Raise your hand if you want to earn passive income with your new blog! Even though your traffic is still growing, you want to set up display ads to monetize your traffic early on.
Today I’ll show you how to make money with the best AdSense alternatives for low traffic blogs.
Because the thing is:
AdSense payouts aren’t as good as they used to be. Also, their dashboard has too many bells and whistles for most beginners.
Making money with display ads should be as easy as possible. To help you find the perfect ad network for your small website, I’m sharing with you six great Google AdSense alternatives for low traffic blogs and websites in this guide.
I’ve generated blog ad revenue with these ad networks since 2018 and I know you can do the same. If you’re looking for a long-term AdSense alternative that pays off, you’re in the right place.
Let’s dive in!
Related guides:
- How to Make Money Blogging for Beginners (The Easy Way): The Ultimate Guide
- How to Monetize Your Blog? 5 Smart Monetization Methods to Make Money Blogging
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission if you decide to purchase using my links, but at no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.
What is Google Adsense?
Google AdSense is one of the most popular and widely-known display ad networks for publishers. Most often, AdSense is what first comes to mind when publishers start thinking about display ads.
If your website meets the Google AdSense minimum requirements, you can apply to join.
AdSense then reviews your site to see whether you’d be a good partner for their ads. Usually this takes 1-3 business days.
If you get approved, you will simply place a code snippet on your website that then triggers ads on your site.
You can then adjust your ad settings to find the best configuration for your site. The fastest way to set things up is to activate Auto ads, which means that AdSense will find the best spots for ads on your site and does the heavy lifting for you.
AdSense uses a Net-21 payout schedule. This means you will receive a payout 21 days from the end of the month that money was earned.
Why should you find a Google AdSense alternative for low traffic?
Although Google AdSense is still extremely popular, it’s not the best ad network for small publishers with low traffic.
Their dashboard and ad management tools are powerful, sure. But if you are new to display ad monetization, setting up and optimizing AdSense for your site can be cumbersome.
Let’s look at a few reasons you may want to find an AdSense alternative that’s easier to use and earns you more money:
#1: Low ad revenue for low traffic
Adsense isn’t what it used to be anymore. The network attracts so many publishers worldwide that small publishers have a hard time attracting high-paying ads.
Therefore, you need huge amounts of traffic to earn substantial passive income with AdSense.
#2: High payout threshold
The $100 minimum payout threshold means you will be waiting for your first pay check for a while.
With low traffic, your AdSense income will be pennies. Combine that with the payout threshold and you may be waiting for your first payment for 6 months or more.
#2: Tricky approval conditions
Although it’s never happened to me, I hear a lot of people having trouble getting approved to AdSense.
The exact Google AdSense requirements aren’t difficult to fulfil, but they already have enough publishers and can pick and choose as they like.
#3: Poor customer support and helpdesk
When you place ads on your blog, you will run into questions. And although the setup process isn’t too technical, it’s not a walk in the park.
Sadly, I’ve never reached an actual human being when I wanted to contact AdSense. They’ve simply grown too big to offer 1-on-1 help to their publishers.
#4: Rigid rules and policies
When it comes to setting up ads on your site, you want two things:
- Simple and quick sign-up and setup process.
- Easy tools for creating and customizing different ad units for your site.
Now, AdSense has so many options and tools that it’s difficult to know where to start. Their rules and policies are sometimes hard to understand. And since they keep updating them from time to time, you sometimes spend hours trying to find out what’s OK and what isn’t.
All in all, AdSense isn’t the most beginner-friendly display ad network for low-traffic sites out there. The best Google AdSense alternatives for your small blog offer a much more user-friendly experience overall. Plus, you will most probably make more money, too.
7 best Google AdSense alternatives for low traffic blogs
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1: Infolinks
Infolinks supports several ad types and units, making it one of the best AdSense alternatives for small blogs.
Their signup process is easy and quick. Once your site is approved, you’ll have your ads up and running in no time.
The Infolinks dashboard is easy to navigate, too. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the useful reporting tools and powerful ad customization options. You can quickly enable or disable certain ad units and types directly from your dashboard, too.
