What is a CPM floor?

A CPM floor is a guaranteed minimum a publisher earns per thousand impressions, regardless of auction outcomes or campaign performance. It converts monetization risk from the publisher to the network: whatever the demand does, the publisher earns at least the floor.

Floor vs pure revenue share

Under a pure revenue share, a publisher earns a cut of whatever the ads generate and nothing when they generate nothing. The upside is uncapped; the downside is a zero. A CPM floor changes the shape of that deal. It sets a hard bottom, so a slow month or a weak auction still pays out, while a revenue share can sit on top for the upside. Floor plus share gives you downside protection without giving up the ceiling.

Why floors are rare

A floor is a promise the network has to fund. If demand comes in below the guaranteed minimum, the network pays the difference out of its own pocket. That only works if the network is confident its demand is deep and high quality enough to clear the floor most of the time. Networks that are not confident in their demand cannot afford to offer one, which is why floors are uncommon and why offering one is a signal about demand quality.

What to check before trusting a floor

The important question is what the floor actually applies to. Some floors only cover filled impressions, or only premium placements, which means most of your inventory still earns whatever the auction gives it. Ask whether the floor applies to every impression served or only to a subset. Specify’s floor is on every impression served, set at $10, with a tiered revenue share layered on top. Because it covers every served impression rather than a filtered slice, the floor sets a real bottom on your crypto ad network earnings instead of a headline that only holds on part of your traffic.

Quick answers

Does a floor cap my upside? No, when it sits under a revenue share. The floor guarantees the minimum, and the share pays more when campaigns perform, so you keep the ceiling.

Why would a network offer a floor at all? Because it is confident in its demand. A floor moves risk from publisher to network, and only a network sure its demand will clear the minimum can afford to absorb it.

Filled impressions or every impression? That is the distinction that matters. A floor on filled or premium impressions leaves most inventory unprotected; Specify’s applies to every impression served. See the publisher terms for the full structure.