Raptive Earnings for General Sites

Page RPM by region tier

Base RPM for Raptive multiplied by the General multiplier of 0.80x, at the reference layout.

General sites earn more as they gain focus

General sites cover a wide spread of subjects: trivia, how-to articles, trending stories, lists and broad explainers. Traffic can be large and varied, but advertisers struggle to tell who the reader is when a page about car maintenance sits next to one about celebrity birthdays. Contextual targeting has less to work with, so bids lean more on audience data, and we estimate RPMs at 80 per cent of the reference for this kind of site. Treat that as a starting point: a general site with a few strong sections can sit well above it.

The practical fix is focus. Grouping articles into clear sections, each deep enough to signal a topic, gives advertisers context to bid on and gives search engines a reason to rank you. Over time the strongest-earning sections often reveal which niche the site should lean towards. A general site also faces stricter quality checks than its traffic might suggest: networks look for original, useful content, and broad sites built on thin, rewritten articles risk rejection or low-value content warnings.

For layout, a standard arrangement of in-content units, a desktop sidebar and a sticky footer works across most topics, so you rarely need a custom approach for each section. Track RPM by category in your analytics, since some sections will pay noticeably better than others. Publishing rhythm matters more than in specialist niches, because broad sites rely heavily on topical content that fades within days, and a gap in output shows up quickly in revenue.

Estimated monthly earnings by traffic

Two pages per session, balanced region split, default format mix.

Seasonality through the year

Estimated earnings for each month at 50,000 monthly sessions, using the General seasonality curve.

The strongest month is December at about $920, and the weakest is January at about $528, a swing of 74%.

General sites track the overall advertising market closely, because they have no niche calendar of their own. Rates climb from October to a peak in late November and December, then fall sharply in January as budgets reset. Spring is moderate and summer slightly softer. Topical stories can bring traffic spikes at any time, but the price of each view still follows the wider cycle. Why ad revenue drops in January explains the reset.

Distance to the entry bar

Raptive asks for roughly 25,000 pageviews a month. A General site reaches that at about 12,500 sessions a month on our numbers, and at that size it would earn roughly $169 a month on Raptive.

How Raptive fits this category

At the reference layout Raptive pays about $14.40 per 1,000 Tier 1 pageviews for this niche, 80% more than the middle of the six website networks. Raptive supports outstream video in our model, which can add up to 40% to page RPM for sites with the traffic to attract video demand. It also offers a policy-compliant interstitial, which our tables count at 15% of reference RPM when switched on.

You apply with your site, connect your analytics and wait while Raptive's team reviews traffic, audience and content. Accepted sites sign an agreement, install the Raptive script or WordPress plugin and update ads.txt, and the team then configures placements with you. Expect a settling-in period while demand partners learn your inventory before judging RPM. Banking and tax forms are handled through its publisher dashboard. The Raptive RPM calculator checks whether you qualify and what you might earn.

How Raptive ranks for this niche

All six website networks at 50,000 monthly sessions, with each network’s entry bar checked against that traffic.

Practical tips

• Group articles into a few deep sections so each page sends a clearer topic signal.
• Compare RPM by section every quarter and expand the categories that pay best.
• Prune or rewrite thin articles before applying to networks with quality reviews.

About Raptive

Raptive, formerly AdThrive, is a premium managed network for creator-led sites, with an entry bar of 25,000 monthly pageviews, cut from 100,000 in October 2025. Our model gives it the highest reference RPM of the six web networks, about $18.00 per 1,000 Tier 1 pageviews, with all five formats available.

All figures come from our benchmark tables: Android eCPMs by tier, category or niche multipliers, modelled fill and the iOS multiplier. They are estimates for planning, not quotes.