advanced ad formats and MultiTag technology to optimize ad selection, increasing CPM rates by up to 53%.

Monetag offers a range of ad formats, including popunder, push, vignette banner, in-page push, interstitial, and smartlink. The platform provides worldwide ad coverage, ensuring that 100% of traffic is monetized without wasted impressions. Ads are monitored 24/7 to maintain clean and safe content.

Monetag is open to all publishers with no minimum traffic requirements. It offers weekly payouts with a low minimum withdrawal amount and supports a variety of payment methods. Publishers can also benefit from a referral program and a priority program, which unlock additional features based on performance.

• Minimum payout: $5
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: publishers seeking AI-enhanced ad formats for diverse audience monetization

6. Monumetric

Monumetric is a platform dedicated to tracking and reporting every detail of ad performance, true to its name. It provides publishers with a detailed performance timeline, customizable reporting periods, and the ability to analyze revenue by ad type, impressions by ad unit, and more.

Monumetric pays publishers based on impressions rather than clicks, allowing them to earn revenue when visitors simply view ads on their pages.

Publishers can display various types of ads, including display, native, and video ads, by integrating Monumetric into their sites with a simple code snippet in the site’s header to enable header bidding.

Monumetric offers four monetization programs based on monthly page views:

• Propel: for small or new publishers with 10,000 to 80,000 monthly page views. A one-time $99 fee is required for account setup and optimization.
• Ascend: for publishers with 80,000 to 500,000 monthly page views, offering a customized ad strategy with no setup fees.
• Stratos: for publishers with 500,000 to 10 million monthly page views, providing access to premium features and a dedicated team for operations, advanced reporting, data analysis, and testing.
• Apollo: for publishers with over 10 million monthly page views, offering access to a dedicated team for consulting and managing their advertising efforts.
• Minimum payout: $10
• Minimum traffic requirements: 10,000 monthly page views
• Best for: medium to large publishers seeking to implement targeted, impression-based ads

7. RevContent

RevContent is focused on delivering personalized and relevant content recommendations to readers, driving higher engagement and conversions for advertisers. Specializing in content recommendation, RevContent uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyze user behavior and interests, customizing content for each individual reader.

The platform partners with publishers who have a minimum of 50,000 monthly viewers. Integrating RevContent with a website is simple — publishers only need to insert a single line of code. RevContent supports various ad types, including native and display ads.

Known for its high-quality traffic and solid anti-fraud measures, RevContent collaborates with premium publishers like Newsweek and The New York Observer. Despite handling over 250 billion content recommendations each month, RevContent is selective, with a strict manual review process to ensure that partner sites offer high-value content.

• Minimum payout: $50
• Minimum traffic requirements: 50,000–80,000 monthly views
• Best for: high-traffic website publishers looking to add push ads, native ads, video, and mobile ads

8. BuySellAds

BuySellAds is a contextual advertising marketplace that operates between a self-service platform and a fully automated solution. Publishers and advertisers sign up on the platform, where BuySellAds matches the two based on their needs.

Publishers provide details about their websites, which advertisers can preview. If the stats are appealing, advertisers can purchase ad spots on the site. Publishers have the option to accept or reject ads, but it’s recommended to choose ads that align with their content.

As a mediator, BuySellAds charges a 25% service fee for each successful transaction.

The platform offers various ad formats, including native ads, in-content ads, podcast ads, display ads, and email ads. A key strength of BuySellAds is its ability to monetize more than just websites, helping podcast and newsletter creators connect with suitable advertisers.

• Minimum payout: $20
• Minimum traffic requirements: 10,000 page views per month
• Best for: popular website owners looking to add content ads, podcast ads, email ads, and more from reputable advertisers

9. Setupad

Setupad is a header-bidding platform designed to help publishers maximize revenue by allowing multiple bidders to compete for ad inventory within the webpage's header. To achieve this, Setupad has partnered with over 31 supply-side partners (SSPs).

In addition to header bidding, Setupad offers features like lazy loading to maintain site speed, content recommendations, and adblock monetization. The platform requires publishers to have a minimum of 100,000 monthly views to join. Setupad supports a diverse range of ad formats, including interstitial ads, out-stream ads, and in-stream ads.

Integrating Setupad with a website is straightforward — publishers simply add a code snippet to the site's header or body section.

Setupad is used by over 500 international websites and delivers more than 4 billion ad impressions globally each month.

