While the king of internet publishing advertising networks remains Google’s AdSense, there are other ad networks that can make you more money. You should not only optimize the design of your ads, but also the network serving them.

You should test and retest different advertising networks (like AdBrite, Adsense, YPN, etc.) until you find that you have optimized your EPC (earnings per click). Once you’ve done that, test and retest again. Don’t just assume that you are going to make the most money using AdSense . . .

Use YPN if Your Audience is from the USA

YPN is still not paying publishers for clicks outside the US, so if your site concentrates on an international audience, it is probably not the network for you. If you do have a sizable concentration of viewers in the United States, I highly suggest trying it out.

Here’s one reason why:

This weekend I removed my AdSense ads from one of my blogs and replaced it with YPN ads. Although traffic was slow (happens on the holidays), my advertising revenue for the blog was over twice that of an average day while I served AdSense. I have many months of data to review, but the numbers speak for themselves. I’m going to obviously continue to watch the blog and see how things continue.

My Complaint with YPN

The only problem I’m having with YPN, and one of the reasons why I believe the network is not respected by the online world yet is that there still seems to be a lack of advertisers. I’ve noticed the same 5 ads running on site each time I’ve visited. This can certainly get old to our viewers. I hope that Yahoo can get their act together and start competing with Google; right now, they are not even in the same league. I think it is time for a radical restructuring; Yahoo needs to target publishers and give them a reason to switch over, or they should consider selling off their ad network to someone who can come up with some fresh ideas to compete with Google. At this rate, sadly, it looks like they are going nowhere and fast.

Why AdSense?

Like I mentioned earlier, while my Google ads are not paying as much as YPN ads, there is a much greater inventory. I have a feeling that the increase in revenue I’m seeing from YPN will be short-lived. As my readers find that the ads have grown stale, they will stop visiting them. The benefits of greater inventory, in my mind, will prevail over the long term for this reason.

Making money with your website is easy, provided you’ve got good content and some traffic. I wanted to create a list of the various advertising networks you can use to generate some cash from your site or blog.

Top-Tier Pay Per Click – PPC

• Google AdSense
• Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN)
• Microsoft AdCenter – Advertisers only???

Blog Advertising Networks

• BlogAds

• CrispAds
• Performancing Partners

Broad Networks

• Blue Lithium – CPM, CPC, CPA – Top Rated Network

Advertising Inventory Management Platforms

• 24/7 Real Media

• Advertising.com

Interactive Product Merchandising Networks

• Chitka

• ClickShare

Text Link Ad Networks

• AdBrite

• Text Link Ads

Top Tier Cost Per Mille Networks – CPM

• BurstMedia

• Casale Media
• ClickBooth
• ContextWeb – Contextual CPM
• CPX Interactive
• TribalFusion
• ValueClick – was FastClick

In-Text Advertising Networks

• IntelliTXT

• Kontera

Affiliate Advertising Programs – Cost Per Action (CPA)

• Amazon
• Azoogle
• Commission Junction – One of the best and most reputable
• IncentaClick
• LinkShare
• ShareASale

Secondary PPC Networks

• Pulse 360 – formerly Kanoodle

• Miva – formerly FindWhat.com

Additional Ad Networks – Untested and Unknown

• BidVertiser – bidding based ad marketplace

• BlueFN – CPA Network for Finance-Related sites
• Clicksor – contextual CPC network
• Directa Network – ads for Latin & Hispanic Marketplace
• eType USA – “premium” ad network
• ExpoActive – ad management network – CPC, CPM
• FluxAds – CPA (cost per action) a.k.a. affiliate network
• HyperBidder – Advertising trading marketplace
• – PPC contextual & trargeted
• InterClick – CPM ad model
• Mirago – PPC contextual – Based in Britain
• Oxado – Contextual ads – based in Paris
• Quigo – Seems to work with large publishers only
• Real Tech Network – CPM & PPC
• RevenuePilot – PPC & PFP (pay per performance)
• RightMedia – “transparent ad exchange” network
• SearchFeed.com – PPC
• TargetPoint – PPC – contextual ads
• TMP Express

If you’ve got any more, let me know. I’ll try and keep the list updated as new ones come around.

While checking my YPN account, I noticed an announcement stating that ad units would be upgraded. Finally!

According to the Yahoo! Publisher Network Blog, “The changes you’re likely to see include the removal of ellipses (…) and truncated words, the inclusion of 40-character titles on certain ad units, and a change in the number of ads displayed on certain ad layouts.”

Apparently, the upgrade is currently live for a few publishers and will be effective for the entire network in the upcoming weeks. We’re excited to see the changes and we are grateful that Yahoo actually listens to the feedback of their advertising network’s members.