Refinery89 Review: Best Programmatic Advertising Network for Publishers

What is Refinery89?

Born in 2018 by publishers for publishers, Refinery89 offers innovative ad monetization solutions, always putting publishers needs first. With roots in Amsterdam and their headquarters in Madrid, they’ve become Europe's top publisher network and a member in the IAB Europe’s Transparency & Consent Framework.

Refinery89’s approach is not just about revenue; it’s about boosting a publisher’s success. With a wide range of ad formats and monetization strategies tailored to help maximize revenue, the platform delivers highly targeted and relevant ads to audiences. Publishers seeking top-tier CPM rates and a streamlined ad management solution can benefit from Refinery89’s award-winning Single Tag technology, that not only boosts net revenue but also grants publishers a competitive advantage via easy onboarding and streamlined ad inventory solutions. Let’s jump into ad formats next, in this Refinery89 review.

Refinery89 Review: Ad Formats

Refinery89 offers a wide range of ad formats including standard IAB and Rich media formats on display, video and native formats for desktop, mobile and in-app. As Google Certified Publisher Partners, they strive to provide a safe and high-quality advertising experience for both publishers and users. In order to maintain this standard, they exclude certain types of advertising from their network that do not meet Google policy.

• Display: Refinery89 offers IAB standard, In-image, and Rich Media ads that appear in various sizes, including popular sizes like 300x250, 728x90, and 160x600. These display ads are easy to integrate and can be positioned throughout your site to maximize visibility.
• Video: Video ads are increasingly popular due to their engaging nature. Refinery89 supports instream, outstream, native and side scrollers, ensuring that publishers can monetize video content effectively while maintaining high user engagement.
• Native: Refinery89 offers standard, video, smart, auto or even full article elastic natives. Native ads are a great way to provide highly engaging, relevant content while increasing click-through rates and maximizing CPMs.
• Rich Media: Takeovers, Skins, IAB enhanced, In-image, Swipetanks and Custom Natives
• Content Recommendation Ads: Leverage Refinery89’s outstanding umbrella agreement with Outbrain or use the platform’s own Content Recommendation solutions to deliver ads.
  
  

Refinery89 Features & Capabilities

• Single Tag: All-in-One Ad Management Solution for Publishers:  Their All-In-One Ad Management solution for maximizing revenue, Single Tag is a simple line of code that is added directly into the header of your website. From there, it enables seamless connection to Refinery89’s dashboard, improving ad revenue. Including: 

           Ad Refresh: Fresh impressions every 25–30 seconds!
           Geotag: Monetize incoming traffic from other geos, without changing your partner in your core country
           Anti AdBlock Integrated: Stop losing advertising revenue on your site
           GDPR Compliant CMP: Take advantage of their premium CMP Consentmanager.net with no initial cost

• Monetize SDK: This solution was developed with a specific goal in mind: to solve the most frequent issues faced by app developers and publishers and make app monetization as simple and versatile as web monetization. It includes: 

All-in-One Monetization: Maximize revenue with a single SDK. Connect to header bidding with 25+ premium demand sources including Amazon and Google Ad Manager.

Performance Dashboard: Providing insights and revenue optimization opportunities.

No more App updates required: Roll out ad positioning optimizations without having to update the App. No more deployments or users with outdated versions.

Fully GDPR Compliant CMP: Leverage Refinery89’s premium CMP Consentmanager.net with no initial cost.

• Intuitive Dashboard: With data on the effectiveness of ads and prospects for revenue optimization, Refinery89’s publisher dashboard offers comprehensive analytics and granular insights to optimize your strategies for maximum profitability.
• Maximized Ad Monetization: Publishers get access to 25+ demand sources at the best CPMs, immediate access to premium advertisers and agencies they partner with, and dynamic SSP allocation to optimize returns by country.

How to Get Started: Signup Process

• Account Setup and Approval: Signing up to Refinery89 is easy, all you need to do is fill out the form in the “Contact Us” section of their website. The form typically requires details about your website, traffic sources, and audience demographics. After submitting your application, Refinery89’s team reviews your website to ensure it meets their quality standards. Experts typically respond to you within 24 hours.
  
