Ad RPM collapsed from $10+ to ~$2, indie site owner pulls ads to retain users
gefei55 · x · 2026-10-30
An indie site owner shared real numbers behind a tough monetization call: after running ads for a few days, both session duration and pages per visit dropped, while revenue was dismal.
- US web ad RPM is now around $2, down from $10+ in late 2024/early 2025
- His AdSense dashboard shows an overall $1.29 RPM and about $178 total estimated earnings over 8 days
- He decided to remove ads to improve UX and focus on retaining users first
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