If you’re using Google AdSense to monetise your website, blog or content platform, that’s a sensible and common choice — but it’s not the only option. In many cases you can increase your revenue by adding or switching to other ad networks that better align with your traffic type, content niche, or ad-format preferences. Below we dive into several high-revenue alternatives to AdSense, highlight their strengths, limitations, and how you might choose among them.
Why look beyond AdSense?
There are several reasons publishers explore alternatives:
-
AdSense might not always provide the highest effective CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or revenue share for your region, niche, or audience.
-
Diversification reduces risk: if a network changes policy or performance drops, you aren’t reliant on one source.
-
Other networks may offer ad formats, optimisation tools or monetisation models (native, video, contextual) better matched to your audience.
-
Some networks share a higher portion of ad earnings with the publisher or allow more customisations.
By exploring other networks you can often complement AdSense rather than simply replace it — combining multiple streams to maximise yield.
Top Ad Networks Worth Considering
1. Media.net
Media.net is one of the most well-known alternatives. It is powered by the search-advertising assets of Yahoo and Bing and offers contextual display and native ad formats.
Why it can pay well: It specialises in matching ads to your content keywords which can boost click rates and relevance. Some sources report higher RPMs in specific niches compared to AdSense.
Best for: Content-rich websites (blogs, news, editorial) with substantial organic traffic and good search visibility.
Things to watch: Approval criteria can be more selective and performance varies by geography/content niche.
How to use: Place Media.net ad units in your high-traffic pages and compare RPMs side by side with AdSense to see which performs better.
2. Ezoic
Ezoic is both an ad network and ad-optimisation platform that uses AI to test placements, ad formats and layouts to maximise revenue.
Why it can pay well: By optimising the ad layout and testing combinations, Ezoic can yield incremental gains (some publishers report +30% or more over standard setups).
Best for: Sites that already have consistent traffic and are open to letting an optimisation layer manage placements dynamically.
Things to watch: There may be traffic minimums or required changes to layout, and some publishers prefer more manual control.
How to use: Integrate Ezoic, allow it to run experiments across your pages, then monitor uplift vs your baseline.
3. Mediavine
Mediavine is a premium ad-management network for content publishers. It tends to negotiate higher ad rates and offers robust optimisation and support.
Why it can pay well: It works with premium advertisers and often delivers higher CPMs for sites that meet its minimum traffic & audience quality thresholds.
Best for: Established blogs or websites with strong US/Canada traffic and at least tens of thousands of sessions per month.
Things to watch: Entry thresholds are higher than many networks; you’ll need quality traffic, good site performance and compliance with policies.
How to use: If your site qualifies, apply and see if joining Mediavine leads to improved revenue and improved ad quality control.
4. Taboola (Native / Content Discovery Ads)
Taboola specialises in native advertising and content-recommendation widgets — the “you may also like”-style modules that surface sponsored content, articles or videos.
Why it can pay well: With high fill-rates and the ability to monetise deeper in the site, it can unlock additional revenue from content discovery rather than just display banners.
Best for: Websites with high content volume, engaged users exploring multiple pages, and where native formats suit the design.
Things to watch: Implementation needs to be carefully managed to maintain user experience; native ads must still align with audience expectations.
How to use: Add the Taboola feed or widget in strategic positions (e.g., end of articles) and monitor performance and user-engagement metrics.
5. PropellerAds
PropellerAds is a versatile ad network offering a wide range of formats: banners, native, pop-unders, push notifications, interstitials.
Why it can pay well: Especially for mobile traffic, emerging markets, and “non-traditional” ad types (pop-under, push), PropellerAds can deliver sizeable RPMs when used carefully.
Best for: Websites or mobile apps with large global traffic, especially in regions outside the US/Canada, or for complementary monetisation formats.
Things to watch: Some ad formats may impact user experience or site speed; balance revenue with brand/user-experience risk.
How to use: Integrate select ad units from PropellerAds, ensure they comply with UX and layout best practices, and test performance.
Choosing the Right Mix for Your Site
-
Assess traffic quality: How much traffic comes from Tier-1 countries (US/Canada/UK/AUS)? Many premium networks pay more for those geos.
-
Match ad formats to your audience: If your users consume long articles, native/content-discovery may work well. If you have heavy mobile traffic, interstitials/push might help.
-
Monitor RPM/CPC vs user experience: Higher revenue is good, but not if it drives users away or slows your site. Keep bounce rate, page speed and ad viewability in check.
-
Split test networks: Don’t switch blindly. Run parallel tests (e.g., AdSense + Media.net vs AdSense + Ezoic) for a period and compare metrics.
-
Diversify revenue: Use more than one network. For example, keep AdSense as baseline, use Media.net for contextual ads, and add Taboola for content discovery. This reduces risk and smooths fluctuations in one network.
-
Compliance & content policy: Ensure the networks you choose accept your content type and traffic profile. Some networks have strict policies or require high-quality traffic and design standards.
-
Performance & payment terms: Verify minimum payouts, payment methods, revenue share, support responsiveness and ad fill-rate in your region.
Conclusion
While Google AdSense remains a solid foundation, exploring other high-revenue ad networks can open up new monetisation opportunities. By selecting networks like Media.net, Ezoic, Mediavine, Taboola or PropellerAds — and combining them wisely — you can potentially increase your earnings, better optimise ad formats for your audience, and reduce reliance on a single platform. Approach with data: test, monitor and refine your ad stack. With thoughtful implementation you’ll be better positioned to monetise your website effectively and scale your revenues over time.