Taboola Network Review: How to Monetize Your Website

1. What is Taboola? (Overview)

Taboola is one of the world’s largest native advertising networks, connecting advertisers with publishers through content discovery widgets — the “You May Also Like” or “Recommended for You” sections you see at the end of online articles.

Unlike banner ads, Taboola integrates ads seamlessly into the look and feel of your website. These ads recommend sponsored articles, videos, or products that match your readers’ interests.

Founded in 2007, Taboola now serves billions of ad impressions every day across premium publishers such as CNBC, Business Insider, USA Today, and NDTV. In recent years, Taboola has also expanded beyond native ads into display and performance advertising through its product “Realize,” and even partnered with Microsoft to power part of its native ad inventory.

2. How Taboola Works

Taboola operates on a revenue-sharing model between advertisers and publishers.

• Advertisers pay Taboola for clicks or impressions (usually CPC or CPM).
• Publishers earn a share of that revenue when users click on the recommended content.

Taboola’s algorithm analyzes each visitor’s behavior (e.g., what articles they read, where they click, etc.) to display personalized sponsored content, which increases engagement and earnings potential.

3. Who Can Join the Taboola Publisher Network?

Taboola doesn’t accept every website automatically — it focuses on medium to large publishers with high-quality, original content and steady traffic.

General requirements:

• At least 50,000+ monthly visits (preferably Tier-1 countries).
• Clean design and high-quality articles.
• No copyright violations, adult content, or spammy material.
• Real, organic traffic (no bot or paid click farms).

If your site meets these conditions, you can apply via the Taboola Publishers portal or contact their partnership team directly.

4. Step-by-Step: How to Earn with Taboola Publisher

Let’s walk through how to get started and earn revenue from your site.

Step 1 – Apply for the Taboola Publisher Program

Visit Taboola’s official website → navigate to Publishers → Get Started.
Fill out the form with details about your website: niche, traffic, demographics, and contact information.

Once you submit the form, Taboola’s team will review your site (this can take from a few days to a week).

Step 2 – Sign the Agreement

After approval, Taboola will send a Publisher Agreement outlining:

• Your revenue share percentage.
• Payment terms (usually Net 45 — meaning payment after 45 days of each month’s earnings).
• Content and policy requirements.

Publishers are usually paid via Payoneer, Bank Transfer, or Wire Transfer, depending on region.

Step 3 – Add the Taboola Widget Code

Taboola provides a small JavaScript snippet (the widget).
You can place it:

• Below articles (most common, “Below Article Widget”)
• In the sidebar
• Between paragraphs (In-Feed widget)
• On the homepage (Recommended content feed)

If you’re using WordPress, paste the code inside single.php or use a custom HTML block in your post template.

Grow Ad Revenue

Programmatic revenue is dropping for publishers.

Taboola reverses this trend, delivering performance ad budgets that fuel programmatic display and native, and boost revenue far beyond below-article placements.

Step 4 – Monitor Your Performance

Inside Taboola Backstage (the publisher dashboard), you’ll see:

• CTR (Click-through rate)
• RPM (Revenue per 1000 views)
• Top-performing content and placements
• Device breakdown (Desktop vs Mobile)

Optimize based on these insights — placement and layout have a big impact on CTR and earnings.

Step 5 – Optimize for Higher Earnings

To increase your Taboola revenue:

1. Place widgets below content or in the middle of long articles (users scroll there naturally).
2. Avoid overcrowding your page — too many widgets can hurt UX and SEO.
3. Test different layouts (3×2, 4×1 grids, etc.) to find what converts best.
4. Enable “Smart Placements” if available in your Taboola dashboard — this automatically optimizes positions for performance.
5. Use responsive design to make ads load smoothly on mobile.

5. How Publishers Get Paid

Taboola calculates your earnings based on:

• Number of impressions or clicks
• Advertiser bids (CPC rates)
• Geo-location (Tier-1 countries pay much higher)
• Device (desktop vs mobile)

Your final revenue = Publisher share % × (Advertiser spend per click/impression)

For example:

If advertisers pay $0.12 per click, and you get 10,000 clicks, total revenue = $1,200.
Assuming 50% revenue share → You earn $600.

