<\/a>How RPM and CPM differ at a glance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nLet’s still briefly answer the frequent question: what is CPM and RPM?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CPM (cost per mille)<\/strong> represents a cost per 1,000 ad impressions. It is fundamentally a pricing metric just the way CPC, CPA, CPI are, meaning cost per click, per acquisition, per install, and so on. Advertisers’ <\/strong>CPM is useful to understand what they pay for ad exposure, while publishers<\/strong> can use reported CPMs to assess demand and the market value of inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is RPM in advertising then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RPM (revenue per mille)<\/strong> looks at monetization from the publisher’s side and estimates how much income a publisher generates for every 1,000 ad impressions all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe similar metric Page RPM<\/strong> is the estimated ad revenue a publisher generates for every 1,000 pageviews of a particular page.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe difference between CPM and RPM does matter because an ad impression and a pageview are not the same event. One pageview can create several ad opportunities. Some pages may receive ads, some may not. Some ads may render but receive limited visibility. Those impressions can also have different prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it’s clear that RPM in ads is not a fixed number. It will depend on many factors, such as page visits, ad codes, ad visibility, user behavior like engagement and bounce rates, CTR, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nExample<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nComparing a $5 CPM with a $10 Page RPM does not mean the publisher somehow earned twice as much money as what the advertiser paid. The two figures can have different denominators.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a>CPM vs. RPM formulas<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNow, let’s do the maths. How to calculate CPM and RPM for a website monetization and other metrics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The basic CPM formula is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CPM = (advertising cost \u00f7 ad impressions) \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSuppose advertisers spend $600 to generate 100,000 ad impressions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
($600 \u00f7 100,000) \u00d7 1,000 = $6 CPM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nRPM uses a different calculation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RPM = (publisher revenue \u00f7 ad impressions) \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSuppose a website receives 100,000 impressions and earns $900:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
($900 \u00f7 100,000) \u00d7 1,000 = $9 RPM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nPage RPM = (publisher revenue \u00f7 pageviews) \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n($700 \u00f7 100,000) \u00d7 1,000 = $7 Page RPM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSo we have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- CPM: $6<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- RPM: $9<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Page RPM: $7<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
There is no contradiction in how to calculate CPM and the rest of metrics. A site can contain multiple advertising placements and therefore generate more than one ad impression. However, RPM combines the actual revenue generated from those monetization opportunities and divides it by impressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Publishers must identify the RPM to which they refer to. For example, page RPM, session RPM, and impression RPM differ because of the denominators. The same may refer to two platforms with incompatible metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nExpert tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n“CPM and payouts you get from ads depend on several factors: traffic quality, GEO and type of traffic you send to an ad network, traffic volume, and niche and if you learn to consider them, you will be able to manage your total ad revenues.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nVictoria Woroshilova<\/em>, Chief Customer Officer in Adsterra<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Watching your revenues with Adsterra<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAdsterra self-service platform for publishers is the control panel where after adding your website you will be able to monitor its performance and manage different ad placements based on certain metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Real-life monetization metrics you can check<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"monitoring-ad-revenue-analytics\"](\"https:\/\/blogdev.adsterratech.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/earnings-from-movie-websites-by-date-780x439.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIMPRESSIONS:<\/strong> the number of times your advertisements have been displayed,<\/p>\n\n\n\nCLICKS<\/strong>: the number of clicks on your ads,<\/p>\n\n\n\nCTR: <\/strong>click-through-rate, or clicks on the ad divided by impressions for this ad,<\/p>\n\n\n\nCPM:<\/strong> the price that advertisers pay per 1000 ad impressions on your site. CPM data is automatically calculated for each website and is based on the traffic quality. It is affected by a great number of factors, such as visitors\u2019 country, device, browser, OS, format of your ads and other things as well<\/p>\n\n\n\nREVENUE:<\/strong> all your actual earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou can group websites\u2019 stats by date, domains, placement, country, device format, or operating system and export your .CSV statistic report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further reading: $19,999 a Month: How a Filipino Publisher Earns From Copyright-Free Audios and Books<\/a> and a surge in CPM rates and overall revenues in his stat report after the ad network pre-selected ads.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\nSTART MONETIZING<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a>What CPM tells you as a publisher<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIf advertisers compete more aggressively for a certain audience, placement, format, device, geography, or time period, the CPM associated with that inventory may increase. If demand weakens, CPM can decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That makes CPM useful when comparing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- ad placements and formats;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- geographic markets;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- device categories;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- direct and programmatic demand;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- seasonal changes;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- sections or audience segments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
