How To Get Approved for an Ad Network: Best Networks Ranked and How To Move Up the Approval Ladder

Most people talk about “putting ads” on a site.

We’re more interested in getting you into the room where the real money is.

Because there’s a massive gap between slapping AdSense on a half-built blog and running with a premium network that actually moves the needle. Same traffic, wildly different payouts. That gap is where most publishers burn 6–12 months guessing, applying too early, or optimizing the wrong things.

We don’t like guessing. We like approval math.

We know what Raptive, Mediavine, Ezoic, and the rest are really looking for, not just what’s in the marketing page, and we build toward that from day one.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to go from zero ads to approval with the top networks, without wasting a year sending blind applications and hoping someone bites.

Table of Contents

Start With the End in Mind: Pick Your Ceiling First

Most people start with: How do I get AdSense live?

Wrong question.

The real question is: Which ad network do I ultimately want to be approved by and what does that version of my site look like?

Because not all ad networks are created equal. Same traffic. Same pageviews. Totally different revenue outcomes.

Here’s how we rank them based on what actually matters: RPMs, payout terms, and quality of inventory:

AdSense and Ezoic are fine as entry points.

Your real ceiling, if you’re building a serious content business, is typically Raptive, Mediavine or your own in-house ad stack.

Why Your ‘Ceiling’ Changes Every Decision

Once you decide your endgame is a premium network, a few things snap into focus:

  • You’re not just “getting approved for ads.”
  • You’re building toward 50,000 monthly sessions and
  • At least 50% of that from Tier 1 countries:
  • United States
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
  • New Zealand

That’s the traffic mix Raptive and Mediavine are built around. Their best advertisers are bidding to reach those audiences. If your numbers don’t make sense there, you’re always going to be stuck in mid-tier land.

So we work backward.

If we want premium-network money, we architect a premium-network-ready site from day one:

  • Topics that fit their core verticals (food, home, parenting, lifestyle, travel, personal finance, etc.).
  • Content that’s long enough and good enough to carry meaningful ad density.
  • Traffic plans that skew intentionally toward Tier 1, not “whoever Facebook sends.”

Why We Don’t Rush “Mass Traffic” Too Early

Here’s the trap a lot of publishers fall into:

  1. Spin up a site.
  2. Hammer cheap traffic from everywhere.
  3. Slap AdSense on it.
  4. Wonder why earnings are anemic.

They end up with the wrong audience, the wrong vertical, the wrong benchmarks for what “good” RPM looks like.

We take a different approach.

We do want you growing traffic. But we want that growth to be aligned with your ceiling:

  • Content that will still make sense when you’re applying to Raptive/Mediavine.
  • Traffic sources that can deliver Tier 1 scale.
  • A site structure and UX that won’t need a complete rebuild just to pass a manual review.

Otherwise, you’re just scaling the wrong thing faster.

Top-Down Strategy vs Bottom-Up Guessing

Bottom-up looks like this:

Let’s just get AdSense approved and see what happens.

Top-down looks like this:

We’re building a site that Raptive or Mediavine would say yes to. And we’ll use AdSense, Ezoic, and Journey as stepping stones.

That shift changes:

  • Your niche (some topics will never play nicely with premium networks)
  • Your traffic mix (Tier 1 becomes a non-negotiable, not an accident)
  • Your content format (long-form, high-intent, brand-safe, not thin viral fluff)

The Approval Ladder: From Zero Ads to Raptive or Mediavine

The Network Progression at a Glance

Here’s the simple version of how we move a site from zero to premium:

  • Day 1:
    • Install Google Analytics.
    • Install Grow by Mediavine.
    • Publish a base of ~30 articles.
    • Start sending 10–50 real clicks a day.
    • Apply for Google AdSense.
  • At ~1,000 sessions/month:
    • Apply to Ezoic.
    • Avoid term-heavy contracts.
    • Keep shipping content, not just fiddling with ad settings.
  • At ~10,000 sessions/month:
    • Apply to Journey by Mediavine.
    • Understand that it comes with a 3-month minimum commitment.
    • Keep pushing Tier 1 traffic share.
  • At 50,000 sessions/month:
    • Apply to Raptive and Mediavine at the same time.
    • If both say yes, we usually pick Raptive.
    • If both say no after a few months, we look at Freestar as a strong alternative.

Minimum Requirements You Need To Hit

Top-tier networks aren’t judging you like a blogger but like an inventory source.

