What ad network should I use if I have less than 10,000 monthly visitors?

Google AdSense. It is the only major ad network with no traffic minimum. For websites in the 0 to 10,000 monthly sessions range, AdSense is the correct starting point because it has the largest advertiser pool, easiest implementation, and no minimum requirement beyond content policy compliance. Alternatives like Ezoic are technically available at this stage but add implementation overhead that is not justified until traffic is more established.

What is the difference between an ad network and a header bidding setup?

An ad network aggregates ad inventory from multiple publishers and sells it to advertisers through a single interface, typically using a fixed CPM or waterfall prioritization. Header bidding is a technology that lets multiple buyers bid simultaneously for your inventory in real time, replacing the sequential waterfall. Most beginner publishers start with a single ad network such as AdSense, Ezoic, or Mediavine. Header bidding becomes relevant when you have enough traffic that competitive demand pressure will meaningfully improve your eCPMs, typically at 50,000 or more monthly sessions.

Can I use multiple ad networks at the same time?

Yes, but it requires a framework for managing them. The two approaches are a mediation layer, which is common in mobile apps via AdMob or MAX, and header bidding, which is common on the web via Prebid or a managed header bidding wrapper. Running two networks without a coordination layer means ad units go to one or the other based on whichever script loads first, which produces poor fill rates and no auction competition. For most publishers under 50,000 sessions, starting with one optimized network produces better results than running two without coordination.

Is Mediavine better than AdSense?

Mediavine pays higher RPMs than AdSense, often significantly higher for US-based content traffic. But Mediavine requires 50,000 sessions per month and editorial content. AdSense has no traffic minimum. They are not directly comparable because most publishers who are eligible for Mediavine should use Mediavine, and publishers who are not yet eligible do not have a choice. The more useful comparison is between AdSense and Ezoic for publishers in the 10,000 to 50,000 session range, where both are accessible and the trade-off is simpler setup with AdSense versus higher potential eCPM with more configuration overhead with Ezoic.

How long does AdSense approval take, and what are common reasons for rejection?

AdSense approval typically takes one to two weeks after content review. Common rejection reasons are thin content, which Google defines as pages with limited original value, policy violations such as adult content or deceptive navigation, insufficient original content where the site is mostly aggregated or republished text, and technical issues where the site is not accessible or not indexable. Traffic level is not a stated rejection factor, but sites with very low organic traffic often have content quality issues that are the actual reason for rejection.

What ad network should a mobile app developer use first?

Google AdMob. For mobile apps on iOS or Android, AdMob is the correct starting point, not AdSense. AdSense is a web network. AdMob uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK and supports banner, interstitial, rewarded video, native, and app open ad formats. It has no minimum traffic requirement for new apps, is free to implement, and provides access to Google's full programmatic demand. Once your app is generating at least 500,000 monthly ad impressions and you want to add competitive demand from other networks, that is when mediation becomes worth the setup overhead. Mediation means adding networks like Meta Audience Network, Unity Ads, or AppLovin to compete alongside AdMob for each impression.

How to Choose an Ad Network: A Traffic-Stage Decision Guide for Publishers

The right ad network depends on your traffic stage, content type, and platform (web vs mobile app), not on which network has the highest reported eCPM ceiling. Most beginner ad network guides are listicles that rank networks by gross potential. The honest answer is that the best network for a 5,000-session blog is different from the best network for a 50,000-session site, which is different from the best network for a 500,000-session multi-property publisher. This article gives publishers the actual decision framework operators use.

Why most ad network listicles are wrong

Search "best ad networks for publishers" and you'll get pages ranking networks by eCPM ceiling. AdX shows up at the top. Premium networks like Mediavine and Raptive get listed near the top. Smaller networks get buried.

The problem with listicle ranking: those eCPM numbers are for sites that already have 50,000+ monthly sessions in Tier 1 markets and meet specific content quality requirements. A new blog with 3,000 monthly sessions cannot get into Mediavine, Raptive, or AdX. Listing them as "top networks" without explaining the qualification thresholds means a beginner publisher reads the list, applies, gets rejected, and walks away thinking ad networks don't work.

The honest framing: ad networks have qualification thresholds. The right network for you is the one that (a) accepts your current traffic level, (b) supports your content type and geography, and (c) doesn't lock you out of upgrading later. The eCPM ceiling matters less than fit-for-stage.

The traffic-stage decision

Most publishers move through a predictable progression. Here's what fits at each stage.

