Improve Earnings » The SEO Hobbyist

Here are two ad networks that I have used successfully as Google Adsense alternatives.  However, the best thing about the changes to Google Adsense’s TOS, you can now use both of these following ‘alternatives’ at the same time as Google Adsense. Remember, You can use any Ad network along side Adsense – once there is a clear difference between the two ad units. Your users should be able to clearly differentiate the two, and the best and safest way to do this is by changing colors and sizes.

Adbrite

Adbrite is one of the first ad services I used in place of Adsense. It has very similar CTR, eCPM, and Payout in my niches. One of its main benefits for beginner webmasters is that they have much more relaxed terms of services. Its easier for smaller sites or blogs to get approved and start monetizing their traffic – no matter how small. They do not have as many ad formats as Adsense but they do have the most common ones. After you add their HTML code snippet your page it can take a day or two before actual are serving relevant ads. If you can get over those minor inconveniences than it is definately worth checking out.

You share the revenue with the network, you get to keep 75% of all earnings.

Smowtion

I’ve recently learned about this international ad network called Smowtion. Some of the benefits are that these ads are great looking and have much higher CTR than my Adsense ads. The payouts were slightly lower Adsense, but as a secondary network it is great. Normally you only get to keep 60% of your earnings, but if you use this link you will get 80%. Since it is a relatively new network that is base offshores, many people are worried if it is legit or a scam. I can tell you from personal experience that they do pay.

Check this previous post if you are looking for Affiliate Partners and Direct Sale Alternatives For Adsense.

PPC Ad Networks can be a great way to monetize your website, but their value really varies depending on your content. If your blog or website is about asbestos removal, then you can average 10$ a click – but for the rest of us its much more of a struggle. On my golf blog I can sometimes get 2$ a click on golf lessons and equipment, but on some of my media sites I regularly earn less than 10 cents per click. Those numbers are regardless of the PPC network. (Adsense, Adbrite, Smowtion, Etc…)

When I realized my payouts were so slow, I wanted to find other ways to monetize my site and take full advantage of the traffic I was getting with a more balanced advertising approach.

Commission Junction:

The first alternative I found was Commission Junction. These guys are a gigantic online advertiser that specialize in affiliate marking. My favorite part about this network is that within a few minutes you can get ads from top-tier companies and websites.  My Google Adsense’s ads were frequently irrelevant – but with CJ you get to chose which companies ads to display.  I personally feel my site looks more professional when my banners are from well known companies, and way more relevant than the ads that are auto generated.

No one knows your audience better than you, and using CJ gives you the control you need to target them.

The only downside of affiliate marketing is that it can be very frustrating that after 200 clicks you still haven’t converted any sales. You have to pay close attention to your web stats and focus on the affiliate partners that are getting your highest click through rate (CTR) and adjust as necessary. As with many SEO ventures, patience once again is key.

AdvertiseSpace:

The concept of this website could not be more simple. There are NO impression requirements, eCPM, PPC, CTR, or any kind of analysis involved. All you do is set the price of what you think a banner on your site is worth and this partner helps you sell that ad space. Consider it like a web banner REALTOR®.  You register your site,  select a banner size, and a monthly price. They give you some HTML code that you insert into your page that acts just like a ‘For Sale’ sign. AdvertiseSpace makes it easy for advertisers to get their banners on your page without the headache of chasing all your third party clients for payments. The setup is very easy and they just send you payment via paypal every time you make a sale.

I am not recommending that you get rid of PPC ads all together. What I suggest is a balance of Direct, PPC, and Affiliate Ad Networks.   Personally, I kept the PPC banners in tight areas of my site that were more likely to attract clicks.  Conversely, I put the direct sale and affiliate banners in less condensed areas to increase readability.  If your content isn’t returning acceptable earnings per click – give direct sale and affiliate marking a try.