Ad networks

An ad network sells attention it does not own. Publishers (news sites, file hosts, streaming sites, apps) give the network space on their pages or permission to send push notifications to their subscribers. The network runs an auction for that inventory and sells it to advertisers, keeping a share of what the advertiser pays.

For affiliates, the relevant networks are self-serve: you open an account, deposit money, set up a campaign with targeting and a bid, and traffic starts flowing within hours after moderation. This site covers three: PropellerAds and RichAds, which sell push, in-page push and popunder traffic, and MGID, a native network whose recommendation widgets sit under articles on publisher sites.

These networks are not the social platforms. Meta, Google and TikTok are also ad networks in the broad sense, but they sell logged-in audiences with deep targeting and strict review. Push, pop and native networks sell cheaper, less targeted inventory, with lighter targeting and moderation that varies by network. That trade-off is why affiliates in verticals like nutra lean on them.

1. Format fit for the offer. Start with the offer, not the network. Long-form nutra stories suit native, where an advertorial can read like editorial content. Short, direct offers and wide tests suit push and pop, which are cheap per click but give you seconds of attention. Pick networks that sell the format your funnel needs.

2. Traffic volume in your geo. Check the network's own traffic estimator for your country, format and device before depositing. A network that is huge overall may have little inventory in the tier 2 or tier 3 country your COD offer targets.

3. Traffic quality and transparency. You need to see and block individual placements (publisher or zone IDs) through your tracker. A network that hides sources or passes no placement macro leaves you unable to optimise. Expect a share of low-quality traffic on every network; what differs is whether you can cut it.

4. Moderation and policy for your vertical. Read the network's rules for health products before you build creatives. Networks differ on what they allow in nutra: before-and-after images, disease names, fake celebrity endorsements. A policy mismatch wastes days of approval loops.

5. Bidding models. CPC, CPM and, on some networks, CPA or target-CPA bidding. CPM on push and pop is cheap to test but exposes you to bad placements; CPC shifts some of that risk to the network. Automated bidding modes help beginners but hide the placement-level control experienced buyers want.

6. Tracker integration. Ready templates in your tracker for the network's click ID, cost and placement macros, and ideally automatic cost import and a conversion postback so the network's optimisation sees your conversions.

7. Minimum deposit and payment methods. Most self-serve networks require a first deposit before a campaign runs. Check the minimum, accepted methods, and refund terms for unused balance.

8. Support. A manager who can whitelist good placements or explain a rejection is worth a lot on your first campaigns.

For a first test, pick one network and one format, fund the minimum deposit, and set a daily budget you can lose without changing your plans.

The differences that actually separate networks once you are past the basics:

• Placement-level control. Whether the network passes a source or zone ID and lets you blacklist and whitelist at that level, and bid differently per placement.
• Traffic tiers. Many push and pop networks split inventory into quality tiers or groups with different prices. Knowing which tier you are buying matters more than the headline CPC.
• Anti-fraud. What the network filters itself, and whether it refunds for traffic proven fraudulent.
• Moderation speed and consistency. Hours versus days to approve, and whether the same creative gets different decisions from different moderators.
• Optimisation tools. Automatic rules, conversion-based optimisation, and whether they work with your tracker's postback.
• Reporting delay. How fast spend shows up, which affects how quickly you can cut a losing placement.

You do not pay the network a subscription; you pay for the traffic, in advance, from a deposited balance. Prices are set by auction per format, country, device and traffic tier, so there is no single rate: the same push click can cost several times more in the US than in a tier 3 country.

Bid models are usually CPC or CPM, and some networks offer CPA or target-CPA modes where the network optimises toward a conversion price you set. Every network sets a minimum deposit, but not every one publishes a minimum bid: some state fixed floors, others only show a recommended bid inside the campaign form.

What the three networks in this category state, as of September 2026:

• RichAds: minimum deposit $150; minimum CPC $0.003 for push and in-page push; popunder from $0.5 CPM in tier 3 and $1 CPM in tier 1 (RichAds FAQ).
• PropellerAds: minimum deposit "starts from $100 US Dollars depending on the payment method" (PropellerAds terms); wire transfer is recommended only from $1,000 because of bank fees (PropellerAds help). The campaign form shows a recommended and maximum bid rather than a published floor.
• MGID: minimum deposit $100, with $650 recommended so a test gathers enough data (MGID help centre). Its help centre does not publish a fixed minimum CPC and warns that bidding at the minimum leads to lower-quality placements (MGID help centre).

The practical budget for a first test is not the minimum deposit but what it takes to buy enough clicks for a decision: typically enough to reach several conversions per lander and offer combination, which in nutra COD at low payouts can be a few hundred dollars per geo.