Ultimate Guide to Push Notification Ads in 2024
Push notifications are all the rage if you're doing CPA affiliate marketing. The advertising format is very affiliate friendly and can also be extremely profitable.
Since the first push notification advertising network, MegaPush, launched, there have been a ton of other platforms popping up.
I mean, I can't blame them. It's one of the most popular ad formats for affiliates this year, so there's a lot of money to be made.
What Are Push Notification Ads?
Push notification ads are a premium native ad format that's 100% permission based. They are a non-intrusive, user-friendly, and a highly engaging way for advertisers to expand their audiences.
The ads are sent from a browser instead of an app, on both desktop and mobile devices. The only limitation is that they don't currently work on mobile iOS devices because they aren't yet supported.
They can be highly effective for almost any type of advertising campaign due to having very little percentages of bots, high international reach, and higher click-through and conversion rates than traditional ad formats.
What's the Difference Between Web Push Notications and App Push Notifications?
Both web push notifications (push ads) and app push notifications look the same on the surface, but the way they are delivered is what sets them apart.
App push notifications require the user to have an app installed on their phone in order to receive notifications. If they don't have the app, they can't get app push notifications.
Web push notifications, on the other hand, don't require the user to have an app, as the notifications are delivered from the web browser.
Many popular web browsers are supported for web push notification ads, including Android Browser, Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Browser, Yandex Browser, and Opera Browser.
Depending on the browser and OS the user subscribed with, the notifications can look slightly different. Check this page to see what they look like on different devices/OSs.
Push advertisements are usually made up of a headline, short description, small image and depending on the device/OS, also a larger image.
How Can Publishers Monetize Their Site with Push Notification Subscriptions?
Publishers, or website owners, can monetize their website with push ads the same way they do with other ad networks: by installing a small code on their website.
Once the code is installed on their website visitors will be prompted to allow notifications. If they click allow, they will then receive advertisements to their device, sent on behalf of the push network.
This is proving to be an amazing way to monetize your website, even if you don't have high volume traffic.
The reason being is that once the user subscribes, they don't have to be on your website to receive the advertisements.
Website owners are typically paid in one of two payment models: CPA (fixed price per subscription) or rev share (a % of the revenue generated from displaying push ads to users over time).
There are pros and cons to both models, so it may be worth testing both to see what works best for your website.
Publishers that put the code on their sites is one way that push notification ad networks get the traffic they sell to advertisers.
Affiliates can also take advantage of how easy it is to implement push notifications on your website to use paid traffic to generate subscribers.
Then, they have their own subscribers they can send offers to! Their own traffic source?!?
How Do Users Stop Push Notification Ads?
Push ads are relatively easy to stop on both desktop and mobile devices.
To stop browser push notifications the user must go into their browser settings, navigate to the site settings, and then allow or disable notifications from there.
Because notifications are so easy to remove if the user had enough, it makes the ad format very user friendly, and for the most part, ensuring quality traffic.
Can Push Ads Be Spied On?
Spy tools help affiliates gain a competitive advantage over their competitors by giving them data they can use on their own campaigns.
Because push ads are really just starting to explode in 2019, there aren't as many spy tools available like there are for other ad formats.
With that being said, it is still possible to spy on push notification ads thanks to some of the early creators of push spy tools.
One of the first push spy tools was SpyPush, but as many affiliates may have noticed, their data isn't exactly accurate.
Sometimes that ads aren't accurate at all, and other times the landing pages and offers aren't what was really used with a partiuclar ad. Another issue is that a lot of ads seem to be cloaked, and SpyPush grabs the cloaked version instead of the real version.
I've been using the new Anstrex push spy tool in the past few weeks, and personally, I think the data is much more accurate.
Not only is it more accurate, but they have way more data than other spy tools, including the bids (where available) that were used by the affiliates who ran the ads.
If interested in spying on push notification ads, I suggest reading my mega review and tutorial of the Anstrex push spy tool.
An alternative way to spying on push notification ads is to subscribe to them yourself and then use a VPN to change your location to where you want to see ads from.
Why Has 2024 Been Deemed "The Year of Push"?
Many affiliates are calling 2024 "the year of push", but why?
Push notifications are by far the fastest growing source of traffic used by affiliates this year. It's up there with Facebook in terms of the most used traffic sources to promote affiliate offers.
It's a relatively new traffic source and the gold rush is still going strong! Push ads are new-ish and not as saturated as other sources of traffic, such as popups.
