[NormaGarcia]

Hi everyone,

I launched my first serious +18 website on September 1st, and I’m now looking at ways to monetize it. At this stage, my main goal is simply to generate enough revenue to cover my VPS and Bunny.net media costs.

I’ve been tracking the traffic over the last couple of days, and the numbers so far look like this:

• 3,000+ video plays (3+ seconds)
• 1,500+ unique visitors
• 11,000+ page views
• Around 90% of the traffic is from Italy
• The remaining traffic is mostly English-speaking visitors from a few different countries

These stats are from September 4th and 5th only, so the site is still pretty new.

For monetization, I’m mainly interested in banner ads and video pre-rolls. I’d prefer to avoid popunders because most of my visitors seem to be on mobile, and I feel that aggressive popunders could hurt the user experience and potentially drive people away.

So, for those who have experience monetizing adult/tube websites:

Which ad networks would you recommend starting with?

Also, what kind of CPM/eCPM could I realistically expect with around 90% Italian traffic, especially for banners and pre-roll video ads?

I’m not expecting huge revenue at this stage. I’d just like to find something reliable that can cover the basic hosting and video delivery costs while the site grows.

Any recommendations, experiences, or advice would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mbrown975]

One mistake I made was comparing my numbers with screenshots from much larger websites. It gave me unrealistic expectations. Once I started comparing my own week-over-week performance, I had a much clearer idea of what was actually working.

 

[RachaelDiaz]

I’d experiment with banner placement before adding too many video ads. Sometimes changing where an existing ad appears can improve earnings without increasing the number of ads.

 

[TimothyJones56]

For a video-heavy site, I'd pay attention to the percentage of visitors who actually start watching. If you have lots of page views but relatively few meaningful video plays, improving that funnel could be more valuable than adding another ad unit.

 

[TiffanyBurch]

I launched a small tube project a while back and had almost the same situation. Most of my traffic was from one European country, so I quickly learned that GEO makes a huge difference. The first numbers weren’t impressive, but after testing different placements, the revenue became enough to cover my basic server costs.

 

[agutierrez255]

In my experience, banners are a good starting point because they’re relatively easy to test without changing the user experience too much. I tried video ads later once the site had more consistent traffic. I’d definitely keep your setup simple while you’re still figuring out where your visitors come from.

 

[CynthiaRussell78]

I remember being excited when my first site reached a few thousand plays, only to realize that traffic volume alone doesn’t guarantee good earnings. GEO, device type, ad format, and fill rate all affected the results. Italy can be useful traffic, but I’d test it rather than assuming a fixed CPM.

 

[Carolineadams]

When I started monetizing a new website, I made the mistake of putting too many ads everywhere. Visitors complained and my engagement dropped. I eventually reduced the placements and kept only the ones that performed consistently. For mobile-heavy traffic, I think your approach of avoiding aggressive formats makes sense.

 

[Anu Pacheco]

I had a similar experience with mostly European visitors. The CPM looked attractive in some reports, but the actual revenue was lower because not every impression was monetized. I’d look at your actual eCPM and revenue per visitor rather than just the advertised CPM.

 

[Michaely Gallagher]

My first month was basically about covering expenses rather than making a profit. I tested banners first, tracked the results for a few weeks, and then experimented with video monetization. Once I had enough data, choosing what to keep became much easier.

 

[Laura Moore]

I know someone running a small video site where most of the visitors come from Italy. He initially tried several ad providers because the first one had poor fill rates. Eventually he found a combination that worked reasonably well. His advice was always to test with real traffic instead of relying on other people's CPM screenshots.

 

[aholland5145]

One thing I learned the hard way is that a new site doesn't have enough data after only a couple of days. I would give each setup enough impressions before deciding whether it's good or bad. Otherwise, you might switch networks based on random daily fluctuations.

 

[etrevino]

I started with banners because I didn't want to annoy mobile users. Later I added a limited video placement and monitored bounce rate and session duration. Surprisingly, the video format earned more, but only when it didn't interfere too much with the actual content.

 

[rhalkfg]

I wouldn’t get too focused on a specific Italian CPM number yet. With only a couple of days of data, your revenue can move around quite a bit. Give it some time and compare actual earnings, fill rate, and visitor behavior across different networks.

 

[cjohnson522]

If your main objective is simply covering VPS and CDN costs, I’d prioritize user experience. A site that keeps visitors coming back is more valuable long term than squeezing every possible ad impression out of the current traffic.

 

[BryanHuffman89]

My first monetization experiment was honestly messy. I installed several formats at once and had no idea which one was responsible for the revenue. If I could start again, I’d test one format at a time and keep a simple spreadsheet of impressions, earnings, and eCPM.

 

[Tammy Williams]

Personally, I’d start with one or two placements. New websites already have enough things to optimize, and adding five different ad formats at once makes it difficult to understand which one is helping or hurting.

 

[JoyceWright48]

I remember checking my earnings every few hours when I first launched. It drove me crazy because the numbers kept moving around. Eventually I started checking weekly instead, and the data became much more useful.