Infolinks is a relatively new ad network that specializes in text links. They came forth as a competitor to Google’s AdSense, and they’ve positioned themselves as one of the most prominent ways to make money through text links available. They have one of the best algorithms for indexing your page and determining relevant ads, which leads to a higher overall conversion rate than most similar programs.

Infolinks is certainly powerful. They’re incredibly easy to set up and get running. The ads are integrated with your content without disrupting the user experience. And, of course, their pay is good.

Still, there are times when you want an alternative. Maybe Infolinks just hasn’t worked out for you. Maybe you found your users rebelled against their presence. Maybe you were somehow banned from the program, for one reason or another. What alternatives can you find?

Bidvertiser

This is one of the older networks that functioned as a good alternative to AdSense before Infolinks came to the fore. They track conversions and give you bonuses for higher conversion rates. They also offer a toolbar that you can customize and offer to your followers. I wouldn’t recommend using it, unless your audience is the kind to really enjoy toolbars, but it exists.

Vibrant Media

Another great network, Vibrant has one advantage in focusing on native advertising. Technically all text ads are typically native ads, but with an added focus on the native appearance, Vibrant is able to capture more user attention through tertiary ad units, boosting your ability to earn through their platform.

Chitika

This network is going on 12 years old at this point, and it’s one of the largest networks compared to Google themselves. They have close ties with Yahoo, and in fact became the replacement to Yahoo’s affiliate program. This particular network has a special click prediction algorithm that analyzes traffic and determines the best ad to put in the best location to maximize clicks. They also have a mobile network, for advertisers catering to a mobile audience.

Adversal

Another newer network, this one specializes in high quality image ads as well as text ads. They boast a 100% fill rate, and they offer pop-unders for the publishers willing to use them. They do prefer sites with over 50K views per month, but it’s worth trying in case you can slip in with a lower average. Additionally, they’re one of the better networks to use if you’re running non-English ads.

Clicksor

One of the other big names in the advertising industry, Clicksor is some of Google’s stiffest competition. With a decent volume, you can make a great living with their high payouts. The biggest grip with this network is the analytics, which aren’t the best in the business. On the other hand, they’re very accommodating with their payouts, which work better for small businesses than many larger networks.

Amobee

Formerly known as Kontera, Amobee is an advertising network that specializes in real time interactions and reporting. This means that their analytics, their conversion confirmation and their data is all top notch. They have a unique blended exchange that works both with desktop and mobile sites.

Viglink

A unique service that takes links you already have and redirects them through their servers to provide some ad presence, which allows users to click on those ads and earn you a payout. Think of it like a cross between Infolinks and something like AdFly, though it’s nowhere near as intrusive. They pay Net-60 and will cover Paypal fees. They’re also easy to remove, if your users find them too intrusive.

Affinity

Affinity, like many other ad networks, does both graphical and textual advertising. They also focus highly on mobile ads, making them one of the best sites to use if you’re running a mobile-focused site. It’s growing rapidly and is quickly becoming an industry leader.

Intellilinks

One of the most direct competitors to Infolinks on this list, Intellilinks is another purely text-based advertising provider. Their links are as organic as possible, and they keep their algorithm up to date to make sure they aren’t providing irrelevant content. There’s not a lot to say, beyond the interesting fact that they have a WordPress plugin you can use to run their service through a WP site. They split revenue 50/50, which isn’t the best for the industry, but it’s not unfair.

Skimlinks

Not to be confused with skim milk, Skimlinks is like a cross between Viglink and Infolinks. They offer both the server-redirect ads the same way Viglink does, and the text-based ads that Infolinks does. You can run one or both, and if a user clicks on any of the ads, you earn a payout. The only complaint I have is that their analytics is a little wonky at times.

Possibly Dead Sites

These are noteable ad networks that are good alternatives to infolinks, but when we checked, their site was offline. They are still worth an honorable mention, whether their site is still alive or not:

AdColt
AdColt is an ad system based in LA, this isn’t so much an ad network as it is a tool that allows you to manage your own ads. You set it up and it hooks you up with a bunch of advertisers who might want a chunk of your monthly views. Get a few advertisers on page, and you don’t need a third party network to skim money off the top.

B4PSAds
A hybrid network combining CPA and PPC marketing in a way that maximizes your potential earnings. Claiming 75 million monthly impressions, they have the potential to earn you quite a bit with some skilled ad placement. My main grip is just that their site doesn’t look very professional. They boast an intelligent ad placement system similar to Chitika’s, which helps boost conversion rates. One item of note is that they run contests for publishers, with cash prizes at stake.

Any Ad-based URL Shortener There are a lot of services that allow you to convert the links on your site into shortlinks that push the user through an ad-enabled frame to get to their content. You can use AdFly, CoinURL or any of the others. There are so many it’s not worth hunting them down to list here. Just be aware that these typically pay pennies per view, so it’s not a get rich quick scheme.

Do you have a favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Join the Discussion

1. 

   Eddie Keyton

   says:

   November 23, 2015 at 7:23 am

   I used info links when I first started my blog and it didn’t convert very well for me so I threw Adsense on it. Been earning a few hundred a month using Adsense. Now I hit around a million visitors per month so I decided to give info links another shot. Hopefully they convert nicely for me with Google Adsense to double my income every month. We shall see.

   Reply

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