Under 10,000 monthly sessions

You're not eligible for premium ad management partners (Mediavine starts at 50,000, Raptive at 100,000). Most ad networks with strong demand pools will accept you, but the absolute revenue is small enough that operational complexity isn't worth it.

Reasonable choices: Google AdSense (the default, easy approval), Ezoic (lower threshold, accepts most sites), Media.net (Yahoo/Bing demand, strong on US English content).

What to avoid: Don't waste time evaluating five networks at this stage. The revenue difference between AdSense and a niche network at 5,000 sessions is usually under $50/month. Pick one, ship ads, focus on growing traffic.

10,000 to 50,000 monthly sessions

You have enough traffic to test optimization. AdSense alone typically caps out earlier than other networks at this stage, so adding a second source can be worth it. You're still below the threshold for premium managed services.

Reasonable choices: AdSense plus a second network (Ezoic, Snigel, Newor Media), or move to Ezoic's premium tier if your traffic is growing fast enough to justify their managed service early.

What to avoid: Multi-network setups without proper mediation. Running two ad networks side-by-side without a unified auction means one network sees the impression first and the other gets scraps. The benefit of multiple networks comes from competitive bidding, which requires mediation infrastructure most beginners don't have.

50,000 to 500,000 monthly sessions

This is the sweet spot for premium managed services. You're eligible for Mediavine (50,000 minimum) and Raptive (100,000 minimum). They handle the entire ad operations layer: multiple networks, header bidding, optimization, troubleshooting. They take a cut (typically 25-35 percent) but the revenue uplift versus AdSense alone usually more than covers it.

Reasonable choices: Mediavine (50K-99K range, content-quality requirements), Raptive (100K+, formerly AdThrive), Snigel (lower threshold, more flexible), Sortable.

What to avoid: Trying to manage your own multi-network mediation at this stage. The operational complexity (header bidding setup, account management across SSPs, ads.txt maintenance, ongoing optimization) is real work. A managed service that handles it for you is usually worth the take rate.

500,000 to 5,000,000 monthly sessions

You can run direct multi-SSP mediation with a header bidding wrapper. The take rate of premium managed services starts to feel high, and you have the operational capacity (or can hire it) to manage your own stack.

Reasonable choices: Direct relationships with 3-5 SSPs (Magnite, PubMatic, Index Exchange, OpenX, AppLovin), Prebid header bidding wrapper, dedicated ad ops resource.

What to avoid: Skipping the wrapper. Without a header bidding wrapper, your multi-SSP setup is just a waterfall, which produces 30-50 percent less revenue than a real auction.

5,000,000+ monthly sessions

GAM (Google Ad Manager) becomes worth setting up. You have the volume to support direct deal infrastructure, line-item-level reporting, and floor pricing controls. Multiple ad ops resources become necessary.

Reasonable choices: GAM for primary ad serving, multi-SSP mediation, direct deal sales (in-house or via a sales house), advanced supply chain audit and optimization.

What to avoid: Treating this as something you can DIY without an ops team. The value of GAM at this scale comes from the operational sophistication, not the platform itself.

The mobile app track is different

Almost every ad network listicle is web-publisher focused. If you're a mobile app developer, the answer is mostly different.

Mobile app starting point

For native iOS and Android apps, the equivalent of AdSense is AdMob. It's Google's mobile ad network, uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK, and supports all standard mobile ad formats (banner, interstitial, rewarded video, native, app open). Setup is straightforward, approval is fast, and the integration is well-documented.

For 90 percent of new app developers, AdMob is the right starting point. It's the AdSense of mobile.

When to add more mobile networks

Once your app has consistent impression volume, adding a mediation layer with multiple networks captures meaningful incremental revenue. The major mobile mediation platforms:

AppLovin MAX: strong demand for gaming, in-app bidding support
Unity LevelPlay (formerly ironSource): strong in gaming and Unity ecosystem
Meta Audience Network: strong on social/lifestyle inventory
Pangle: strong APAC demand
Mintegral: strong in gaming, Asia-Pacific markets

Most apps don't need all of these. The decision rule is: add a network when your geo or vertical mix has demand depth that your current networks don't cover. Adding networks for adapter count is the wrong frame.

When to move to GAM for mobile

Mobile apps move to GAM when they need: line-item-level reporting on demand sources, direct deal infrastructure, floor pricing by network and format, or supply chain visibility. The threshold is operational capability and inventory volume, not session count alone.

