Obeus.com

Obeus.com - The Democratic Ads

Obeus is a newish ad network, which is still in some kind of beta stage. The number of advertisers is still limited, but should not stop you from becoming an Obeus publisher. They offer CPC contextual text ads and CPM banner ads.

Pros

It is easy to sign up, and applications are processed in a matter of hours. All site that contain legal content are accepted. They have no minimum number of visitors, like some networks. Their use agreement is also clear compared to for instance that of AdSense. Their minimum withdrawal is $1.

Their payment rates are very visible, so you can see how much the advertiser is paying for each ads, and calculate how much you'll earn. They also clearly state their commission (20%), which is lower than on many other networks.

There is no difference between advertiser and publisher accounts, so you can allocate a portion of your revenue to advertising from the same account. Also support for referrals is included.

Their ad blocks also work as traffic counters, so you'll have an easy way of viewing your site traffic. Also numbers of clicks, click through rates and revenue are all visible for each ad block separately.

Cons

Obeus is still a small network, and you shouldn't expect very high revenue for now. Their number of advertisers is quite small, so don't be surprised if you see the same ads rotating from day to day on your site.

The only currency they currently support for withdrawals is e-gold, but they are going to add more options later. For deposits, other options are already available.

Overall

My Rating: 3/5

I suggest you at least try out, since joining is free, and you have no obligations. You should sign up to e-gold first, though. If you are convinced, join now.

Obeus.com
e-gold.com

Google AdSense and AdWords

Because of its great popularity these days, it is only natural to begin with a review of Google AdSense.

AdSense is the complement of Google's AdWords. AdSense pays for publishers to show ads that are bought by advertisers through AdWords. Google negotiates pricing with advertisers, and pays a share of this to the publisher. They use site analysis to provide highly targeted ads.

Pros

Applying to AdSense is very easy, only a matter of minutes. Applications are usually processed in a matter of hours. Also customizing the ads to your website is easy with Google's wizards. You can choose from various sizes, and select either text only ads, or allow image banne ads.

The site analysis ensures that you get highly targeted ads, and that using AdSense on a site with different topics will result in different and relevant ads on each page.

With your account you can also add a search box on your site, and gain revenue from ads that the search results show. A referral system also exists, through which you can refer visitors to AdSense and other Google products, and earn a commission. All this is as quick and easy as the normal AdSense system.

The tracking system is quite good: if you create a separate 'channel' for each of your ads, you can see impressions and clicks separately; and easily compare which pays best.

Cons

The policy your accept at registration is very thorough, and ensures that Google can terminate your account whenever they want - regardless if you do nothing wrong. You have to be careful to follow all the restrictions or you'll quickly lose your account. Most importantly: never click your own ads!

Google seems to keep a majority of the money they get from advertisers, so you may easily find networks with better average CPC prices. However, well targeted ads generate more clicks. Also, the minimum sum to withdraw is $100, so small sites will not be able to withdraw money often. All the more reason to avoid any illegal clicking.

The worst thing when thinking about starting an account is that Google does not reveal any of their rates. You cannot know how much you will earn without signing up and trying it.

Overall

My Rating: 3/5

Overall I do recommend you at least give AdSense a try. Even if it is not the best paying network, it is very easy to set up. And the ads are not very disturbing, so your visitors are probably happier with them.