The baselines we build toward:

  • 50,000+ monthly sessions
  • 50% or more of that from Tier 1 countries
  • Clean, fast, mobile-first layout
  • Original, brand-safe content that advertisers are happy to sit next to

If you’re nowhere near those numbers yet, that’s fine.

But it means your job right now is qualifying.

Approval Fundamentals: Get Your House in Order

1. Technical Setup Networks Care About

This is the boring stuff that decides whether a reviewer takes you seriously:

  • Google Analytics installed
    If you don’t have analytics, you’re signaling “hobby project.” Premium networks will ask for traffic proof anyway, so we start with GA from day one.
  • HTTPS / SSL turned on
    Google favors secure sites, and AdSense literally requires HTTPS for ads to run correctly.
  • Search engine visibility ON
    In WordPress, that little box that says “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” – that should be unchecked. If it’s on, you’re telling Google “please ignore me.”
  • Clean, ad-ready WordPress theme
    Simple, mobile-responsive, and fast. No glitchy page builders, no half-broken templates. We want a layout that can support header, in-content, sidebar, and sticky ads without breaking on mobile.

2. Trust & Compliance Pages

Reviewers are asking one question:

Is there a real human and a real business behind this?

You prove that with three pages:

  • About page
    • Who you are, what the site is about, who it’s for.
    • Doesn’t need to be an autobiography, just enough to show there’s a legitimate publisher and a clear purpose.
  • Contact page
    • A form or an email that actually works.
    • Networks (and brands) want to see a way to reach you.
    • A basic contact form plugin does the job.
  • Privacy policy
    Non-negotiable. You’re running cookies, you’re running ads, and in many cases you’re in scope for privacy laws. At minimum, your privacy policy should:
    • Explain that you use cookies/trackers
    • Disclose third-party ad partners (e.g., Google AdSense)
    • Link to their policies where required

Make sure these are live, linked in the footer, and not lorem ipsum.

If your privacy policy still says “Your Company Name” in brackets, you’re not ready to apply.

3. User Experience & Navigation

If a human reviewer gets lost on your site, you’re done.

We keep it stupid simple:

  • Clear menus and categories
    • One main nav with your core categories (not 15 random dropdowns).
    • Category pages that actually have content, not “coming soon.”
  • No dead ends
    • No broken links.
    • No empty tags or archives.
    • No pages with two sentences and a banner ad.
  • Mobile-first experience
    Most reviewers are going to experience your site the same way your audience does—on a phone. So check:
    • Is text readable without pinching?
    • Are buttons and links tappable?
    • Does the layout break anywhere?
  • Reasonable layout for ads
    Even before premium networks, design like they’re watching:
    • Room for in-content ads.
    • Space for a sticky sidebar or footer on desktop.
    • No chaotic placements that scream “made for ads.”

If your site feels like work to browse, it’s a UX problem.

If it feels like a content site with ads, you’re on the right track.

4. Policy Alignment: Don’t Fight the Rules

Most rejections are not personal. They’re policy.

Networks are protecting their advertisers. That means some topics are always going to be a harder sell.

We avoid or heavily sanitize:

  • Adult or sexually explicit content
  • Gambling and betting content
  • Pirated movies/music/downloads
  • Drugs, weapons, illegal activity
  • Hate, harassment, or “rage bait” politics
  • Misleading/fake news clickbait

Can you technically get traffic with that? Sure.

Will premium ad networks happily attach brand budgets to it? Almost never.

Our rule of thumb:

If you’d be nervous showing a Fortune 500 brand your homepage, an ad reviewer will be nervous too.

Content That Gets Yeses: Volume, Depth, and Niche

The 30-Article Rule (And Why It Works)

Ad networks won’t say this outright, but here’s the pattern:

Sites with fewer than ~30 well-written posts almost always look “new” or “thin.”

We aim for 30+ solid, original articles before applying anywhere.

Each article should be:

  • 1,000+ words (bare minimum)
  • Ideally 1,500–3,000 words in the long-run
  • On-topic, useful, and not fluff
  • Featuring original insights, not AI-generated filler

Why long-form?

Because long-form content does three things networks love:

  1. Increases time on site
  2. Supports more in-content ad placements without overwhelming the reader
  3. Signals editorial effort and quality

In other words: long content earns better RPM and looks like a real content business.

The Expandable Niche Framework

We rarely build broad sites from day one. That’s how you end up with a scattered mess that has no clear theme. And no ad network wants to approve a site they can’t categorize.

Our model:

Start narrow. Build authority. Expand intentionally.

