by So basically, last year my main ad network decided I was persona non grata. No warning. No email explaining why. Just logged in one day and boom — account suspended forever. I had been with them for almost four years and they just nuked it. I was obviously furious but also kind of relieved because their support was always terrible anyway. That’s when I started looking at alternatives and ended up testing Rakuten Advertising in July 2024. I’m writing this in January 2026, so I’ve had about 18 months to really see how this network performs. Here’s the honest breakdown.
Quick Facts About Rakuten Advertising
| Founded | 2000 (originally Linkshare) |
| Ad Formats | Display banners, native ads, video, in-image ads |
| Minimum Payout | $50 |
| Payment Methods | ACH, Wire transfer, Check |
| Typical Approval Time | 3-7 business days |
| Best For | Mid-sized publishers with 50k+ monthly traffic |
Why I Signed Up (And Why My Previous Network Ghosted Me)
After the ban, I spent like two weeks just angry and researching alternatives. I wasn’t going back to Adsense because honestly, their rates had been depressing for years anyway. I looked at like ten different networks. Ezoic seemed too complicated. Mediavine had a 100k pageview minimum and I was only at 93k. AdThrive was similar. Then I kept seeing Rakuten pop up in publisher forums, and people seemed to actually like them, which was refreshing.
What really sold me was that they had actual human support. Not just chatbots. And they accepted publishers with my traffic level. The approval process looked straightforward too. I applied on July 8, 2024, and honestly wasn’t expecting much since I’d just gotten destroyed by another network. But Rakuten actually approved me within five days. Like, they actually reviewed my site instead of just rejecting it based on some algorithm.
The Signup Process (Surprisingly Not Painful)
I’ll be real — I expected a nightmare. But it was actually pretty smooth. I filled out their application form, gave them some basic info about my site’s niche, monthly traffic numbers, and what kind of content I publish. My site covers productivity and remote work, which is a decent niche but not crazy high-value. They asked for site ownership verification, which I did through Google Search Console. Done.
The approval took exactly five business days. On July 15, 2024, I got the email saying I was approved. Then I had to add their ad code to my site. They provided instructions that were actually clear. Like, not confusing. The dashboard was ready to go within a couple hours after I added the code. First ads started showing by the next morning.
One thing that caught me off guard was that they wanted me to agree to specific placement guidelines. Like, they actually cared where the ads went on my site. Not just cramming as many as possible everywhere. Honestly, that was kind of a green flag because it meant they weren’t just trying to squeeze every penny out of publishers and then move on.
What Ad Formats Actually Made Money
I tested pretty much everything they offered. Display banners, native ads, video ads, and their in-image ads which honestly seemed weird to me at first.
Display banners were the baseline. I put them in the sidebar, above the fold, below posts. They got impressions but the CPM was pretty low — we’re talking $2 to $4 for US traffic. Respectable but not exciting. The 300×250 medium rectangle format performed slightly better than leaderboards, but barely.
Native ads were interesting. I integrated them into my content feeds and related posts sections. The thing is, they looked less intrusive, so I thought they’d perform worse. But the click-through rate was actually better, maybe 0.3% to 0.5% depending on the month. CPMs were comparable to display though, around $3 to $6.
Video ads were… okay? I only have video on like five of my articles, so the volume wasn’t huge. CPMs were higher, sometimes hitting $8 to $12, but I didn’t get consistent volume. That probably comes down to my site traffic being relatively modest for video ads to work well. Rakuten’s platform did handle the video player smoothly though — no lag, no weird playback issues.
The in-image ads were the sleeper pick for me. Basically, they insert ads into images in your articles without you having to do anything. You just enable the feature and they handle it automatically. I was skeptical this wouldn’t work but honestly? The CPM was solid, around $5 to $8, and it felt less intrusive than banner ads since it integrates into your existing content. By month four, in-image ads were bringing in like 30% of my earnings.
Real CPM Rates By Country
This is the stuff everyone asks about. Here’s what I actually saw in my dashboard over the 18 months. These are averages because CPMs fluctuate weekly and by season. I’m showing you my actual numbers because that’s what matters.
| Country | Average CPM | CPM Range | % of My Traffic |
| United States | $4.85 | $3.20 – $7.40 | 62% |
| United Kingdom | $3.60 | $2.40 – $5.20 | 14% |
| Germany | $2.80 | $1.80 – $4.10 | 7% |
| India | $0.45 | $0.25 – $0.70 | 8% |
| Pakistan | $0.32 | $0.15 – $0.50 | 3% |
Yeah, the difference between US and India traffic is wild. Like, 10x difference. That’s not Rakuten’s fault though — that’s just how the whole ad market works. What I appreciated was that Rakuten actually paid me for all traffic, including low-CPM countries. Some networks are sketchy about that.