• Minimum payout: €100 ($110)
• Minimum traffic requirements: 100,000 monthly page views
• Best for: publishers looking to boost revenue through a bidding model

10. GumGum

GumGum’s strength lies in its exclusive Leverage Verity technology, accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for content-level analysis. Unlike many platforms that rely on consumers' past digital footprints, GumGum uses this technology to deliver highly contextual ads by predicting current and future behavior.

GumGum’s software can scan both images and videos across the internet, ensuring that ads are placed in highly visible and contextually relevant locations. According to GumGum, this method generates seven times more engagement and a 37% higher brand lift compared to industry averages. The platform specializes in in-image and in-video advertising, allowing advertisers to advertise products and services through engaging visual content.

Integrating GumGum with a website involves placing a JavaScript tag on the site.

GumGum has seen strong success with its mobile sticky units, particularly with publishers, as these units achieve high CPMs due to their rich media appeal and quality. The platform boasts partnerships with major brands like Sephora, Popeye, and Canon.

• Minimum payout: $50
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: publishers who are looking for full control over ad pricing and configuration

11. ExoClick

ExoClick serves over 14.5 billion geo-targeted ads daily across a global network of 63,078 publisher platforms. The company offers two main products for traffic monetization: an Ad Exchange and an Ad Network. Publishers and advertisers can work with ExoClick through three methods: Self-service, automation using the platform API, and programmatically via OpenRTB.

ExoClick's proprietary software supports 31 different ad formats, providing optimized targeting, behavioral retargeting, day parting, access to real-time statistics, and strategic big data analysis tools for improving ROI. The platform also offers extensive customer support, with a dedicated team available 24/7.

ExoClick is a suitable platform for publishers of all sizes, offering broad global traffic coverage with top GEOs including the USA, Germany, France, and India. It supports various ad formats like display banners, native ads, video formats, and push notifications, catering to diverse audience segments and industries.

• Minimum payout: $20
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: publishers and advertisers looking for a versatile platform with extensive ad format options and global reach.

12. Adsterra

Adsterra is a robust online advertising network catering to brands, agencies, and media buyers with over 20 targeting settings for optimized audience reach. It offers high-quality CPM, CPC, and CPA traffic from a network of over 35,000 direct publishers.

For publishers, Adsterra provides a platform to monetize various types of traffic, including websites, blogs, and social media. It employs AI to deliver highly relevant CPM rates and ad feeds, supporting earnings even without a website.

Adsterra’s offerings include popunder, social bar, in-page push, and interstitial ads. Popunders open in a new tab, targeting high-intent audiences with 11.9 billion monthly impressions. Social bars deliver non-intrusive ads across all browsers and operating systems, boasting 30 times higher CTRs compared to web push. In-page push ads offer notifications directly in browsers without requiring opt-ins, and Interstitials provide full-screen ads with strong visual impact.

Adsterra is recognized for its unique partner care, which includes not only responsive support but also campaign optimization guidance. Its three-level security system ensures ad safety and traffic quality by preventing malware, ad fraud, and bot traffic. The platform’s performance-boosting tools include Traffic Estimator, Smart CPM, and Custom Bid for precise bid adjustments.

Self-serve platforms allow easy start-up with intuitive interfaces, and proprietary ad formats like social bar ads enhance engagement. Adsterra is known for its competitive CPM rates and commitment to conversions.

• Minimum payout: $100
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: advertisers seeking diverse targeting options and publishers looking for high CPM rates.

13. Taboola

Taboola is a leading platform for native advertising, utilized by over 9,000 digital properties to acquire new audiences, enhance engagement, and drive revenue. It provides a range of solutions for both advertisers and publishers.

For advertisers, Taboola offers a comprehensive suite of tools to optimize campaigns. The Taboola Feed integrates a scrolling newsfeed experience into publisher pages, significantly boosting revenue and audience growth. The platform’s audience-building capabilities are enhanced by actionable insights from Taboola Newsroom, which supports A/B testing and data-driven content strategies. Optimized paid acquisition strategies ensure positive ROI and increased site engagement, while the Audience Exchange feature facilitates quality traffic acquisition through partnerships.

Taboola’s engagement features include recirculation strategies to drive desired post-click behavior, organic video growth with customizable video players, and personalization options to tailor user experiences. Monetization is driven through sponsored content and video, with seamless integration into various platforms, including apps and newsletters.