Examples:

  • Gardening → landscaping → home & garden
  • Easy recipes → family meals → food & lifestyle
  • Puppy care → dog training → pets → home
  • Budget travel → destination guides → family travel
  • Baby sleep → toddler routines → parenting & family

Starting narrow helps you get faster approvals, better content cohesion, and a clean, authoritative content footprint

Then, expanding later helps you get more traffic that’s scalable, better diversification, and higher RPM niches when you grow into them.

Content That Networks Reject (Even If Traffic Is Good)

You can have viral traffic and still get rejected if your content looks cheap.

Networks hate:

  • Thin content (short, shallow, or repetitive posts)
  • Scraped / spun / lightly edited AI content
  • Viral-style clickbait with no substance
  • Posts that answer a question in two paragraphs
  • Empty category pages filled with placeholders
  • Mixed-topic sites with no thematic anchor
  • Controversial or sensational political content

Remember: premium networks do manual reviews. A human is looking at your article quality, writing style, and the overall “brand safety” of your site.

If your content looks like it could be mass-produced by 100 interns in a call center, you’re not getting into Mediavine or Raptive.

What ‘High-Quality Content’ Actually Means

Here’s our internal standard when evaluating articles for approval readiness:

  • Solve a real problem or teach something useful
  • Include structure (subheads, spacing, visuals if relevant)
  • Be factually accurate
  • Feel like it was written by someone who knows the topic
  • Be long enough to justify ads without looking ad-heavy
  • Avoid rambling and filler paragraphs
  • Add something to the conversation that isn’t generic

Advertisers want brand-safe pages where users stay engaged. Networks want content that aligns with their top-performing verticals.

Traffic That Counts: Hitting Session Thresholds the Smart Way

Sessions vs Pageviews (And Why Networks Use Sessions)

Quick translation:

  • Session = one visit
    Someone lands on your site and clicks around. That whole visit is one session.
  • Pageview = one page loaded
    If they read 3 articles in one visit, that’s 1 session, 3 pageviews.

Networks use sessions as the approval metric because it’s harder to game and cleaner to compare across sites.

So we build for qualified sessions, then stretch each session with good UX, internal links, and long-form content.

The Day 1–50K Sessions Roadmap

Here’s how we think about the climb from no ads to premium-ready.

Day 1: Lay the pipes

You don’t need 10,000 visitors on day one. You need a working system.

We want to see:

  • Google Analytics installed
  • Grow by Mediavine implemented
  • ~30 solid articles published
  • 10–50 real clicks a day from actual humans
  • An application in for Google AdSense

Around 1,000 sessions/month: Enter Ezoic

Once you’re seeing around 1,000 sessions a month, this is where we:

  • Apply to Ezoic
  • Avoid heavy term contracts or anything that limits future moves
  • Use it primarily to:
    • Start testing placements
    • Understand how your content behaves with ads
    • Gather early RPM benchmarks by content type

Important: This is not the moment to obsess over squeezing every cent.

Your core work is still: publishing, ranking, and growing Tier 1 traffic.

Around 10,000 sessions/month: Journey by Mediavine

Now we start talking about Journey by Mediavine.

At this stage, we:

  • Apply to Journey once sessions are consistently around 10k+
  • Accept there’s a 3-month minimum commitment
  • Use that time to:
    • Tighten UX to Mediavine standards
    • Build volume in your best-performing content verticals
    • Continue shifting traffic toward Tier 1 share

50,000+ sessions/month: Premium applications

This is the milestone that matters. Once you’re at 50,000 sessions a month with a decent Tier 1 share, we:

  • Apply simultaneously to:
    • Raptive
    • Mediavine
  • If both say yes, we usually pick Raptive based on overall RPM and terms.
  • If both say no after ~3 months, we:
    • Fix what’s blocking approvals
    • Explore Freestar as a strong next option

Traffic Sources: What Reviewers Actually Like

Patterns are obvious once you’ve seen enough accounts.

We like:

  • Organic search: Stable, intent-driven, and clean. Great for long-term RPM and approvals.
  • Facebook & social (used correctly): Fantastic for scale, especially in lifestyle, food, and entertainment verticals. Needs guardrails so you don’t flood your site with low-quality clicks.
  • Pinterest, newsletters, and direct: Solid signals of real audience, especially in certain niches (food, home, parenting).

We avoid like the plague:

  • Click farms
  • Purchased “bot” traffic
  • Arbitrage schemes with non-Tier 1 junk
  • Incentivized clicks (“click this to win X”)

You might see numbers go up. But every meaningful network has fraud detection. You’re not going to outsmart that.

