Underdog Media (UDM) is an ad monetization company that provides digital advertising services. UDM was founded in 2007 by Shayne Mihalka, a former executive at ValueClick Media and FastClick.com.
I switched my hiking website TrailsNH from EZOIC to Underdog Media in March 2023.
EZOIC is not a good fit for websites that values user experience over ad revenue. The final straw for me was when EZOIC added a STUPID single click tool, with no confirmation before running, to my Dashboard. Clicking it destroyed the user experience on my site. My Dashboard was set so user experience was the top priority. That stupid feature has no business being on my dashboard. It cost me time, money, and damaged my reputation with my users.
That’s not my only complaint. Over the 18 months I used Ezoic I wrote 4 reviews along the way: Week-1 Review, Week-5 Review, 6 Month Review, Ezoic’s MAXIMIZE YOUR SITE’S REVENUE Feature.
First 3 Months With UDM
I have tried 2 UDM’s ad placement products: InPage, and EDGE.
InPage Ads are ads in the content area of the page. I used InPage to run 300×250 image ads in the sites sidebar next to the main content. I tried this for 2 months. The Revenue was not high enough IMO to outweigh the annoyance to my readers. So I removed the InPage Ads and replaced then with hand picked Affiliate Ads, and Product placements. Revenue from them is as good or better than the InPage Ads.
EDGE Ads are floating ad the stick to the side or bottom of the browser window. The side placements not cover my content, and my content slides past the bottom placement. Revenue with EDGE Ads is as good or better than the Affiliate Ads, and Product placements in the sidebar, most of the time.
EZOIC To UDM Conversion
Stripping out Ezioc from the site was no small task. I had used the Ezoic Name Server integration which I am real happy to get rid of. The Ezoic Name Servers are not as fast and the Google Cloud Name Servers. Stripping them out means better site performance.
But, before pointing back to my name servers, I had to make sure my copy of the DNS was up to date.
Then, I had 20-or-so Ezoic ad placements in multiple page templates that had to removed. Ezoic does not run all 20 ads at one time. Their AI chooses which placements are best for revenue. and leaves the other blank. I’m not a fan of this method.
UDM InPage Ads and EDGE Ads only require JavaScript to run. For InPage Ads place the script where you want the ad to show. For EDGE Ads just place the script before the </body> tag.
The UDM Dashboard also generate a ads.txt script for you. Just place this copy of ads.txt in the sites root folder. My ads.txt has changes twice so far in 3 months, adding connections to additional ad servers. So you will have to update your ads.txt script from time to time.
Underdog Media Ad Performance
Ad Quality is a big deal for me. It’s why I left Google AdSence years ago. So far I have seem only 1 “Crap Ad” served by UDM. I would see them all the time served by Ezoic.
Revenue is hard to compare between services because CPM is always fluctuating. That said, revenue from UDM does not seem far off from Ezoic. And, so far I’m OK with what feels like a small hit in CPM, for having access to better ad quality and running fewer ads on the page, and faster site.
June EDGE CPM/RPM
June saw web traffic and EDGE CPM/RPM slowly declining over the month. CPM/RPM had been higher during the March-April busy season.
FAQ’s
Here are my answers to commonly asked ad network questions:
- Is Underdog Media A Scam?
- No. Underdog Media is legit. I’ve received 3 checks from UDM so far.
- What is Underdog Media Average CPM?
- On my site, average CPM last month was just over $2. Every site and niche will be different.
- What is Underdog Media Average RPM?
- On my site, average RPM last month was just under $2. Again, every site and niche will be different.
- What is Underdog Media Minimum Traffic Requirement?
- If I remember correctly, UDM does not have a minimum web traffic requirement.
- What is Underdog Media Sign-up Process Like?
- Sign-up was 1000% times easier than Ezoic. Someone was assigned to help me get started. I think it only took a day or so.
- How do you integrate with Underdog Media?
- Add the UDM generated ads.txt file to your root directory, and insert the EDGE JavaScript just before your
</body>tag. It’s very simple.
- Add the UDM generated ads.txt file to your root directory, and insert the EDGE JavaScript just before your
Do you want to know anything else? Just ask.
