Health & Wellbeing Monetization

Health & Wellbeing Content Is Booming. Is Your Monetization Strategy Ready?

Whether it’s mental health, fitness, or nutrition, people are turning to your Health & Wellbeing content for advice that’s not just informative, but personal and trustworthy.

So how do you grow revenue while preserving that trust? It’s a tough balance, and in 2025, it’s only getting more nuanced!

In this post, we’ll break down what we’re seeing across the industry. The key trends, the biggest challenges, and those all important opportunities, to build sustainable revenue without compromising content integrity. All to support you, to navigate monetization in the Health & Wellbeing space. 

Let’s get to it. 

The State of Health & Wellbeing Publishing in 2025

The field of Health & Wellbeing has matured quickly, that much is for certain! What was once a niche is now mainstream (a little like the gaming bubble) but with that growth comes new responsibility (SpiderMan pun intended).

Your audience expects authority and empathy. This is a non-negotiable.  People are making decisions based on your content, about their health, lifestyle, and wellbeing. Accuracy and tone matter more than ever. What’s more, search engines are getting smarter.
Google’s E-E-A-T framework is raising the bar for what qualifies as credible health content.

What’s E-E-A-T? We’re glad you asked…

• Experience: Does the content creator have relevant life experience?
• Expertise: Does the creator have relevant knowledge and skills?
• Authorativeness: Is the creator considered a “go-to” source in this area?
• Trustworthiness: How reliable, honest and accurate is the content?

Google’s goal is to provide search results with strong E-E-A-T, helping keep users safe while offering the best possible experience. Definitely something for you as a publisher to consider.

So, with E-E-A-T in mind, user trust is now everything, not just with regards to the content but also taking into consideration their experience whilst on your site. The wrong ad placement or clickbaity sponsorship can erode hard-earned loyalty, and it’s a slippery slope from there.

We started off as publishers ourselves, so we understand that however you plan to monetize your site, it needs to be done with care and respect for your community.

Health & Wellbeing Monetization Trends Worth Watching

As third-party cookies fade, contextual advertising is stepping into the spotlight, and with good reason.

Instead of tracking users across the internet to serve ads based on past behavior (think, browsing history, device IDs, or health-related searches), contextual targeting matches ads to the content on the page right now.

Why it matters for Health & Wellbeing publishers:
Let’s say someone’s reading an article about managing anxiety. A contextual system might serve a meditation app ad right there on the page, not because the user was tracked, but because the content itself suggests that kind of product would be relevant.

This approach is privacy-friendly, especially in sensitive categories like health.

It means:

• • No need for personal data or tracking across sites

  • No building behavioral profiles based on the type of content

  • Just relevant, timely ads that make sense to the reader

Quality Over Quantity

Gone are the days of cluttered pages stuffed with low-quality ads. Today, the most successful publishers focus on ad formats and placements that respect UX.

Think faster load times, high-performing native placements, and layouts that don’t interrupt the reading flow.

Rising Vertical-Specific Demand

According to eMarketer, digital ad spending in the Health and Wellbeing sector is projected to reach $10 billion by 2025, up nearly 15% year-over-year. 

Advertisers in health, wellness, fitness, and pharma want to reach your audience. Premium brands are seeking out publishers who align with their values and audience segments.

This means advertisers want to place their messages in environments where their products and services resonate naturally with the audience, and (bonus!)  where the publisher’s mission and content reflect similar standards of trust, quality, and relevance.

How do you attract advertisers then? 

• Define and showcase your editorial standards. Clearly communicate your commitment to accuracy, ethics, and trustworthy content. Consider publishing an editorial mission statement or guidelines that demonstrate your dedication to science-backed, responsible health information. 
• Maintain a clean and relevant ad environment. Make sure to protect your site’s credibility with relevant ads. Premium brands want to appear alongside quality content, not irrelevant or low-quality ads. 
• Leverage certifications or accreditations if applicable. Highlight any partnerships or certifications within your field  to boost your authority and appeal to advertisers seeking reputable placements. 

By focusing on these areas, you position your site as a premium, trusted environment, exactly where quality advertisers want to be. For more information around Direct Deals, get in touch with us here. 

First-Party Data Is Your Secret Weapon

Even with privacy changes, publishers who know their audience (and use that data responsibly) have a huge advantage. First-party data helps improve ad performance, personalize experiences, and even open doors to programmatic direct deals.

So how can you go about collecting this first-party data? Well, we’re glad you asked: 

Newsletters

• What you could collect: Email addresses, names, interests, optional health / wellbeing goals (e.g. “I’m interested in skin care”). 
• How you could use it: Segment your audience based on the interests you’ve identified and send tailored content to your new audience. 

On-site quizzes 

• What you could collect: Anonymous insights like stress levels, sleep habits, fitness goals, diet preferences. 
• How you could use it: Build anonymized user profiles or segments for contextual advertising or relevant product partnerships. 

Polls or surveys

• What you could collect: Reader opinions, demographic data (age, location, profession), or wellness habits. 
• How you could use it: Turn that survey data into content and community insights. E.g. “70% of our readers prioritize plant-based nutrition.” 

Information like this helps you to understand your community so much better. This allows you to create content you know will resonate and engage your audience. 

First-party data requires an exchange from the participant, so make sure you can offer something like early access to content, personalized insights etc. 

Readers are much more willing to share when they see a benefit!

Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Before chasing more ad revenue, it’s worth asking:

• Is our current monetization strategy aligned with our editorial standards? 
• Are we working with an ad network who understands  the Health & Wellbeing space? 
• Do we have access to advertisers who truly value our audience? 
• Is our site performance being impacted by our ad tech? 

If the answer to any of those is “I’m not sure”, it might be time to reassess.

Final Thoughts: Monetize With Care

Monetizing Health & Wellbeing content isn’t just about filling ad slots, far from it!  It’s about doing it in a way that builds long-term trust, credibility  and revenue.

At Publisher Collective, we work with publishers in this space every day, helping them connect with the right demand, streamline their monetization stack, and grow sustainably.

Whether you’re looking to benchmark your current setup or explore new opportunities, we’re happy to share what we’re seeing in the space.

Want to chat?
Speak with our Health & Wellbeing team about joining the Collective.