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This post will share how I qualified for a small blog for Journey by Mediavine.
Two weeks ago, I received an email telling me that my small travel blog has Journey by Mediavine.
This was a pleasant surprise because I desperately wanted a win to start the year.
Also, I didn’t think I would qualify that quickly, especially since I didn’t know I had adequate stats to back it up.
I started monetising the blog around November 2023 with a travel affiliate programme, which progressed quickly with little to no obstacles.
When that was through, I decided to try my luck with Google Adsense, which again fell through.
At this point, I think I have bad luck with Google Adsense, but that’s by the way.
Then I remembered that Mediavine had a program for smaller blogs after raising the requirement to 50,000 sessions from 25,000 sessions for more prominent blogs in 2022.
I decided to try my luck without thinking too much about it.
The first attempt fell through, which was expected, but they kept me in the loop and promised to stay in touch and inform me if anything changed.
Well, it did, and my blog qualified.
I documented my experience qualifying my main blog to Mediavine in 2022, and I thought I should also do the same for Journey.
Let’s get into it!
What is Journey by Mediavine?
According to the website, it is an ad management programme for growing sites.
It’s that simple.
It’s an alternative solution for growing websites that do not have adequate qualifying requirements for Mediavine.
The company calls it a pathway towards Mediavine, not a replacement for Mediavine.
Either way, it didn’t matter because Mediavine will always be a preferred option for publishers compared to Google Adsense or Ezoic.
Mediavine also mentions that Journey is a new product still in beta testing, so its performance is not guaranteed.
In other words, don’t compare or have the exact expectations as Mediavine.
Again, this was not a problem for me.
The most important thing is getting into the system, and Journey provides a pathway.
Qualifying for Journey by Mediavine
In the last couple of days, while doing my annual blog reviews, I started to think about what made my blog tick vis-a-vis the minimum requirements for qualifying for Journey.
It turns out my blog met all the basic requirements, which included:
- Original content
- The blog’s theme is not new, but the content is original. This included the photos. I photograph, edit and upload all images, contributing immensely to my approval. Also, based on my analytics across all my blogs, the ones with original photos are doing significantly better than the ones with stock photos.
- Original content that is also updated frequently.
- Since the blog is based on the frequency of my trips, I can write new content regularly.
- Premium traffic from an engaged audience.
- My primary traffic source is Google, and a decent chunk comes from the United States. Since traffic from the US monetizes at the highest rate, you need enough ‘premium traffic’ to qualify. As a rule of thumb, except when I write content for the UK, I typically target the US audience.
In summary, the primary factor that helped me qualify was original content with enough traffic from the US.
Compared to Mediavine, which is mainly particular about the volume of traffic/sessions, Journey is concerned that you have enough US traffic.
Setting Up Journey by Mediavine
Perhaps the best thing about Journey is the setup.
It is quick and seamless.
All you need to do is sign up and install Grow by Mediavine – a plugin – and let it run for a minimum of 30 days.
The plugin will analyse your content and traffic during this time and let you know when you qualify.
Here’s what the entire process looks like:
- I submitted my first application in September 2024.
- After this, I started getting emails with tips on optimising my content and filling in any missing gaps.
- In October 2024, after about a month, I got my first rejection email to say my blog was ineligible.
- I didn’t care much at this point and forgot about it.
- I continued to get email tips on increasing my chances, including connecting my Google Analytics G4 account, after which I was asked to reapply.
- I reapplied in December 2024 and got my approval in the second week of January, immediately after the holidays.
This was a more seamless approach than my Mediavine experience in 2021/22.
I did not need to speak to any staff member, and once I got the approval, all the ads self-populated and went live almost immediately.
As expected, the RPM is abysmal, which is typical for a new ad program, but I’ll give it about three months to stabilise before comparing it to Mediavine.
In Conclusion,
Monetizing a new site always comes with challenges, particularly as most programs expect your site to meet specific metrics before approval.
Fortunately, with my travel blog, despite not being as consistent, with less than 100 posts in general, I could qualify for one affiliate program and one ad network, which is honestly more than enough for now.
If you’re struggling to get into any ad network and have quality content, I recommend Journey by Mediavine.
Journey is a great pathway to get into Mediavine while earning some income.
