Wise Startup Blog

I control all of our advertising networks on Grooveshark, and after spending 2 months pouring over pretty much everything ad network, I’ve put together a list of networks with the best paying CPMs.

If you need an introduction on any of these networks, email me and let me know

Best CPM Ad Networks

Tribal Fusion
They have high-quality advertisers, and for us they deliver a $2 eCPM, which is really great. They require you have 2,000 unique visitors per day before being accepted.

Technorati Media
They deliver high-quality advertisers, along the lines of Tribal Fusion. An extension of the blog search engine. They have a premium advertising network, that is above this self-serve platform.

InterCLICK
One of the strongest ad networks on this list is InterCLICK. They have a large selection of Fortune 500 advertisers, of which you can screen all of the creative. The average CPM hovers around the $2 range, which is great.

BurstDirect
The self-serve market of BurstMedia, this is a great Fortune 500 advertising network. They deliver eCPMs for us around $1, and are among the top-tier like Tribal Fusion.

AdOn Network
Good network as your back-fill. Be careful, as they have a lot of flashing content, so you may need to disable it on the control panel.

Komli (India)
If you have traffic in India, this is the best network for you. They have a great fill %, and specialize content specifically for India-only traffic.

BannerConnect
Another great top-tier network that can deliver $1 eCPMs. You can run these guys as your first choice, and can get great quality from this network.

Underdog Media
These guys provide sub $.50 eCPMs and can send you some flashing, distracting ads, so you should use them with discretion, but they will provide you a fill for all of your remnant, remnant inventory.

TRAFFIQ
This isn’t actually an advertising network, but an advertising exchange. I wanted to include them because they are a great resource. You can sell advertising on your space, and easily get $1 CPMs, which can be used instead of relying on remnant ad networks like Underdog Media.

WidgetBucks
They started off with CPC only advertising, but have transitioned to a mixture of CPM/CPC. They are essentially a storefront in your ad unit, where they advertise certain goods and allow you to earn commission on any purchases.

Marimedia (International)
Just like Komli, this is an International ad network, but it is more than just India. You have to be careful to filter out all of the cursor and flashing ads, but they also have a good run of quality advertisers, probably around the $.50 eCPM.

Intergi
This is a high-quality ad network, but for video games and entertainment verticals only.

TLV Media Online
They are a new ad network that we are working with, and don’t have the same high-quality of advertisers as Tribal Fusion, but have a good set of lower advertisers. You have to ensure you enable manual control over the advertiser selection, and they can net you around a $.50 eCPM.

CaptainAd
This is actually a really cool ad network. They take all of the videos embedded on your site, and overlay a banner ad on the videos, so even if nobody plays the videos you have on the site, at least you’ll get impressions via this process. For video sites, this is one of the best ways to start monetizing your inventory, and they have a nice selection of display inventory as well.