Since the debut of Google AdSence, a lot of Contextual Ad Networks have emerged. Are those ad networks as good as Google's?
Advertising with Them
To find out if placing ads on those networks are profitable, you have to try them. Most of them charge you on a pay-per-click basis. You might not get lots of traffic, but you pay only if your ads are clicked. Also, bid prices are much cheaper than on AdWords. So, you can test them quite cheaply. Just don't forget to calculate click-through and conversion rates, like you do with other ad campaigns.
Running Ads
If you are planning to place their ads on your site, look for ad networks that have a lot of advertisers. Many ad networks tell you how their ad-matching technologies are sophisticated. Some say theirs are outperforming Google's. That may be true, but no matter how good their technologies are, if they don't have advertisers that suit your site, the ads won't be contextual. If the ads aren't contextual, you will have fewer click-throughs. Hence, the less money you'll earn. I would say they should have at least 10,000 advertisers, to bring you good contextual ads.
Advantages
In some cases, using non-Google Contextual Ad Networks would be a good choice. Many ad networks have slacker policies than Google does. You might be able to place an ad on Web pages that aren't allowed to place AdSence, such as pop-ups and thank-you pages. Moreover, if the content of your site doesn't meet Google's guidelines (i.e., casino-related Web sites), non-Google ad networks would be good alternatives. In this case, try to find ad networks targeted to your business, like gambling-only Contextual Ad Networks. If your niche matches an ad network's niche, you will have better matching ads.
© December, 2004