(Special thanks to Codeless for this guest post contribution - be sure to visit them for more great website optimization ideas!)

So you've started a WordPress blog.

You've created some great content for it and optimized everything to start generating traffic.

As it turns out, within a few months, your website has become a hit!

The blog is performing so well that it’s even starting to receive some significant organic and social traffic.

(If you haven’t created a blog yet, you may being interested in checking out this guide: Start a WordPress Blog)

But now that you’ve got blog traffic, how do you plan to earn money through it?

One of the best ways is to get approved to join an ad network like Google Ads or Ezoic to start showing ads and earning money.

This is what top performing websites do - they offer free content and then monetize it with ads.

However, ad networks usually offer ad codes (also referred to as “ad tags”) in HTML or JavaScript format. It can be difficult for a beginner to add these codes to different categories and posts on a website.

This is where the best ad management WordPress plugins come in handy.

A good WordPress ad management plugin offers ease of use, flexibility, and affordable price.

Having said that, if you’re using plugins to optimize your website, you will, at some point, need the help of a WordPress website development agency - because while it’s easy, it often still needs an expert to carry out tasks related to development, customization, and other common WordPress issues that may get in the way.

By keeping the above-mentioned criteria in mind, we researched and found some of the best options on the market.

Here's what we liked and disliked about each ad plugin.

Best WordPress Plugins for Ad Management

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AdButler offers everything you need to add, serve, and track ads.

The best thing about AdButler is that your ads are hosted directly on their server, leading to great web loading speed while avoiding core web vital issues.

You can easily install the AdButler plugin from the WordPress repository.

Multi-Purpose Ad Server: AdButler offers the fastest ad server, specialized for different categories like display ads, video ads email ads, and many more.

Ad Marketplace: You can use AdButler’s self-serve marketplace to host your available ad inventory, making it available for anybody to pay for and purchase. This means that you can increase revenue by engaging businesses that are looking to promote their messages through direct ad deals.

Host Mobile App Ads: AdButler’s mobile ad server is one of the best features of this ad plugin. You can use AdButler’s API to show ads in your mobile apps. This means your apps will be faster to load while avoiding any issues with your app servers. As a result, you can increase your revenue while cutting the costs of expensive alternative servers.

Customized Ads: You can also use the AdButler API to build fully responsive custom ads No matter whether you run a directory website, a retail business, or a blogging website, you can create ads that match the look and feel of your website. Browse some examples in this ad format example gallery.

Ad Scheduling: AdButler allows you to schedule your ads by offering complete control over the ad serving. It includes time, location, the device’s screen-type, and associated keywords. Whether your audience is traveling or staying indoors, you will be able to earn through automation.

Easy-To-Use Interface: The layout of the AdButler website and plugin is very intuitive. You can easily navigate and configure all of its options without difficulty. From detailed analytics to custom development, everything has been designed while keeping beginners in mind .

Help and Support: AdButler offers support through detailed documentation - including helpful articles, a resource center for developers, and an email ticketing system.

Pricing: AdButler offers a free 14-day trial. You can sign up and test it easily. There are four pricing plans. The most affordable plan starts at just $149 per month, with higher prices for different use-cases, all the way up to enterprise-level requirements. While it isn’t the cheapest solution on the market, its combination of turn-key features, room for customization, and SaaS-based pricing can help to multiply your revenue in no time.

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AdRotate is an ad management WordPress plugin with an optional pro version. You can easily install it from the WordPress plugins repository. It has 40,000+ active installations and 500+ reviews on WordPress.

It is a simple plugin, yet it offers powerful functionalities.

Easy To Use: AdRotate is very easy to use. Both the free and Pro versions have the same dashboard. You can easily find all the options in the dashboard.

HTML, PHP, and JavaScript: You can easily set up ads by using the HTML and JavaScript codes. The best thing about the AdRotate plugin is that you can even add the PHP snippets into your theme files easily.

Reporting: You can see detailed analytics within the dashboard. It includes the number of live ads, impressions, clicks, and click-through rate.

Geo-targeting: The pro version of this plugin allows you to set up the countries where you want to show the specific ads. This means you can increase revenue by targeting premium traffic.