We covered the AdMob vs AdSense vs GAM decision in detail in AdMob vs AdSense vs GAM: Which Google Ad Platform Makes More Money for Your App.

Ad network comparison: what each one is actually for

The honest version of the major web ad networks, in scope only for what they're useful for.

Google AdSense: Min traffic: None (just approval) · Best for: Default starting network for any web publisher · Take rate: ~32% (Google keeps) · What you trade off: Limited optimization, no managed service

Ezoic: Min traffic: None · Best for: Lower-traffic sites wanting platform optimization · Take rate: Variable, ~10% on managed tier · What you trade off: Their machine learning controls placement, not always optimal

Media.net: Min traffic: None (varies by content) · Best for: US-English content with Bing/Yahoo demand fit · Take rate: ~20-25% · What you trade off: Demand mostly from Yahoo/Bing, smaller pool than Google

Snigel: Min traffic: ~10,000 sessions · Best for: Mid-tier sites wanting more optimization than Ezoic · Take rate: ~25% · What you trade off: Managed tier comparable to Mediavine but smaller demand network

Mediavine: Min traffic: 50,000 sessions, content quality · Best for: Lifestyle, food, travel content sites at scale · Take rate: ~25% · What you trade off: Content quality requirements are strict, application can fail

Raptive: Min traffic: 100,000 sessions · Best for: Larger sites in supported verticals · Take rate: ~25% · What you trade off: Stricter approval than Mediavine, network changes after acquisition

Newor Media: Min traffic: ~50,000 sessions · Best for: Alternative to Mediavine for sites that fit but want a smaller partner · Take rate: ~25% · What you trade off: Smaller demand network, less data

Monumetric: Min traffic: 10,000 sessions · Best for: Mid-tier content sites · Take rate: ~30% · What you trade off: Setup fee for the highest tier, small print on the contract

Sortable: Min traffic: ~500,000 sessions · Best for: Larger publishers wanting direct demand control · Take rate: ~10% · What you trade off: Self-service, requires technical capacity

For mobile apps, the equivalents:

AdMob: Best for: Default for any iOS/Android app · Notes: Google's mobile ad network, uses GMA SDK

AppLovin MAX: Best for: Gaming and in-app bidding · Notes: Strong network, supports bidding mode

Unity LevelPlay: Best for: Unity-built games, broader gaming · Notes: Used to be ironSource, merged with Unity

Meta Audience Network: Best for: Apps with social/lifestyle audience · Notes: Strong demand on lifestyle verticals

Pangle: Best for: Apps with APAC traffic · Notes: TikTok-affiliated demand pool

Mintegral: Best for: Gaming apps in Asia-Pacific · Notes: Strong on rewarded video and gaming

Red flags when evaluating any ad network

Across publisher conversations I see, the same warning signs come up:

1. They guarantee a specific RPM. No legitimate ad network can guarantee RPM. RPM depends on traffic mix, demand, ad density, and dozens of other factors the network doesn't control. A guarantee is either a marketing lie or a price floor wrapped in different language. Either way, it's a red flag.

2. They won't disclose the take rate. The percentage of gross they keep is the most important number in the relationship. If they can't tell you upfront, they're hiding it. Walk away.

3. They want a long contract before live data. Reasonable networks let you test before committing. If the contract requires a 12-month exclusive before any traffic flows, the contract itself is the product, not the demand.

4. The application is suspiciously easy. AdSense and Ezoic accept most sites. That's normal. Premium networks have real qualification thresholds. A network that approves you instantly with no traffic check is usually a low-quality demand pool that won't pay much regardless.

5. Their reporting is locked in their dashboard with no export. If you can't pull data into your own reporting stack, you can't audit them. Insist on data export at minimum.

6. They serve ads from networks you've never heard of. Major networks publish their demand sources publicly. If your network's "demand" is a long list of obscure exchanges, the demand quality is probably poor and the supply chain is probably opaque.

7. They block specific industries you trust. Some networks have content restrictions. That's fine. But if a network refuses to disclose their list of blocked industries, the policies are probably arbitrary and could remove you from monetization with no warning.