However, CPM has a significant limitation: it doesn’t tell you how efficiently your website turns traffic into estimated revenue.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nExample<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nA $15 CPM looks attractive. But if only a small portion of your pageviews produce monetized impressions, it may generate less total revenue than a setup with a lower CPM and much stronger delivery.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nThis is why publishers shouldn’t automatically interpret the highest CPM as the best monetization outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further reading: How We Hit $3K\/Day With One Short-Term Event<\/a>, relying on real time data (impressions, CPM, revenue, CTR). Anyone can use the approach for their next event.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Why RPM is usually higher than CPM, and the cases where it is lower<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nPage RPM can be higher than an individual ad CPM because one pageview can produce multiple monetized ad impressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nExample<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nConsider a situation where 1,000 page views result in 2,500 paid impressions. Even at reasonable impression costs, the earnings from the impressions build up page by page.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nThis relationship can be simplified conceptually as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Page RPM \u2248 monetized impressions per pageview \u00d7 average publisher revenue per ad impression \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe actual ad stack is more complex than that, but this approach helps us understand why the addition of one more good, visible ad placement increases Page RPM without increasing the CPM of existing placements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, RPM is not automatically higher than CPM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPage RPM can be lower when a site generates relatively few monetized impressions per pageview. Possible contributors include low fill rate, limited ad density, ad blocking, weak ad delivery, low viewability, technical rendering problems, or pages where audiences leave before additional ads have an opportunity to load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The relationship depends on what each metric measures and what happens between a page being loaded and actual revenue earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Why your CPM and RPM can move in opposite directions and never match<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPublishers sometimes expect CPM and RPM to move together. They can but there is no requirement that they should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider a site where CPM rises 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That sounds positive. But during the same period:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- fill rate falls,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the traffic mix shifts,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- viewability deteriorates,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- more visitors leave quickly (higher bounce rate),<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- high-value placements generate fewer impressions,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- fewer ads are served per page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The site can therefore sell some impressions at higher prices while earning less revenue per 1,000 pageviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reverse can happen too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCPM might decline while Page RPM rises because more ad opportunities are successfully monetized, the site generates more viewable impressions per page, or changes to page\/session behavior create additional monetization opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the important publisher insight: CPM describes the value of impressions, while RPM describes the estimated earnings of traffic of the page or site.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThey measure different stages of the monetization process, so they should not be expected to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nExpert tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n“Those publishers who own websites generally use Popunder ad format as it shows impressive CPM and total revenue generation. But they can add Smartlink, too, to get the combo effect and see their advertising revenue rise.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nVictoria Woroshilova<\/em>, Chief Customer Officer in Adsterra<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a>RPM vs. CPM troubleshooting flow: what to check when your metrics move<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nA $15 CPM certainly sounds good, but when only a small number of views actually get converted to monetized views, it could potentially make you less money than an advertising strategy with a smaller CPM and better delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is RPM in advertising then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RPM (revenue per mille)<\/strong> looks at monetization from the publisher’s side and estimates how much income a publisher generates for every 1,000 ad impressions all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The similar metric Page RPM<\/strong> is the estimated ad revenue a publisher generates for every 1,000 pageviews of a particular page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The difference between CPM and RPM does matter because an ad impression and a pageview are not the same event. One pageview can create several ad opportunities. Some pages may receive ads, some may not. Some ads may render but receive limited visibility. Those impressions can also have different prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it’s clear that RPM in ads is not a fixed number. It will depend on many factors, such as page visits, ad codes, ad visibility, user behavior like engagement and bounce rates, CTR, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Comparing a $5 CPM with a $10 Page RPM does not mean the publisher somehow earned twice as much money as what the advertiser paid. The two figures can have different denominators.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Now, let’s do the maths. How to calculate CPM and RPM for a website monetization and other metrics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The basic CPM formula is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n CPM = (advertising cost \u00f7 ad impressions) \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppose advertisers spend $600 to generate 100,000 ad impressions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n ($600 \u00f7 100,000) \u00d7 1,000 = $6 CPM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n RPM uses a different calculation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n RPM = (publisher revenue \u00f7 ad impressions) \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppose a website receives 100,000 impressions and earns $900:<\/p>\n\n\n\n ($900 \u00f7 100,000) \u00d7 1,000 = $9 RPM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Page RPM = (publisher revenue \u00f7 pageviews) \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ($700 \u00f7 100,000) \u00d7 1,000 = $7 Page RPM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So we have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no contradiction in how to calculate CPM and the rest of metrics. A site can contain multiple advertising placements and therefore generate more than one ad impression. However, RPM combines the actual revenue generated from those monetization opportunities and divides it by impressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publishers must identify the RPM to which they refer to. For example, page RPM, session RPM, and impression RPM differ because of the denominators. The same may refer to two platforms with incompatible metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Expert tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “CPM and payouts you get from ads depend on several factors: traffic quality, GEO and type of traffic you send to an ad network, traffic volume, and niche and if you learn to consider them, you will be able to manage your total ad revenues.