However, you do notice a decline in performance comparing results from now to just one year ago. That's not a bad thing, as you can still have highly profitable campaigns.
What's Working on Push Traffic?
Most of the offers that work on pops will also work on push, but it's not always the case. Here's some of what's currently working with push ads traffic:
- Health COD offers
- Make money offers
- Desktop utility software (cleaners)
- Casino/Gambling offers
- Dating
- Sweepstakes
- Financial offers
- Lead generation
- E-commerce
For the most part, higher payout offers seem to be performing better, but your mileage may differ.
Mega List of Push Notification Ad Networks
Where can you buy push notification traffic?
I've searched as much of the Internet as I could to compile this mega list of push notification networks, and where possible also found the minimum deposit amount.
Many networks have very low minimum deposits, making push notification traffic a very good option for newbies on a low budget.
Do note that I haven't personally vetted most of the companies below. Do your due diligence before working with any of them!
AdCash
AdCash is a global DSP based in Estonia and founded in 2007. They have their own network of publishers and deliver ads to hundreds of millions of unique visitors each day. Push notification ads are one of their newest ad formats.
The AdCash minimum deposit for advertisers is $25.
ZeroPark
Zeropark is a high quality source of push, pop and domain redirect traffic. It's owned by former affiliate Robert Gryn. He also owns Voluum, the popular affiliate click tracking software.
It's one of my favorite platforms to buy traffic from. Great support and platform features that are constantly updated.
The ZeroPark minimum deposit for advertisers is $200.
MegaPush
MegaPush is the first web push notification ad network that launched. Affiliates have reported many issues with the platform in the past, but they appear to be trying to fix them to some extent.
The MegaPush minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
MGID
MGID is a native advertising network that also offers push notification traffic as one of their newer ad formats. They claim to deliver over 400 million notifications per day around the globe as of late 2018.
The MGID minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
Adsterra
Adsterra offers many different adformats, including push notifications, banners, direct links, videos, interstitials, and popunders. They deliver over 22 billion impressions per month and cover a majority of countries.
The Adsterra minimum deposit for advertisers is $200.
AdMaven
Admaven has their own databases of push notification subscribers, serving 2.5 billion daily impressions. They offer dedicated support and are quite active in the affiliate forums. They also offer several other types of ad formats.
The AdMaven minimum deposit for advertisers is $50.
AdsKeeper
AdsKeeper is a native advertising network that offers push notification traffic. One their website, they say they've adjusted native advertising to the needs of affiliates. So they should be able to help you reach your CPA goals.
The AdsKeeper minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
RichAds
RichAds is a global self-serve advertising platform developed especially for performance marketers. Find push traffic from premium sources, verified by AdAcore. Get personal expert and support in launching and optimization. Premium Subscribers Lists Group with maximum conversions and campaigns import from other sources will help to scale easily. Get presets and tips for campaign setup from one of the best teams in the industry.
The RichAds minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
RevContent
Revcontent is large native advertising network that also offers push notifications. It's one of their newest ad formats.
The RevContent minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
DatsPush
DatsPush is the push notification ad network of LeadBit. They have 1.2 billion impressions with an average bid of just $0.0281. They support 250 countries and have several targeting options available.
The DatsPush minimum deposit for advertisers is $50.
Evadav
Evadav only serves push notification ads. They have over 10 billion impressions available monthly with global reach. They claim to have premium inventory and anti-fraud systems in place.
The Evadav minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
PropellerAds
PropellerAds is a very reputable company to buy traffic from. Apart from push notifications, they have onclick ads, native ads, and interstitials. They have their own databases of subscribers and also are able to broker traffic from others.
The PropellerAds minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
EngageYa
EngageYa is a native ads platform with push notification traffic. Their biggest volumes are in emergiing markets.
The EngageYa minimum deposit for advertisers is $300.
Adnow
Adnow is a push notification network for affiliates. An interesting feature they have is interest-based targeting, so you can show your ads only to people who are likely to convert. They have mobile and desktop traffic from all countries.
The Adnow minimum deposit for advertisers is $30.
PowerInbox
PowerInbox is an email monetization platform that also offers push notification traffic. Their website doesn't say much about their push traffic, so it'd probably be best to write them and ask.
The PowerInbox minimum deposit for advertisers is unknown. I've received no reply from them when asking.
EZmob
EZmob is a mobile advertising network with ad formats such as display, pop, native, and push notifications. They have a self-serve platform and advanced targeting features.
