Alternatives to AdSense - An Overview

Most independently owned websites start out using AdSense ads. Why? For starters, no one wants to sell their own ads. It’s time consuming and likely to be fruitless given the amount of traffic most new websites start out with.

AdSense is also one of the two big cpc ad-networks that everyone’s heard of (the other being Yahoo! Search), and Google is a reliable name that people trust. But after awhile you may feel like exploring the hundreds of other networks out there. …Or maybe not.…

Google provides excellent reporting tools, analytics services, multiple ad format options and the option of both revenue-per-click (RPC) and ‘referral’ revenue models. All in all, Google AdSense is a great place to start.

But there are many other options out there — some of which may generate higher revenues for publishers, depending on site content, traffic and a number of other factors. (This site uses AdSense by the way - ed).

How many other options are there? As of the date of this post, I know of over 200 competing ad networks (and there are probably more). Of course, not all of them are CPM based networks like Google. There are affiliate networks like Commission Junction, and Linkshare. There are contextual networks like AdBright and AdKnowledge. There are networks that cater to the grey areas of advertising, like PayPerPost and PointRoll. And there are networks that focus specifically on shopping and product comparison like Shopping.com and PriceGrabber.

This is by no means a complete, or a comprehensive list. I also haven’t included any of the many niche oriented and foreign language networks.

Traditional CPM Based Networks

* 24/7 RealMedia
* Accelerator
* AdAgency1
* AdConion
* AdDynamix / Pennyweb Networks
* AdOrigin
* AdPepper
* AdSmart
* Adtegrity
* Ampira Media
* Bannerconnect
* BannerSpace
* BlueLithium
* BURST! Media
* Casale Media
* Claxon Media
* Click Agents
* Copernic (Formerly MammaMedia)
* CPX Interactive
* Federated Media
* Gold Group
* Gorilla Nation Media
* IAC Advertising
* InterClick
* Interevco
* Joetec
* Oridian
* Premium Network
* Quake Marketing
* Quin Street
* RealCastMedia
* RealTechNetwork
* Revenue.net
* Right Media
* Rydium
* The Robert Sherman Company
* TMP
* Tribal Fusion
* Valuead.com
* ValueClick
* Yes Advertising
* HyperBidder


Affiliate Marketing Networks

* Advertising.com
* Amazon.com
* Axill
* Azoogle Ads
* ClickBank
* ClickBooth
* ClickXChange
* Commission Junction / BeFree
* CoverClicks
* DarkBlue
* DrivePM
* emarketmakers
* Linkshare
* Maxbounty
* Meta Reward
* ProfitCenter
* Revenue.Net
* ShareASale
* Strategic Affiliates
* WebSponsors

Contextual Advertising Networks

* Google AdSense
* Yahoo! Publisher Network
* AdForce
* AdHearUs
* AdKnowledge
* AdSonar
* Affiliate Sensor
* All Clicks
* AllFeeds

In some later posts I’ll be detailing specific features and experiences with specific networks, but in the meantime if anyone has any first hand experience with any of them — or some data for comparison — feel free to comment below and tell us what works and what doesn’t. I think it’s pretty safe to say that no one is going to try all of them, so it would be great to have some feedback from others.