Mediavine vs Adthrive 2022: Which Ad Network is Best for Bloggers
Mediavine and Adthrive are the top ad networks which many established bloggers use to monetize their blogs. Display ads are a great way for bloggers to make money, but choosing the right ad network to use can be quite tricky.
Whether you're new to blogging or have been blogging for some time, You can't deny the fact that getting accepted to either one of these ad networks is like hitting a gold mine.
But, the biggest question most bloggers have, especially beginners, is "mediavine vs adthrive, which is better?"
If you are a usual reader you'll know I'm all about subjectivity. I think the answer to that question depends on you. Everyone has different priorities. Some people value site speed more than earnings while some prefer good customer service. It all depends on your needs.
Instead of focusing only on earnings, you should also consider things like management fees, customer service, payment thresholds, and how the network can help your site run smoothly.
If you've been contemplating on which aď network to join, then you don't need to worry.
In this article I'll tell you everything you need to know about each ad network and how they stack up against each other. So you'll be able to decide which one would be better for you.
But before we dive right into this article let's take a get to know some of the common terminologies associated with ad networks.
RPM: is otherwise known as Revenue per mille. It is the estimated earnings per every 1000 impressions or page views.
RPS: Revenue per 1000 sessions.
CPC: Cost per click (CPC) is a paid advertising term where an advertiser pays a cost to a publisher for every click on an ad.
Net-45/65 Pay: This is the time taken for some ad networks to pay. It means 45 or 65 days after the end of a month.
Onboarding: Is the process of getting accepted to join an ad network.
Adthrive.
AdThrive is a premium ad management company that provides complete ad optimization and support to its publishers. Joining AdThrive means that you don't have to worry about managing any of the ads on your website – everything will be expertly done for you.
The company was founded in 2013 and currently manages ads for more than 2,600 websites.
AdThrive Requirements.
To join AdThrive, you must meet the following requirements:
100,000 monthly pageviews on Google Analytics
The majority of the traffic must come from the United States
No previous infringements with ad providers
Content must be unique original and engaging
Your website needs to be secure (with HTTPS)
AdThrive is very selective about the type of websites they accept. The acceptance rate is approximately 15%, which is the lowest of all major ad networks out there.
They employ a thorough review process to ensure that the content doesn't fall into a potentially offensive domain (think offensive or hateful speech, gambling, or porn).
Overall, AdThrive is looking for content that “makes the Internet a better place” by telling stories or solving problems. Most of the sites on AdThrive's publishers' network are in the lifestyle, food, family, parenting, and home niches.
The traffic must be verified with Google Analytics history. If you're an existing publisher, you only need 30,000 monthly pageviews to have a second site approved with AdThrive.
Mediavine.
Mediavine has been around for longer than AdThrive. The company was founded in 2004 as an SEO firm and still owns its own websites but has since transitioned into an ad management company for small and medium businesses.
Mediavine Requirements.
In 2020, Mediavine announced new requirements. To join Mediavine, you must have:
50,000 sessions in the previous 30 days on Google Analytics
Good standing with Google AdSense
Original content in ANY niche as a lifestyle publisher
Long-form, engaging content
Let’s take a look at the Mediavine requirements in more detail.
Like AdThrive, Mediavine prefers websites with the majority of traffic coming from the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and other English-speaking countries.
Ad networks prefer traffic from those demographics because most of the ads from their partners are targeting those countries.
Mediavine also prefers a good mix of traffic from various sources, preferably with a good chunk of it being organic. Publishers may be rejected if a very large percentage of their traffic comes from a single source, such as Pinterest.
Mediavine vs Adthrive Payment Method: How do I get paid?
Mediavine payment method.
Mediavine has a minimum payment threshold of $25. for all payment methods except international wire transfer. To receive your earnings via international wire transfer you'll have to hit a payment threshold of $200.
When it comes to payment methods, both ad networks use the same payment provider, Tipalti. This offers publishers multiple options to choose from.
With Mediavine, you can choose to receive your earnings via.
Direct deposit
PayPal
Wire transfer.
Adthrive Payment Method.
AdThrive has a minimum payment threshold of $25. This means that even if you're brand new to AdThrive you should receive a payout on your first month.
The only exception to this is wire transfer. If you request your payments by wire transfer you will need to hit a payment threshold of $100.
With AdThrive, you can choose to receive your earnings via
Direct deposit,
eCheck/local bank transfer,
Paper check,
PayPal
Wire transfer.
Mediavine vs Adthrive: Payment Terms.
Well, when you start dealing with the more exclusive ad networks, you might find yourself feeling like you’re in that commercial because some of them have pretty long payment terms.
While this isn’t an issue in the long term, it does mean that you might need to wait a few months to receive your first check, which might be an important consideration for some people.
When do I get paid on mediavine?
Mediavine: Media vine uses Net 65 to pay its publishers. As we said earlier you'll be able to receive your earnings 65 days after the end of the month.
When do I get paid on adthrive?
Adthrive: Adthrive uses Net 45 to pay its publishers. You'll have to wait for 45 days after the end of each month inorder to receive your earnings.
Mediavine vs Adthrive: Earnings.
The amount of money you earn really depends on a lot of factors like your blog niche, traffic source, audience demographic, website topic, device used by the reader, etc.
How much money can I make with Mediavine?
The average RPM of websites running MediaVine Ads is about $15, which means you can expect to earn around $15 per 1000 sessions on your website.
Remember, the RPM of a website can be more or less depending on other factors.
How much money can I make with Adthrive?
On the AdThrive dashboard RPM and RPS are displayed separately. These are just metrics used to analyze how ads are performing on your website.
Do note that RPM will always be lower than RPS because Page Views will always be greater than Sessions.
The average RPM of websites running Adthrive Ads is about $20, which means you can expect to earn around $20 per 1000 pageviews on your website.
Adthrive vs Mediavine: Onboarding.
The onboarding process is quite similar for both Ad networks. But, it's quicker with AdThrive.
Publishers are required to start the process by submitting an application form.
The application includes personal information and basic information about your website.
You will later be asked to submit a Google Analytics report to verify your traffic. This will allow the ad network to analyze your sources of traffic and the location of your audience.
Both AdThrive and Mediavine assign multiple team members to review websites. The only major difference here is the time it takes to process applications.
How long does it take to get accepted to Adthrive?
On AdThrive, Successful applicants can expect to hear back in approximately one week.
How long does it take to get accepted to Mediavine?
Mediavine on the other hand takes a bit longer and you can wait up to a month for a decision.
Successful applicants will know whether or not they've been approved or rejected within 3-4weeks.
Once a publisher is approved to join, they are sent a Google Ad Manager form to fill and a contract to sign.
From there, it takes a couple of days to have the ads up and running on your site.
Conclusion.
After you've managed to grow your blog and start getting a substantial amount of traffic to a level where it makes sense to monetize with ads, it's a good idea to consider all your options.
A lot of publishers monetize their blog first with Google Adsense when starting out. But, the blog income you can expect by going down that route is very low.
However, you can also have a look at some other best ad networks for bloggers, especially if your blog traffic is not yet close to the 50,000 or 100,000 sessions required by Mediavine and Adthrive.
