10 Best Ad Networks for Small Publishers: 2022

You will find a huge number of ad networks on the internet. It can be very challenging to select one of the best ad networks for small publishers because ad rates are dependent on such a large number of factors as niche, conversions, traffic sources, and more. Here, we have looked at some of the best ad networks for small publishers that have:

• Consistent payments
• High CPMs
• Good integrations

Check out the best ad network for small publishers and sign up with them to increase your revenue.   

How to Choose the Best Ad Network for Small Publishers?

Here are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing an ad network:

• Demand Sources: Question your account manager before the onboarding process. Ask them for the entire list of the demand partners and SSPs they are working with. If there is an increase in demand, partners will certainly get higher CPMs. 
• Ease of Integration: There are ad vendors that take around a week to get your tags approved from the SSPs. At times, the tag integration process would be time-consuming. Look for a partner that streamlines the entire process in 24-48 hours. Also, make sure they offer some ad optimization from their end. 
• Payment Terms: Look out for payment terms that are flexible and straightforward. Look out for payment terms around NET 30 to NET 60 days. There are ad partners on NET 30, NET 45, and NET 60 days; after that, these ad partners process the payments. 
• Existing Portfolio of Publishers: Look at the existing list of publisher partners. The yield and CPM rates are usually better if grouped under premium publishers. 
• Ad Technology: Server-to-server header bidding, viewability-based auto-refresh, direct deals, PMPs, and ad layout optimization are some of the adtech features that you want your technology partner to provide. These will uplift your CPM rates for your website. 
• Support: Support is important. Make sure your account manager is reachable via email/skype/phone. 

10 Best Ad Networks for Small Publishers

Here are some of the best ad networks for small publishers that will generate much higher CPM rates.

1. Infolinks: Best Banner Ad Network for Small Publishers

Infolinks is helping over 350,00 publishers worldwide, and the technology behind their products is amazing. They have the best support team and always give you all the answers. Their ads are known to get more attention than the standard leaderboard placements without ruining the user experience. As publishers, you also get more customization options and control on your end.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: To be eligible for the Infolinks publisher program, one must have at least 10,000 monthly page views. 
• Features: Features include auto-refreshing ads, high-impact ad formats, and the ability to monetize global traffic. 
• Recommend for: Relatively new websites with a worldwide audience. 
• Payment: One of the best payment terms in the industry is NET 30 days. 
• Additional Note: Infolinks is one of the most highly recommended ad networks for new blogs and websites due to its moderately fast approval policy.

How to Get Started with Infolinks | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Infolinks-

• You need to signup with Infolinks using the link given below. 
• Once the signup process is complete, your site will be reviewed, and once your site is approved, you’ll be able to generate the ad tags
• They will share with you the ads.txt lines file, which you need to update to your existing ads.txt file. 
• You need to place the code just before the closing of your </body> tag. 

Infolinks offers sticky ads for better visibility and revenue growth. 

2. Ezoic: Best CPM Network for Small Publishers

Ezoic provides you with complete control and everything that you need for premium monetization. They deliver valuable insights about UX and revenue and shows the reasons why the article are engaging and high-earning. They offer features for site speed and data analytics.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: To see the advantages of this AI-based optimization, publishers must have a decent volume of monthly sessions. 
• Features: Auto-refresh ads, high CPM display ads, lazy loading ads, video ads, and native ads are some of the features available. 
• Recommend for: Websites with a high amount of US or Tier 1 traffic are recommended. Ezoic accepts websites with a moderate amount of traffic and high-quality content. With Ezoic, you can make a lot of money even with average traffic.
• Payment: NET 30 days
• Additional Note: Their customer service team is pretty responsive, and it is easy to get started. 

How to Get Started with Ezoic | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Ezoic-

• You need to signup with Exoclick using the link given below. 
• Once the signup or registration process is complete, you will be taken to the dashboard, where you need to click on ‘new site.’  
• Once your site is approved, you can create zones and choose your preferred ad format. Ezoic offers a lot of tools and customizations to improve your overall advertising revenue.