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Victoria Woroshilova<\/em>, Chief Customer Officer in Adsterra<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Adsterra self-service platform for publishers is the control panel where after adding your website you will be able to monitor its performance and manage different ad placements based on certain metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IMPRESSIONS:<\/strong> the number of times your advertisements have been displayed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n CLICKS<\/strong>: the number of clicks on your ads,<\/p>\n\n\n\n CTR: <\/strong>click-through-rate, or clicks on the ad divided by impressions for this ad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n CPM:<\/strong> the price that advertisers pay per 1000 ad impressions on your site. CPM data is automatically calculated for each website and is based on the traffic quality. It is affected by a great number of factors, such as visitors\u2019 country, device, browser, OS, format of your ads and other things as well<\/p>\n\n\n\n REVENUE:<\/strong> all your actual earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can group websites\u2019 stats by date, domains, placement, country, device format, or operating system and export your .CSV statistic report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading: $19,999 a Month: How a Filipino Publisher Earns From Copyright-Free Audios and Books<\/a> and a surge in CPM rates and overall revenues in his stat report after the ad network pre-selected ads.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n If advertisers compete more aggressively for a certain audience, placement, format, device, geography, or time period, the CPM associated with that inventory may increase. If demand weakens, CPM can decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That makes CPM useful when comparing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, CPM has a significant limitation: it doesn’t tell you how efficiently your website turns traffic into estimated revenue.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Example<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A $15 CPM looks attractive. But if only a small portion of your pageviews produce monetized impressions, it may generate less total revenue than a setup with a lower CPM and much stronger delivery.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This is why publishers shouldn’t automatically interpret the highest CPM as the best monetization outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further reading: How We Hit $3K\/Day With One Short-Term Event<\/a>, relying on real time data (impressions, CPM, revenue, CTR). Anyone can use the approach for their next event.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Page RPM can be higher than an individual ad CPM because one pageview can produce multiple monetized ad impressions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider a situation where 1,000 page views result in 2,500 paid impressions. Even at reasonable impression costs, the earnings from the impressions build up page by page.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This relationship can be simplified conceptually as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Page RPM \u2248 monetized impressions per pageview \u00d7 average publisher revenue per ad impression \u00d7 1,000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The actual ad stack is more complex than that, but this approach helps us understand why the addition of one more good, visible ad placement increases Page RPM without increasing the CPM of existing placements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, RPM is not automatically higher than CPM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Page RPM can be lower when a site generates relatively few monetized impressions per pageview. Possible contributors include low fill rate, limited ad density, ad blocking, weak ad delivery, low viewability, technical rendering problems, or pages where audiences leave before additional ads have an opportunity to load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relationship depends on what each metric measures and what happens between a page being loaded and actual revenue earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publishers sometimes expect CPM and RPM to move together. They can but there is no requirement that they should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider a site where CPM rises 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sounds positive. But during the same period:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The site can therefore sell some impressions at higher prices while earning less revenue per 1,000 pageviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reverse can happen too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CPM might decline while Page RPM rises because more ad opportunities are successfully monetized, the site generates more viewable impressions per page, or changes to page\/session behavior create additional monetization opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the important publisher insight: CPM describes the value of impressions, while RPM describes the estimated earnings of traffic of the page or site.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They measure different stages of the monetization process, so they should not be expected to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Expert tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Those publishers who own websites generally use Popunder ad format as it shows impressive CPM and total revenue generation. But they can add Smartlink, too, to get the combo effect and see their advertising revenue rise.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Victoria Woroshilova<\/em>, Chief Customer Officer in Adsterra<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n A $15 CPM certainly sounds good, but when only a small number of views actually get converted to monetized views, it could potentially make you less money than an advertising strategy with a smaller CPM and better delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a>CPM vs. RPM formulas<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/a>Watching your revenues with Adsterra<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Real-life monetization metrics you can check<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/a>What CPM tells you as a publisher<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/a>Why RPM is usually higher than CPM, and the cases where it is lower<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/a>Why your CPM and RPM can move in opposite directions and never match<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/a>RPM vs. CPM troubleshooting flow: what to check when your metrics move<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n