How to actually pick

The decision framework, in order:

Confirm your traffic level. Your current monthly sessions determines which networks accept you. Be honest about the number. Some networks check traffic during application.
Confirm your content type. Lifestyle, food, finance, gaming, news, and other verticals have different demand. Premium content networks (Mediavine, Raptive) prefer specific verticals. Generic content networks (AdSense, Ezoic) accept most.
Confirm your geography mix. US/UK/AU/CA/DE traffic earns more than Tier 3 markets. Some networks specialize in non-Western traffic (Pangle for APAC, InMobi for India). If your traffic is heavily non-Western, network choice matters more.
Pick the one network that fits your stage. Don't try to evaluate five at once. Pick one based on the stage table above. Implement it. Run it for 30 days.
Add a second network only if you have mediation infrastructure. Two networks without mediation is one network with overhead. Either invest in a header bidding wrapper or use a managed service that handles mediation for you.
Audit quarterly. Review what's actually contributing net revenue. Networks that don't pull weight should be replaced.

The biggest mistake new publishers make is trying to optimize before they have enough traffic to optimize. Below 50,000 sessions, the question of which network you use matters less than the question of how to grow traffic. Above 50,000, network choice and mediation setup start to drive meaningful revenue differences. Above 500,000, ad operations is a real discipline that needs real attention.

Frequently asked questions

What's the easiest ad network to get approved for?

Google AdSense and Ezoic are the easiest to get approved for. AdSense requires basic site quality (privacy policy, contact page, original content, no policy violations) and approves most legitimate sites. Ezoic has lower content quality requirements and accepts sites that AdSense rejects. Both are reasonable starting points. Premium networks like Mediavine (50K sessions minimum) and Raptive (100K minimum) have real qualification thresholds.

Can I run multiple ad networks at the same time?

Yes, but only if you have proper mediation infrastructure. Running two ad networks side-by-side without mediation means one network gets first dibs on every impression and the other gets scraps. The benefit of multiple networks comes from competitive bidding through a header bidding wrapper or a managed service. Without that, you're adding operational complexity without capturing the revenue benefit.

How much can I expect to earn from ad networks?

The honest answer is "it depends." For a US/UK English content site with reasonable engagement, RPM (revenue per thousand sessions) typically runs $5-30 on AdSense alone, $15-60 on premium managed services like Mediavine, and $20-80 on optimized self-managed multi-SSP setups. The wide range reflects content vertical, geography mix, ad density, and mediation quality. Mobile apps run lower per-impression but higher per-session because of multiple ad units per session.

AdMob, not AdSense. AdSense is built for websites and uses JavaScript ad tags. AdMob is Google's mobile ad network and uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK, which supports native iOS and Android apps. For 90 percent of mobile app developers, AdMob is the right starting point. We covered the full app monetization decision in AdMob vs AdSense vs GAM.

When you hit 50,000 monthly sessions. That's the qualification threshold for Mediavine. Below that, the operational simplicity of AdSense alone usually outweighs the upside of switching. Above 50,000 sessions, premium managed services typically pay 1.5x to 3x what AdSense alone does, and they handle the operational complexity for you. Raptive (formerly AdThrive) requires 100,000 sessions, and Snigel and Newor Media work at lower thresholds with somewhat lower returns.

What's the difference between an ad network and an SSP?

An ad network is a managed marketplace that handles the buying and selling of ad inventory on your behalf, takes a revenue share, and serves you a single dashboard. An SSP (supply-side platform) is the publisher's representative in the programmatic auction, charges a take rate of 10-15 percent of media spend, and is one component of a broader programmatic stack. Most beginner publishers should start with an ad network (simpler, less operational overhead). Publishers at scale typically run multiple SSPs in parallel through a header bidding wrapper, which captures more revenue but requires real ad operations infrastructure.

What to do this week

If you're starting from zero or evaluating your current setup:

Confirm your monthly session count honestly. This determines what networks will accept you and what services fit your stage.
If you're under 10,000 sessions, set up AdSense. That's the answer. Don't overthink it.
If you're between 10,000 and 50,000 sessions, set up AdSense and consider Ezoic for additional optimization. Don't try to run multiple networks yourself.
If you're between 50,000 and 100,000 sessions, apply to Mediavine. They handle the complex stuff.
If you're between 100,000 and 500,000 sessions, evaluate Raptive vs Mediavine. The choice depends on your content vertical and what each network's recent reputation looks like.
If you're above 500,000 sessions and you don't already have a dedicated ad ops resource, the priority is to hire one or work with a consultant before adding networks. The operational complexity at scale is real.

If you're not sure which stage applies to you or which specific network fits your situation, book a 30-minute call. I'll look at your traffic profile, content type, and geo mix and tell you which network or service makes the most sense.