3. ShareASale: ​​Best Affiliate Network for Small Publishers

ShareASale has built cutting-edge technology and guides publishers to success. You can keep a pulse on your program with real-time insights into performance data and more. You can tap into new sources of revenue using their custom tools for your online business.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: Publishers should have decent traffic and niche traffic from tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 countries. 
• Features: ShareaSale provides banners, contextual links, and landing page offers that convert well for affiliates. They have fraud protection tools and provide deep integrations to ensure all your leads are counted.   
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended. 
• Payment: NET 30 days
• Additional Note: Use their ‘power rank’ feature to find the top converting offers for most of the affiliates. 

How to Get Started with ShareaSale | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with ShareASale-

• You need to signup with ShareaSale using the link given below. 
• Once the signup process is complete, your site will be added to the interface, and you can start sending invites to merchants whose products you wish to promote. 
• A proposal is created, and once the merchant accepts the proposal, you can access the creatives/links, place them on your website, and start promoting the offer.

4. iZooto: Best Push Ad Network for Small Publishers

Using iZooto, you can engage your readers using push notifications and get them back. This is an incredible platform designed and built for editors and audience managers. Their objective is the reduction of publishers’ dependency on both Facebook and Google. They also offer flexible pricing that helps publishers do both engagements and audience monetization.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: To be eligible for an authorized iZooto account to begin monetizing, publishers must have a minimum of 100k monthly US page views. 
• Features: increase website page views with targeted push notifications and monetizes our subscriber list with native ads 
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended. News verticals tend to perform best. 
• Payment: NET 60 days
• Additional Note: Since iZooto is more of a self-serve site, it’s simple to sign up. However, you must have at least 5,000 US push subscribers to see some revenue coming. 

How to Get Started with iZooto | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with iZooto-

• You need to signup with iZooto using the link given below. 
• Once the signup or registration process is complete, you will be asked to install the WordPress plugin and add your site to the iZooto dashboard.
• Once your site is linked with an authentication code, you can see your visitors turning into subscribers. 

You can start sending them notifications; however, wait for a few days to build your subscriber base to a few 1000s, and then you can contact them to activate monetization for your account/website.

5. Value Impression: ​​Best CPM Ad Network for Small Publishers

Value Impression helps you earn more money with their video ads, and there has been an average growth of 40-300% across all publishers who use them. You can create the most potent ad stack with their header bidding technology and maximize your profits and manage all of your activities.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: Publishers must have a minimum of 50k monthly visitors. 
• Features: Features include auto-refresh advertising, video sliders, and outstream ads. 
• Recommend for: Websites with a lot of WW traffic and a high time-on-site are recommended. 
• Payment: NET 30 days
• Additional Note: Value Impression is one of the most highly recommended ad networks for new blogs and websites because of its simple approval policy. Their video CPM rates are moderate but display CPMs are great. 

How to Get Started with Value Impression | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Value Impression-

• You need to signup with Value Impression using the link given below. 
• Once the signup process is complete, your site will be reviewed, and you’ll be notified once your website is approved. 
• They will share with you the ads.txt lines file, which you need to update to your existing ads.txt file. Following this, you can generate the ad tags of your choice from the dashboard by visiting the ‘Sites’ section.  
• Use a plugin like ‘Quick AdSense’ to place in-content ads, and you can place ads on the sidebar using widgets. 

6. Underdog Media: Best Display Ad Network for Small Publishers

This is one of the most innovative ad monetization platforms. They offer analytics that helps you deep dive into revenue insight by Geo, UTM, device, custom metrics, and more. Their ad unit will complement your ad stack and is engineered to provide your readers with a good ad experience and increase your revenue.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: Publishers must have a minimum of 300K monthly visitors and a high amount of traffic from tier-one countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. 
• Features: Their expertise lies in increasing your CPMs and ensuring high viewability on the served ad impressions, along with header bidding tech. 
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended. 
• Payment: NET 28 days
• Additional Note: Feel free to use their sticky ad units for better monetization of your ad inventory. 