6. Advantages of Using Taboola

✅ High revenue potential for viral content or news sites.
✅ Native ads blend smoothly with your website layout (non-intrusive).
✅ Strong analytics tools (Taboola Backstage).
✅ Reliable payments via trusted partners like Payoneer.
✅ Brand partnerships — Taboola works with thousands of Tier-1 advertisers.

7. Disadvantages and Common Risks

⚠️ Approval process is strict – small blogs or low-traffic sites may get rejected.
⚠️ Clickbait ads – some Taboola ads can look spammy (“You won’t believe this…”). Always use blocklists for poor-quality advertisers.
⚠️ Lower engagement quality – users may leave your site quickly after clicking external sponsored content.
⚠️ Revenue fluctuation – RPM varies depending on season and traffic sources.

8. Taboola vs Google AdSense — Key Differences

Both Taboola and Google AdSense help you monetize your website, but their approach and ad formats differ significantly.

9. Can You Use Taboola and Google AdSense Together?

Yes — and many large publishers do combine both.
However, it must be done carefully to comply with AdSense’s policies and to maintain a good user experience.

✅ Advantages of Combining

• Multiple revenue streams: diversify income sources.
• Better yield optimization: when one network underperforms, the other can fill impressions.
• Complementary ad styles: Taboola native ads can appear under your articles, while AdSense display ads stay within your content or sidebar.

⚠️ Risks & Policy Considerations

• Do not overcrowd your pages — too many ads = policy violation (excessive ad density).
• Avoid overlapping or confusing ad placements.
• Never use Taboola ads for traffic arbitrage (buying cheap traffic and sending to AdSense pages). Both Google and Taboola ban this.
• Maintain clean layout and high content quality — essential for AdSense compliance.

10. How to Combine Taboola + AdSense Safely

Here’s the ideal setup for a content-based website:

Recommended Layout:

• Top of article: AdSense display banner
• Middle of article: AdSense in-article ad
• Bottom of article: Taboola widget (“You May Like”)

Do’s:

• Keep clear labeling (“Sponsored” or “From around the web”).
• Monitor bounce rate and time-on-page.
• A/B test layouts monthly.

Don’ts:

• Don’t place Taboola inside the same ad block as AdSense.
• Don’t push users to click — let it be natural.
• Don’t use deceptive labels (e.g., “Recommended by Author” if it’s an ad).

11. Advanced Optimization Tips

Here’s how professional publishers maximize their Taboola + AdSense revenue:

1. Run A/B Tests Regularly
   • Compare different widget positions and sizes.
   • Use heatmaps (Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity) to see where users interact most.
2. Filter Poor-Quality Ads
   • In Taboola Backstage, block misleading or irrelevant creatives to protect brand image.
3. Use Header Bidding or Yield Partners
   • If your traffic is large, consider using Prebid.js or yield optimization tools to make Taboola and AdSense compete for impressions.
4. Optimize for Mobile
   • Mobile traffic dominates — ensure both Taboola and AdSense units load responsively.
5. Focus on Tier-1 Countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia)
   • Higher advertiser bids mean higher RPM and better CPCs.

12. Realistic Earnings Expectation

Average Taboola RPMs vary widely depending on niche and traffic quality:

Combine this with AdSense (which may give $2–$12 RPM depending on niche), and total blended RPM can significantly increase if managed properly.

13. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Placing too many ads per page (hurts UX + SEO)
❌ Ignoring AdSense policy updates
❌ Leaving low-quality or misleading Taboola ads unchecked
❌ Using clickbait headlines that damage trust
❌ Relying solely on one traffic source (especially paid traffic)

14. Taboola Payment Terms (Summary)

15. Final Verdict: Should You Use Taboola or AdSense — or Both?

Let’s summarize:

In short:

• AdSense = Stability, brand safety, and simplicity.
• Taboola = Higher potential but more management needed.
• Both combined = Best performance if done strategically.

16. Conclusion

Taboola is a powerful way to monetize your content using native ads.
When integrated smartly, it can generate impressive returns — especially for publishers in the news, lifestyle, or entertainment niches.

However, the key to success lies in:

• Maintaining clean UX
• Monitoring ad quality
• Testing layouts and placements
• Following Google AdSense policies carefully if you run both networks

If you want to diversify income and reduce dependency on AdSense alone, Taboola is absolutely worth trying in 2025.