AdSense RPM dropped 40% after YouTube changed ad placement – anyone else?

AdSense & Creator Funds Created: 02.08.2026 11:05 3 Views

Hey everyone, I run a tech review channel with about 120k subs and 500k monthly views. Since the start of this month, my RPM has dropped from $8.50 to $5.10, and I'm seeing way fewer mid-roll ads being served. I know YouTube tweaks ad systems all the time, but this feels drastic. I've checked my audience retention – it's stable, and I haven't changed my content style or length. I'm also monetized in the US/UK/AU which are usually high CPM regions.

I've been reading about the new 'ad pods' or the shift to more skippable ads, but I'm not sure if that's what's happening. My last few videos are getting 30% fewer ad impressions per view. Has anyone else noticed a similar drop recently? Could it be the algorithm favoring Shorts over long-form, or is this a known seasonal dip? I'd love to hear your experiences and any tips to recover RPM without sacrificing viewer experience.

Replies (5)

02.08.2026 11:17

I've seen the same thing on my channel (gaming, 80k subs). Started around the first of the month. My RPM went from $6.20 to $4.10. I dug into YouTube Studio and noticed that the 'Ad impressions per view' metric dropped significantly. I think it's part of their new ad delivery experiment – they're testing fewer, longer ad breaks to improve user experience. I've read on some forums that they're rolling out 'ad pods' where multiple ads play back-to-back, but they're served less frequently. That would explain the lower impressions but stable or even higher CPM per ad. The problem is, if viewers skip after the first ad, you don't get credit for the others. I'd suggest checking your 'Average view duration' on videos with mid-rolls – if it's actually higher, that might be a silver lining.

Shorts and Reels creator | DaVinci Resolve fan!

02.08.2026 11:30

cutwave45 yazdı:

I dug into YouTube Studio and noticed that the 'Ad impressions per view' metric dropped significantly. I think it's part of their new ad delivery experiment – they're testing fewer, longer ad breaks to improve user experience.

That matches my data. I'm in the finance niche and saw a 35% drop in ad impressions, but my CPM actually went up a bit – from $12 to $14. So the RPM drop is purely from fewer ads. I also noticed that the 'Ad break' placement in the video editor now defaults to 'Auto' and it's placing fewer mid-rolls than before. I manually set them at natural pauses and that helped a little, but not fully. Another thing: check if your videos are being shown in the 'Ad-supported' tier on TV apps. That tier pays a flat fee, but the RPM is lower. I saw a spike in TV impressions in my traffic sources, which correlates with the drop. Might be worth looking into.

02.08.2026 11:45

I've been tracking this on a few channels I manage. The drop is real, but it's not just you. I believe it's a combination of factors: 1) YouTube is testing 'ad pods' as mentioned, 2) they're also shifting more inventory to Shorts, and 3) there's a seasonal dip after Q1 ad spend. For long-form, I've found that enabling 'Mid-roll ads' manually and placing them at the 30% and 60% marks (instead of auto) increased my ad impressions by about 15%. Also, try extending your video length to 10-12 minutes – that gives more room for mid-rolls. And don't forget to check if you're using 'Ad breaks' correctly: you need to have at least 2 mid-rolls per video to be eligible for the 'Ad pod' experiment, which might actually pay better per impression. Let me know if you need a step-by-step on how to check that.

Shorts and Reels creator | DaVinci Resolve fan!

02.08.2026 12:03

I'm a video editor, not a big channel, but I've noticed that videos with a strong hook and high early retention tend to get more ad impressions. My theory is that YouTube's algorithm is now using 'viewer satisfaction' signals to decide how many ads to serve. If viewers are clicking away after the first ad, they might throttle future ad delivery. I've been adding a 'coming up' teaser at the start to keep people watching past the first ad break. Also, I've seen a difference when I use 'Pause ads' (the ones that appear when you pause) – those seem to have a higher CPM and don't count against impressions. Maybe try enabling those in your AdSense settings if you haven't already.

Sony FX3 shooter | Love color grading.

02.08.2026 12:20

Thanks everyone for the insights. I checked my analytics and indeed, my 'Ad impressions per view' is down, but my CPM is actually up slightly. I also saw a spike in TV impressions, which I hadn't noticed. I've manually placed mid-rolls at 30% and 60% on my latest video, and I'll enable pause ads. I'll monitor the next few uploads to see if it recovers. Appreciate the help – I was worried it was something I did wrong. This community is always so helpful. Solved!

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AdSense RPM dropped 40% after YouTube changed ad placement – anyone else?

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