7 WordPress Ad Plugins for Integrating Advertisements into Websites

If you’ve ever wondered how your favorite WordPress hosted website makes money—or even how you can make money on your website without running an ecommerce store—the answer is advertisements.

They are key to sustainability for websites. Even YouTube recently jumped into the fold, showing ads on videos before, after, and during playtime (whether we like it or not!). Unfortunately, WordPress does not offer any way to easily integrate ads into your site, so you’ll have to go looking for a WordPress compatible plugin of which there are many!

Some of the following plugins are free, some you’ll have to pay for, but they all vary in skill level and complexity. All, however, are reliable plugins and will deliver a quality result.

1. AdSanity

Great beginner plugin with consistent features between packages. Licensed Use.

 

AdSanity is a great starter plugin to manage self-hosted and network advertisements and its developers aim to make it easy for WordPress users to work with and maintain.

The basic plan comes with the ability to post video ads, customize ad sizes, and an image cache. Upgrade to the next package and you unlock some of the premium add-ons which include Google Analytics, Ad Block Software, and rotating advertisements.

Overall it’s a decent plugin that’s easy to use. The basic plan begins at $49/yr, upgrade to $149/yr, or pay a one-time payment at $489 for lifetime use.

2. AdsPro

Advanced features with interesting layout and template options. Licensed Use.

 

One of the few plugins on this list that provides actual advertisement management, AdsPro is the most advanced of the listed plugins. Features include ad management, A/B testing, ad scheduler, display filters for certain tags and posts, and 20 different ways to position your advertisements, including floating ads and the corner peel effect.

They also offer different ad templates, including ones for Facebook, and different payment options to collect money, with an option to set free ads as well. Despite AdsPro boasting a more thorough collection of features, it is not a bloated plugin. Next to AdSanity it is a bit more expensive for the basic plan and more complicated to use, but you get a little bit more feature wise.

You can download the plugin for $57/six months, or buy the extension into 12 months for an additional $19.50.

3. Elite Video Player

Multi-use video player plugin with video advertisement setup. Licensed Use.

 

Bring your advertisements to life with Elite Video Player! This modern take on ad placement supports self-hosted videos, YouTube, Vimeo, cloud-based videos (Google Drive and Dropbox), and more.

Its particular ad feature comes in the form of pre-/mid-/post-roll video pop-ups that give the viewer an option to skip the advertisement. This means that during the middle of a video, for instance, your advertisement for a product will interrupt the stream and start playing.

The Google Analytics feature allows you to view how many times the ad was watched all the way through and when it was skipped. You can download the plugin for $49/six months, or buy the extension into 12 months for an additional $17.25.

4. Adning Advertising

Easy, modern take to advertisement placements. Licensed Use.

 

Another easy-to-use advertisement plugin for WordPress, Adning Advertising used to be known as WP PRO Advertising System—for those familiar with that particular plugin. From initial review it appears similar to AdSanity, but places a little more focus on modernizing advertisements.

Adning assists in not just the display and positioning of ads with auto positioning and display filters, but also in the creation of them as well. You can create animations, floating content and pop-up ads for an ad that stands out, and integrate with WooCommerce as well. It also doesn’t forget some of the crowd favorite features, such as Google Analytics, Mobile Responsiveness, and HTML5 Banner Support.

There is very little documentation on use, so if you’ll have to rely on community forums and trial-and-error to navigate. You can download the plugin for $29/six months, or buy the extension into 12 months for an additional $9.

5. AdRotate

Simple, bare-bones banner advertisement plugin. Free Download.

 

For those who just want to focus on banner ads, here you are! AdRotate is a no-muss no-fuss plugin that allows you to put banner advertisements pretty much anywhere, display multiple ads across the same panel at once.

You can preview/edit ads on your WordPress site and manage it straight from your WordPress dashboard. You can create your own ads using HTML or Javascript code, or you can use an ad server like Doubleclick, JuiceAds, or Amazon Affiliates.

AdRotate will also give you stats on your advertisements and can “disguise” them from ad blockers (great for affiliate sites). This is a free download and just enough for beginners with some coding skills to get started.

6. Insert Post Ads

Laid-back, easy-to-use in-post plugin. Free download.

 

Strategy is the name of the game with the Insert Post Ads plugin. Their idea behind ad placement is that an ad gets more clicks if inserted within content. An interesting, albeit limited take on ad placement, Insert Post Ads specializes in placing ads in between a specified number of paragraphs within content.

Plain and simple! It’s quick, easy, compatible with third-party ads, and really…it’s for the person who wants to sell advertisement space, but doesn’t necessarily want to fuss over where to put it. Set it and forget it.

7. WP In Post Ads

Thorough in-post plugin with good software support available. Licensed Use.

 

WP In Post Ads is another in-post advertisement plugin. But this one takes it a few—well, many—steps farther than Insert Post Ads.

This plugin allows you to preview your ad placement, view the stats of the ad and access Google Analytics, provides options for placement, including shortcode embedding, and schedule when you want your ad to appear and hide in the post. It also is compatible with every WordPress theme and provides thorough documentation and 24 hour support so you’re not left wondering how to work your new plugin.

A one year subscription of $39 gets you access to WP In Post Ads for three websites and a 30-day money back guarantee. Pay $59 for unlimited sites. Membership options are also available.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for the easy plugins to manage, something that you can download and not have to worry about, then you’re looking at Insert Post Ads and AdRotate. For those wanting more diversity, AdsPro is the way to go. The most important thing is to be creative with your ad placement and design, regardless of what plugin you’re using.

Visuals are everything, here. You want to be able to display that eye-catching banner in a place where it won’t go to waste, where it won’t be seen as annoying, and where it will benefit your overall website.

*Note: Though it’s not always required, some knowledge of shortcodes may help when using these plugins. Shortcodes will allow you to embed ads directly into the post.

What are you favorite plugins for displaying ads on your WordPress site? Let us know in the comments below.