Why Your AdSense RPM Spikes (and Why Not to Chase It)

Main image showing rising chart

What Is RPM?

RPM (Revenue Per Mille) is the estimated revenue per 1,000 ad impressions. Google AdSense defines it with a simple formula:

Estimated revenue ÷ page views × 1,000

It offers a quick sense of earning power, but it is also one of the easiest metrics to misread.

Why AdSense RPM Can Look Abnormally High

1) Traffic briefly leans into high-paying topics

Finance, insurance, investment, and B2B SaaS attract higher bids. If most impressions in a short window land on these pages, RPM jumps—yet that mix rarely lasts.

Only a few posts show extreme RPM.
A couple of high-CPM ads land while overall PV is small.

2) Very low page views

With a tiny denominator, even ¥1–¥2 in revenue can show as hundreds or thousands of yen in RPM. Big day-to-day swings here are mathematical noise, not growth.

3) Google’s optimization / learning phase

During new-site setup or traffic shifts, AdSense tests placements and bidders. You may briefly see expensive ads and rapid creative rotation. Treat early spikes as test noise, not a new norm.

4) Mixing up page RPM and site-wide RPM

AdSense reports multiple RPMs—page RPM, session RPM (with GA4), and site-wide RPM. A handful of strong pages cannot stand in for the whole site; keep the scopes separate.

Why You Shouldn’t Over-Trust RPM

RPM is backward-looking

It reflects yesterday’s advertiser mix and user behavior. Demand, seasonality, and budgets can shift overnight. A high number today does not promise tomorrow’s income.

High RPM ≠ high revenue

Example: RPM ¥1,000 with 10 page views yields just ¥10. Total revenue still depends on sustained traffic, not a pretty ratio.

It’s a supporting metric, not a north star

RPM only makes sense alongside page views, sessions, impressions, and estimated revenue. Reading it in isolation is like judging a car only by its mpg.

How to Read and Use RPM Correctly

Track rolling 30–90 day trends, not single days.
Use site-wide RPM as the baseline; compare page RPM against it.
Pair RPM with PV and session growth to judge real momentum.
Investigate sudden spikes or drops; treat them as anomaly signals.

Think of RPM as an early-warning light: helpful for spotting outliers, not for setting revenue targets.

Key Takeaways

RPM often spikes temporarily—especially with low traffic or lucky ad matches.
Volatility is normal in the early stages; don’t read every swing as a win or loss.
Chasing a high RPM can distract from the real goal: consistent PV growth and total revenue.

If your RPM is bouncing right now, question the spike, keep publishing, and focus on building steady traffic. That foundation turns eye-catching RPM into meaningful income.