Google AdSense

AdSense is the default answer to putting ads on a site, and for most creators it is the only one available until traffic grows enough for a managed network to take the call. Setup is a script tag and a review. The rate per thousand views is lower than what Raptive or Mediavine negotiate, and the trade is that nobody has to want you first.

Nothing to pay. Google's help centre states that publishers receive 80 percent of revenue for AdSense for Content after the buy-side platform takes its fee, and that a publisher keeps about 68 percent when the advertiser buys through Google Ads. Rates for other AdSense products are not disclosed.

A site under the 25,000 monthly pageviews the managed networks ask for, and anybody who wants ad revenue starting this week rather than after an application. A site already past that floor is leaving money on the table here.