Guides / Outdoor & DOOH Advertising
How to choose a location for an LED billboard
7 min read · Updated October 2026
The best location for an LED billboard is one where many people pass slowly, with a clear, unobstructed view of the screen for several seconds, from a distance your pixel pitch can serve — and where you can legally build a safe structure with stable power and service access. Raw traffic counts are not enough: a jammed junction where vehicles wait beats a faster road with more vehicles. Judge dwell time, sightline, orientation, structure and lease before you ever discuss the screen.
What makes a billboard location valuable?
A valuable billboard location combines volume, dwell time and visibility: many people, moving slowly, with an unobstructed view of the face. Each factor multiplies the others, so a site that is strong on one and weak on another is usually weaker than it looks.
Dwell time is the factor most often underrated. A motorbike rider queued at a signal for a minute can watch a full loop of adverts; a car passing at speed may see one slot for two seconds. That is why junctions, signals, bus stops, toll points, bridge approaches and the slow sections of the Ring Road tend to outperform open stretches.
Audience quality matters too. A site near colleges, hospitals, banks and shopping streets attracts different advertisers from one on a freight route. Think about who passes and which brands want to reach them.
How do you judge the sightline?
Stand where your audience will be and look: if the screen face is not clearly visible for at least several seconds from the main approach, the site is weaker than its traffic suggests. Do this at different times of day, from a car, a motorbike and on foot.
Watch for obstructions that are easy to miss on a site plan: trees that leaf out in summer, overhead electricity and telecom cables, other hoardings, shop signs and the building under construction next door. In Kathmandu’s dense streets, a neighbour’s new floor can block a face within a year, so ask what can legally be built around you.
Angle matters. A screen facing the oncoming traffic head-on is read naturally; one parallel to the road is only seen sideways, at a glance. LED viewing angles are wide, but the human habit of looking ahead is not.
How far away will people see it, and what does that mean for the screen?
The viewing distances at your site set both the screen size and the pixel pitch, so measure them during the survey. Pixel pitch in millimetres roughly equals the closest comfortable viewing distance in metres, and the farthest important viewer decides how large the text and screen must be.
A junction where people stop 15–30 metres away suits a medium outdoor pitch; a highway face read from far off suits a coarser pitch and a larger surface. Our pixel pitch guide explains the rule in detail.
Distance also tells you whether the site is worth digital at all. A face seen only from very far away for a moment may sell better as a simple, bold static board — the trade-off is covered in our guide to digital versus static billboards.
Does the direction the screen faces matter?
Yes — orientation to the sun affects readability, heat and lifespan, so note which way the face points before committing. A west-facing screen takes the afternoon sun on its face and must work hardest to stay readable at the hours when evening traffic builds.
Direct sun on the face is why outdoor screens are specified at around 5,000–8,000 nits; sun on the back of the cabinet raises internal temperature, which matters in the Terai’s pre-monsoon heat. Good ventilation and a correctly specified cabinet handle both, but they are easier to plan than to retrofit.
Orientation to the dominant traffic flow matters as much as orientation to the sun. On a one-way system, or a road with heavy morning inbound and evening outbound flows, choose the face that meets the larger or slower stream.
What practical checks rule a site in or out?
Four practical checks decide whether a good-looking site is buildable: structure, power, access and permission. Fail any one and the site is a problem, however good the view.
Structure: a rooftop needs a load assessment and anchorage for a frame designed for wind; a ground site needs a foundation. Power: you need a dedicated, protected supply that can carry the screen’s load, and a plan for outages and voltage swings. Access: technicians need safe, legal access to service the screen, front or rear, including in the monsoon.
Permission: requirements vary by municipality and change over time, so check with the municipality and ward office what your specific site needs before you sign a lease. Also confirm the landlord can legally grant the roof or wall, and that the structure will not cross a road reserve.
What should the lease cover?
An LED billboard is a multi-year investment, so the lease must be long enough and specific enough to protect it. Short or vague leases are the most common way good DOOH sites turn into losses.
Make sure the lease covers the term and renewal, the exact area and structure rights, the right to run power and data cables, 24-hour access for maintenance, what happens if the building is renovated, and who removes the structure at the end. Clarity on electricity billing avoids disputes later.
If you can, negotiate protection against new obstructions — for example a clause on signage the landlord places in front of your face.
How do we help assess a site?
We survey billboard sites free before any quote: sightlines, viewing distances, orientation, structure, power and access. The result tells you whether the site works, what size and pitch suit it, and what the structure involves.
If you are building a DOOH business, read our guide to starting one alongside this, and bring us your shortlist of sites — comparing two or three candidates side by side is usually the fastest way to the right one.
The short version
- Dwell time — how long people can look — matters as much as traffic volume.
- Check the sightline in person from the main approach, at different times of day.
- Viewing distance at the site sets both pixel pitch and screen size.
- Orientation to the sun affects readability and heat; west-facing screens work hardest.
- Structure, power, access and permission must all pass before a site is viable.
- Lease terms must protect a multi-year investment, including access and obstructions.
Common questions
Where is the best place to put an LED billboard in Kathmandu?
The strongest sites are where traffic slows or stops with a clear view of the screen — major junctions, signals, bus stops and slow sections of the Ring Road. Visibility from the main approach and the time people spend facing the screen matter more than the raw number of vehicles. Each candidate needs a survey for structure, power and permission.
Is a busy road always a good billboard location?
Not always. A fast-moving road gives each viewer only a second or two, while a slower junction with fewer vehicles may give each viewer a full loop. Obstructions, the angle of the screen and the direction of traffic flow can also make a busy road a weak site.
Which direction should an outdoor LED screen face?
Ideally it faces the dominant or slowest traffic stream head-on. Facing west means the screen takes afternoon sun on its face and must be bright enough to stay readable in the evening peak, which correctly specified outdoor screens handle but which should be planned for.
Can I put an LED billboard on my rooftop?
Often yes, but the roof must be assessed for load and anchorage, the frame engineered for wind, and power and service access planned. Permission requirements vary by municipality, so check with the municipality and ward office for your specific building before committing.
How long should a lease for a billboard site be?
Long enough to recover a multi-year investment with room to spare, with clear renewal terms. The lease should also cover structure rights, power, 24-hour maintenance access, renovation of the building and removal at the end of the term.
Where to go next
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