anyone making decent money with tool or utility websites using display ads

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AdStreamMaster

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Heelo everyone,
just curious if anyone here is monetizing small tool sites successfully with display ads these days, i’m talking about simple utility type websites like calculators, converters, generators etc. traffic on these sites feels very different compared to blogs, so i’m not sure which ad networks actually perform well for this kind of audience
adsense is okay so far but rpm seems inconsistent depending on the traffic source.
would be interesting to know what others are using for utility traffic and if any networks work surprisingly well in this niche.
 
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Yeah, it's still a solid play but you need massive volume. Most guys making bank are using AdSense + Ezoic for tools, but the real money is in the "free" tools that upsell a premium SaaS or a Chrome extension. If you're just relying on display ads, you'll need at least 100k+ visitors a month to see anything decent.
 
Yeah, Most of the time RPM swings a lot because users come in, do one quick action and leave so engagement signals are weaker compared to blogs.
 
Yeah some people do make decent money, but you need serious traffic and good GEOs otherwise display ads are just pennies. Most utility sites I’ve seen barely cover hosting unless they scale hard or add SEO + multiple tools.
 
Yes, utility sites can still make good money with display ads, but volume and GEO matter a lot. AdSense works fine for starting, but many people move to Ezoic or Mediavine after getting more traffic. Tool sites usually have lower engagement, so RPM fluctuations are pretty normal.
 
I tested adsense, ezoic and journey on a converter site. adsense was most stable for me. RPM not always highest but more consistent. other networks need more time for good fill and optimisation.
 
Utility sites can still make money tbh, but a lot depends on GEO + traffic quality. AdSense alone was pretty inconsistent for me on this type of traffic.
I’d maybe test something like AdMaven too. Used them a couple times on utility/download traffic and overall was pretty decent for non-tier1 GEOs.
 
I see Adsense work okay for utility sites, but RPM really depends on where the traffic comes from. Search traffic usually performs much better than social traffic for calculators and converters.
 
Yeah still doable but you need volume or super targeted intent traffic.
AdSense is usually the baseline, but RPM swings a lot depending on GEO + source like you said.
A lot of guys I know layer in Ezoic or Mediavine once they hit decent traffic, but it’s not magic, just better fill + testing.
Big thing is tools with “high intent” keywords, otherwise it’s just cheap clicks and low RPMs.
 
Still profitable in my opinion, especially for local services. problem is most small businesses waste budget on bad targeting and give up too early.
 
AdStreamMaster said:
Heelo everyone,
just curious if anyone here is monetizing small tool sites successfully with display ads these days, i’m talking about simple utility type websites like calculators, converters, generators etc. traffic on these sites feels very different compared to blogs, so i’m not sure which ad networks actually perform well for this kind of audience
adsense is okay so far but rpm seems inconsistent depending on the traffic source.
would be interesting to know what others are using for utility traffic and if any networks work surprisingly well in this niche.
Click to expand...

Yeah, people are still making decent money with utility sites, but usually through volume

I’ve seen calculators, converters and AI tools do well with AdSense, Ezoic and Mediavine (once traffic is big enough). The biggest factor isn’t usually the ad network, it’s the GEO mix and whether users visit multiple pages

One thing I noticed: utility sites with SEO traffic often earn 2-3x more RPM than the same site getting social or paid traffic
 
For utility sites the real challenge isn’t the ad network but the low engagement intent traffic, so optimizing UX + geo traffic quality usually improves RPM more than switching networks.
 
Yes, many are scaling well by combining AdSense with premium programmatic networks like MonetizeMore or NitroPay to stabilize inconsistent RPMs.
 
If a lot of your traffic comes from countries outside the UK, US where the adsense pays, try adsterrs or propellerads. their pop ans push formats monetize random global traffic way better.
 
AdStreamMaster said:
Heelo everyone,
just curious if anyone here is monetizing small tool sites successfully with display ads these days, i’m talking about simple utility type websites like calculators, converters, generators etc. traffic on these sites feels very different compared to blogs, so i’m not sure which ad networks actually perform well for this kind of audience
adsense is okay so far but rpm seems inconsistent depending on the traffic source.
would be interesting to know what others are using for utility traffic and if any networks work surprisingly well in this niche.
Click to expand...
yeah seen this niche works but rpm depends a lot on geo and traffic source

adsense is usually stable but low, ezoic can be hit or miss
best results i saw were with high tier traffic + clean ui sites
utility sites scale only when seo traffic is consistent.
 
adsense is okay but u should try ezoic or mediavine if you have good traffic, they perform way beta for utility sites.
 
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