On your journey to monetize your blog, there are two networks whose names you will probably encounter the most:

Ezoic and AdSense. AdSense is Google’s program that allows you to display advertisements directly on your website at no cost to you.

Ezoic is a website testing platform that also includes an option for website monetization through advertising.

While Google AdSense is the most common network new bloggers sign up for, it has some of the worst rates for bloggers.

Many want to try more lucrative monetization options such as Ezoic.

However, since Google is the basis for so many Internet products, can you even use Ezoic without AdSense?

TLDR: The answer is yes, you can. Read below to learn how you can make the most of these two monetization options.

What Is Ezoic?

Ezoic is a tool that helps you optimize your website through automated testing.

Instead of just dumping advertisements on your site, the platform’s algorithms test hundreds of combinations of ad placement, content, and style to figure out the advertising campaign that will generate the most revenue for your site.

Although Ezoic is a private company, it is a Certified Publishing Partner for Google.

That means that its success and claims are backed up by the world’s largest search engine itself.

The success of Ezoic is also visible through its case studies: sites that switched to the platform reported income increases up to 400% thanks to the changing layout.

While Google AdSense just helps you publish ads, Ezoic gives you input on the layout and campaign.

Another difference between Ezoic and Google AdSense is the price. AdSense is free for any webmaster who wants to monetize a site.

Ezoic has a free plan, but then the company displays an ad with its logo on your page and takes a cut of the income from your ad revenue.

If you want to keep all of your ad revenue, you can buy a premium plan starting at $40 a month.

What Is AdSense?

AdSense, (or Google AdSense), is a platform through which bloggers and webmasters can monetize their websites.

AdSense functions as an ad network. You sign up to host a certain number of ads on your page, and AdSense fills those slots with ads from advertisers that put their campaigns into the network.

Your blog earns a certain amount per thousand viewers. The CPM (cost per mille) of each Google Ad usually falls within the $4–$20 range. 

AdSense is not the only advertising network, but it is the biggest because it belongs to Google, the most important search engine in the world.

It is completely free to use and is one of the largest and most powerful networks of its kind. In fact, many other programs, including Ezoic, use AdSense as their base.

However, Google AdSense is not as lucrative per click as some other forms of generating passive income via the web.

Can I Use Ezoic Without AdSense?

A lot of what Ezoic and similar programs do builds on the foundation of Google AdSense.

Ezoic doesn’t host any ads itself, it just optimizes the existing ad layout and content on your page to help you improve your revenue.

For that, it requires data from an ad network such as Google AdSense or DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

However, you can use Ezoic if you use any ad network, not just Google AdSense.

The sign-up process might be a bit more complicated because Ezoic uses Google Analytics to help its algorithms improve the revenue on your page.

Ezoic might ask you for access to read-only Google Analytics, your history of applying for AdSense, and more information about your website and advertising (information that it would access automatically if you used AdSense).

You don’t need an AdSense account to use Ezoic. The only exception is if the reason you don’t have an AdSense account is due to a ban.

Ezoic only works with sites that follow its own and Google’s ad policies.

If your site has been banned from AdSense, it’s almost certain that Ezoic won’t approve you for monetization either.

You will have to appeal the penalty from Google AdSense first and then try to sign up for Ezoic again.

While you don’t strictly need an AdSense account to run Ezoic, you do need to still be in good standing with Google.

Should You Use AdSense with Ezoic?

Let’s say that you already have an AdSense account, like most bloggers do, but are not sure if you should link it with Ezoic or not.

You definitely should because although you don’t need an AdSense account to use Ezoic, your user experience will be much better if you do.

One reason why you should link your AdSense with Ezoic is information.

Ezoic’s algorithm uses the information connected to your AdSense account through the Google Certified Partner Program to optimize your ad layout.

The information Ezoic gleans from your Google account is far greater than any information you could manually input.

Another reason why you should connect your AdSense to your Ezoic account is that you get access to more monetization opportunities.

When you connect AdSense or any other ad network that you’re already part of to your Ezoic account, you can enter the Mediation App where different networks compete to give you the best paying ads. 

Which Is Better, Ezoic or AdSense?

There is no clear answer to the question of which is better, Ezoic or AdSense, because they have such different purposes even though both platforms work on blog advertising.

Webmasters working with Ezoic earn far more money than those who stick exclusively to Google AdSense.

Thanks to its optimization strategies, you can see your income double or even quadruple.

However, Google AdSense is the foundation for Ezoic and many other advertising optimization programs.

It is one of the largest ad networks out there, and when you’re joining a network, size matters because you want access to many different potential advertisers.

Because it is a product that comes directly from Google, the insights and algorithms connected to it are the best that you can get.

Google AdSense is also far more accessible. You only need 100 unique page views a month to sign up for an AdSense account and get approved to get into Ezoic (sites with fewer page views can join Ezoic’s Access Now program, which is a version of the program scaled down for smaller sites).

If you’re serious about monetizing your blog and are on your way to being a rising star on the Internet, then Ezoic is absolutely worth it to get the most out of your website.

However, if you’re just starting out, build up a decent income through Google AdSense first and gain more traffic, then sign up for Ezoic.

The Final Word on Ezoic and AdSense

You do not need a Google AdSense account to sign up for Ezoic, a platform that helps you optimize ad layouts to increase revenue.

However, you do need to be in good standing with Google, and connecting to an ad network helps you in terms of gathering information and competing for better-paying ads.

You can use Ezoic without AdSense, but it makes more sense to connect the two.