People often ask me how I turned blogging and affiliate marketing into a full-time business. I usually give them just broad and high-level directions because I save my in-depth answers for the crowd that is actually serious about blogging. Over the years, the Stream SEO community has grown into a credible space where bloggers or entrepreneurs can learn and understand about SEO and Social Media Marketing techniques through my journey and adventures in the field.
Like many of you are aware, I worked in the tech space for close to 7 years. However, I wanted more than what my job offered me—I wanted financial freedom while being able to enjoy my life. So, I finally took the decision to get into blogging full-time in 2013, and I haven’t looked back since.
One thing I can tell you from my experience is that success doesn’t come overnight. Neither does it come without any initial investment. When I started out, I spent all my hours and days looking for the right methods to make money online. For me, investment came in the form of time and zero initial earnings for the first months.
Over the course of my research, I came across several ways to make money online. I tested several ad networks and wrote paid content for brands. All my experiments and research led to the same conclusion – AdSense alone just isn’t enough, especially when they ban you and you’ve got no ways to complain or solve the issue. I needed another ad network alongside AdSense for me and my readers that would give me high returns and account support so that I could really focus on creating content. So, when I discovered Media.net 2 years ago, a platform that was giving me exactly what I needed, I jumped at the opportunity and signed up. And I am so glad I did. Media.net has changed the way I monetize some of my websites and I’m better for it.
I’ve been asked before why I prefer Media.net over other ad networks, so I thought I’d share my reasons in a blog post.
Here’s presenting the top 6 reasons I believe you should switch to Media.net.
#2 largest contextual advertising business in the world
By revenue, Media.net is the second largest contextual advertising platform in the world. Since Media.net has exclusive access to the Yahoo! Bing network of advertisers, as a publisher you will get access to over $6 billion worth of search demand. This ensures that no matter how narrow or broad your niche is, Media.net will always have quality advertisers for your content.
This also meant I could scale by monetization strategy with them. Media.net’s client roster includes some of the best of the publishers in the business like Forbes, Elle, Reuters, Kiplinger, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Daily News, Esquire, Seventeen and many more. So, you can be sure that you’re in good hands. If you’re looking for the best Adsense or Facebook Audience Network Alternative put it simply Media.net is your best choice as well.
Account support
I realized early on that if I intend to spend substantial time creating engaging content, I would require account support in terms of ad optimization. It was one of the primary reasons I signed up with Media.net. And I’m happy to say I got what I want. All I have to do is shoot an email to Media.net’s account support and I know that my problem will be taken care of. If you’re new to the space of monetization, account assistance to guide you through the nitty-gritties is a blessing.
I literally have an account manager I can reach every day. You might not think this is something you need until one day you face a problem or a complete ban with Google or Facebook and you’ll go crazy as you won’t be able to contact them easily and even if you do they might never reply back…
Relevant ads
While I knew I wanted to serve ads on my website, I also knew I did not want to ruin my site’s user experience with irrelevant ads. Media.net offers ads that are contextually relevant in nature. This means, Media.net will only display ads that are in line with the content of your webpage. So, if your website is about travel and tourism, Media.net will display ads within that sphere. This is paramount if your users are averse to spammy and in-your-face ads. None of such ads with Media. Net – they really put your UX above everything else.
Your website’s traffic most preferably come from Tier1-Tier2 countries as that’s where Media.net has better ad monetization.
Native experience
I believe that the best kind of ads are the ones that add value to a user’s experience. This is why I was sure that I would only serve native ads. Ads offered by Media.net are designed to match the look and feel of your website. This ensures that your user has an uninterrupted experience. In fact, their native ads are designed to be responsive for mobile as well, which means more revenue for you.
Works well with other ad networks
Media.net is nothing if not compatible through and through. Apart from being compatible across devices, Media.net is also compatible with other ad networks. This means, you can deploy Media.net ads without any negative impact to your current revenue strategy. Some other networks can be very picky when they realize you use more than 1 monetization option in your website.
You can customize your way to success and they pay on time
I believe that customization makes all the difference. Ads need to match not only your website’s layout but also its color scheme to look truly native. And this is what I like about Media.net. – the option to customize to the tee. You can create custom ad sizes that aren’t available with other ad networks. You can also choose from a plethora of ad types like desktop interstitial ads, in-content ads, mobile docked ads and below the article ads.
