Top 7 Best CPM & PPC Advertising Networks for Blog or Website

Best CPM and PPC Advertising Networks

Blogging is one of the well-known methods of earning a steady stream of online income nowadays.

But are you curious about how bloggers do earn money from their websites? It seems that the more readers they have on their blog, the better their earnings are.

How do they do it?

Here’s the simple answer: Affiliate marketing and Advertising are just two of the most popular methods bloggers use to gain profits from their sites.

Affiliate marketing can be thought of as subtly promoting products online. Advertising is straight-up ads in various forms on a website.

Advertising is an often-used but proven method to monetize a blog. There are different kinds of advertising out there – Cost per Click (CPC), Cost per Action (CPA), and Cost per Mile (CPM) are some of the favorites.

But today this article will focus on perhaps the most lucrative of them all – CPM.

Read on and learn more about CPM, how it works, as well as seven of the best CPM networks bloggers can use to monetize their websites.

What is CPM Advertising?

CPM means Cost per Mile – the cost paid for every one thousand displays of ads. The ads are merely shown on the websites and visitors need not click on the ads for the site owner to make money.

The number of times a specific ad gets impressions or visits will determine how much a blogger will earn from that ad.

Here’s an example to illustrate further how CPM advertising works:

An advertiser agrees to pay $10 for 1,000 ad impressions.  A blogger then expresses interest in this and displays said ad on his website. The ad is viewed 10,000 times by the blog’s visitors across the globe. For this, the blogger earns $100.

Rates for ad impressions may also depend on the countries that website visitors come from. For instance, site users visiting from the USA or Canada have higher rates than other countries.

Bloggers’ Choice:

The Seven Best CPM Advertising Networks for Blog Monetization

Bloggers might scratch their heads at the multitude of CPM networks available to them. Who’s legitimate and who isn’t? Who pays great and who pays fluff?

And bloggers can’t get it all, right?

They’ve got to choose a couple ones that will work for them somehow.

To help bloggers figure out which network is the best fit for them, here are seven of the top-notch CPM advertising networks they can consider:

1. Google AdSense

This is Google’s flagship CPM network that is most widely known and used by publishers across the globe. Bloggers use AdSense because of its safety features, quality customized ads, and ease of use.

The minimum threshold required for payout is $100 and can be received through Western Union, wire transfer, cheques, or EFT. AdSense follows Net30 payment policy which means that payments are processed and released in 30 days.

Lots of publishers want to utilize AdSense for website monetization. However, getting a website approved for AdSense isn’t that easy. Google has some strict rules and recommendations to follow such as the following:

  • Using a custom domain for the website
  • Integrating Google Analytics code to the website
  • Waiting for at least 6 months before submitting a newly-started site for monetization

Google is after the site’s quality, so it is a must to improve content and establish niche authority first before submitting the site to Google AdSense.

2. Propeller Ads

Bloggers working on several niches across various screen types like mobile, desktop, and social media are the ones who often use Propeller Ads.

It’s because this CPM network is easy to join, offers instant site approval, incorporates real-time reporting, and works well on mobile platforms and social media.

Propeller Ads utilizes several ads types such as pop-ups, pop-under ads, and dialog boxes. They give a ratio of 80:20 benefits for all their publishers.

Rates for impressions range from $1.00 to $10.00 depending on the geographical locations of a website’s visitors.

Payment is made when an account reaches a minimum threshold of $550 for wire transfers and $100 for other payout methods.

Propeller Ads follow the Net30 payout policy.

Payment methods include PayPal, PayZa, Payoneer, and wire transfers.

One downside of Propeller Ads is its frequent use of pop-ups and pop-under ads, which site visitors might find annoying and a little spammy.

Otherwise, these kinds of ads bring lucrative rates especially when they are shown in specific geographical places.

3. Media.net

Media.net is a trusted ad company that has tons of popular publisher clients such as NY Daily News, Forbes, Meredith, and Reuters.

It is a well-known contextual advertisement network since it runs Bing and Yahoo’s contextual ad platform.

Media.net is a popular choice for both small and large-scale bloggers producing high-quality content.

Media.net offers high-paying ads in multiple sizes for bloggers and publishers, as long as their sites follow these requirements:

  • Blog must be in English
  • Must contain original and high-quality content relevant to the readers
  • Blog contents must be regularly updated
  • No adult content allowed
  • Excessive advertisements not allowed
  • Chat rooms and forums not allowed in the blog or website

Once a blog gets approved, Media.net provides an account manager to help the blogger adjust the ads according to their preferences. It can also be used for monitoring revenue reports.

Bloggers need to reach a minimum of $100 to get their payouts. Payment is processed using Net30 policy and can be taken through PayPal and wire transfers.

4. Conversant Media

Conversant Media is another popular network for start-up bloggers who have great content but experience minimal traffic.

The network is legitimate and has been around for a while; it was formerly known by the name ValueClick Media. Bloggers choose Conversant Media for its toned-down site approval requirements and quality ads from large brands.

