Estimation question
Estimate the ad revenue of a photo sharing social media app.
- Estimation
- Medium
Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.
Start a mock interview on this question · Mock interview from a job description
What this question tests
Tests structured revenue estimation combining user base, engagement and monetization assumptions, clearly labeled.
How to approach it
- Frame the formula: ad revenue equals DAU times ad impressions per DAU per day times eCPM over 1000, times days in the period.
- State assumptions: a mid-size photo-sharing app with roughly 50M DAU, 5 ad impressions per user per day, and an $8 eCPM.
- Calculate: 50M times 5 equals 250M impressions per day, 250M over 1000 times $8 equals $2M per day, times 365 equals roughly $730M per year.
- Sanity-check the result against a rough per-user annual ARPU benchmark for ad-driven social apps.
- Present the final figure as an assumption-driven estimate, not a precise number.
What a strong answer includes
- Labels every input assumption explicitly, DAU, impressions per user and eCPM, so any lever can be probed.
- Sanity-checks the result against a rough per-user ARPU benchmark instead of stopping at the multiplication.
- Shows the full formula clearly so the logic can be followed and challenged.
Common mistakes
- Doing the multiplication without stating assumptions clearly.
- Skipping the sanity-check step against a known real-world benchmark.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would this estimate change for a smaller, niche photo-sharing app with 5M DAU?
- What would you assume for eCPM in a lower-income market versus the US?
More estimation questions
- YouTube Red is a premium service without ads. Assume that 1.5% of initial YouTube user base signs up for the service. What is the lifetime revenue Google generates from those users?Google · Estimation · Hard
- How much would it cost to set up WiFi in New York?Google · Estimation · Medium
- How many dentists are there in New York?Google · Estimation · Easy
- How many Pianists are there in New York city?Google · Estimation · Easy
- Estimate the total number of videos on YouTube.Google · Estimation · Easy
- How many airports are in the US and in the World?Google · Estimation · Easy
More questions from Google
Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 2: Data fluency: SQL, logs, and reading the truth yourself
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop