Google AdSense has been revolutionary in terms of providing a way for webmasters to earn revenue from their web sites, particularly for smaller businesses. But are there any good alternatives to Google AdSense?
It is not usually a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, so you should identify several alternatives. By doing this you may even discover an alternative that is more lucrative for your site, and at the very least you will be prepared in case something happens to AdSense.
Let’s look at some of the best alternatives to Google AdSense advertisements on your web site.
Chitika
Instead of displaying the same old advertising units with text and image ads, Chitika provide active boxes that show targeted products from various manufacturers. Chitika boxes can even show an ad box containing a product alongside several competitors’ products.
Yahoo! Publisher Network
At the time of writing this Yahoo! Publisher Network is still in Beta mode but once it is fully released it should be a viable alternative to Google AdSense. As with AdSense you can provide your web visitors with contextual ads. Yahoo conveniently offers four ways to receive payment including PayPal. That will be welcomed by many international webmasters who grow old while waiting for US checks to arrive and then get cleared through their banks.
Sell Advertising Spots
This is a traditional alternative, but it is still a good one. If you have a strong customer base you should be able to find advertisers to purchase advertising spots on your web site. You can sell spots by the month and offer a discounted option for six and twelve months.
Write Affiliate Advertisements
If you don’t want to spend time trying to attract traditional advertisers you can make your own ads for affiliate products. Check out the thousands of products at ClickBank or Commission Junction. Select several products that closely match your visitors’ interests. Now write affiliate ads, or use image ads with your own affiliate link.
CBprosense
If you don’t want to manually write your own affiliate ads for ClickBank products then you could consider automating the process with CBprosense. It is a tool that will spider your site, analyze its content and then deliver a list of relevant links to the best performing products in the ClickBank marketplace.
These are five of the best alternatives to Google AdSense advertising. There are many more and several that promise to deliver contextual ads. However I suggest that whenever you are considering an alternative that promises contextual ads, do a quick check through your favorite search engine or webmaster forum to see if anyone is actually making any revenue by using their service. It is one thing to promise the technology, and another altogether to have sufficient advertisers to constantly deliver appropriate ads to your site.
If you use Google Adsense or a similar program to display adverts on your site, you could be missing out on a lot of money.
- Google don't give you all the money they get from their advertisers.
- Savvy advertisers bid lower for the content network (i.e. your site)
- Most advertisers make a profit on their ads
Once your site is established and starting to earn some cash from Adsense, you should be looking to cut out the middlemen and earn more money for yourself.
Or you could be forced to make the change if Google in their infinite wisdom decide that you have been committing click fraud and ban your Adsense account.
Even if you have no intention of changing from the "easy money" route of Adsense, it pays to know that there are other systems out there.
Yahoo and Microsoft both offer Adsense alternatives but these are like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. You're swapping one faceless system for another similar one.
To make more money from alternatives to Adsense, you should join one or more of the main affiliate networks.
If your site fits with the profile of their products then Clickbank is quick and easy.
But if your topic is outside Clickbank's range, then you should look at places like Commission Junction. There, you'll find a dazzling array of people who are willing to give you a commission for sending buyers or enquirers to their sites. And if none of their publishers fit your site's profile (which is highly unlikely) then you can always select the programs from eBay and specialist magazine and book publishers.
All that's left then is to put the adverts into sensible blocks on your site.
