<b>"Average RPM in my niche is $X, so I'm underperforming"</b>
The "niche average" is the most poisoned number in this game.
It's self-reported, survivor-biased (failing sites don't post screenshots), and almost always Q4-weighted because that's when people brag. The visible "average" is really the 75th percentile of the loudest accounts in their best month.
🚩 Hidden variable: who reports and when. The $25 "food niche RPM" floating around is a US-desktop-heavy site in December — not the median food site in March, which is closer to $9.
Benchmark against your own 12-month trend, not against a screenshot from someone whose traffic you can't see.
Not saying you're not underperforming — saying the yardstick is a highlight reel, and measuring yourself against it is measuring against fiction.
The Network Myth
@NetworkMythHQ
<b>"Average RPM in my niche is $X, so I'm underperforming"</b>
Этот пост опубликован в Telegram-канале The Network Myth. Подписаться можно по ссылке: @NetworkMythHQ.