Advertisements are undoubtedly the easiest way to start making money online. With several hundred ad networks vying for ad space it can quite competitive and allows every publisher the freedom of choice. On the same note however it can be quite confusing to newcomers. With Google AdSense dominating the small and midsize ad publishing businesses it hard to even notice the other companies. Here are the top 3 in my opinion – AdBrite, AdToll & WidgetBucks.

AdBrite

AdBrite
AdBrite is one of the most successful ad providers and pays quite well compared to some others. Adbrite offers a wide selection of ad types combining text, banner, full page, in-line, video, picture ads. You can select any one of these ad types or a combination of any of them for your site. Signing up is quick and easy and Adbrite ads show up on your page in a matter of minutes. I have personally used AdBrite and not to sound demeaning but have found them to be an excellent alternative to Google AdSense.

AdBrite’s aim is to provide our publishers with the most control, best service, and highest payout possible. Anyone visiting your site can buy an ad directly on your site by clicking “Your Ad Here.” You will also be listed in the AdBrite marketplace. Publishers have the flexibility to pick and choose ads before it appears on your site. Webmasters can also set the price for ads bought directly on their site. You can even have AdBrite show another ad network (AdSense, Burst etc.). Visit AdBrite for more info.

Revenue shared with Publisher: Undisclosed. Minimum check amount is $100.00 by default, but you can change it to any value equal to or greater than $5.
Ad types: Text ads, Banners, Full page ads (A high-paying full-screen ad on the third page view of your site, shown only once per user per day), Inline ads, InVideo, BritePic
Site requirements: No minimum page view requirements. You can sign up and get started in minutes.
Why use AdBrite?

From AdBrite site – You’ll be able to approve or reject any ads purchased for your site. Never worry again about inappropriate content or competitor ads appearing on your ad placements. …

Your own users could be your best customers – it’s never been easier to sell ad space directly to them. …

Your ads shouldn’t have to clash with your site. That’s why we give you the option to completely customize the look and feel of the ads you sell. Change fonts, colors, placement sizes, and more. …

There are no setup fees or hidden charges. Ever. Get started today and you could start generating revenue in just minutes! Referral Program You earn money for all buying and selling activity for all new users you refer. You’ll earn 50% of AdBrite’s profits for the first 3 months after a referred user creates an account, and 10% of AdBrite’s profit for the next 9 months after that.

AdToll

AdToll
AdToll is a recent member of the crowded ad publishing market providing yet another alternative for webmasters and content producers. This startup has quite a few very attractive features such as allowing advertisers to directly buy ad space on your site. It has also been recently featured on KillerStartups.com. AdToll allows you to customize the ad block – the Powered by AdToll link can be removed from ad blocks – this is a very handy feature if you like clean ad blocks. But I suggest keeping the Advertise Here link next to ad block to allow advertisers to quickly buy adspace.

Revenue shared with Publisher: AdToll shares 75% of the ad profit with the publisher
Ad Types: Video, Text Ad, Full banner – 468×60, Skyscraper – 120×600, Button – 120×90, Button – 120×60, Micro Button – 88×31, Leaderboard – 728×90, Square Button – 125×125, Square Button – 100×100, Wide Skyscraper – 160×600, Vertical banner – 120×240
Site requirements: No minimum traffic requirements.
Why use AdToll?
There are several reasons to choose AdToll. Here are a few that swayed my decision in their favor.

  • AdToll has a fixed 75% commission on all ads sold on your site. For example if you sell an ad for $100, you will earn $75. The other $25 is kept by us for providing the service, maintenance, support, marketing etc. Webmasters do not have to guess the percentage of ad commission
  • Setup multiple Ad Groups for your site in a variety of media formats (text and banner ads).
  • You can sell ads on your site for whatever price you wish but keep in mind the cheaper the more attractive it is to potential advertisers.
  • You have complete control over the content and relevancy of the ads that appear on your site. When you set up your site you are asked to provide an allowable ad rating and select the industries you wish to restrict.
  • Ads start showing immediately by default but you have 24 hours to deny the booking.
  • You will be able to view real-time statistics on all of your customers ads broken down by day, which includes ad views and clicks.
  • If Ad Pool is not filled with Sponsored Ads you will be provided with Run Of Network ads.

WidgetBucks

Widgetbucks
WidgetBucks is undoubtedly one of the best ad providers that I have personally used. Their ads are directly related to the content on the page and the graphical nature of the ads does not bore or turn off visitors to your site. I guess that goes pretty well with WidgetBucks tag line Ads suck. Ours don’t. Shopping widgets make you more money. The best feature seems to be the very high payout rate – it has the highest CPM that I have personally seen and would recommend WidgetBucks to any fellow web publishers and bloggers. If the substantially high CPM is not enough they even give a $25 bonus for all new sign ups.

From WidgetBucks site: You’re in the publishing business, not the advertising business, so let us help you. We do the heavy lifting by creating contextual ad widgets that your visitors will actually click on and find engaging. You reap the rewards of PPC ad widgets that earn better than $2 CPM. We’re seeing $3-$6 CPM on our widgets, about three times that of traditional ad networks.

Publishers and bloggers can get the ball rolling with WidgetBucks’ instant $25 sign-up bonus, which gets you half way to your first check! With WidgetBucks’ Referral program, affiliates can earn a 10 percent referral fee based on the commissions earned by the people they refer. Affiliates receive this 10 percent for the full 12 months after the new member joins. Payouts to affiliates are monthly, along with their commission checks.

Getting started with WidgetBucks is a simple 1-2-3 process. First, sign-up. Second, configure your widgets with our easy publishing system. Third, paste the code into your blog or Web page, or use our integration with popular blog platforms such as TypePad, Blogger and WordPress. If you want to change or update your WidgetBucks widgets in the future, simply sign in and go to My Widgets.

Revenue shared with Publisher: Undisclosed but very high payout rate for publisher.
Ad types: 160×300 sidebar size, 160×600 wide skyscraper, 120×600 skyscraper and also 728×90 and 300×250 size and several other widget formats.
Site requirements: No minimum pageview requirements.

WidgetBucks Referral program - With WidgetBucks’ Referral program, affiliates can earn a 10 percent referral fee based on the commissions earned by the people they refer. Affiliates receive this 10 percent for the full 12 months after the new member joins. Payouts to affiliates are monthly, along with their commission checks.
Why use WidgetBucks?
With WidgetBucks, you can start earning more money today — and keep your focus on publishing.

  • Higher eCPMs Hands down, WidgetBucks exceeds traditional publisher’s CPM targets of $1-$2
  • Content vs. ads WidgetBucks delivers engaging, contextual, rich-media widgets that complement your site content
  • Easy deployment Placing customized code on your site takes just minutes, and only MerchSense auto-optimizes your widget rotation based on performance tracking