My Actual Earnings Month By Month
Here’s the real story. July was a partial month since I started mid-month. August was my first full month and that’s where I got the $105.36 figure. After that, things ramped up but not massively. Remember, I was at 93k monthly pageviews, so I’m not operating at massive scale.
| Month/Year | Earnings | Page Views | Effective CPM |
| July 2024 (partial) | $28.14 | ~30,000 | $0.94 |
| August 2024 | $105.36 | 93,240 | $1.13 |
| September 2024 | $118.42 | 95,680 | $1.24 |
| October 2024 | $143.67 | 98,920 | $1.45 |
| November 2024 | $167.89 | 102,440 | $1.64 |
| December 2024 | $182.34 | 105,670 | $1.73 |
| January 2025 | $156.42 | 99,340 | $1.57 |
| February 2025 | $149.28 | 96,560 | $1.55 |
| March 2025 | $171.56 | 101,200 | $1.69 |
| April 2025 | $164.73 | 98,670 | $1.67 |
| May 2025 | $179.42 | 103,450 | $1.74 |
| June 2025 | $188.65 | 106,780 | $1.77 |
| July 2025 | $172.34 | 99,890 | $1.73 |
| August 2025 | $195.67 | 108,340 | $1.81 |
| September 2025 | $203.45 | 111,230 | $1.83 |
| October 2025 | $218.92 | 115,670 | $1.89 |
| November 2025 | $227.34 | 118,450 | $1.92 |
| December 2025 | $241.78 | 121,890 | $1.98 |
| Total (18 months) | $2,814.35 | – | $1.60 avg |
So yeah, I made $2,814.35 over 18 months. That’s not life-changing money but it’s also not nothing. The trend is pretty clear — earnings grew consistently as my traffic grew. The effective CPM climbed from $1.13 in August 2024 to $1.98 by December 2025. That’s actually pretty solid for my traffic level and niche.
The seasonal dip in January/February 2025 is real and it’s something to prepare for if you rely on ad revenue. December and October were my best months, which makes sense for productivity/work content.
Payment Experience
Let me be specific here because payment is literally the most important thing. I set up ACH (direct bank transfer) as my payment method. Minimum payout is $50, which I hit by September 2024.
| Payment Method | Processing Time | Fees |
| ACH Transfer | 3-5 business days | None |
| Wire Transfer | 1-2 business days | $15 |
| Check | 7-10 business days | None |
I’ve done ACH transfers every month since September 2024. The process is simple — you request payment from the dashboard, and it shows up in my bank account within three to five business days. No weirdness, no delays, no missing payments. Payments hit on the dates they’re supposed to hit.
One time in March 2025, I requested a payment on the 28th and it didn’t clear by April 3rd, which was unusual. I actually sent a support message and got a response within 24 hours saying there was a processing delay on their end and they’d manually push it through. Payment showed up the next day. That kind of proactive support actually matters.
I’ve never had to chase a payment or wonder if I was getting stiffed. That’s honestly rare in this industry. A lot of smaller networks have shady payment practices. Rakuten hasn’t done that to me.
Is This Network Actually Legit?
Yes. I say this as someone who just got burned by another network. Rakuten is backed by Rakuten Inc., which is a massive Japanese e-commerce company. They’re not some random startup that might disappear. They’ve been in the affiliate and ad network space for over 20 years. They have real offices. They have real compliance teams.
Are they perfect? No. But they’re definitely legit. I’ve been paid every single month for 18 months. My account has never been flagged or suspended for no reason. They have actual communication channels. These are baseline things that shouldn’t have to be special but apparently they are.
The Good Stuff
First, the support is real. I’ve contacted them maybe six times over 18 months with various questions. Response time is typically 24 hours. They actually read your message and give you specific answers instead of copy-pasting some FAQ. That sounds basic but it’s rare.
Second, the dashboard is clean. I can see my earnings broken down by day, country, ad format, and device type. The reporting is granular without being overwhelming. I can actually see what’s working and what’s not.
Third, the in-image ad feature is legitimately clever. It makes me money without me having to do anything. It’s automated but not in a way that breaks my site or makes readers angry.
Fourth, earnings are consistent and predictable. I know roughly what I’ll make based on my traffic. There’s no crazy volatility like some networks have. That makes it easier to budget.
Fifth, they actually respect content policies. They don’t try to force me to place ads in ways that degrade the user experience. The placement requirements actually make sense from a reader perspective.
The Bad Stuff
Here’s what frustrated me. The CPMs aren’t amazing. Yeah, they’re fair, but they’re not going to blow your mind. If you have really high-value traffic like finance or legal content, you might do better elsewhere. My productivity niche is mid-tier and Rakuten’s CPMs reflect that.
Second, the network is kind of quiet about optimizations. Like, I wish they’d give more guidance on which ad placements actually perform best or suggestions based on my specific traffic. The dashboard is good but it’s pretty passive. You have to figure things out yourself.
