If you’ve been blogging for a while, you must have heard of Mediavine. Mediavine is a popular ad management system and bloggers (like myself) love displaying their ads.
If you’ve been thinking of displaying ads on your blog, you’ve probably come across Mediavine. In this post, we’ll discuss the current Mediavine requirements and how to apply for Mediavine.
If you don’t meet the current requirements, keep reading to find Mediavine alternatives and ways to increase your blog traffic.
What is Mediavine?
Mediavine is a full-service management system for publishers and content creators. Mediavine helps publishers display ads and offers incredible support so you can focus on creating content.
Mediavine serves ads in different niches, from travel to food blogs, from finance to home decor – they have your back.
Why Mediavine?
Mediavine is not an average ad network management system. I have a blog on Mediavine and here are the main reasons why I love them.
- They are up to date with the latest Google trends and requirements.
- The site speed is important to them, which means your website shouldn’t be slowing down because of your ads.
- You can monetize video content.
- You can opt-in and out for ads if you don’t wish to promote a specific topic like gambling or alcohol.
- You can join their Facebook community which is amazing to connect with fellow publishers and get answers to your blogging questions.
- Their dashboard is easy to use and understand.
Mediavine Requirements
In 2020, Mediavine announced new requirements. To join Mediavine, you must have:
- 50,000 sessions in the previous 30 days on Google Analytics
- Good standing with Google AdSense
- Original content in ANY niche as a lifestyle publisher
- Long-form, engaging content
Let’s take a look at the Mediavine requirements in more detail.
50,000 sessions in the previous 30 days on Google Analytics
The traffic requirement is the most important one here. In the past, Mediavine used to accept publishers with 25,000 sessions in the previous 30 days, but in 2020, they increased the minimum traffic requirement to 50,000 sessions.
To calculate the sessions on your blog, go to Google Analytics. Click on Audience > Overview.
Select the last 30 days and take a look at the number of sessions.
Now, one thing worth mentioning here is the traffic sources.
Mediavine prefers organic traffic over social media traffic. It’s simple – traffic coming from Facebook can be volatile. Traffic that comes from search engines or Pinterest is usually more stable.
It’s also important to note that Mediavine will accept websites that have a significant amount of traffic coming from English-speaking countries such as the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom.
It’s simple – most of their ad partners are targeting people from these countries.
That said, some publishers get denied because of their traffic sources/countries. So, if you get denied, I’d suggest you look for a Mediavine alternative.
Good standing with Google AdSense
The next requirement is to make sure you’re accepted by the ad partners and that you did not have any issues with Google AdSense in the past.
Original content in ANY niche as a lifestyle publisher
Mediavine accepts publishers in any lifestyle niche that fits their terms and conditions. They accept bloggers and content creators that create high-quality content. That said, the content should be unique and original.
Long-form, engaging content
Finally, Mediavine prefers long-form content (which is also better for the publisher). Short blog posts won’t make you money since you won’t be able to display many ads in one blog post. Long-form content is better for monetizing your blog with ads.
How to Apply on Mediavine
If you feel like you’re meeting Mediavine requirements, apply to join.
Here’s how you can apply on Mediavine:
- Go to Mediavine.
- Click on Apply Now.
- You’ll be redirected to a form in which you’ll need to enter your name, email, your URL, your site name, etc.
- When the form is completed, click on Submit.
- Wait for the next steps.
Usually, the reviewing process can take up to a month. They may ask for your Google Analytics access so they can verify that your website complies with their requirements.
Once you’re accepted, Mediavine will set up the ads for you and this usually take a few weeks.
If you’re not meeting the current Mediavine requirements, you’ll be happy to know that they are working on a solution for smaller publishers. This solution was announced in 2020, but we don’t know when it will officially launch. It was due to launch in 2021, but Mediavine decided to wait longer. We still don’t know the minimum requirements yet.
We’ll make sure to update this post when this solution is launched.
How to Increase Your Traffic
Now, let’s discuss ways to increase your blog traffic so you can reach Mediavine’s requirements.
As I mentioned above, Mediavine prefers organic traffic and traffic coming from Pinterest. With that in mind, you should focus on these two traffic sources to grow your traffic.
How to Increase Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is basically traffic coming from search engines. You can optimize your content for search engines and that’s what we call SEO.
If you’re new to SEO, head to our SEO section and start learning straight away. Alternatively, you can enroll in our SEO course which is specifically designed for bloggers.
In short, to increase your organic traffic, you should…
- Do keyword research before writing a blog post
- Create a solid content strategy for your upcoming blog posts
- Write a blog post outline that beats the competition
- Make sure every blog post is optimized for search engines
- Publish lots of articles within your niche to build more authority in Google’s eyes
How to Increase Pinterest Traffic
Pinterest traffic works similarly since it’s a visual search engine. The only difference here is that instead of browsing results on Google, you browse pins on Pinterest.
If you’re new to Pinterest, here’s a quick overview for you.
- You can create pins (vertical images) to promote your blog post.
- You can upload a pin on Pinterest and link it to your blog post.
- Write a title and description that include keywords.
- Publish the pin by pinning it to your relevant board.
Now, you should know that Pinterest is a long-term game (that’s also the case for organic traffic). When you start pinning your content, you get more impressions, and eventually, more clicks. These clicks bring you traffic.
Alternatively, you can outsource Pinterest to a virtual assistant or hire a Pinterest specialist. If you prefer to do it yourself, and you’re not sure how to get started, enroll in a Pinterest course.
Mediavine Alternatives
Looking for a Mediavine alternative? Take a look at the following ad networks for smaller publishers.
Monumetric
Monumetric has a minimum of 10,000 monthly pageviews but has a setup fee of $99. It’s the only ad network that requires you to pay for the setup. Now, you should know that since the beginning of the pandemic, Monumetric may put small publishers on waiting lists. Read our Monumetric review to learn more.
Ezoic
Ezoic has a minimum of 10,000 monthly pageviews. Occasionally, they accept smaller publishers. Ezoic is great especially if you have traffic coming from Asian countries.
Although, some publishers have reported that Ezoic was slowing down their website. It could be caused by the theme used or the hosting provider – so you may need to try it and see for yourself.
SHEMEDIA
SHEMEDIA has a minimum of 20,000 monthly pageviews. Your audience must be mostly female (70%+) and must be based in the United States (80%+). It’s a good option for publishers who focus on a niche that does well with a female audience.
Final Thoughts On Mediavine
Mediavine is a great ad management system and I highly recommend it. Although, their current requirements are harder to meet, so you may need to look for an alternative until you can reach the minimum traffic and so on.
Displaying ads on a blog is my favorite way to monetize my content. I love waking up and checking how much money I made the previous day.
Not only Mediavine helps me make more money but it also provides amazing support and community.
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