We’re excited to introduce new ad density reporting and controls in your Raptive dashboard, giving you more control and clarity than ever before. It’s now easier to understand your site's current ad density and adjust your settings to find the perfect balance between earnings and reader experience.
Why This Matters
With this update, you’ll be able to:
- Easily compare your site’s settings against industry standards.
- Find your own desired balance of revenue and reader experience.
- Test different experiences on your site and make updates without going through Raptive support.
What’s New
You’ll now find a dedicated Ad Density section on your Ad Preferences page in the dashboard. You can view and update your ad density settings directly from this page. You’ll see your actual ad density for both desktop and mobile, along with simple drop-down menus to adjust your target density settings if preferred.
Your actual ad density is refreshed weekly according to real site data. Based on your site's current page setup and ad options (such as having a max ad limit in place or stipulations on where ads can or cannot be placed within your content), this might mean that your actual ad density is slightly different from the target density setting you’ve selected.
Note: It takes a certain amount of traffic to generate the actual ad density measurement. Therefore, sites with very low traffic levels may not always have this measurement.
We offer seven options for each device type, ranging from “Very Low” to “Max”. The “Optimized” setting is our recommended balance for strong revenue and a great reader experience.
-
Desktop:
- Very Low (< 13%) > set to .12
- Low (14-16%) > set to .15
- Medium (17-19%) > set to .18
- Optimized (20-22%) > set to .20
- Medium-High (23-24%) > set to .23
- High (25-27%) > set to .26
- Max (28-30%) > set to .28
-
Mobile:
- Very low (< 15%) > set to .15
- Low (16-18%) > set to .18
- Medium (19-21%) > set to .21
- Optimized (22-24%) > set to .24
- Medium-High (25-26%) > set to .26
- High (27-29%) > set to .28
- Max (30%) > set to .30
Ideally, the “Optimized” ad density percentage (20-22% on desktop, 22-24% on mobile) is what you're seeing for your actual ad density. However, you might need to select a higher ad density setting for your actual ad density to hit our optimized percentage range, or revisit any other ad restrictions you have in place.
If you decide to pick a new option, we’ll automatically update your settings to match once you hit “Save.”
Note: If your setup requires custom density settings (e.g., for technical or layout reasons), you won’t be able to change your ad density from the dashboard. In that case, your drop-down will show “Max” and you'll see a message letting you know to contact support for changes.
While you now have control over ad density, your Raptive support team can always assist if you have any questions.
FAQs
Why doesn’t my actual ad density match my ad density setting?
Your actual ad density may differ from your target ad density setting. Actual ad density is based on your site's current page setup and ad options, such as having a max ad limit in place or stipulations on where ads can or cannot be placed within your content. This might mean that your actual ad density is slightly different from the target density setting you’ve selected. Actual ad density is also updated on a weekly basis. If you’ve just recently made a change to your ad density setting, it may not have been reflected in your actual ad density yet.
I just updated my ad density setting, why hasn’t my actual ad density changed?
Actual ad density is updated on a weekly basis. If you’ve just recently made a change to your ad density setting, it may not have been reflected in your actual ad density yet.
Why don’t I see an actual ad density measurement for my site?
It takes a certain amount of traffic to generate this measurement. Therefore, sites with very low traffic levels may not always have this measurement.
My site is currently in a guarantee period with Raptive. Can I adjust my ad density settings?
No, if your site is currently in a guarantee period with Raptive, you won’t be able to adjust your ad density settings. You should see a note at the top of your Ad Preferences page stating, “Some ad options may not be adjusted during your guarantee period.”
I heard from a friend that ad density settings are now in the dashboard. When will I get access?
This feature will be released by creator service level over the course of May 2025, for Luminary, Platinum Elite, Platinum, and Insider creators.
Additional Resources
Want to learn more about ad density? Check out the additional articles below:
Ad Density - How Content Ads Appear on Each Page
How does Raptive handle ad density on my site?