How Many Banner Ads are Ideal for a Radio Station Homepage?

At the Texas Association of Broadcasters conference last month, Radio Update’s Andy Meadows tossed out a question that had managers leaning forward in their seats: “What’s a proper amount of banner ads on a radio station homepage?”

If you’ve been around radio long enough, you’ve seen both extremes. Some stations “NASCAR it up” with ads plastered on every available pixel, while others keep things so clean you wonder how they’re paying the bills. So, where’s the sweet spot?

Here’s the honest answer: it depends. Your station, your market, and your content strategy all play a role. But there are some guidelines worth keeping in mind so you don’t alienate your listeners—or your advertisers.

The 30% Rule of Banner Ads

The industry actually provides us with one hard number to work with. On mobile, ads shouldn’t take up more than about 30% of the screen space in the main content column. That’s not just me being picky—that’s part of the “Better Ads Standard” that Google and Chrome use when deciding whether your site is ad-friendly. Blow past that threshold, and you risk annoying users, losing traffic, and even having ads filtered out entirely.

Put simply: if someone pulls up your station’s site on their phone and it feels like more ads than content, you’ve crossed the line.

Quality Beats Quantity

When stations try to make up for lower rates by cramming in more banners, the opposite usually happens. Advertisers know that the more ads you jam onto a page, the less attention any of them get. Viewability (the metric buyers use to decide if their ads are actually seen) plummets, and so does the value of your inventory.

It’s far better to have fewer, well-placed ads that are actually seen by your audience than a digital yard sale that everyone scrolls past in frustration.

And on the flip side, don’t go too minimal either. A homepage with no ads at all can give the impression that your station hasn’t sold anything, which looks just as unprofessional as a cluttered design. A couple of sold positions—especially if they’re tied to strong local sponsors—send the message that advertisers value your site and your audience. This is why we encourage all website clients to have at least five clients on board with every new website launch.

Start Simple, Then Measure

Research shows a good rule of thumb is six to eight ad placements on desktop and three to five on mobile. That gives you coverage without overwhelming the design. But don’t stop there—keep an eye on your analytics. If engagement tanks or bounce rates spike after adding a new slot, that’s your audience telling you they’ve had enough.

On the flip side, if advertisers are happy, viewability is solid, and listeners are still clicking around, you might have room to grow. It’s all about testing, listening to the data, and adjusting.

Don’t Forget the User Experience

It’s easy to treat banner ads like pure revenue machines, but never forget that they live in the same space your listeners use to find their news and events, check the weather, or sign up for contests. If ads are shifting the page around, slowing down the site, or blocking key features, you could be costing yourself more in audience loyalty than you’re gaining in ad dollars.

A good homepage should feel like a showcase of your station’s brand, not a desperate attempt to wring every last cent from the real estate. Reserve spots, lazy-load below-the-fold units, and space ads between real content so the site feels natural.

And while we’re on the subject, put some real effort into the ads themselves. If all you’re running are pixelated logos or bargain-basement graphics, it drags down the entire look of your site. A clean, well-designed banner that actually promotes something valuable is far more effective—for your advertisers and your listeners—than a stack of cheap-looking distractions.

So, What’s the Proper Amount? If you’re starting from scratch:

• Aim for six to eight placements on desktop.
• Keep mobile between three and five.
• Watch your 30% density on small screens like a hawk.

This is not a magic formula, but it’s a reliable starting point backed by research. From there, let your data and your audience be the guide.

One example I give of a radio group that’s absolutely killing it with banner ads is https://www.breezynews.com. The site consistently grows in audience despite a large number of ads on its homepage. This is an excellent example of consistently checking analytics and expanding as needed. While I don’t recommend starting with this many ads, it’s something to aspire to once you have consistent content drawing people back each day. For the rest of us, a clean, balanced layout with a handful of strategic placements should perform well, both in terms of user experience and ad revenue over time.