You’ve put in the hard work building your website and have managed to grow monthly visitors. Now you're wondering — how much money can I make selling ad space and what is the best ad network for my niche?
Unfortunately, there is limited accurate public data on website earnings. Different sites publish statistics without relevant supporting data.
However, the team from Motion Invest, an online marketplace site for buying and selling websites and other digital real estate, conducted a study that analyzed data from hundreds of websites between February 2023 and August 2023 to identify trends related to EPMV and RPM.
They found the ad network significantly impacts revenue. Some networks perform better for certain niches.
So from their data, we at Partnerkin also made an analysis to identify which ad networks perform best based on the niche and why it's important to switch ad networks as your site keeps growing. Keep reading for key takeaways and findings on how to increase website revenue .
How the study was conducted
The team from Motion Invest gets access to earnings, traffic, demographics, and metrics for websites in their marketplace. They analyzed these sites to understand how much networks pay and the most profitable niches.
They studied 13 niches, analyzing 3-5 websites per niche over 6 months. They also compared EPMV for AdSense, Ezoic, Mediavine, and Raptive (formerly AdThrive). We also incorporated third-party studies and data from the ad networks.
Understanding the key metrics: RPM and EPMV
First, let’s explain two key website valuation metrics — RPM and EPMV.
Revenue Per 1000 Impressions (RPM) shows how much a website earns for every 1,000 visits. The higher the RPM, the more valuable the website traffic.
RPM includes earnings from ads, affiliate links, or products/services sold. It allows you or potential buyers to estimate current and potential earnings.
Websites with low RPM but high traffic can still interest ad networks and buyers because of untapped revenue potential.
Earnings Per 1000 Visitors (EPMV) focuses on revenue from each unique visitor.
Unlike RPM which looks at revenue per 1000 sessions, EPMV accounts for earnings per 1000 unique visitors. This depends on:
- User engagement and behavior
- Content quality
- Traffic source and demographics
- Ad layout and density
- Mobile optimization
- Audience niche and interests
- Seasonal trends
Low-value traffic means poor revenue per visit, harming EPMV even with plenty of traffic.
For this study, we compared EPMV as it offers a more accurate picture of earning potential, focusing on visitors and quality rather than just impressions.
Analyzing the best ad networks by niche
1. Google AdSense — Most used but lower earnings
Google AdSense lets you display targeted ads and earn from clicks or impressions. It's the best-known and easiest ad network to set up. But it doesn’t always offer the best rates.
It’s an excellent starting point until reaching 10,000 monthly sessions when more options become available.
AdSense makes earning easy
Google AdSense doesn’t pay top dollar but lets you monetize immediately regardless of traffic. Its popularity comes from being beginner-friendly and backed by a reputable brand.
Studies suggest that 50%+ of websites use AdSense. While great initially, there’s a clear downside...
Lower payouts across most niches
The analysis shows most niches get very low earnings through Google AdSense.
Some niches stand out, like employment ($17 EPMV) and travel ($17 EPMV). Tech websites also perform well on AdSense ($4-$10 EPMV) which is expected as tech/finance tends to be the highest earning.
However, home, pets, and outdoors perform worst across networks ($1.50-$6 EPMV), compared to $8-$15 on other networks.
A 10,000 monthly session pet website on AdSense may only earn $15/month. With that traffic, it’s paltry compared to other networks.
We have seen AdSense sites averaging over $20 EPMV. However, the data suggests sites across niches earn significantly less than on other networks. It would be wise to consider other options as soon as possible.
2. Ezoic — Great For Growing Sites
Ezoic, like AdSense, supports low-traffic websites as they grow. They have 5 levels requiring over 10,000 monthly visits and $50 monthly earnings to start at Level 1.
As your site grows, you advance levels, each with benefits and incentives. You're encouraged to apply for the next level as you approach the requirements.
With smaller average audiences, Ezoic's EPMV is lower than top-tier networks. But they help partners increase earnings with competitive rates across most niches.
Improved payments across all niches
Ezoic’s average EPMV is above $10 for most niches, outperforming Google AdSense.
Why? Unlike Google, Ezoic is a smaller brand without the same corporate resources. So they offer better rates to acquire and retain publishers/ website owners.
Ezoic also optimizes ad formats/layouts using machine learning allowing more ads per page, further lifting revenue.
Switching from AdSense to Ezoic significantly boosts EPMV
The study discovered websites previously on Google AdSense that switched to Ezoic saw an immediate EPMV jump.