Media.net has been paying on time ever since I started working with them almost 2 years ago. If you remember from my Media.net review, I was earning around $400 per month back then.
This is the latest payment received in September 2018:
Obviously it hasn’t been like this all the time. My earnings have gradually grown over time. Just in 2018 my earnings have more than duplicated in the last 9 months. As you can see they always pay between the 26 and 30th of each month (they pay NET 30 but sometimes payments arrive a few days earlier than expected).
I find monetizing with Media.net effortless. It’s a great option if you’re looking to make enhanced revenue.
In fact, you can sign up here and get an additional 10% for 3 months. Try them out. I hope you fulfill your revenue aspirations with them just as I did.
Talk to you in the next one 🙂
James says
We recently tested using the MediaNet script tag in a sample page in our site. Indeed, MediaNet show ads that are “relevant” to the site content. However, upon clicking the ads to check if they are truly related to the content, the page of the ads were of a completely different and unrelated category. I am interested in gaining revenue, but if a visitor clicks on the ads and thinks they were tricked into clicking a spam ad, this duplicity will reflect on our site. So now I am leaning towards avoiding MediaNet ads.
Servando Silva says
Hi James. Could you tell us what were the ads about and where did you end up going to after clicking?
This is something I haven’t seen, although honestly, you should never click your ads unless you want to get banned for fraud.
James says
Thank you for the prompt response. Our site is about geography, so MediaNet added an ad with the text “Live Street View”, “Free City Map”, and “Satellite Street View” among others. The page result upon clicking some of these ads showed “News delivered to your browser” and “10 Gorgeous Engagement Rings”, among others.
P.S. I might just as well stick to AdSense if ever this trickery is confirmed to be intended by MediaNet.
Servando Silva says
I see.
They might not have a great inventory for a geography site and this might be the reason, but who knows honestly.
if you have an Adsense account though, you’re golden 🙂
Lecily says
Hi, am doing research on ads and sources of traffic since am about to start blogging, your post has really helped me
Servando Silva says
Glad it helped you, Lecily 🙂
Deepak choudhary says
I get daily 2k USA traffic from bing. What do you think how much money I can earn.
Servando Silva says
It depends on the niche, but you have a good site and you should test it for yourself 🙂
Pravin says
Hii There,,
My Name Is Pravin and I run blogging and marketing sites..
now my site is 1 month old but when I apply for the media.net my site was 20 days old and guess what they approved it in 2 days, that time approximately I receiving 20-30 page views from Pinterest.
but now I have 100-250 pageviews per day…
In 3 days I received 1100 pageviews…
so how can I calculate CPM and RPM??
Servando Silva says
In short words, you can’t.
You don’t calculate CPMs. The ad networks do it for you based on your performance. You can calculate an estimate based on the performance you’re having nowadays but real results will only be shown once you test your traffic and see how much you earn with the network you’re working with.
So, in conclusion, split test and see the results for yourself 🙂 Why wait?
Keith says
Hey Servando,
Great post, I enjoyed the read.
Is Media.Net a CPM or CPC based monetization model? Currently, I’m seeing nearly 4K unique visitors a day to my website. But, my site still relatively new and doesn’t have a massive amount of content (approx. 20 posts). I’m worried that even though I’ve got the traffic, I will be turned down due to a lack of content. What are your thoughts?
Servando Silva says
Media.net is more of a CPC based (like Adsense) although they calculate a CPM/RPM based on your performance.
4,000 views sound quite great if the niche is good and they’re mostly organic visits. You don’t really lose anything while applying to them.
Modestus says
Hi, I usually have 2,000 to 3,000 daily page views how much can I make with that using media.net ads network?
Servando Silva says
It depends on the geo and niche of your site.
The easiest way to know for sure is by doing a test for a week or so.
Edem Buameh says
Awesome review on Media.net
I have a question though
Have you stopped using them?
Because it looks like you aren’t using them on your blog
I also want to know which Ad Network will be best for my entertainment website Adsense earnings just doesn’t seem enough for me even though it’s not that bad
Servando Silva says
I haven’t stopped using them. I use them for my other blogs where I show ads.
I don’t like showing ads in this blog though.
As for the ad netowrk for your site, what kind of traffic and what geos is it coming from?
Ramesh says
What is your RPM is Media.net ??
If you not tell us . please tell us approx average RPM…
Servando Silva says
I can tell you some averages I’ve seen. It all depends on the niche and country so it can change a lot. I’ve seen as low as $1-2 COM and as high as $8-10 CPMs.
