Ad monetization is one of the most lucrative ways to earn income from a website. In 2022, global ad revenue was estimated at $800 billion and projected to top a whopping $1 trillion by 2026. This article will teach you how to tap into the enormous advertising market, the different ad formats for publishers, and how Adsterra can help you maximize your website’s revenue.
What is ad monetization?
Ad monetization simply means generating revenue for your website or app by placing ads on your website. You monetize your traffic by showing advertisements to your viewers in exchange for payments from the advertisers. Learn more about how to get paid for advertising.
This is extremely simple at face value. But maximizing your ad revenue can be challenging.
To Contents ↑What are the uses of ad monetization?
Ad monetization enables publishers to earn income from their websites or apps. It also allows advertisers to gain exposure to the publishers’ audience. The businesses pay to place their ads within your content and get acquainted with your target audience, some of whom may convert into customers. You can use this monetization method exclusively or combine it with other methods.
Ad Monetization Models
Most digital platforms structure their ad monetization strategy in two ways, either primary income or supplemental income. The first category makes money only through advertising, while the other one earns money from ads and other methods like subscriptions, in-app payments, etc.
Whichever model to adopt depends on your type of platform and revenue goals. For example, most news websites use the primary income model, while most mobile games use ads as supplemental income. Either way, both strategies can earn you considerable revenue if you play your cards right.
To Contents ↑Types of ad units
There are various types of ad units to put on your site. The ad network you choose should be able to give you a list of which ones they support. In the meantime, you can read about the common ad formats below.
Popunders
Popunder ads appear on the full screen in a new browser window or some alternative mechanics. The user only sees the ad after closing the main window. This type of ad is a tactic to address ad blindness, wherein people overlook ads placed in predictable positions. It’s also a great way to reach people who find ads intrusive and install ad blockers to sidestep them.
In-Page Push
Traditional web push notifications are displayed on a user’s desktop or mobile device. In-Page Push ads look similar but are shown directly on the website like a Banner ad. They appear at the top or bottom of a website as a user scrolls down. Publishers like this type of ad because it is less intrusive than web push ads.
Adsterra is a lucrative ad network with thousands of advertisers. You can join our network and start earning income from your content today.
To Contents ↑Interstitials
Interstitials are full-screen ads that cover the entire interface of their host website, either desktop or mobile. When users see the ad, they can either tap on it or close it and return to what they’re doing. You would find this ad unit more in mobile apps, especially games formerly, but now it’s one of the top formats for websites and blogs.
Native Ads
Native Ads match the look and feel of the website or app they’re hosted on. They are so cohesive with your content that users may not even notice that it’s an ad. For example, on a news website, it’ll appear just like another article the reader can click on. Nativity is also about matching user interests. Ads could appear as something your website users might also like along with your content. For instance, gamers usually consume software offers well, and soap opera lovers might willingly read sensational news about celebrities. Because of their nature, Native Ads expose your users to promotional content without disrupting their flow.
Takeover ads
Takeover ads wrap around your entire app or website’s content, creating a border effect. The whole ad space is usually taken over by a single brand seeking exclusive exposure to your users.
The advertisers who seek this type of ad tend to be high-profile and pay top dollar. But, the disadvantage is that this type of ad is best suited for big publishers with a premium audience rather than small ones.
To Contents ↑Banner ads
Banner ads are static or dynamic images displayed on your site to draw a user’s attention to the advertiser. It usually has a clickable link that leads to the advertiser’s website. You’ll likely see it in a rectangular or square shape at the top, bottom, or side of a website. This is the most common form of advertising for all websites and apps.
Offerwall ads
Offerwall is a creative form of advertising. It allows users on a mobile app to take advantage of an offer to earn in-app rewards. It could be a video, survey, purchase, account registration, etc. The most common place you’ll encounter this type of ad is in mobile games, where the player is prompted to watch an ad to level up or continue from a part where they failed.
Video ads
As the name suggests, this type of ad appears in the form of short and informative videos that promote a particular brand to your readers. The videos can be embedded within your own video content or placed in written articles.
