Should I Put Ads on My Website?

This may sound odd coming from an advertising management company, but if you’re wondering whether you should put ads on your website, our answer is that it depends.

This is due to a lot of different components.

“Should I put ads on my website?” isn’t always an easy question. Varying, interrelated factors such as your website traffic, content structure and overall goals may result in a very nuanced answer.

That’s where we come in.

Let’s dive in to some of the things you should take into account when deciding whether or not to monetize with ads, and some of the Mediavine requirements, if you decide the time is right.

How old is your website?

The first year of your website’s life should likely be spent building your brand and your audience, instead of worrying about ads.

This is the phase where content creators need to find their voice, identify their audiences and decide how best to reach them.

Create all of the content you can, build up your social presence and produce the best content you possibly can. That’s it.

Not only is it good for publishers to focus on building up content and audiences before monetizing, our ad partners shy away from working with new websites in general.

If your domain isn’t at least six months old, you aren’t on advertisers’ radar — and ads shouldn’t be on yours.

What is your monthly traffic?

Among the many things Mediavine looks for in an application is traffic. Specifically, at least 50,000 sessions per month. (Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in applying Mediavine Ad Management, please review our updated requirements concerning sessions and Google Analytics 4.)

If your audience is below that figure, you’re not likely to earn enough revenue to make up for having ads on your site.

All Mediavine ad units are deployed with the goal of not disrupting user experiences, but ads do change the experience.

You want to make sure the trade-off is worth it, and if you choose to monetize before 50,000 sessions, please use caution.

Among the many differences between Mediavine and Google AdSense is that the latter can be implemented at any time.

However, it is relatively easy to implement it incorrectly, which could result in an unnecessary Google AdSense ban.

Basically, you run the risk of crippling your domain at a time when the short-term earning potential is rarely worth it.

What is your site speed?

It’s no secret that we’re obsessed with site speed at Mediavine, and with good reason. Slowing a site down limits earning potential.

If you choose to monetize with ad management services that take on websites with fewer than 50,000 sessions, heed this warning:

Ads should not have a significant impact on your site speed, and if they are, you should probably remove them.

Slow sites do not perform as well on Google Search, and slowing down your site can significantly decrease its growth.

Ask yourself:

Is it worth it to delay your site’s growth potential and ability to join premium ad management companies when the time is right?

What is the goal of your website?

Here’s where it gets a bit murkier. Programmatic advertising works best with long-form content that is highly engaging to readers, keeping them on the page and scrolling for longer periods.

This leads to higher viewability scores and increased RPMs. Sites that do have long-form content should consider the following before deciding whether or not to run programmatic display ads:

• Are you primarily going after affiliate marketing revenue with your site? Have you considered the impact that programmatic advertising can potentially have on conversions?
• Are you focused on product sales? If so, and that’s the focus of your content (which, in turn, may not be long form), you probably aren’t a great fit for programmatic advertising.

Okay, I do want ads on my website. Now what?

Glad you asked. If you’ve put the appropriate amount of thought into it and concluded that ads are worth exploring, this guide to the Mediavine application process may be helpful.

Mediavine has one of the most comprehensive application processes in the industry, which is how we maintain our portfolio of high-quality websites and the best ad inventory.

If you have questions for us, don’t hesitate to reach out anytime. We’re here for you at publishers@mediavine.com.