High RPM Niches for YouTube Shorts: What Really Matters

Creators often ask: “What’s the best niche for high RPM on YouTube Shorts?” If you’re used to long-form YouTube, that’s a fair question. In long-form videos, advertisers can choose specific categories (like finance or tech) where they want their ads shown, which makes certain niches far more profitable than others.

But Shorts work differently. In this format, niches don’t directly change your RPM. Instead, the biggest factor is the country where your viewers are watching.

Let’s break down why—and how you can still use niches strategically to grow, get discovered, and earn more.

TL;DR

• Niches don’t directly affect RPM for Shorts—all ad revenue goes into a country-level pool.
• Audience geography is the #1 factor in your RPM. Creators in the U.S., Switzerland, and Australia earn far more per thousand views than those in India or Indonesia.
• Niches are still useful indirectly: they help the algorithm understand your content, improve swipe rate and watch time, and influence which countries see your Shorts.
• Use Musical RPM to stack music monetisation on top of your Shorts Creator Pool share.

Why Niches Work Differently on Shorts vs. Long Form

On long-form YouTube, advertisers pick where their ads appear. For example:

• A finance brand might choose to run ads only on “business” and “money” videos.
• As a result, finance creators often have much higher RPMs than, say, gaming creators.

But on YouTube Shorts, ads don’t run on individual videos—they run between Shorts in the feed. YouTube collects all ad revenue into a Creator Pool, and then divides it among creators based on their share of engaged views in each country. Here’s a full breakdown of how the Shorts Creator Pool works.

That means your “niche” doesn’t directly change your RPM. The pool is shared equally within each geography.

The Real RPM Driver: Geography of Your Audience

Data from AIR Media-Tech (across thousands of channels) shows this clearly. Estimated Shorts RPMs vary hugely by country:

• United States – $0.328
• Switzerland – $0.205
• Australia – $0.193
• South Korea – $0.185
• United Kingdom – $0.166
• Canada – $0.165
• Germany – $0.163
• France – $0.102
• New Zealand – $0.113
• Japan – $0.144
• India – $0.008
• Indonesia – $0.012
• Brazil – $0.045
• Mexico – $0.040
• Philippines – $0.023
• Turkey – $0.024

The gap is massive: 1,000 views in the U.S. could earn more than 40x what you’d make from the same number of views in India.

So if you’re chasing “high RPM niches,” what really matters is which countries your Shorts are reaching.

How Niches Still Help (Indirect Impact)

Even though niches don’t change the RPM pool, they still play an important role:

1. Algorithm clarity

If you post consistently in one niche, the algorithm learns who’s most likely to enjoy your content. That boosts watch time and lowers swipe-away rate—two of the biggest signals for going viral on Shorts.

2. Audience targeting

Your niche affects who watches your content—and by extension, where.

• English-language Shorts are more likely to surface in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.
• German or French Shorts may reach smaller audiences, but still in high-RPM countries with less competition.

3. Competition trade-offs

• Big English-speaking markets = high RPMs but fierce competition.
• Smaller European-language markets = lower competition but still valuable RPMs.

4. Language-free Shorts

Slapstick comedy, visual gags, dance, and reaction content can travel globally, regardless of language. This opens your Shorts up to any geography—letting the algorithm push your content wherever it sticks.

Practical Strategy for Creators

Here’s how to use this knowledge to your advantage:

• Choose a niche you can stick with. This isn’t about maximising RPM per se, but helping the algorithm recognise your content and push it to the right people.
• Optimise for retention + swipe rate. No matter your niche, your growth depends on whether viewers watch to the end and whether they skip.
• Think about language strategically. English can open you to the U.S. (high RPM but crowded). Other languages can carve out less-competitive, still-lucrative spaces.
• Experiment with global-friendly Shorts. Try at least some videos without spoken or on-screen language, and see where the algorithm takes them.
• Don’t leave money on the table with music. If you’re using music in Shorts but not monetising it, you’re handing that revenue over to rights holders. With Musical RPM, you get fast, copyright-safe approval and share in the licensing revenue too.

Checklist for Smart Niche Strategy

• Sign up for Musical RPM for fast monetisation (no YPP, no minimums).
• Pick a consistent niche to help the algorithm recommend you.
• Check your analytics → where are your Shorts being watched?
• Experiment with English, other European languages, or no speech at all.
• Track RPM by geography and double down where you see both strong reach and strong payout.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to YouTube Shorts, niches aren’t the direct RPM driver they are in long-form. Instead, your earnings depend most heavily on where your audience is located.

That doesn’t mean niches don’t matter—they still help the algorithm learn who to show your Shorts to, and they can indirectly influence the countries where your content performs best.

The smartest strategy? Use your niche to build consistency and engagement, but keep your eyes on geography as the real lever for RPM. And don’t forget: with Musical RPM, you can stack an extra layer of monetisation by turning your music choices into revenue—fast, safe, and without waiting for YPP thresholds.

👉 Start monetising your Shorts smarter today: Join Musical RPM.