Scheduled Ads: You can also schedule ads by using this feature - which offers the flexibility to schedule ads by holidays, seasons, or only weekdays.

Mobile Advertising: According to Statista, 58.99% of global web traffic comes from mobile devices. You can use this WordPress ad plugin to create variants of ads to fit the different screens of various mobile devices perfectly.

Notifications: AdRotate sends notifications when your ads expire or face an error. You can see the notifications in the dashboard and can also receive them in the email box.

Support: You can contact support from within the dashboard. Pro users receive priority support. Moreover, AdRotate has detailed documentation on its website. We think the live chat option will help users get started quickly.

Pricing: The free version is available for all WordPress users. The Pro version costs €39 for a single site, €49.00 for two, €99 for 5, and €199 for 100 websites. There is no option to buy it for unlimited websites. The major advantage of using this plugin is that these prices are for lifetime activations.

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Adsanity is a WordPress plugin with only a premium version that displays your ads in several ways. You can put them into widgets as well as load them into a visual editor. All you need to get started is to install the plugin and paste the code into your website.

Lightweight: Most ad plugins are heavy on resource consumption. They can slow your website's loading speed. This is not the case with AdSanity. It is lightweight and fast. Moreover, it installs only the core features unless you prefer the advanced features.

HTML5 Compatible: Since most ad networks offer ads in HTML5 format, this ad manager can easily handle those ads. Similar to AdRotate, you can also use shortcodes to place your ads.

Flexibility: You can use it to monetize your blog through ad widgets, posts, pages, and even the selected posts in a category. It also allows you to display the ads through shortcodes. When you use this plugin, you won’t need any other add-ons.

Detailed Stats: You can easily see the best and worst performing ads. It allows you to select custom stats if you prefer.

Scheduled Ads: Similar to AdRotate, you can select the start and end dates for publishing certain ads on your website.

Developer-friendly: If you are a developer, you can easily customize the plugin to suit your requirements.

Support: The AdSanity plugin comes with extensive documentation. The support is based on a ticketing system. We think the live chat feature will help new users get started quickly.

Price: There is no free version. It costs $59/year for a single domain. If you want to use it for multiple websites, you need to pay $179/year. There is also a lifetime subscription option when you pay $499. AdSanity is not cheap when we compare it to free alternatives - however, the features are worth every penny.

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Advanced ads is a free WordPress plugin with a pro version available for those who want advanced functionalities. It has 150,000+ active installations and 1,300+ reviews on WordPress.

It offers unique features like A/B testing, AdBlocker monetization, and ad server features that are not available in AdSanity and AdRotate plugins.

Add CSS and JS Codes: Just like every other ad monetization plugin, you can add CSS and JavaScript codes easily. However, one of the best things about this plugin is that you can also add ad sliders and grids.

A/B Testing: You can create two sets of ads and insert them into different positions or pages to find out which combination will generate more revenue.

Conditional Targeting: This plugin helps you set up conditions to determine when to show an ad. You can set conditions like specific keywords included on a page and the total number of words in an article, among other options.

Ad Refresh and Lazy Loading: These features are not available in either AdSanity or AdRotate. The ads refresh automatically while the users scroll through your web pages. Lazy loading helps the page speed to improve. As a result, your webpage can rank higher.

Ad Blocker Monetization: You can use this feature to show ads that the users can not block.

Ad Server: If you want to monetize non-WordPress websites through this plugin, you can use the ad server option to show ads on your website via an ad server like AdButler.

Fraud Protection: Too many ad clicks from a single user can cause the termination of your ad account. The Advanced Ads plugin comes with a click-fraud protection feature to save your account and reputation.

Support: Advanced Ads has great tutorials on their website and offer support through an email ticketing system.

Pricing: It costs €49 / year for 1 website, €69 / year for 2 websites, and €99 / year for 10 websites. The major disadvantage of this ad manager is it is not available for unlimited websites, and there is no lifetime pro version.

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The Ads Pro plugin is a paid WordPress plugin that can be used to manage ad placement. It has a rating of 4.46, and over 9,000 people have purchased the plugin from CodeCanyon. The best thing about this plugin are its easy-to-use templates and beautiful grids that can help you increase your revenue quickly.

