A blog that switched ad networks: the before/after

A blog that switched ad networks: the before/after

Context: a food blogger published RPM data from migrating from a basic display network to a premium managed network once traffic crossed the eligibility threshold.

What was measured:
— Same site, same content, roughly 220,000 monthly sessions in both windows
— 60 days before, 60 days after the switch

Reported outcome:
— Prior network: session RPM about $7.50, roughly $1,650/month
— Premium network: session RPM about $21.00, roughly $4,620/month
— Nearly 3x on identical traffic

Caveats: single site, and the windows straddled a seasonal advertiser period (Q4 food content spikes), so part of the lift is calendar, not network. Premium networks place more ad units per page, which lifts RPM but can hurt user experience and long-run retention — a cost not captured in a 60-day RPM figure. Self-reported.

Implications: consistent with the documented 2–3x RPM premium of managed networks at scale, though seasonality contaminates this particular comparison.

What we still don't know: the retention and Core Web Vitals cost of the denser ad load, which only shows up over many months.