Revenue and rate metrics
Estimated earnings
The estimated revenue attributed to a selected property, time period and reporting scope. It may later be adjusted by the advertising platform. Do not compare amounts unless currency, dates, property and revenue definition match.
Page RPM
Page RPM expresses estimated earnings per thousand pageviews. It normalizes earnings for traffic volume, but it is a retrospective ratio—not a guaranteed rate for future traffic. Google AdSense: Page RPM.
Calculate Page RPM using earnings and pageviews from the same reporting period.
Impression RPM / eCPM
These labels are related but are not identical in every product. Check the report's precise metric name and definition. The denominator here is ad impressions, not pageviews. A page can produce multiple ad impressions, and some requests may not become served impressions.
Use the impression eCPM calculator for a consistent report scope.
CTR (click-through rate)
CTR describes the proportion of measured ad impressions that generated clicks. Other reports may define page CTR using pageviews instead; never compare two CTR values until you confirm whether impressions or pageviews form the denominator. CTR should not be increased through accidental-click layouts, incentives or artificial traffic.
CPC (cost per click)
CPC usually describes the cost associated with a click in an advertising report, but the meaning depends on whose perspective the report presents: an advertiser's cost and a publisher's attributed earnings per click are not always the same measure. Check the platform, currency and exact column name. Do not infer a publisher payout from an advertiser-facing metric unless the reporting product defines it that way.
Traffic and delivery metrics
Pageview
A pageview records a page view under the analytics platform's rules. It is not the same as a user, session, ad request or ad impression. One pageview may lead to zero, one or multiple ad impressions.
Ad request
An ad request is an attempt to request an ad. It does not prove that an ad was filled, returned, rendered, viewable or clicked. Request counts are useful for diagnosing delivery, but must be compared with the corresponding response or impression fields.
Ad impression
An impression is recorded under the ad platform's impression-counting rules when an ad is served or otherwise meets its defined counting event. Different systems can count different stages of delivery. Use one platform's definitions consistently in a calculation.
Viewability
Viewability estimates whether an ad met the platform's criteria for being viewable. It is different from an impression and does not by itself establish attention, engagement or business outcomes. Check the vendor's documented measurement definition.
Traffic mix
The distribution of pageviews or sessions by country, device, page, source or another dimension. A changing mix can affect aggregate RPM even when the performance of individual segments is unchanged. Compare segments cautiously when sample sizes are small.
Comparing metrics responsibly
- Use the same reporting platform, currency, website/property and date range.
- Confirm the definitions of impressions, pageviews, clicks and earnings.
- Compare complete periods with similar weekday patterns and account for reporting delays.
- Separate arithmetic observations from explanations. A lower RPM does not prove that an ad placement, country or page caused the change.
- Record the report export date and important changes in consent settings, page mix, traffic sources or ad setup.
Worked example
A report contains estimated earnings of 240 currency units and 60,000 pageviews. Page RPM is 240 ÷ 60,000 × 1,000 = 4.00 currency units. If the same report has 80,000 ad impressions, impression eCPM is 240 ÷ 80,000 × 1,000 = 3.00 units. Both calculations can be correct because their denominators answer different questions.
Related AIVUV tools and guides
- Publisher Pulse report analyzer — examine a CSV locally in your browser.
- Calculation methodologyPublisher metrics glossary — see the formulas and assumptions used by the calculators.
- CTR, CPC and RPM explained.
- Page RPM versus Impression RPM.
- Report data-quality checks.