Image via Mediavine

Tier 1 Traffic: Engineering Your Ratios

Remember: premium networks want at least 50% of your traffic from Tier 1 countries.

So we don’t leave that to chance.

We intentionally:

  • Create content that speaks to Tier 1 realities (not hyper-local to markets that don’t pay)
  • Target keywords and interests with strong Tier 1 demand
  • Run Facebook campaigns optimized for Tier 1 audiences
  • Avoid growth tactics that spike non-Tier 1 traffic and drag your ratios down

Early Ads Without Tanking Future Approvals

If I start with AdSense or Ezoic, will that hurt my chances with Mediavine or Raptive later?

Short answer: No. If you stay compliant and sane.

We use early networks to:

  • See which content types earn best
  • Validate that your site plays nicely with ads
  • Train yourself to think in terms of RPM, not just raw traffic

What we DON’T do:

  • Stuff every pixel with ads just because we can
  • Run clickbait placements that feel scammy
  • Pollute the UX to the point a human reviewer would bounce

Ad Network-Specific Approval Playbooks

Google AdSense

AdSense is rarely where you’ll make life-changing money. But it is the first real test of whether your site is ready for monetization.

We use AdSense to answer one question: Can this site pass a basic quality and policy check?

What we want in place before applying:

  • ~30 solid, original articles
  • About, Contact, and Privacy Policy pages live and visible
  • Clean, mobile-friendly design
  • No policy landmines (adult, piracy, gambling, etc.)
  • Google Analytics installed and collecting data

The application process:

  1. Sign up with your Google account.
  2. Add your site URL and country.
  3. Enter accurate payee details (name, address, phone).
  4. Add the verification code or tag to your site.
  5. Submit and leave the code in place during review.

You can get either:

  • Approved → ads can start serving once your account is fully activated.
  • Rejected → usually labeled something like “low-value content” or “site not ready.”

If you’re rejected:

  • Audit content: Are posts too short, generic, or obviously low-effort?
  • Fix UX: Clean menus, remove dead pages, simplify the layout.
  • Tighten compliance: Make sure privacy policy and contact info are real and clear.
  • Add more content: Often the site is just too small and looks half-built.

Then we wait a bit, improve the footprint, and try again.

Ezoic: The First Step Up

Image via Ezoic

Once you’ve got some traffic and a functioning AdSense-level site, we look at Ezoic as a bridge.

When we apply:

  • Around 1,000+ sessions/month
  • Site is stable, content base is growing, UX is under control

Use Ezoic to:

  • To start testing:
    • Layouts
    • Ad densities
    • Different positions and formats
  • To get a clearer view of RPM by content type

Ezoic’s tech stack lets you experiment more aggressively than AdSense alone. Used well, that’s a strategic advantage.

What we watch out for:

  • Term-heavy agreements. We avoid anything that locks us in when we know we’re aiming for premium networks later.
  • Over-optimization that crushes UX. The goal is not “ads everywhere,” it’s “data and learning without wrecking the site.”

Journey by Mediavine: On-Ramp to Premium

We like Journey as a positioning move, not just a revenue move.

When we apply:

  • Around 10,000+ sessions/month
  • Content aligns with Mediavine-style verticals (food, home, lifestyle, parenting, travel, personal finance, etc.)
  • Site already looks like something a premium network would be comfortable with

What to expect:

  • A 3-month minimum commitment – you’re not bouncing in and out weekly.
  • A more curated partnership feel than pure plug-and-play.
  • A clear path: if you grow into their main thresholds, you’re already in their system.

How we use that 3-month window:

  • Tighten UX specifically to Mediavine expectations
  • Double down on the content verticals that’re performing best
  • Push Tier 1 traffic so you’re trending toward their main network requirements

Mediavine & Raptive: The Premium Tier

Image via Mediavine

This is where the ceiling really moves.

Raptive and Mediavine are different leagues in terms of RPM, advertiser relationships, and overall earnings potential.

Baseline requirements we build for:

  • 50,000+ monthly sessions
  • At least 50 percent Tier 1 traffic (US, CA, UK, AU, NZ)
  • Brand-safe, advertiser-friendly content
  • Clean, modern design and strong mobile experience
  • A clear vertical: food, home, parenting, lifestyle, personal finance, travel, pets, etc.

How we apply:

Once those numbers are real (not just a one-week spike), we:

  • Apply to Mediavine and Raptive at the same time
  • Present the site as a serious content property, not a side project
  • Make sure everything—from privacy policy to category pages—looks audit-ready

How we decide between them:

If both say yes:

  • We usually lean toward Raptive where overall RPMs and fit make sense.
  • But the final call can depend on:
    • Niche
    • Traffic mix
    • Long-term roadmap

If only one says yes, the decision is easy.