Infolinks in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: none
- Revenue share: 65%
- Payout threshold: $50 (or $100 for bank wire transfer)
- Payment schedule: Net 45
2: Monetag (formerly PropellerAds)
Monetag is a low-traffic Google AdSense alternative with a variety of somewhat unique AI-powered ad units like pop-under and interstitial ads. When your readers click a link on your blog, a new browser tab will open in the background.
Of course, pop-under ads aren’t suitable for every blog. Make sure they’re not intrusive to your readers and test the user experience thoroughly on smaller screen sizes, too. If you’re not 100% sure, use interstitials instead. They’re full-screen ads that are easy to dismiss and close.
Monetag has a low minimum payout threshold of just $5, but it depends on the payment method you choose. Thus, you don’t have to wait for ages to get your first payout. They also support several popular payout methods.
Monetag in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: none
- Revenue share: N/A
- Payout threshold: $5 (or higher depending on payment method)
- Payment schedule: Net 30
3: Media.net
Media.net has one of the largest advertiser networks you can tap into with a low traffic blog. They’re powered by Bing and Yahoo! so they can easily match you with the best advertisers in their massive network.
Media.net mainly uses text-format ads that you can customize to match the look of your website. You can implement the ad units on your site with just a short snippet of ad code.
Also, you can activate multiple ad formats to see what works best for you: contextual ads, outstream video ads, in-read native ads and standard IAB units.
Once you’re all set up and you’re seeing ads on your site, you can go back to growing your blog while Media.net earns you passive income in the background.
Media.net in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: none
- Revenue share: N/A
- Payout threshold: $100
- Payment schedule: Net 30
4: Bidvertiser
Bidvertiser is another AdSense alternative for low-traffic sites to monetize your content through a variety of ad formats. You can earn passive income through display banners, popunders, sliders, smart links, and programmatic ads.
To join Bidvertiser, your site should be at least 3 months old and feature unique content published regularly. Also, you should have some traffic already and that traffic has to be high-quality.
So how does Bidvertiser work? Bidvertiser uses a bidding campaign system rather than automatic ad placement. Thus, Bidvertiser sells display ad space on your blog or website to the highest-paying advertiser.
If you’re looking to monetize your site the easy way, you will love Bidvertiser’s intuitive ad customizer, their reasonable approval requirements, and flexible payouts.
Bidvertiser in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: N/A
- Revenue share: N/A
- Payout threshold: $10 (PayPal)
- Payment schedule: Net 30
→ Sign up with Bidvertiser here
5: Skimlinks
Skimlinks is an affiliate marketing ad network for bloggers and publishers with high or low traffic. Compared to the other AdSense alternatives for low traffic in this guide, Skimlinks allows you to earn a commission each time a reader makes a purchase through a link on your site. Thus, you will earn money from purchases instead of clicks.
So how does Skimlinks work? Skimlinks scans your content and turns all your links into affiliate links automatically. You will get full access to over 50 affiliate networks and 48,500 merchants and their affiliate programs, all in one place. Hence, you don’t have to join the affiliate programs and set up accounts with each individual merchant separately.
Hence, if you write a lot of product reviews, comparisons, and gift guides, Skimlinks makes monetizing those product links a breeze.
Skimlinks in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: N/A
- Revenue share: N/A
- Payout threshold: $65
- Payment schedule: N/A (at least 92 days from the transaction date)
6: Sovrn
Sovrn is one of my personal favorite AdSense alternatives for low traffic websites. Their Sovrn Commerce program allows you use their in-text advertising tools to convert normal links into affiliate links. If a reader buys a product through your link, you earn a referral commission.
For instance, let’s say you write a lot about cameras. In one of your posts, you mention your new “Canon EOS 5D”.
Sovrn will pick up on this and convert it into an affiliate link. You don’t need to join affiliate programs for a dozen merchants and manage each individual affiliate program separately. With Sovrn, you will gain access to their full pool of 30,000 merchants and they do all the heavy lifting for you.
Needless to say, Viglink is one of the best ad networks for any low-traffic website with product-driven content. If you write a lot of reviews and mention products on your website, give them a try.
