Inside my well-kept secret: How Media.net can help you monetize your blog better

The following is a sponsored post from Media.net.

It’s heady – this success as a blogger. I’m called an influencer and constantly asked about how I came to be successful suddenly. Here’s the thing – success is never sudden. Some of you may know me today from my interviews or appearances as a case study of a blogger who’s struck big time, but it has taken a LOT of work to get here.

I’ve experimented with every possible method available to make my blog my business. Some of them stuck, some of them weren’t a good fit. And I’m still learning. I still strive hard to better my strategies and add more value – to my returns, and just as importantly, to my readers.

If you’ve read my blog before, you’re caught up on the various avenues via which I make money online. A big portion of my monthly income comes from Affiliate Marketing.

However, in this post I’ll talk about another strategy I’ve put to use, to boost my revenue without compromising the experience of my readers – the contextual ad platform, Media.net.

So far, it is the best alternative I have found to AdSense. I started working with Media.net in 2016 and since then they have steadily gained my trust.

Those of you who haven’t heard of Media.net, here’s an introduction. Media.net is a contextual ad platform that exclusively powers the Yahoo! Bing marketplace of advertisers. It offers high-quality and high-paying contextual ads. In 2016, it was sold to a Chinese consortium for $900 million, so it is by every standard one of the largest players in the market.

If the term contextual advertising has you confused, I’ve broken it down into a simpler explanation below:

What is contextual advertising?

Simply put, contextual advertising offers contextually relevant ads. Imagine if you will, a website that offers parental tips and child care suggestions is displaying ads about cars and clothes. Something doesn’t feel right here, does it? Contextual advertising displays ads on the basis of the content of the website. So, if your blog focuses on personal finance and lifestyle like mine, Media.net will display ads that fall within that sphere. To state an example, Media.net may display advertisements about savings, perhaps even freelancing advertisements on my site. The chances of a user clicking on these ads are obviously much higher than them clicking on irrelevant ones. This leads to higher engagement and subsequently higher revenues.

Why Media.net

I have so many reasons! But the most important one is that it’s the best alternative to AdSense that I’ve come across. I’ve also listed down 4 major reasons why you should seriously consider this platform if your revenue could use a push up the graph.

#2 largest contextual advertising business in the world

By revenue, Media.net is the second largest contextual advertising platform in the world. Since it has exclusive access to the Yahoo! Bing network of advertisers, publishers get access to over $6 billion (yes!) worth of search demand. This means this share of the advertising pie will open up only if you partner with them. Having one of the world’s largest network of advertisers on their side means no matter how small or broad your niche is, you will always find quality ads for your content at Media.net. They work with the best of the publishers in the business like Forbes, Elle, Reuters, Kiplinger, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Daily News, Esquire, Seventeen and many more. So, you can be rest assured that you’re in good hands.

Dedicated account manager

For a company its size, it was a happy and reassuring surprise to receive an email from my personal Account Manager. Every account with Media.net is assigned an account manager irrespective of the size of the account. These guys aren’t just trained to answer your questions and offer advice. They’re trained to optimize your ROI. A major part of their job is to conduct A/B testing with design, color, branding and keywords. So, it’s safe to say they know their stuff. If you’re new to the space of monetization, an Account Rep to guide you through the nitty-gritties is a blessing.

Contextually relevant and natively designed ads

I’m particularly impressed with this. The whole point of displaying contextually relevant native ads is to display them without hampering your user experience. Ads that don’t blend with your website and expand outside the body of your article will not only ruin the neatness of your blog, but will also possibly generate low revenues. Media.net ads are designed to match the layout of your website. They are also made responsive to display well on a mobile website, which means more income for you! All you must do is activate the feature to begin displaying mobile ads. Super easy.

Works well with other ad networks

The best thing about Media.net is that it’s compatible through and through. Right from across devices to varied layouts. It takes this a step forward by being compatible with any other ad network or revenue making strategy you may be using already. This means, you can use Media.net with other monetization tools without negatively affecting your revenue. So, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t put Media.net ads in the mix of your current revenue set-up and see how they work for you.

Process:

Signing up with Media.net is pretty simple. You only need the basic information like your website URL and your email ID. Your application’s assessment will take maximum 2 business days. If approved, you will receive an email welcoming you with your credentials and ad codes to get you started immediately.

Best practices:

Media.net has the potential to become a crucial factor to your blog’s success. In my experience, these are some of the things you can do to set yourself up for success with their ads.

The right ad sizes + customization

If you want to improve your earnings, you need to understand what will work best for your website. With Media.net you can create custom ad sizes that aren’t available with other ad networks. You also have a plethora of ad types you can choose from. I’ve added some examples of how Media.net ads look once displayed.

Desktop interstitial

Below the article

In-content

Mobile docked ads

Right ad spots

As with your content length, even your ads will have a sweet spot. These are the spots on your website where certain ads will work the best. Whether they’re banner ads, in-content ads or mobile ads. It’s best to A/B test and judge what works for you. An important thing to remember here is that the more visible you keep your ad, the higher chances you have of making more from them. A significant benefit of Media.net is that it lets you place ads in positions that might not be allowed by other ad platforms.

Let the system test what works best for the pub

One thing that sets Media.net apart from its competitors is that its system automatically optimizes your ad for layout and colors. Since their technology tests out several permutations and combinations of design, color and keywords, it can take up to two weeks before the optimization is complete. Either way, be patient because the results will be worth it.

Conclusion:

Like I said, success is not sudden. Neither is it effortless. But Media.net makes monetization pretty simple. So, if you’re looking to make additional revenue easily and steadily, I would highly recommend you place Media.net ads on your website.

You can sign up with Media.net here to get an additional 10% for 3 months.