How to use the ad revenue calculator
Enter your monthly page views, how many ad units load on an average page, your fill rate, and the average eCPM your ad network reports. The calculator turns them into ad impressions, monthly and yearly revenue, and page RPM, the number most ad networks use to compare pages. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Use your own eCPM, not a figure from a forum. It changes a lot with your visitors’ countries, your niche, the ad sizes, and the season, so the number in your ad network report is the only one that fits your site.
The formulas
Ad impressions = page views x ads per page x fill rate
Monthly ad revenue = ad impressions / 1,000 x eCPM
Page RPM = monthly ad revenue / page views x 1,000eCPM rates one ad unit, while page RPM rates a whole page with every ad on it. That is why page RPM is usually higher than eCPM when a page carries several ads. eCPM vs RPM explains the difference in full.
A worked example
A blog has 100,000 page views a month, three ad units per page, and an 85% fill rate. That is 255,000 ad impressions. At a $1.50 eCPM they earn $382.50 a month, about $4,590 a year, and a page RPM of $3.83. The figures are illustrative; your own report decides what your traffic is worth.
What moves your ad revenue
- Where your visitors are. Advertisers pay far more for some countries than for others. Highest CPM countries shows how wide the gap is.
- Viewability. Ads that are seen earn more than ads below the fold that nobody scrolls to, so fewer, better placed units can beat many weak ones.
- Page speed and layout. Ads that slow a page or push content around cost you visitors and search traffic, which costs more than the extra impressions bring.
- Fill rate. Unfilled requests earn nothing. Adding demand through more ad partners raises fill, but test it against page speed.
When display ads are not the whole picture
Display ads pay per impression, so they fit sites where most visitors read one page and leave. If your visitors log in and come back, for example on a game site, a tool, or a community, a rewards program can earn more per user than banners. An offerwall pays per completed offer instead of per impression; compare both on revenue per 1,000 users with the eCPM and RPM calculator, and estimate the offerwall side with the offerwall earnings calculator. How to monetize a website without AdSense covers the other options.
Frequently asked questions
How is website ad revenue calculated?
Multiply page views by ads per page and fill rate to get impressions, divide by 1,000, and multiply by your eCPM. 255,000 impressions at a $1.50 eCPM earn $382.50.
How much does a website earn per 1,000 page views?
That number is your page RPM, and it depends on your countries, niche, and ad setup. Divide your monthly ad revenue by page views and multiply by 1,000 to get yours.
Does adding more ads per page earn more?
Only up to a point. Extra units add impressions, but each one tends to be seen less, earns a lower eCPM, and can slow the page, so test changes against your RPM and traffic.
What is a fill rate?
The share of ad requests that return an ad. At 85%, 15 of every 100 ad slots stay empty and earn nothing.