Bloggers must keep in mind the following when applying for Conversant Media approval:

Cash-out threshold is low at only $25. Conversant Media follows Net60 policy, which means payments are processed and sent within 60 days.

However, many bloggers report getting their payments as early as within 25 days. Wire transfers and PayPal are their accredited payout methods.

While this network carries ads from big brands, they may also display spammy-looking and low-quality ads from time-to-time.

But in totality, Conversant Media is a great network for start-up bloggers and those who have few site visits per month.

5. Exponential

This CPM network is among the oldest ones in the advertisement world, making it a trustworthy network for niche bloggers with high traffic sites. Exponential is also formerly known as Tribal Fusion.

Exponential boasts of high-quality CPM ads that carry great impact and are less spammy-looking. This is the reason why so many bloggers want their sites be approved by this network.

However, they carry quite strict requirements:

  • Blog must have a minimum of 500,000 visitors per month (quite a large amount of traffic needed for this)
  • Blog must have a professional-looking design commanding respect and authority in its particular niche
  • Content must be targeted yet uniquely diverse
  • Regular blog updates are required

Oftentimes, it is the high-traffic quality niche blogs that snag places in Exponential’s CPM network.

Once a blog gets approved, it enjoys highly lucrative rates as well as a variety of ad types to choose from.

Exponential’s performance is one of the most superb in the industry, assuring its bloggers an attractive online income.

A reporting system is also provided for monitoring a blog’s profits.

Payments can be requested once the account reaches a minimum of $50.

Profits can be cashed-out via PayPal and check.

Exponential follows the Net45 policy, allotting 45 days for processing and releasing of payments.

6. BuySellAds

BuySellAds is another quality CPM ad network which boasts of one of the highest publisher-advertiser sharing revenue percentages in the market.

They offer bloggers 75% of the income generated by advertisers from the websites. That’s higher compared to other networks that only give around 50-68% of the revenue to the bloggers.

Approval criteria for BuySellAds includes the following:

  • Needs a website traffic off 100,000 impressions monthly
  • Blog must be active and have fresh content
  • Must have no under construction pages on the website
  • Website must be in English

Bloggers are provided an earnings report which includes estimated earnings within a specific time range and total ad impressions currently generated.

Cash-out options for BuySellAds include Paypal, wire transfers, and checks. Payment thresholds differ for each cash-out option:

  • PayPal – $20 USD
  • Wire Transfer – $500 USD
  • Check – $50 USD

Payments are done 2-3 days after a request is made.

7. Technorati Media

Bloggers with strong social media presence may choose Technorati Media as their preferred ad network.

It’s because this company is one of the largest social media ad networks in the world, with highly targeted reputable ads to choose from.

Here are some of the requirements for a blog to be accepted by Technorati Media:

  • No adult content, gambling, and illegal activities on the proposed website
  • English-only blogs
  • No minimum traffic requirements
  • Exclusivity to the Technorati Media ad network

Exclusivity might not be a good idea for some bloggers, but if their blogs have lots of visitors and other ad networks are not working well for them, it’s worth giving Technorati Media a try.

Payments are processed using Net60 policy, with a minimum threshold of $50. PayPal and check are the available pay-out options.

Is CPM a Lucrative Way to Earn Money?

CPM is generally an easy way to monetize one’s blog or website. Earn some money from ads simply being served and shown to a blog’s readers – easy, right?

However, while one may consider CPM as the easiest and most lucrative advertising outlet for blogs, the pay isn’t really that high.

One reason is that some CPM ad networks offer low rates for their services.

Add to that the limitations imposed by geographical locations – what if a blog’s viewership is mostly concentrated in countries where CPM ad rates are low?

These things should not make bloggers discouraged, though. CPM ads is still a great way to earn money the easiest way possible.

Quickly compare CPMs to CPCs (cost per click) where a blog reader needs to click an actual ad for the blogger to gain some income, CPMs are more preferable at the very least.

So how do bloggers ensure a steady stream of income through CPM? They simply need to choose around 2-3 good CPM ad networks that fit their monetization needs, continue producing great content, and build a steady traffic towards their site.

A Quick Run-Down

To sum it all up, here are seven of the best CPM networks bloggers can choose for monetizing their sites:

  • Google AdSense – most widely used CPM network
  • Propeller Ads – for niche bloggers using several platforms like desktops, mobile sites, and social media
  • Media.net – best for all kinds of bloggers producing excellent and engaging content
  • Conversant Media – great for start-up bloggers with minimal traffic sites
  • Exponential – best for the niche bloggers with high traffic sites
  • BuySellAds – one of the ad networks with the highest revenue-sharing percentages, at 75% revenues for the blogger
  • Technorati Media – for bloggers with strong social media presence who do not mind exclusivity

CPM advertising is quite a lucrative way to gain profits for a blog site. It is imperative that the blogger chooses an ad network site that will fit his monetizing needs well.

These seven networks mentioned above all promise great quality ads, lucrative rates, ease of use, and stability that one cannot find in any other networks.