Key Points

  • There's more than one way to do ad monetization.
  • The most common ad monetization solutions are through Google, Amazon, direct sales, and comprehensive revenue partners.
  • Playwire combines all of the other ad monetization solutions into one comprehensive solution.

Ad monetization is an opportunity - it's the way the vast majority of digital publishers bring in revenue. But it's also a big problem. It presents endless tools, choices, and moving parts to constantly manage. That's why there are so many ad monetization solutions available today.

But which ones actually work? Which solutions provide the highest revenue potential within the ad space? That's exactly what we explore in this article. Read on to learn everything you need to know.

Looking for solutions to your advertising woes? You'll find them with Playwire. We take publishers to the next level with our comprehensive ad monetization platform. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.

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The Complete Guide to Ad Monetization

Google Ad Monetization

Whether it's Google Ads or Google Ad Manager, when you use a Google product to monetize your content with display ads or video ads, you're breaking into some of the broadest demand available. It's Google - it's just what they do, and it's why nearly 50 million websites use AdSense to monetize with ads.

Truly, you can't ignore Google demand as part of your ad monetization strategy. And the good news is that their ad monetization platform tends to be fairly straightforward for publishers with at least a little technical knowledge. 

However, relying solely on Google to source demand for your ad inventory can sometimes be problematic. That's because, while Google has access to a lot of demand, it doesn't have access to all of the demand. 

And while you can customize your ad tech configuration within Google's ecosystem, it's a technical lift to do much outside of Google's sphere unless you're a seasoned web or app developer. 

Amazon Ad Monetization

Amazon's Transparent Ad Marketplace (TAM) is a server-side header bidding solution meant for larger publishers, while the Unified Ad Marketplace (UAM) is a similar header bidding setup that works best for smaller publishers.

Both are among the best solutions for ad monetization on the market today. The strengths here reside in many of the same places in which Google holds its strengths: broad reach and even broader demand from advertisers for your ad inventory. That translates to high fill rates and competitive CPMs for publishers.

If you go the TAM route as a larger publisher, you will still have to manage your relationships and agreements with all of the SSPs and other demand sources you add to your header bidding ecosystem beyond Amazon itself, so expect a technical lift. As compared to Google's solutions, Amazon advertising is somewhat less comprehensive in terms of the additional tools it rolls into its service.

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The Complete Ad Monetization Resource Center

Direct Ad Sales

Direct sales and insertion orders (IOs) may sound a little dated when you're talking about header bidding and Google and Amazon, but it would be a mistake to overlook direct sales as a web or mobile app monetization solution.

Why? Because direct sales tend to lead to higher CPMs. Direct relationships with big buyers and brands can bring in demonstrably and consistently higher ad revenue, particularly when you have direct demand compete with programmatic demand.

Of course, setting up direct ad sales requires a pretty big investment. Beyond the financial aspect, you may also find that you have to invest a lot of time. It takes time for the buyers you want to get deals with to begin to know your name and trust you. It can take years, in fact. Still, once you get there, it's worth it.

Comprehensive Ad Monetization Partner

This is a case of saving the best for last. That's because a comprehensive ad monetization partner will combine all of the above ad monetization solutions and manage them all for you. That means you get Google demand, Amazon demand, direct sales, and more, and it all should pay for itself since you typically pay via revenue share out of your increased ad revenue.

It sounds great, but it's important to note that dozens of vendors want to style themselves as comprehensive ad monetization partners. But actually combining all of these platforms and building and managing your own solution that actually works for publishers is really hard. Otherwise, everyone would be doing it.

That's not meant to discourage you from going this route - it's only meant as a reminder to do your research before you sign up with any ad monetization partner.

All the Best Ad Monetization Solutions in One Place

As a publisher, picking an ad monetization solution is pretty much a necessity, but why pick just one? Each solution and approach can offer different benefits to publishers, and you shouldn't have to make sacrifices when it comes to your ad revenue.

You don't have to - not when you partner with Playwire, that is. We work tirelessly every day to be the last-stop ad monetization solution for publishers of all shapes and sizes. We blend demand from all of the major sources with a global direct sales and an innovative suite of proprietary ad tech tools to create the ultimate ad monetization platform.

It's the last solution you'll need for ad monetization. Ready to get started? Reach out to Playwire today.

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