How to Get Started with UnderDog Media | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with UnderDog Media-

• You need to signup with UnderDog Media using the link given below. 
• Once the signup or registration process is complete, you will be taken to the dashboard, where you need to click on ‘new site.’ You can choose from the list of given ad tags. 
• Once your site is approved, you’ll receive the ad codes and ads.txt line via email. 
• Next, you have to copy the ad tag and place the ad codes as instructed.  

7. Mgid: Best Native Ad Network for Small Publishers

Mgid is a pioneer and helps you monetize your traffic and engage your audience with no compromise. It gives publishers complete control over their audience, empowers them with technology to engage and retain users, generates revenue streams from direct advertisers, and builds their monetization strategies with robust analytics. 

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: Publishers should have decent traffic from tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 countries. 
• Features: Mgid provides a native advertising widget that can be integrated into any website.  
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended. 
• Payment: NET 30 days
• Additional Note: You  can run their native advertising widget along with other native ad partners for better monetization

How to Get Started with Mgid | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Mgid-

• You need to signup with Mgid using the link given below. 
• Once the signup process is complete, your site will be reviewed, and you’ll be notified once your website is approved.
• Following this, you can generate the ad tags of your choice from the dashboard by visiting the ‘Sites’ section.  
• Place them on your site as per the instructions. 

8. Media.net: Best Contextual Ad Network for Small Publishers

Media.net is a leading global advertising company and has one of the most comprehensive portfolios of advertising technology in the industry. They have built some of the most innovative products of all time that optimizes to display of the most relevant ads and offers, in formats, that provide a balance of user experience and revenue while also giving industry-leading user privacy protections. 

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: The Media.net platform will accept websites with monthly traffic of 10,000 visitors. 
• Features: Contextual native ads and sticky anchor ads are among the features available. 
• Recommend for: Websites with a lot of traffic from the United States are recommended. 
• Payment: NET 30 days
• Additional Note: Moderately simple approval policy, but your website must be in English, and a significant portion of your traffic must originate in the United States and Canada. Media.net performs well for specific niches. 

How to Get Started with Media.net | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Media.net-

• You need to signup with media.net using the link given below. 
• Once the signup process is complete, your site will be reviewed, and you’ll be notified once your website is approved. 
• They will share with you the ads.txt lines file, which you need to update to your existing ads.txt file. Following this, you can generate the ad tags of your choice from the dashboard.  
• Use a plugin like ‘Quick AdSense’ to place in-content ads, and you can place ads on the sidebar using widgets.

9. Ad Maven: Best Popunder Ad Network for Small Publishers

AdMaven is a particularly preferred network among publishers because they monetize every single user and impression. They provide high eCPMs, which results in increased revenues for you as a publisher. They offer native push notifications to full-screen ads, and their ad placements are easy to implement. They have a dedicated and experienced account manager that makes sure that you are on the right track.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: There are no specific eligibility criteria for Ad-Maven, and websites of any kind can be approved by the platform. 
• Features: Ad-Maven offers multiple ad formats like push, pop, interstitial, and banner. 
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended. 
• Payment: They offer flexible payment terms. You can choose your favorite way of getting paid and its duration with the account manager. 
• Additional Note: Ad-Maven works well on sites with downloads and software niches. 

How to Get Started with Ad-maven | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Ad-maven-

• You need to signup with Ad-maven using the link given below. 
• Once the signup or registration process is complete, you can ‘add a website’ under ‘sites and placement.’ Once your site is added and approved by the moderation team, you need to ‘create a new ad’ and then choose your preferred ad formats. 
• Copy the javascript code and place it just before the closing of the <body> tag on your website so that the ads can show up.

