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Free guide · for publishers

The AI-era publisher playbook

A field manual for earning from content as AI rewrites search — the niches that survive, how to get cited, and the lean stack that still pays.

  • The five things AI can't copy
  • Monetization that survives zero-click
  • Build to be cited (GEO/AEO)
  • Your 90-day plan

Free · 9 chapters · no spam, unsubscribe anytime

The playbook · 9 chapters

Earning from content in the AI era

  1. 01The new reality
  2. 02Your survival audit
  3. 03The five things AI can't copy
  4. 04Monetization that survives
  5. 05Build to be cited (GEO/AEO)
  6. 06The lean stack + 90-day plan

Ad networks we cover

Every major ad network, compared
  • Ad Google AdSense
  • Ez Ezoic
  • Mn Media.net
  • So Sovrn
  • Mv Mediavine (Journey)
  • Mo Monumetric
  • Ra Raptive
  • Pw Playwire
  • Fs Freestar

The decoupling, in three numbers

12 MONTHS AGO NOW
AI-referred sessions ↑ Search referral traffic ↓
~60%
of Google searches now end with zero clicks
−38%
YoY drop in Google referral traffic to publishers (late 2025)
+527%
YoY growth in AI-referred sessions

Directional trend. Sources and full context in Is AdSense dead?

Start here

The Shift Is AdSense dead? What the zero-click web actually does to your ad income — and the move that still works. Read → Networks & RPM The ad-network ladder AdSense vs Ezoic vs Mediavine vs Raptive — real RPMs and the 2026 qualification thresholds. Read → Tools Which network can you join? Enter your traffic; see which ad networks you qualify for right now and your RPM ceiling. Read →

For WordPress publishers

Came here looking for a theme?

Plenty of people land here wanting the short answer: which WordPress theme actually makes money from ads. Start with the shortlist — or read the honest case for the all-in-one that ends theme paralysis.

The theme shortlist Divi & Elegant Themes, reconsidered

The field guide

Browse all guides →
The Shift Get Cited, Not Clicked: GEO & AEO for Publishers When AI answers the question, the citation is the new click. Here's how publishers get quoted by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews. Read → The Shift AI Overviews: Which Content Still Gets the Click AI Overviews crush some queries and barely touch others. Here's which content still earns the visit — and where to stop wasting effort. Read → Monetization & Networks From Made for AdSense to Made for Advertising The MFA playbook evolved from AdSense arbitrage to programmatic at scale. Here's what changed — and where the line between MFA and real publishing now sits. Read → The Stack You Don't Need WordPress to Run an Ad Site Anymore Hosting, themes, and plugins have commoditized toward zero. The real cost of publishing is now intelligence — and that changes the stack you should run. Read → Monetization & Networks Highest-Paying Ad Niches in 2026 (RPM by Topic) The same traffic earns roughly 10× more in finance than in entertainment. Here are the highest-paying display ad niches in 2026 — and how to use that gap. Read → Monetization & Networks Best Ad Placements in 2026 (Viewability & Core Web Vitals) Where you put ads decides what they earn: viewability by placement, the sizes with best CTR, a reserved-space table that kills CLS, and how many is too many. Read →

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Nine chapters on what actually works for ad revenue as search changes — the niches, the citations, and the lean stack. Free.

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