"My RPM went up 25% but I'm making less money"

"My RPM went up 25% but I'm making less money"

The claim: posted as proof the network "optimized me into the ground."

The asterisk: a core update cut sessions 30% the same month. RPM is revenue divided by sessions — when the cheap, high-volume tail traffic dies first, the survivors are higher-intent, so RPM rises while total revenue falls.

🚩 Hidden variable: which sessions you lost. A traffic drop that removes $6 sessions mechanically raises your average without anyone touching ad config.

The network didn't optimize anything. Google removed your low-value pageviews and the math reshuffled.

Not saying the network helped either — saying RPM and revenue can move in opposite directions whenever traffic volume shifts, and reading RPM alone tells you nothing about the dollars.