10. Propeller Ads: Best Popunder Ad Network for Small Publishers

Propellor ads help you discover the true value of your website audience. They offer push notifications which is a revolutionary monetization tool. They make sure that 100% of your traffic is monetized, and their ads are manually moderated all the time. Their ads also bypass the ad-blocking software and are known to increase revenue by at least 20%. They have MultiTag that helps you combine ad formats and get 50% higher CPM rates.

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: There are no specific eligibility criteria for Propeller Ads. The platform can approve websites of any kind. 
• Features: Propeller Ads offers multiple ad formats like push, pop, on-click ads, smart links, and interstitials. 
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended. 
• Payment: They offer weekly payouts with a minimum of $5. 
• Additional Note: Propeller Ads work well on sites with downloads and software niches. 

How to Get Started with Propeller Ads | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Propeller Ads-

• You need to signup with Propeller Ads using the link given below. 
• Once the signup or registration process is complete, you will be asked to add a website. Once your site is added and approved by the moderation team, you need to ‘add zone’ and then choose your preferred ad formats. You can choose from multi-tag, on-click (pop-under), or push notification ads. 
• Copy the javascript code and place it just before the closing of the <body> tag on your website.  

11. Impact: ​​Best Performance Marketing Network for Small Publishers

Impact helps you discover and connect with like-minded brands, review and negotiate terms and connect with them seamlessly. They help you gain access and diversify your revenue with thousands of brands. They help you drive more earnings with performance tracking and understand the value you provide and optimize the traffic. 

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: Publisher’s must-have niche and high-value traffic to convert for brands. Any geo should work as long as the traffic is converting.  
• Features: They offer direct links, banners, and native ads for lead generation. You can ensure that all your leads and conversions are counted with in-depth tracking and monitoring. 
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites with a high volume of the US or tier-one traffic are recommended with niche content across verticals like ecommerce, gadgets, software, books, coupons, etc. 
• Payment: NET 30 days
• Additional Note: Feel free to explore their marketplace to get started. 

How to Get Started with Impact | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with Impact-

• You need to signup with Impact using the link given below. 
• Once the signup process is complete, you will be taken to the dashboard.
• There are a number of merchants, and you can choose the programs you want to promote. You need to click on the ‘Apply’ button should you wish to promote the product. 
• An insertion proposal is created, and once the merchant accepts the proposal, you can access the creatives and place them on your website.

12. Google AdSense: Best Contextual Ad Network for Small Publishers

With Google AdSense, you can easily maximize revenue with multiple demand sources and channels. It helps growing publishers sell, schedule, deliver, and measure all of their digital ad inventory. 

• Eligibility Criteria for Publishers: There is no specific minimum traffic requirement, but there should be some organic search traffic coming to your website so that the AdSense team can run some traffic quality checks before approving your site. 
• Features: AdSense offers display, in-content, in-feed, native, and search ads to its publishers. 
• Recommend for: For better monetization, websites should have niche content with in-depth information. 
• Payment: NET 21 days
• Additional Note: Focus on optimizing your ad placements to increase your overall AdSense revenue. 

How to Get Started with AdSense | Code Installation Guide

Here are the steps required to get started with AdSense-

• You need to signup with AdSense using the link given below. 
• Once the signup or registration process is complete, you will be taken to the dashboard where you need to ‘add your site.  
• Once your site is submitted for approval, the AdSense team will run a few checks and get back to you confirming that ‘your site is ready to run ads.’ 
• Next, you have to copy the ad tag and place the ad codes as instructed.

If you have good traffic from tier 1 countries, you can easily earn more than $5 in CPM from the aforementioned ad networks. Make sure you work with different ad networks if you’ve more than huge traffic, like more than 1 million page views a month. This will help you diversify and maximize your revenue. Reach out to me via email at [email protected] if you need a custom setup.