How to sell ad space on your website
Nishant · Updated 10 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
Short answer
To sell ad space directly, choose one to three placements, set a monthly price, and publish an "Advertise" page with dates and booking details. Find a brand that wants your audience, take payment before the start, and run the ad on its agreed dates. Public asking prices commonly range from $44 to $350 a month; an unsold spot earns nothing.
On this page
Across 25 published websites with monthly USD prices, the median cheapest offer is $125; the middle half ask $50 to $300. These are asking prices, not confirmed sales.
Currently published directory: 43 unique domains. Source observations: 2026-10-08 to 2026-10-09. Asking prices, not confirmed sales. USD monthly website offers; each domain contributes its cheapest offer. A format cohort includes sites offering that format, not the individual placement price. Traffic bands describe stated visitors or pageviews; they are not CPM estimates. Groups need at least 10 unique domains.
Three ways to sell ad space
You can let an ad network fill your pages, let a marketplace find buyers, or sell directly. Each fits a different site.
| Ad network | Ad marketplace | Direct sponsorship | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples | AdSense, Ezoic, Mediavine, Raptive | BuySellAds, Carbon Ads, EthicalAds | Your own advertise page |
| Who picks the ad | The network's auction | The marketplace, within your rules | You |
| How you're paid | Per 1,000 views, monthly payout | A share of what the advertiser pays | Fixed price, usually up front |
| Traffic needed | Some networks set a minimum | Usually reviewed per site | None, if a brand wants your audience |
| Work for you | Paste code once | Apply, then little | Find sponsors, swap ads on time |
| Page weight | Several ad scripts | Usually one small ad | One image and a link |
Pick an ad network for broad traffic when you don't want to sell. Pick a marketplace if your audience fits its entry rules and you want buyers found for you. Sell directly if your audience is focused and you can find sponsors. Small sites can sell too, but traffic alone doesn't guarantee demand. Check network restrictions before combining methods: see AdSense alternatives and the comparisons of BuySellAds, Carbon Ads and EthicalAds.
How to sell ad space directly
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Choose your spotsOne to three, where readers really look.
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Know your numbersMonthly visitors, top countries, who reads you.
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Set a monthly priceStart from the tables below, adjust for your audience.
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Publish an advertise pageEach spot with a screenshot, size, price and open months.
What the advertise page needs
- Who reads you, in one line. Brands buy the audience more than the raw count: "developers who build with Laravel" says more than "40,000 visitors".
- Each spot: a screenshot of where it sits, what the brand supplies (logo, one line, a link), the monthly price and the open months.
- How to book: a booking link or an email address, and when payment is due.
- Your ad rules: what you won't run, and that you approve each ad before it goes live.
Link to it as "Advertise" from your footer or navigation.
What to charge
middle half of prices median · Currently published directory: 43 unique domains. Source observations: 2026-10-08 to 2026-10-09. Asking prices, not confirmed sales. USD monthly website offers; each domain contributes its cheapest offer. A format cohort includes sites offering that format, not the individual placement price. Traffic bands describe stated visitors or pageviews; they are not CPM estimates. Groups need at least 10 unique domains.
No traffic cohort yet has enough fresh published domains to show a price range.
Ranges are wide: niche matters as much as traffic. Full tables, including niches, are in banner ad pricing.
Real examples from the dataset:
| Published website | USD asking price |
|---|---|
| 12voltmag.com | $149 starting price a month |
| 2regularguys.com | $100 starting price a month |
| 3dprintmetal.co | $500 starting price a month |
Worked example
Hypothetical example: a $150 monthly spot at 30,000 pageviews asks $5 per 1,000 pageviews. Ten booked months bring $1,500 before fees. These inputs illustrate the arithmetic; they are not a market recommendation.
For tiers and rate cards, read sponsorship packages.
Sell by the month
A minimum term can reduce work between sponsors. It can also deter a first booking. Offer a clear single-month option where it fits your product.
Where to find your first sponsors
- Look at who already advertises to your audience. Check similar sites' advertise pages and newsletters. Those brands have a budget for your readers.
- Ask the tools you already write about. A site that reviews or links to a product already sends it traffic.
- Make the advertise link visible. A link in the footer of every page is often how the first inquiry arrives.
Once a brand says yes, take payment before the start date, run the ad on its dates and send a short report at the end: the pitch, payment and report are in how to sell sponsorships.
Tools for running direct sales
You can run direct sales with an advertise page, a calendar and payment links from your own Stripe or PayPal account; that costs nothing beyond payment fees but you swap ads by hand. Marketplaces handle buyers and payment for a share. A booking tool such as Sponsor.st takes the bookings and swaps the ads on their dates, and brands pay your own Stripe or Dodo account.
Common mistakes
- No price on the page. "Contact us for rates" loses brands who want to book without a call.
- Too many spots. Five ads on a page lower the value of each one.
- Ads that stay up after they end. A sponsor who sees their ad start and end on time books again.
- Payment after the fact. Take payment before the ad goes live.
- Pricing from traffic alone. A narrow audience that buys things can charge more than a larger general one.
- Followed paid links. Mark sponsor links
rel="sponsored"and label the spot.