Taboola maintains high standards for content quality and brand safety. It adheres to industry standards such as TAG verification and ads.txt adoption and offers robust tools for publishers to manage content, including keyword filters and block capabilities. Consumers also have the ability to filter and block content, enhancing their control over the Taboola experience.

• Minimum payout: not specified
• Minimum traffic requirements: not specified
• Best for: advertisers seeking advanced native advertising solutions and publishers looking to enhance engagement and revenue through sponsored content and video.

14. SHE Media

SHE Media is a digital media company that owns several popular platforms, including BlogHer, SheKnows, and HelloFlo, along with its ad management platform.

Founded in 1999 as SheKnows.com, SHE Media originally focused on creating content for modern mothers. Over time, they developed a broader content range.

One of the perks of SHE Media’s ad management platform is that it has lower traffic requirements than many other ad networks, with a minimum of 20,000 monthly viewers. They might even approve sites with less traffic if the content is engaging, consistently updated, and shows strong potential growth.

To pass a verification, sites must be brand-safe, at least 90 days old, have a mainly US-based audience, and maintain no more than 5% invalid traffic (IVT).

Publishers with SHE Media can run display ads, sponsored content, and sponsored social media posts. The setup is straightforward — just create an account on the SHE Media website, add your site details, and implement the ad code they provide.

• Minimum payout: $20
• Minimum traffic requirement: 20,000 page views per month
• Best for: female content creators looking for a supportive ad network

15. ylliX

ylliX is a great solution for two of the biggest challenges with AdSense — getting approved and getting paid. Signing up is quick and easy, with instant account approval for those who meet their fairly relaxed requirements.

What sets ylliX apart is its daily payouts to publishers, which is rather more convenient than the monthly or weekly payments you get from other platforms.

ylliX gives users full control over targeting specific campaigns and is open to publishers from any country, regardless of their site’s size or reach.

The platform supports a wide variety of ad formats, including banners, sliders, anchors, in-app ads, redirects, popups, popunders, tabups, tabunders, direct links, and push notification ad tags.

Setting up with ylliX is straightforward through their self-serve platform.

Plus, the platform guarantees a 100% international fill rate, ensuring your ad spaces are always filled.

• Minimum payout: $1
• Minimum traffic requirements: none
• Best for: new publishers looking for a self-service platform with a wide range of ad formats and campaigns

16. Media.net

Media.net is a well-known ad network that’s been around since 2010 and has left its mark on over 500,000 websites by delivering high-quality contextual ads.

The platform offers a variety of ad types, including text ads, contextual ads, display ads, search ads, and mobile ads.

Media.net was the pioneer in developing a server-side header bidding platform. This innovation helps maximize ad revenue and ensures transparency without compromising the user experience.

It’s one of the closest alternatives to Google AdSense in terms of overall user experience.

• Minimum payout: $100
• Minimum traffic requirements: 50,000 monthly views
• Best for: publishers who want to diversify with display ads, native ads, and mobile or video ads 

17. PopAds

PopAds is an ad network that specializes in popunder ads. It is known for its quick payment processing — claiming to pay out within 24 hours. What’s great about PopAds is that it lets publishers withdraw their earnings whenever they want, no matter how much they’ve earned.

The platform offers flexible customization for popunder ads, allowing publishers to adjust the bidding rates and tailor the ads to their audience.

PopAds is particularly popular among small and medium-sized publishers due to its low payout thresholds and fast payment system. Integrating PopAds into your site is easy — just add a simple code snippet to your website's header or body section.

PopAds claims to pay at least $4 for every 1,000 US visitors, though rates can vary for traffic from other countries.

• Minimum payout: not specified
• Minimum traffic requirements: 1,000 monthly visitors
• Best for: low-traffic website owners who prefer using popunder ads

Closing words

Choosing an AdSense alternative can be a strategic move for publishers aiming to increase their ad revenue and enhance the UX. Alternatives offer competitive advantages, including potentially higher payouts, advanced targeting options, and reliable ad quality management.

HilltopAds stands out with its global reach, anti-adblock technology, and a variety of ad formats, including popunders, native ads, and video ads. The platform also offers an account manager, providing personalized support and optimization to maximize ad revenue.

By providing customized solutions, in-depth analytics, and a user-friendly platform, our top 10 AdSense alternatives present a compelling option for publishers aiming to optimize their ad monetization strategy effectively.

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