Usually tier 1 countries yield the higher ROIs.
Priyanka Mahajan says
google adsense not replying to my application now I applied for Media.net
unowp says
Nice article buddy. Meanwhile, Media.net is not approving my blog 🙁
Servando Silva says
What did they say?
Does your blog has mainly tier 1 geos traffic and decent numbers already or is it new?
Dane says
I am pleasant for reading your review. I wish I could create an account on media.net.
Traroth says
Hi Servando!
I have been a long time fan, but have yet to comment. I decide to do that because I really want to know the answer based on your experience.
It is suck that I just start and could not meet its requirement yet. I would reapply after my website reach that requirement. However, I have some questions:
1. Do you recommend using Media.net with Adspyglass?
2. I have tried to follow your instruction, to monetize my mobile traffic with FAN, and my web traffic with various Ads Network like Propeller, and hopefully, Adsense and Media.net when I reach their requirement. However, I could find any where to do that. Could you help create an article for that?
Servando Silva says
Hi Traroth. Don’t worry, I received your comment.
1. I’m not sure if Adspyglass supports Media.net, but I have found a very good company that does (and also supports Adsense and other big networks) called Ezoic. I’ll write a review about it next week.
2. What’s the part of information you couldn’t find exactly?
Traroth says
Thanks a lot. The problem with the number 2 is that I am a amateur when it comes to blogging and monetization. I could not find the step by step how to monetize mobile traffic with FAN and Web traffic with other Ads Network like Media.net . Is there any article for that?
Servando Silva says
We already have a guide on how to monetize with FAN here in the blog.
And i’m sure there are many guides for similar networks if you google the as well.
Traroth says
Thanks, Servando. You are the best. 🙂
Manoj says
This’s an inspirational post. I am using AdSense now and looking for the best alternative to replace it. Definitely, I will make a try.
Thanks for the detailed writing,
Servando Silva says
Let us know how it does for you 🙂
Ideally you can use them both at the same time so I would test that as well.
Sananth Kumar says
Your artical was so good to read.
Vlad says
Excellent article. Have been using a number of different platforms… and have not heard of this one. Will definitely give it a try.
Ayman says
Will it pay well if I have a website that gets all traffic from FB only?
Servando Silva says
They pay reasonably for social traffic. organic traffic always pays better for ads but make a test and see if it works for you and your costs.
Simon says
Media.net They Accepte duplicate contents ?
Servando Silva says
To be honest I’m not sure.
We never use duplicated content for our sites.
Jon says
Hello. What are the requirements to be a publisher in this network?
Regards.
Servando Silva says
Hi Jon.
You can check more details about it in my full review.
Fran says
Hi,
Is this payment for one blog or more? Can you share more info about? For example… visits per month, monthly costs of writters, num of articles per month, etc.
If it is with one blog, 2500$ is great but I would like to know the costs too and if if you are only using seo or paid traffic too to get the traffic.
Thanks.
Servando Silva says
Hi Fran.
Ad networks don’t like us to share the exact numbers but I can tell you some details.
It’s mostly one blog (90%). It’s got 40k visits per month aprox. No cost of writers as I do that myself and the posts are ranked in Google so we haven’t written any new posts literally in months.
The major cost of the blog is the server which costs $10 per month plus a few Facebook ads ($150-200) we run for email leads.
Paid traffic goes straight to a landing page for lead generation so all the traffic that’s monetized with Media.net is either organic or direct.
Best Regards 🙂
Fran says
Thanks Servando.
I know that you are not going to tell some things. It is logical.
You say that posts are ranking in google so for that, have you done some seo to the site?
Anyways congratulations for your site that with little costs have such results…
Can i put media.net in a new site without traffic? Only for english sites? I am spanish.
Regards,
Fran
Servando Silva says
Hi Fran.
Sure, most of my sites either are focused on SEO traffic or ads from FB or other networks. No point on having a site nobody reads 🙂
If your site has no traffic what’s the point of showing ads? I’d first focus on building traffic and getting some traction before trying to monetize it.
As for your last question, Media.net mostly accepts english sites.
Best Regards.
sian says
Can I use paid traffic as media.net publisher??
Servando Silva says
Yeah, they will monetize it as well, although the quality of your paid traffic is going to make a huge difference here.