The EZmob minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
HillTopAds
HillTopAds is a self-serve advertising platform offering push notifications, display ads, native ads, video ads, pops, and direct links. They have anti-fraud in place, cover all GEOs and claim to have deeper targeting than in other networks.
The HillTopAds minimum deposit for advertisers is $300.
RTXPlatform
RTXPlatform is a ad network for performance marketers (aka affiliates). They offers push notifications, native ads, and full page ads. Their high quality traffic "converts like crazy" for any vertical.
The RTXPlatform minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
Octomob
Octomob is an advertising network that offers push notifications, pop, and redirect traffic. They give you a personal account manager and also have automatic campaign optimization available.
The Octomob minimum deposit for advertisers is unknown. No reply was received when asking them.
PushGround
PushGround only offers push notification ads. They have their own databases of high quality traffic, offer fast campaign approvals, and have a constant supply of fresh subscribers.
The PushGround minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
LizardLeads
LizardLeads seems to offer both email and web push traffic. It's unclear how much traffic they have, but they seem to offer help with campaign creation and optimization (including landing pages).
The LizardLeads minimum deposit for advertisers is $500.
ADservME
ADservME offers push notification traffic, among other ad formats. They have partnerships with companies like PropellerAds and AdMaven. On their site they say they deliver 140 million daily impressions.
The ADservME minimum deposit for advertisers is $200.
Mybestclick
Mybestclick offers push ads traffic, but they also appear to be a CPA affiliate network (very confusing website)? They also offer other types of traffic, such as banner ads, native ads, and popups.
The Mybestclick minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
ClickAdu
ClickAdu sells push notification traffic, as well as many other formats. They have 250 million daily impressions and 270k daily conversions. There is a self-serve platform and a fully managed one if that's your fancy.
The ClickAdu minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
Ungads
Ungads has push notifications, banners, video, and popunders available. They claim to have 500k publishers and that your campaign can be live in just 20 min!
The Ungads minimum deposit for advertisers is $100.
AdOperator
AdOperator is a native ad network that also offers push notification traffic. Many of their top publishers are other ad networks, but they have some interesting optimization options.
The AdOperator minimum deposit for advertisers is $1.
AirPush
AirPush is a very large mobile advertising network. They serve billions of impressions across all of their offered ad formats. AirPush was selling in app push traffic long before web push was so popular among affiliates.
The AirPush minimum deposit for advertisers is $500.
Froggy Ads
Froggy Ads is an affiliate friendly advertising network with push notification traffic. With them you can buy traffic from a number of sources in just one interface.
The Froggy Ads minimum deposit for advertisers is $25.
Mobidea Push
Mobidea Push is a new product from the affiliate network Mobidea. They don't have any of their own subscribers, but have a nice interface and good targeting options.
The Mobidea Push minimum deposit for advertisers is $50.
What Should You Consider Before Buying Traffic from a Push Ad Network?
As said above, many of the companies listed in the previous section haven't been vetted personally by me.
With that being said, here are a few things you should consider before depositing money on their advertising platforms:
- What are their top GEOs? You don't want to deposit a bunch of money to find out that the GEO you need traffic in is one of their lowest volume countries.
- Do they have their own database of subscribers? If they don't they may just be reselling the traffic from other networks to you. Sometimes this is OK if the platform offers something unique (fast approvals, more aggressive angles, special targeting options, ad macros, etc.).
- What are their average CPC rates for the traffic you're interested in buying?
- Do they offer a self-serve platform where you can log in a create/modify your own campaigns? Some may just have an account manager manage everything on your behalf.
- Is the company reputable? You don't want to send them money that will be gone tomorrow along with the whole platform...
The Future of Push Notification Advertisements?
A lot of companies are thinking that push notifications are going to be around for a good while. It's pretty obvious with how many ad networks are popping up each month.
But, what's unclear is how long they can really last. Affiliates are getting more and more aggressive with their ads, which is eventually going to catch the attention of the browsers.
If the browsers don't like way push notifications are evolving, they could, in theory make changes that limit how they're sent, or stop them all together.
Google, for example, made a bit of an impact in the pop ads space with a simple update to their browser.
Of course, ad tech companies are very smart, so they may just eventually find ways around whatever modifications are made to the browsers down the road.
No one can really predict with certainty where web push ads are going to go, but what is certain is they are extremely hot for affiliates in 2024.