Account upgrades seem to be the most popular revenue generator for pet sites these days. If they don’t have account upgrades, they may have a cash shop. Additionally, some of them may also run advertisements to generate extra revenue.
 
There are various ways a virtual pet sites can generate revenue and that could be through various methods, including account upgrade, advertisements, sponsored content and affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing could work for pet sites if they have their forums opened to the public and they implement the amazon affiliate ad company. It could help them monetize the forum and earn extra income, however, I wouldn’t recommend using it for users if they already have regular advertisements on the site.

 
Affiliate marketing could work for pet sites if they have their forums opened to the public and they implement the amazon affiliate ad company. It could help them monetize the forum and earn extra income, however, I wouldn’t recommend using it for users if they already have regular advertisements on the site.

Yes, I understand this clearly because there would be a conflict of interest if it's done that way. What is the best ads network to use and what other ways I can generate substantial income on a forum.
 
What is the best ads network to use and what other ways I can generate substantial income on a forum.
The best way to generate income form a forum is by selling ad space and membership, however, this will work only when you have a lot of activities and a lot of traffic.
 
Yes, I understand this clearly because there would be a conflict of interest if it's done that way. What is the best ads network to use and what other ways I can generate substantial income on a forum.
If a pet site has public forums, setting up an affiliate system can actually help generate more income, especially if discussions naturally involve products like video games, books, or merch.

Those product mentions can easily be turned into Amazon or Walmart affiliate links. Even if guests (not registered members) are the ones clicking or buying, the site still earns a cut. It's a smart, passive way to monetize traffic without interfering with gameplay.
Especially, since game forums pull in a surprising amount of guest traffic, there's potential to earn from users who never even sign up.

You could also run extra ads in guest-viewable sections to both monetize and softly nudge them to register and join the community.

They could also try selling in-house advertisements as well if those ad companies aren't producing that much revenue.
 
The common options to generate revenue for a pet site are affiliate marketing and ads networks. They can also make money through sponsored content or partnership programs.