Powerful Dashboard: The dashboard allows you to create or delete ads easily. You can add as many ads and as much ad space as you want - there’s no limit. Since the dashboard is very easy to use, it saves time effectively.

Templates: Ads Pro comes with 25+ templates that you can use out of the box. You can also edit the templates to create custom-sized ads.

Filters: You can use ad filters to show or hide ads in specific tags, categories, or posts. The filters also allow you to show or hide ads depending on the device that has been used to access your webpage.

User Manager: While most of the other reviewed plugins lack this feature, the Ads Pro plugin allows you to add users and set their access levels.

Geo-targeting: While this feature is similar to the one offered by the Advanced Ads plugin, you can also target users based on postal code regions. The rest of the features include A/B testing and ad translation.

Support: Ads Pro offers support through CodeCanyon. You can fill out a support form and they promise to get back to you within two days. We think the support needs an improvement in the response time.

Pricing: It costs $59 for lifetime access to this WordPress plugin for ads management. You can install it only on your own website. If you want to install it on your clients’ sites, you need to pay $199. When we consider that we’re paying for lifetime convenience, it is worth the price.

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Ad inserter is the best free ad management plugin for WordPress websites. It has 200,000+ active installations. With 4.9 overall ratings, over 1,900 reviewers have rated it as a 5-star plugin.

A pro version of this plugin is available. However, most users won’t require it, as it offers so many options in the free version.

Supports All Ads: You can add Google AdSense, Media.net, or Infolinks ads easily. It also supports Amazon native shopping ads and rotating banners. You can even use it for opt-in forms, tracking codes, PHP scripts, and header bidding codes. Moreover, it also allows sticky ads.

Ad Position flexibility: While all other plugins require a pro version to customize the location of an ad, this plugin allows you to do it for free. You can add ads before the post, after the post, inside the post, before or after a paragraph, and even before or after an image. Moreover, you can select post categories through which to show or hide certain ads.

Ads.txt File Editor: You can use the ad inserter to edit this file inside the WordPress dashboard according to your requirements.

Other notable features of this plugin include ad rotation, TinyMCE editor support, compatibility with Google Site Kit, ad block detection, as well as the ability to blacklist devices, browsers, and operating systems.

Pricing: It is free if you want to use the above-mentioned features. If you want advanced features like geolocation, statistics, A/B testing, and lazy loading, it costs €20 for 2 sites, €30 for 5, €50 for 25, and €100 for 100 websites. The prices are nominal when compared to the other ad management plugins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does WP Rocket work with ad plugins?

Yes, WP Rocket works with most ad plugins. However, you should be careful while using the advanced features of the WP Rocket. Lazy loading of the ads can decrease the impressions and revenue. Furthermore, using certain features, such as delay and defer, can break the scripts - resulting in bad performance by ad plugins.

How can ads be added to the WordPress AMP plugin?

Once you’ve installed the AMP plugin, go to your AdSense account and turn on AMP ads. Copy the code and insert it into your website to show the ads on AMP pages.

How can Google AdSense ads be added to WordPress without plugins?

To add google AdSense ads without a plugin, copy the ad code and insert it into the “themes” files. You can find these files by clicking Appearance -> Theme Editor -> Header.php file.

Make sure to add it before the HTML body tag of the website. This process requires a bit of coding knowledge, so perform it with caution. Otherwise, it can potentially break your website.

It’s also worth noting, if updating code and plugins seems a bit intimidating, it may be worth considering joining an AdSense alternative network instead.

What’s the best WordPress plugin for serving multiple ads?

With its advanced filters and conditional targeting features, the pro version of Advanced Ads is the best WordPress plugin for serving multiple ads.

Which ad plugin is best for beginners?

Ad Inserter is the best ad plugin for beginners - it’s free, you can insert an ad into the desired position easily, and it accepts all types of ad codes.

How do I add affiliate ads to WordPress?

First, you need an ad management plugin. After installation, copy the code of the affiliate ad and paste it into the fields shown by the ad plugin.

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Special thanks again to Codeless for this insightful guest post contribution!

Are you looking for a straightforward way to monetize your WordPress website(s)?

The AdButler team has over two decades of experience in providing and configuring ad serving solutions for both publishers and advertisers.

Check out AdButler's WordPress plugin for yourself.

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