From in-house to Apex by Raptive: How Ranker increased RPM 40%

About Ranker

Ranker is a data-driven media company and the people-powered source for definitive rankings across pop culture and beyond. Over the years, its editors have curated tens of thousands of lists, and millions of visitors have submitted more than 1.5 billion votes. That engagement has helped Ranker build a sophisticated, profitable business with programmatic advertising at its core.

A strong in-house operation set a high bar

Ranker didn’t begin its search for an ad management partner because its internal team was underperforming. Over the years, the company built deep expertise in yield, ad operations, and advertising engineering—and Clark Benson, Ranker’s CEO, believed the team was good at what it did.

But in early 2025, the environment around that team was changing. As traffic declined from historic peaks, Ranker began evaluating whether a programmatic ad management partner could create enough additional value to justify a different operating model. For Ranker, the decision hinged on whether a partner could deliver stronger economics and add value while respecting the systems it had already built.

The standard was high; Ranker needed to maintain direct-sold campaigns and private marketplace (PMP) deals, continue using its audience data, and preserve the quality of its custom reporting. Most importantly, Ranker wanted to know whether its overall revenue could remain the same or improve after accounting for an ad partner’s revenue share.

As a large independent publisher with a profitable, programmatic-first revenue model, Clark was skeptical that turning over ad management would make more sense than keeping Ranker’s expertise in-house.

A controlled test for programmatic ad management

Raptive and Ranker started with a limited-inventory test, giving Ranker’s team a clear view of performance in its own environment. As part of the test, Raptive adjusted Ranker’s existing ad placement strategy, optimizing positions based on the site’s layout and traffic while maintaining the same user experience. The results gave Ranker the confidence to move forward. 

After roughly two months of testing different traffic allocations and seeing comparable revenue performance, Ranker moved 100% of its inventory to Raptive. Three to four months into the partnership, revenue performance began to exceed Ranker’s previous levels. That momentum continued: from August 2025 through July 2026, the site’s RPM was 40% higher than during the 12 months before joining Raptive.

Apex adapts to a sophisticated operating model

Ranker needed more than a standard programmatic ad manager. Its team had built its own reporting engine to track revenue per visit and revenue per page at the visitor level. During the test, Ranker needed Raptive’s reporting to line up with its historical data so the team could make a clear comparison.

Raptive adapted its reporting to give Ranker that apples-to-apples view, both during the test and after. The team also worked with Ranker’s direct-sold campaigns and PMP deals, as well as its existing audience segments, so Ranker could test Raptive without giving up the relationships and workflows its business relied on.

That’s where the Apex by Raptive platform-plus-partnership model came in. Apex is an integrated offering for premium media companies like Ranker, designed to help them make more of their audience, content, and business. It combines Raptive’s scale, intelligence, technology, and expertise to drive stronger revenue, smarter decisions, and greater operating leverage.

To support Ranker’s goals, Raptive paired its monetization and user experience expertise with performance insights from thousands of sites. The team applied that expertise to Ranker’s specific operating model, using testing, optimization, and reporting to inform decisions while working within the systems and relationships Ranker already had in place.

With Apex, Ranker can tap into Raptive’s technology, data, and expertise without changing what makes its business unique. The result is a partnership built around Ranker’s existing operation, with the added scale and intelligence to help the team make smarter decisions and drive stronger performance.

Increased revenue with less operational burden

The financial results mattered, but they were only part of the value. With Raptive managing the full programmatic operation, Ranker’s team no longer had to spend time onboarding and offboarding partners, constantly testing and optimizing performance, or managing accounting across multiple vendors.

That freed up time and resources for Ranker to focus on bigger priorities like adapting to changes across digital media—from how audiences discover content to evolving advertiser demand and identity challenges.

The partnership also met Ranker’s expectations for service, particularly since Ranker still has a significant direct-sales business and is a go-to destination for streaming advertisers. 

Clark describes Raptive’s support as actionable and responsive and says the company backs up its promises. The combination of performance, adaptability, and hands-on support turned a skeptical evaluation into a valued partnership.

A practical approach to build versus buy

Ranker’s experience shows that even media companies with strong internal teams can gain an edge with the right partner. What matters is whether that partner can add capabilities that are difficult or costly to build in-house—and deliver measurable value against the company’s goals.

Raptive first proved the financial value through a controlled test, then adapted to Ranker’s reporting, monetization, and operational needs. Ranker’s decision to move 100% of its inventory to Raptive showed what made the partnership work: strong performance, flexibility, and reduced complexity for Ranker’s team to manage day-to-day.

See how Apex can strengthen programmatic ad management, support existing systems, and give your team more room to focus on growth.