The graph shows earnings increases for those sites:
A graph showing 50-300% EPMV increase when switching from AdSense to Ezoic
All sites moving from AdSense to Ezoic increased earnings between 50-300% better EPMV rates.
The Motion Invest team says that they have seen a site earning approximately $75/month on AdSense then switch to Ezoic and jump to $220/month — over 300% more! And that was with slightly lower traffic.
Here are statistics from the website that made that switch:
Initial earnings on AdSense
Earnings after switching to Ezoic
Ezoic’s niche ad revenue index determines potential earnings
Ezoic shared their Niche Ad Revenue Index displaying rates paid to publishers on different dates across niches.
The 1-100 index shows percentage increases or declines in rates based on advertiser competition, bidding and demand within a niche. Simply put, higher numbers mean greater payouts. You can use it to gauge your website’s value according to niches.
3. Mediavine — Great For 50,000+ Monthly Sessions
Once you consistently get 50,000+ monthly sessions, consider Mediavine. Mediavine has currently become the go-to advertising network for medium-large publishers wanting higher ad earnings. They recently tightened requirements, rejecting sites not meeting 50,000 monthly sessions.
Mediavine revenue distribution
Mediavine takes a 25% cut, with you receiving 75% of gross ad proceeds. Revenue share can increase from 75% by:
- 5 million+ monthly impressions - 80% share
- 10 million+ - 82.5% share
- 15 million+ - 85% share
Between loyalty rewards and bonuses, display/video revenue share can potentially reach 90%. You can learn more about Mediavine requirements here.
Strong revenues on Mediavine
Next let’s break down EPMV performance across Mediavine niches from the websites we analyzed:
A graph showing strong Mediavine EPMV performance across niches
EPMV is much higher on Mediavine than Ezoic or AdSense since sites need 50,000+ monthly sessions to qualify.
The careers/employment niche has the best RPM at $31 EPMV. The same niche was $16 EPMV on Ezoic.
If we compare earnings potential; A 50,000 monthly visitor career site on Ezoic ($16 EPMV) would make $800/month (50,000/1,000 x $16). The same traffic on Mediavine ($31 EPMV) would equal $1,550/month (50,000/1,000 x $31).
Switching a website in this niche from Ezoic to Mediavine would increase monthly revenue by almost 2x.
Though many factors play a role when signing up with Mediavine, the platform consistently pays well across all analyzed niches.
4. Raptive (AdThrive) — Highest payout for websites with 100,000+ monthly sessions
Once hitting 100,000+ sessions per month, Raptive becomes an option. Previously known as AdThrive, Raptive was built for high-volume websites.
You must also meet criteria like:
- 50%+ Tier 1 country traffic (US, Canada, UK, Australia etc.)
- Original content
- Not overly controversial or illegal topics
Their backend tools help maximize earnings once onboarded. Raptive also has an RPM guarantee that claims that they will pay the publishers higher amounts than those paid by other top advertising networks regardless of the niche.
Breaking down Raptive’s payments per niche
We expected strong performance on Raptive and that’s what the analysis showed:
A graph showing high EPMV across niches on Raptive
The figures are similar to Mediavine at first glance. But further analysis actually favors Raptive in most niches. For example, sports websites earn far more on Raptive ($34 EPMV) than Mediavine ($14). This holds true across several niches like beauty/fashion, education, careers, food, and finance.
However, Mediavine did offer better rates in certain niches like outdoors (28% more) and automotive (125% more).
There's no requirement to switch from Mediavine to Raptive at 100,000 sessions.
Established Mediavine publishers earning healthy profits likely won't change ad partners and risk instability. But Raptive’s average earnings were extremely impressive and make them an intriguing option for affiliate websites.
Key takeaways
After analyzing the data, here are the key takeaways:
- Websites earned 50-300% more on Ezoic ($12.92 EPMV) than AdSense ($6.62).
- Outdoor niche websites made 1375% higher EPMV on Mediavine versus AdSense.
- Health niche had the lowest average EPMV across all platforms ($8.5).
- The careers/employment niche had the highest average EPMV across all platforms ($25.5).
- With an estimated 62.91% market share makes AdSense the most used network.
- Sports websites earned 100% higher EPMV on Raptive over any other network.
Average EPMV across niches for each network:
- AdSense — $6.62
- Ezoic — $12.92
- Mediavine — $22.31
- Raptive — $25.69
The analysis shows Raptive and Mediavine pay best overall, with Ezoic third and AdSense last. But every website differs, so research is key to find the optimal network.
We hope this data helps guide your decision-making process. Let us know if you want us to explore another niche or have any other questions!
