RPM (Revenue Per Mille)
$$\text{RPM} = \frac{\text{Earnings}}{\text{Page Views}} \times 1{,}000$$
What is RPM (Revenue Per Mille)?
RPM (Revenue Per Mille, from the Latin for "thousand") is the estimated earnings a publisher receives for every 1,000 page views on an ad-supported website. It is calculated by dividing total earnings by page views, then multiplying by 1,000. A site earning $50 from 10,000 page views has an RPM of $5.00.
RPM is the most practical metric for comparing ad monetisation performance because it combines both click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC) into a single number. A publisher with a high CPC but low CTR may have the same RPM as one with a lower CPC but higher CTR. Finance sites typically earn $15-40 RPM; general content sites average $2-8 RPM.
When to use RPM (Revenue Per Mille)
Use RPM to benchmark your monetisation performance across different content types, traffic sources, or time periods. Compare your RPM against niche averages to identify whether your CTR, CPC, or ad placement is the limiting factor.
Worked examples
| Niche | Typical RPM |
|---|---|
| Finance / Insurance | $15 - $40 |
| Technology / Software | $10 - $25 |
| Health / Medical | $8 - $20 |
| Lifestyle / Food / Travel | $3 - $8 |
| Entertainment / Gaming | $1 - $5 |
Common pitfalls
RPM is an estimate, not a guarantee. It averages across all sessions in a period, so a single day with unusually high or low traffic can distort the figure. Always analyse RPM over 30+ days to get a reliable baseline. Also note that RPM in AdSense is your net share - not the gross advertiser spend.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between RPM and CPM?
RPM (Revenue Per Mille) is a publisher metric - your earnings per 1,000 page views. CPM (Cost Per Mille) is an advertiser metric - what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. They measure the same thing from different perspectives. Your RPM will always be lower than the advertiser's CPM because Google keeps a revenue share.
How do I increase my AdSense RPM?
The three main levers are: target higher-CPC niches (finance and tech content earns 5-10x more per click than entertainment), optimise ad placement (in-content ads above the fold outperform sidebar ads), and build US/UK/CA/AU traffic (tier-1 countries deliver the highest advertiser CPCs by a large margin).