{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Dataset",
  "name": "Why is my YouTube RPM so low?",
  "description": "Low RPM almost always comes from one of five causes: a low-CPM audience geography, a Shorts-heavy view mix, videos under eight minutes with no mid-rolls, limited-ads flags on your content, or a niche with weak advertiser demand. Geography and Shorts share explain the majority of unexpectedly low RPMs.",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/answers/why-is-my-youtube-rpm-so-low",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-21",
  "creator": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "RevenueLab",
    "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi"
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "keywords": [
    "YouTube RPM Calculator",
    "YouTube RPM by country",
    "YouTube CPM Calculator"
  ],
  "distribution": {
    "@type": "DataDownload",
    "contentUrl": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/page.json?path=answers%2Fwhy-is-my-youtube-rpm-so-low",
    "encodingFormat": "application/json"
  },
  "json": {
    "type": "answer",
    "question": "Why is my YouTube RPM so low?",
    "shortAnswer": "Low RPM almost always comes from one of five causes: a low-CPM audience geography, a Shorts-heavy view mix, videos under eight minutes with no mid-rolls, limited-ads flags on your content, or a niche with weak advertiser demand. Geography and Shorts share explain the majority of unexpectedly low RPMs.",
    "tableTitle": "Common causes of a low RPM and typical impact",
    "columns": [
      "Cause",
      "Typical RPM impact",
      "Fix"
    ],
    "rows": [
      {
        "label": "Audience mostly outside US/UK/CA/AU",
        "value": "−50% to −85%",
        "note": "Target English-language, high-CPM search intent"
      },
      {
        "label": "Shorts are most of your views",
        "value": "−90%+",
        "note": "Report long-form and Shorts RPM separately"
      },
      {
        "label": "Videos under 8 minutes",
        "value": "−25% to −45%",
        "note": "No mid-roll inventory"
      },
      {
        "label": "Limited or no ads (yellow icon)",
        "value": "−40% to −95%",
        "note": "Review advertiser-friendly guidelines"
      },
      {
        "label": "Low-CPM niche",
        "value": "−60% to −90%",
        "note": "Drift content toward higher-intent topics"
      },
      {
        "label": "January / post-Q4 seasonality",
        "value": "−20% to −35%",
        "note": "Temporary; recovers by March"
      }
    ],
    "context": "Before diagnosing anything, check that you're reading RPM and not CPM in YouTube Studio — they differ by roughly 2× and confusing them sends people chasing a problem that doesn't exist. Then split your analytics by format: a channel showing a $0.60 blended RPM is often a healthy $4 long-form channel whose average is being dragged down by millions of Shorts views.",
    "methodology": "Impact ranges are drawn from before/after comparisons reported by creators in each situation and from the geography multipliers in RevenueLab's country RPM tables. Seasonality figures reflect the typical Q4-to-January drop in advertiser spend.",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-21",
    "relatedCalculators": [
      {
        "label": "YouTube RPM Calculator",
        "to": "/youtube-rpm-calculator"
      },
      {
        "label": "YouTube RPM by country",
        "to": "/youtube-rpm-by-country"
      },
      {
        "label": "YouTube CPM Calculator",
        "to": "/youtube-cpm-calculator"
      }
    ],
    "relatedReading": [
      {
        "label": "CPM vs RPM explained",
        "to": "/blog/youtube-cpm-vs-rpm-explained"
      },
      {
        "label": "Advertiser-friendly guidelines and demonetization",
        "to": "/blog/youtube-advertiser-friendly-demonetization"
      }
    ]
  }
}