Myth: scale traffic and RPM takes care of itself

Myth: scale traffic and RPM takes care of itself
Assumption: volume is the only lever. But RPM moves with traffic source, not just size. By channel, n=160 sites, 28d:

— Direct/email RPM $24 ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮
— Organic search RPM $19 ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮
— Social referral RPM $7 ▮▮▮▮
— Paid/arbitrage RPM $5 ▮▮▮

A viral social spike can drop blended RPM 40% even as pageviews triple. Volume from cheap channels dilutes session value.

So what: a traffic win can be a revenue loss. Watch RPM by source. ▼40% on a social spike.