Sovrn in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: N/A (site has to be 4 months old)
- Revenue share: N/A
- Payout threshold: $25 ($50 for wire transfers)
- Payment schedule: Net 90
7: Amazon Affiliate Program
Amazon Associates is one of the best AdSense alternatives for low traffic blogs — even though it’s not exactly a display ad network.
Monetizing your content with the Amazon affiliate program is easy and straightforward. Because Amazon sells everything you can imagine, you can promote millions of products in your content. If people can buy it on Amazon, you can make money by writing a product review, gift guide, or how-to tutorial.
The best part? Every time your readers buy anything on Amazon via your links, you earn up to 10% in commission. Even if you’re linking to a slow juicer and they buy fishing equipment instead, you’ll earn money.
Amazon Associates in a nutshell:
- Minimum traffic requirement: N/A
- Revenue share: N/A
- Payout threshold: $10 ($100 for check payouts)
- Payment schedule: Net 60
→ Sign up with Amazon Associates here
FAQ: Google AdSense alternatives for low traffic
Display ads are those images or text ads you see on websites. They’re how businesses reach potential customers and website owners monetize their content. When someone sees or clicks on an ad on your site, the display ad network pays you a small amount of money. The more traffic and clicks you get, the more money you can earn. Using display ads on your site means that you will essentially sell space on your website for advertisers to promote their products.
While Google AdSense is fantastic for big websites, it might not be the best fit when your site is new and you have low traffic. Some AdSense alternatives are more relaxed about traffic numbers, offer better rates for smaller sites, and have a lower minimum payout threshold. Also, managing and optimizing your AdSense ad units can be technically cumbersome while the best AdSense alternatives offer a more beginner-friendly dashboard.
Finding the best ad network for your site boils down to your website’s niche, traffic, and your personal preferences. Some networks specialize in specific industries like lifestyle sites, while others have a universal reach. I recommend starting with Monetag or Infolinks, but you should also experiment with different options to find what works best for you.
It depends on several factors: your website niche and traffic sources, seasonalities, the ad network’s rates, and how you place your ads. Realistically speaking, you can expect to earn $1–10 per 1,000 pageviews. If your traffic is low, your ad revenue will be small but it will grow as your traffic numbers ramp up. In general, display ads will not make you rich overnight with low traffic, but it can provide a steady passive income stream that grows with your site.
Payment schedules vary between ad networks. Some pay weekly while others pay monthly. Most often, you will receive a payout between 30 and 90 days after the end of the month when you earned that revenue. When your traffic is low, pick an AdSense alternative with a low payout threshold. That way, you will receive your first payout relatively quickly. For example, Monetag has a $5 payout threshold and a flexible payout schedule.
There are several ways to increase your display ad earnings. Most importantly, focus on growing your website traffic by publishing new content regularly, following best practices for SEO, and using Pinterest to drive free traffic to your site.
Yes. You must comply with copyright laws, advertising regulations, and privacy-related legislation in your country and area. Make sure you have the necessary permissions to display ads on your website. Also, disclose any affiliate relationships clearly and make sure your visitors have the option to opt out from seeing personalized ads on your site.
Final thoughts: Best Google AdSense alternatives for low traffic websites and blogs
There ya go! These top Google AdSense alternatives for low traffic blogs should help you set up your display ads easily.
If you’re not sure which network to join, start with Monetag. They’re easy to set up and the dashboards are easy to use. Once your site is approved, you’ll have your ads running in no time.
Over time your blog traffic will grow as you publish more content. To grow faster, learn Pinterest marketing and master Google SEO to drive more visitors to your site. Once you hit 10,000 monthly visitors, you can join a managed ad network. They offer 1-on-1 support and more powerful monetization tools with higher payouts.
For example, when I switched from AdSense to Monumetric on my first blog in 2019, I made 10 times more in ad revenue. Check out my full Monumetric review for more details.
Which Google AdSense alternative will you go for? How’s your experience been so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Keep learning:
- 10+ Best Ad Networks for Bloggers (With High Payouts)
- 15 Smart Tips to Increase Your Display Ad Income Right Now
