Google AdSense publishers are reporting sharp drops in earnings over the past 24 hours, with many seeing eCPM and RPM declines of 50–70%, according to widespread forum complaints.
Why we care. For publishers that rely on AdSense to fund operations, sudden revenue swings can threaten sustainability — especially when traffic hasn’t changed and costs remain fixed.
What’s happening. Complaints spiked late Jan. 14 into early Jan. 15. Publishers across the U.S. and Europe report severe drops in page RPM and eCPM. Multiple sites within the same accounts were simultaneously affected with some publishers saying ads partially or fully disappeared.
What publishers are saying:
- “My RPM dropped by more than 80% overnight.”
- “Same traffic, same placements — revenue collapsed.”
- “I used to earn $500 a day, now it’s $35.”
- “Never seen figures like this before.”
The numbers:
- Germany (.de): –64%
- France (.fr): –63%
- Italy (.it): –76%
- Spain (.es): –90%
- U.S.-focused sites report drops of 35–70%
Between the lines. The timing coincides with an unconfirmed Google Search ranking update, raising concerns that visibility shifts and monetization issues may be overlapping — a familiar and unsettling pattern for publishers.
Another wrinkle. Google has acknowledged systemic issues in Google Ad Manager, including:
- Declining AdX match rates
- Reduced delivery from Google Ads and DV360
- Web and mobile web display inventory hit hardest
Google says affected users may see errors, high latency, or unexpected behavior, with an update promised by Jan. 15th, at 7:00 PM UTC (2 pm E.T.)
What’s unclear:
- Whether the Ad Manager incident fully explains the AdSense drops
- If this is a reporting bug, a serving issue, or a longer-term monetization shift
- How AI Overviews — which currently show zero ads — may be impacting publisher revenue indirectly
The big picture. Many publishers say revenue has been declining for months, not days — with some reporting losses of 70–80% since mid-2025, fueling fears that traditional content sites are being structurally deprioritized.
Bottom line. Whether this is a temporary bug or another step in a longer decline, publishers are once again left waiting — and watching their dashboards — with little clarity and even less control.
Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