This ad format tends to draw the user’s attention more than other types of ads, which makes advertisers pay more for it. The downside is that this type of ad can be distracting, especially if you set it to play automatically.
Sticky or adhesive ads
Sticky or adhesive ads stay in place even as the user scrolls past the initial contact point. The stickiness ensures that the user will likely view the ad even if they don’t interact with it.
This type of ad gets more engagement, but it can interfere with the user experience or obstruct your site’s content in an annoying way. So, endeavor to place it in an unobstructed position and test it to confirm before deployment.
Adsterra supports many ad formats that can earn you significant income, including Popunders, Native Banners, Display Banners, In-Page Push, Interstitials, etc. These formats help you make more profits than you’d do on other networks.
To Contents ↑How to get started
There are many ad networks you can choose from. One of them is Adsterra which offers many ad formats and has an extensive network of advertisers that can give you good revenue. Follow these steps to sign up on Adsterra:
- Head to Adsterra.com and click the Sign Up button at the top-right corner.
- On the pop-up menu that appears, click Get Started as a Publisher, and you’ll be led to another webpage.
- Fill out the form and sign up. You will need to verify your email address, so please check the inbox after filling out the form.
- Afterward, you’ll need to provide information about the website you want to monetize and wait for Adsterra’s approval.
- If approved, you can place an ad code on your website or app, and ads from Adsterra’s network will automatically appear on it. Congrats! You have started earning revenue.
Optimizing revenue generation
As you grow your website, you’ll need to optimize the revenue that you can earn from it. To do that, you should consider two major parties — your visitors and your advertisers.
| Visitors | Advertisers |
|---|---|
| Consider what visitors want from your website. Ensure the ads you display are relevant to their needs. Be honest with visitors and provide great UX, don’t place ads too close to navigational buttons, and avoid ad oversaturation. | Consider what to do to keep advertisers happy. Be honest about your website’s metrics and avoid inflating them. In general, avoid playing tricks with the advertisers because they can easily find out and cut you off from your revenue source. |
Metrics to watch
Important metrics for publishers to watch out for include:
- Session depth — The number of pages that a visitor views in a single session.
- Session length — The amount of time a visitor spends on your website in one session.
- Bounce rate — The number of visitors who leave your site without any interaction.
- Click-through rate — The percentage of ad views on your site that lead to a click on the advertiser’s webpage.
- Video completion rate — The percentage of video ads that were watched to their ending.
Conclusion
Advertisements are a profitable source of income for every website. They enable you to offer your content for free yet earn money from it. You can choose any ad network, but we recommend Adsterra because it supports many ad formats that’ll help you maximize revenue from every aspect of your website.
Unlike other ad networks, there’s no minimum traffic required to sign up on Adsterra. You can start earning regardless of your traffic level and increase your revenue as your traffic grows.
FAQs
How do you monetize your website with ads?
You first need to select an ad network for your website. Then, you’ll have to apply to the network and wait for your approval. Once approved, you can place the ad network’s code on your site, and it’ll automatically insert ads where you put the code. You’ll earn money whenever someone views or clicks on the ad.
What are some examples of monetization?
Advertisement is the most common type of monetization on the internet. You’ll insert ads for other brands on your website, and they’ll pay you whenever someone views or clicks on their ad. Subscriptions, memberships, and in-app purchases are other moneymaking types of monetization, but they’re harder to implement than ads.
How does ad monetization work?
After you’ve placed a code on your website, advertisements from the ad network will be automatically delivered to your visitors. Most ad networks pay you for every 1,000 ad views (CPM) or per click (CPC). Adsterra uses an eCPM ad monetization model, which means we take into account how well your traffic converts. You increase your chances to get higher payouts if users click on ads and process conversions after visiting the landing pages of the advertisers.
To Contents ↑What platform is the best for monetization?
There is no such thing as the best platform for ad monetization. The suitable one depends on several factors such as your type of site, traffic level, and revenue goals. Adsterra is an ideal platform for most websites because it’s easy to sign up on and deploy regardless of your level of traffic. You can start earning small sums and increase it as your website’s traffic grows, unlike other ad networks that have minimum traffic requirements.
