AdSense Publishers Hit by Another Sudden Revenue Drop

A significant number of publishers using Google AdSense are experiencing a dramatic and sudden reduction in revenue, with many reporting that their earnings per thousand impressions (RPM) and effective cost per mille (eCPM) have plummeted by fifty to seventy percent. This sharp downturn, noted across various online forums, poses a serious threat to the financial stability of websites that depend on this advertising income, particularly when site traffic remains steady and operational costs are unchanged.

Reports of the issue began flooding in late on January 14th and continued into the early hours of January 15th. Publishers based in the United States and across Europe have described severe declines in their key monetization metrics. The problem appears widespread, affecting multiple sites under the same publisher account simultaneously. Some users have even noted that advertisements have partially or completely vanished from their pages.

The sentiment among the publishing community is one of alarm and frustration. One publisher stated, “My RPM dropped by more than 80% overnight,” while another emphasized, “Same traffic, same placements , revenue collapsed.” The scale of the loss is stark, with reports like, “I used to earn $500 a day, now it’s $35,” and declarations that they have “never seen figures like this before.”

The data illustrates a severe impact across multiple regions. Sites focused on audiences in Germany saw an average RPM decline of 64%, while those in France experienced a 63% drop. The figures were even more dramatic for Italy and Spain, with decreases of 76% and a staggering 90%, respectively. Publishers with U.S.-focused websites reported revenue drops ranging from 35% to 70%.

This troubling development coincides with reports of an unconfirmed update to Google’s search ranking algorithms. This timing raises concerns that shifts in website visibility may be compounding direct monetization problems, creating a familiar and unsettling pattern for publishers who feel caught between search volatility and advertising instability.

Adding another layer to the situation, Google has officially acknowledged systemic problems within its Google Ad Manager platform. The company cited issues including declining match rates for Ad Exchange (AdX) and reduced ad delivery from both Google Ads and DV360 platforms. Web and mobile web display inventory has been hit the hardest. Google indicated that affected users might encounter errors, high latency, or other unexpected behavior, promising a resolution update by 7:00 PM UTC on January 15th.

Several critical questions remain unanswered. It is unclear whether the admitted Ad Manager issues completely explain the severe drops seen in AdSense revenue. Publishers are left wondering if this is a temporary reporting glitch, a deeper ad-serving problem, or indicative of a more permanent shift in how their content is monetized. Furthermore, the potential long-term impact of features like AI Overviews in search, which currently display no advertisements, looms as an indirect threat to publisher revenue streams.

For many, this incident is not an isolated event but part of a distressing long-term trend. Numerous publishers report that revenue has been eroding for months, with some citing losses of 70% to 80% since mid-2025. These sustained declines are fueling anxieties that traditional content sites are being structurally deprioritized within the broader digital ecosystem.

The essential takeaway is that publishers find themselves in a familiar position of uncertainty. Whether this revenue crash is a short-lived technical fault or another step in a prolonged downward trajectory, those who rely on advertising are once again left waiting for answers, watching their dashboards with dwindling revenue and minimal control over their own financial outcomes.

(Source: Search Engine Land)