• Onboarding & Integration: Onboarding: Once your website is approved, Refinery89 sends you the ads.txt and tag for you to implement it in your website’s head.
• Implementing the Ad Code on Your Website:  Implement their Single Tag solution on your site or our SDK on your app. Their staff handles all the setup for SDK implementation, and you can rely on their technical assistance. Every advertisement will be placed as effectively as possible, and they always welcome your input.
• Going Live: Now start monetizing! Monitor and optimize performance through your dashboard, and receive monthly payments.

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Refinery89 Review: Dashboard Overview

Next up in this Refinery89 review is a detailed look at their dashboard. Refinery89’s revamped dashboard allows publishers to check their highly valuable insights at first glance, easily review their Ads.txt Manager + MCM status of all their sites at the same time, keep a record of their invoice history, and send tickets for technical support in seconds.

• Performance Tracking: Publishers have access to real-time performance data, allowing them to view detailed insights into their impressions, CPM rates, clicks, and earnings.
• Ad Management: The ad management process is simple, publishers can easily configure ad units, test different formats, and adjust settings for optimal results.
• Payment Overview: Provides a clear overview of earnings, payment history, and payout schedules, for publishers to track their monthly revenue, check payment processing, etc.
• Clean and Simple Interface: The dashboard features a clean and organized layout, making it easy for publishers to navigate through various sections, such as performance reports, ad settings, and payment details.

For more information about the Dashboard, here is a blog post: https://refinery89.com/revamped-usercentric-dashboard-sep24/

Publisher Eligibility

Refinery89 works with all types of publishers in terms of size, content category and geography, and does not have a minimum official threshold. Their team of Publisher Success Managers and AdOps specialists analyze each website individually to determine if they can contribute to the site’s growth.

Refinery89 Review: CPM Rates

CPMs differ based on a variety of factors, including traffic,site quality, country, content category and site’s users niche, floor pricing rules, number and type of ads displayed. 

As Publishers themselves, Refinery89 does not speak in terms of CPMs, but in terms of revenue and RPMs, being the metric used by publishers to properly keep track of the effectiveness and profits of their site’s ad inventory.

As Revenue Per Mille (RPM) is influenced by different factors such as the number of ads per page, the fill rate, and the ad units CPM, Refinery89 analyzes every website individually before estimating the RPM uplift they can generate.

Payment & Payout Info

Refinery89 processes payments on a 45-day cycle, meaning that publishers are paid 45 days after the end of each cycle. This standard payment term ensures that publishers receive their earnings in a timely manner. The minimum payout threshold is typically $100. Publishers can receive payments through multiple ways, such as bank transfer, eCheck, wire transfer, or PayPal.

Revenue Share

Refinery89 operates on a revenue share model, where publishers receive a percentage of the ad revenue generated from their website’s traffic. The average revenue share percentage is 70/30, but it depends on several different aspects like traffic quality, volume, and the types of ads being served. The exact details of this are typically discussed during the onboarding process.

Refinery89 - Top GEOs Served

Refinery89 is the number 1 publisher network in Europe and LATAM, and operates around the world. Here are some of its top geographic regions (Geos):

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Australia
• Germany
• France
• Netherlands

Publishers with significant traffic from these premium countries tend to earn the highest CPMs, as advertisers are willing to pay more for audiences in these regions.

Customer Support

At Refinery89, publishers are assigned a personal account manager who speaks their language. They commit to a < 12h ticket turnaround and < 48h ticket resolution. With 24/7 technical support, you are also free to flag anything that might need their attention via their Chrome plug-in.

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The bottom line

This concludes our Refinery89 review. The platform stands out as one of the best ad CPM networks for publishers seeking high earnings, premium advertisers, and a seamless user experience. With a wide range of ad formats, competitive CPM rates, and robust features, it offers everything publishers need to maximize their website’s revenue potential.

Whether you're a seasoned publisher or just starting, Refinery89 provides the tools and support needed to grow your earnings while maintaining a high-quality user experience. The combination of high CPMs, real-time bidding technology, and strong global reach makes it a top choice for publishers looking to optimize their monetization strategy.

If you’re ready to take your ad revenue to the next level, Refinery89 is a network you should strongly consider.