Third, there’s no inflation in their payouts. Some networks increase payouts as you grow. Rakuten’s rates have been pretty stable for me. That’s not necessarily bad but it means you can’t expect earnings to jump significantly without increasing traffic.
Fourth, their approval process, while fast, is a bit of a black box. I don’t know what criteria made them approve me while another network rejected me. I got approved but I never really knew why. Just feedback that my site was “good to go.”
Fifth, the platform is kind of basic compared to some competitors. No A/B testing tools. No advanced analytics. Just the basics of what you’re earning and where it’s coming from.
Who Should Use Rakuten and Who Shouldn’t
You should use Rakuten if:
- You have between 50,000 and 500,000 monthly pageviews
- You want reliable payments and human support
- You’re not trying to maximize every penny from high-value niches
- You want something that’s straightforward without a lot of complexity
- Your traffic is mostly English-speaking
- You care about user experience over ad density
You should probably avoid Rakuten if:
- You have less than 50,000 monthly pageviews (you’ll hit the $50 minimum too slowly)
- Your content is in high-value niches like finance, cryptocurrency, or legal (you might do better with premium networks)
- You want to maximize ad density and don’t care about user experience
- You want advanced optimization and A/B testing features
- You have a lot of international traffic from low-CPM countries (it’ll water down your average)
- You’re looking for massive earnings from mid-tier traffic (be realistic)
Questions Readers Keep Asking Me
1. “Is Rakuten better than Google AdSense?”
Honestly? Probably yes, at least for me. AdSense had lower CPMs in my niche and their support is basically nonexistent. Rakuten’s CPMs are higher and the human support actually helps. But if you have massive traffic, AdSense’s scale might win. I’m talking like millions of pageviews. At my level, Rakuten is better.
2. “Can you get banned for no reason like your previous network?”
I haven’t seen evidence of that. Rakuten’s Terms of Service are actually clear about what gets you banned. Policy violations are pretty standard industry stuff. They’re not going to nuke your account because they felt like it. That said, I can’t guarantee it’ll never happen but the company structure and size makes it less likely than some fly-by-night network.
3. “How much traffic do you actually need?”
Minimum payout is $50. At an average CPM of $1.60, you need about 31,000 pageviews to hit that. So realistically, 50,000 monthly pageviews is where it becomes worth your time. Less than that and you’re waiting forever between payouts.
4. “What about their affiliate program?”
Yeah, Rakuten has affiliate programs too but I’m focusing on their display ad network which is what I use. Different product.
5. “Will my earnings grow significantly?”
Only if your traffic grows. Rakuten’s rates are stable, which is good and bad. Good because it’s predictable. Bad because you can’t expect a payout bump just from using them longer. Growth comes from driving more traffic.
6. “Do you have to disclose you’re using ads?”
Yes, legally you do. I have a privacy page that mentions I use display advertising. Rakuten doesn’t handle this disclosure for you — it’s your responsibility. Make sure you’re compliant with FTC guidelines.
7. “How do they handle ad fraud?”
I haven’t personally dealt with this but they monitor for invalid traffic. If you’re doing something sketchy like clicking your own ads or running click farms, they’ll catch you. Otherwise, they handle fraud detection on their end. Not something I’ve had to worry about.
8. “Can you use Rakuten alongside other ad networks?”
Yes, absolutely. I use them with an analytics service and I’ve seen other publishers use them alongside Google AdSense. Just make sure you’re not violating any specific network’s policies. Rakuten’s policies on this are pretty reasonable.
9. “What’s the vibe of their platform? Is it outdated?”
It’s functional and clean. Not flashy but not ancient either. It loads fast. The design is simple. Honestly, I prefer a boring, reliable interface to something trendy that crashes. Platform is from like 2010s aesthetic but it works perfectly.
The Honest Rating
I’m rating Rakuten Advertising a 7.5 out of 10.
Here’s the breakdown. They deliver on the basics consistently. Payments are reliable. Support is real. CPMs are fair if not spectacular. The platform works without problems. For a mid-sized publisher like me, they’re solid.
I’m not giving them higher because they’re not exceptional. They’re good. Reliable. Dependable. But they’re not going to blow your earnings out of the water. If your goal is making maximum revenue, you might find better fits depending on your niche and traffic level.
But if you want something that’s honest and trustworthy without a lot of drama, Rakuten is worth testing. Especially if your previous network treated you like garbage.
After getting destroyed by my old network, I needed something I could trust. Rakuten delivered that. Is that worth a 7.5? Yeah, I think so. Trust and consistency matter more than I thought they did.
Disclosure: Some links in this review may be affiliate links, meaning I could earn a small commission if you sign up through them. This doesn’t affect your cost. I only recommend things I’ve actually used and believe in.