If both say no, we don’t panic. We diagnose.

If both decline:

  • Read their feedback carefully (often hints at traffic, UX, or niche issues).
  • Check:
    • Is Tier 1 share lower than we thought?
    • Is the niche too borderline for their brand-safety standards?
    • Is the site’s design/content not up to par visually?
  • Fix, grow, and decide whether to:
    • Rebuild toward another attempt
    • Or pivot to Freestar as our next premium candidate

Freestar: The Plan B With Teeth

Freestar is also a serious network that plays in the same neighborhood as the big two.

We bring Freestar into the conversation when:

  • A site has strong traffic and content
  • But Mediavine/Raptive either passed or aren’t the best fit for the niche
  • Or we want a different flavor of ad stack and support

It’s our flex option when:

  • We’ve outgrown entry-level networks
  • We’ve built premium-level traffic
  • But the main two logos on the block haven’t lined up yet

Short, direct answers with our stance and numbers where possible.

FAQs We Get From Publishers All the Time

Can I get approved with mostly Facebook traffic?

Short answer: Yes, if it’s real and Tier 1-heavy.

If your Facebook strategy is…

  • Clean headlines
  • Brand-safe content
  • Targeted mostly to US/UK/CA/AU/NZ

…you can absolutely get approved, even for premium networks. We run Facebook-first sites all the time. The key is quality + geography, not the logo sending the clicks.

Do I need SEO traffic, or is social enough?

You CAN get approved on social alone.

You’ll just sleep better with search in the mix.

Our ideal blend:

  • Social for spikes and scale
  • SEO for stability and baseline

Can I use AI content and still get approved?

You can use AI as a tool. Networks and advertisers care about:

  • Originality
  • Depth
  • Brand safety
  • User value

If your site looks like 100 AI posts stitched together with no editing, no sourcing, and no real expertise, you’re going to trip every “low value” wire in the system.

If a human wouldn’t bookmark it, a reviewer won’t approve it. No matter who wrote the first draft.

How many times can I apply if I get rejected?

There’s no magic limit.

But every blind reapply lowers your odds mentally, if not literally.

We treat rejections like this:

  1. Read the reason.
  2. Fix the root cause (content, UX, policies, traffic mix).
  3. Improve the site meaningfully, not cosmetically.
  4. Wait a bit, let the new pattern show in analytics.
  5. Reapply once the story is clearly better.

If you’re resubmitting every week with no real changes, you’re just feeding the same data into the machine.

Should I buy a pre-approved site instead of building one?

Depends what you have more of: time or money.

Buying a pre-approved site can:

  • Fast-track you into AdSense/Mediavine/Raptive land
  • Let you skip the “0 → 50k sessions” grind
  • Give you an asset with proven RPM and traffic

But it also requires serious due diligence, capital, and operational chops (you still have to grow and maintain it).

We like this path for operators who:

  • Already understand content and traffic
  • Prefer optimizing to building from zero
  • Are comfortable investing upfront

If you’re still learning the basics, you’ll learn faster (and cheaper) by building your own first.

What’s the biggest reason good sites still get rejected?

Honestly? Sloppiness.

Not scams. Not terrible content. Just:

  • Missing privacy policy
  • Half-finished menus
  • Thin clusters of content
  • Confusing UX on mobile
  • One or two borderline topics that spook reviewers

Most of those are fixable in 30–60 days with a focused plan.

If you’ve read this far, you’re 

Next Step: Get an Approval-Ready Audit

If you’ve made it this far, you’re already ahead of most publishers.

You’re not just asking how to get ads live but how to get into the right networks.

Now, you have two options:

  • Option 1: DIY the playbook. Audit your site, tighten UX, get your 30+ solid articles live, bias hard toward Tier 1 traffic, then apply to the right network at the right milestones. If you follow the ladder in this guide, you’ll get there—no magic tricks required.
  • Option 2: Have us sanity-check it. We look at your site the way an ad network reviewer will. We tell you what’s already “yes,” what’s blocking approvals, and which network you should realistically be aiming at next.

If you want that kind of clarity, let us audit the site then you can decide how aggressive you want to scale.

If you want or need help growing a Facebook monetization enterprise, check out our programs: 🔑 Turnkey Management (Facebook, Google Discover, Syndication) 🧠 Elite Consulting (Facebook, other platforms coming soon)