Mediavine vs. AdSense: A World of Difference

What’s the difference between Mediavine and Google AdSense?

A whole lot. These two ad solutions are like night and day, although many times, you’ll see very similar looking ads coming from both. How does that happen?

Let’s back up a bit. If you’re reading this, you’re obviously familiar with Google AdSense, perhaps the longest-running ad solution for publishers still in existence today.

The premise of AdSense is simple: You copy and paste a short line of code where you want the ad to appear. Google serves the ads there, working as the intermediary so you don’t have to work with advertisers, or think about the process hardly at all.

Google finds relevant ads based on your content, and sends you payment for the earnings once you reach a certain threshold. For many small publishers, AdSense makes sense as a simple, secure, introductory option to the world of online advertising. There is no minimum traffic requirement, which is why so many bloggers begin here.

Mediavine partners directly with Google to serve ads on our 7,000+ publishers’ websites, but the similarities with AdSense end there. AdSense is very hands off, whereas Mediavine is the epitome of hands on, from the moment you apply and as long as you’re with us.

Much of our ad inventory comes from Google AdExchange, essentially a premium version of AdSense with bigger ad buys, more advanced targeting and far greater earning potential.

We also work with more than a dozen additional partners on the supply side to compete with one another — and Google — for advertising space on your site. AdSense only offers Google inventory. Mediavine provides a better version of that and much more.

Behind the scenes, within fractions of a second, this real-time bidding auction process drives up the price of your ads exponentially compared to Google AdSense.

Moreover, as a Google Certified Publishing Partner, Mediavine is one of just a few dozen companies worldwide to be vetted and approved as industry leaders in ad technology.

Our exclusive relationship through GCPP helps us integrate our innovative technology with Google products, optimizing publishers’ earnings and helping build sustainable businesses. Especially when it comes to navigating Google policy and new CBA (Coalition for Better Ads) guidelines, this is an invaluable asset you won’t find with AdSense.

The long and short of it? With its technology and relationships, Mediavine is at the leading edge of programmatic advertising — buying digital ads using computer software — while AdSense represents a viable, but bare bones example of this concept. (Follow this link for additional reading on what programmatic advertising is and how Mediavine uses it.)

Every publisher is different, and many factors influence earnings via programmatic advertising, but websites using AdSense routinely see earnings growth of 50-100% simply by joining Mediavine — and that’s before all of the other optimizations and advantages of working with our team fully kick in.

In addition to ad technology, what helps set Mediavine apart as an ad management company is our holistic, site-wide approach — one that begins and ends with high-quality content.

Whether your goal is to make a living with your blog or just earn some passive income, content is the lifeblood of your site, and the key to making the most of its earning potential.

This is why the quality of your website and the engagement of your audience are among the top Mediavine requirements, along with our traffic minimum of 50,000 monthly sessions.

We like to say that ads are just the beginning. Once your application is approved and we’re done implementing and configuring your ads (which we handle for you, with a single piece of code added to the header of your site), we’re really just getting started.

Mediavine’s publisher support team is available around the clock to troubleshoot any issues you might encounter with ads, as well as proactively help get the most out of your blog.

Through site speed optimizations, our dashboard, help articles, health checks, custom videos, influencer marketing, and countless other initiatives, we never stop working for you.

AdSense support, by contrast, is forums full of help topics that are not the most useful. No real people, and no comparison with Mediavine’s comprehensive approach.

Our founders and many other team members are bloggers themselves, bringing experience and a mindset to this process that sets us apart. We also test all of our technology on our own properties before rolling it out to our publishers!

Mediavine is not an ad network. We’ve built the largest, most trusted, brand-safe portfolio of sites at this scale, and we’ve developed the partnerships with advertisers that we hope will make us your partner in growing your business for years to come.