Conversion Tag Guide for Advertisers

Conversion Tag Guide for Advertisers
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Adding Third-Party Tracking Tags ........................................................................................................................... 11
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This guide is intended for the advertiser webmaster, whose task it is to implement Sizmek conversion tags (usually
received from the agency) in the relevant pages of the website. For first-time users, we recommend reading this
guide in its entirety at least once. For advanced users who are using this guide as a reference, you can view any of
the relevant sections below for more information.
Typically, clicking on an ad on the publisher site directs the user to a page on the advertiser’s website. Using
conversion tags, it is possible to track a user’s activity on the advertiser’s site after viewing or clicking on an ad.
Such activities may include:



Visiting a tracked page
Registering for a newsletter
Buying a product
To track conversions, dedicated HTML tags must be placed on each tracked page on the advertiser site. The
conversion tags are named according to the conversion being tracked, and can be reused from one campaign to
another. Before a campaign starts, conversion tags must be placed on the appropriate pages, and after a campaign
ends, the tags should be removed if they will not be used again.
Notes:
- Conversions cannot be attributed across different web browsers, as cookies are browser-specific.
- Web developers should be cautious of content refreshing where a conversion tag is implemented.
If there is a chance that content is refreshing on a page where a conversion tag is implemented,
web developers should work with the agency and their Sizmek contact to create the correct tag for
this page so that conversions are properly counted.
Conversions are considered impulse or latent:


Impulse: A conversion occurring within 12 hours of the clickthrough or impression is considered an
impulse conversion.
Latent: A latent conversion is for conversions occurring more than 12 hours after viewing or clicking on the
ad (the clickthrough), but not later than 30 days.
There are two types of conversion tags:


Counter Tags count actions, for example: the number of times the page was visited, a button clicked on,
and so on. If a user makes a purchase on a site, a counter tag can be placed on each of the different pages
corresponding to the stages of the purchase. It is then possible to track how many times users reached
certain points in the process up to the checkout page.
Sales Tags record a number of variables including revenue, quantity, order ID, product ID, and product
information. The tags are typically placed on the Thank You page that appears after a completing a
transaction. Sales tags are unique per order ID; otherwise they are per browser session. If there is no
session ID, they are always counted.
Note: If there is a possibility that a page’s content could reload when a conversion tag is implemented, a sales
tag should be used to filter out duplicate conversions. The order ID must be populated in the sales tag in
order for this to work.
An advertiser’s webmaster should follow certain guidelines regarding the placement of tags in website pages. The
sections below explain several common scenarios for implementing conversion tags.
Note: Before making changes to the code below, please consult your Sizmek client services manager for
assistance on what components of the code can be changed.
The tags you received for your HTML pages are either Script or IFrames tags:
The script tag uses a script to call the Sizmek server (to report the conversion) as soon as the page loads. This
allows for better accuracy in counting conversions.
An IFrame is not part of the page and so is loaded in parallel to the page, not affecting download time (unlike Script
tags which load as part of the page). As a result, IFrame conversion tags are subject to a higher number of
discrepancies. It is typically used:


When you have several tags in the same page, which can result in slow loading times for the page. Use
IFrames to avoid longer page loading times.
If you cannot use script tags in your page for security reasons.
You can tell what type of code you have by identifying script or IFrame aspects in your code. For example, in script
code, you will see document.write(‘<scr’ ....
In code for IFrames, you will see document.write('<iframe src ....
Both methods are implemented the same way.
To count the conversion when reaching a page:
In this scenario, when the user reaches the page, the conversion is counted as the page starts to download. To
implement this method, do the following:
Place the tags as close as possible to the <body> tag on the page. This will guarantee that the conversion will be
counted as the page starts to download.
You can put the tag lower down in the <body> tag, but be aware that in cases of a heavy site, users might move to
another page without the conversion being reported.
To count the conversion when performing an action:
You may want to add the conversion to a button rather than to a place on a page; for example, when the landing
page cannot be accessed, or when there is no HTML landing page (such as when opening a PDF file).
In such cases, do the following:
1. Identify the URL from the <img> portion of the URL.
<noscript>
<img width="1" height="1" style="border:0" src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=25873&amp;&ns=1"/>
</noscript>
2. Change all instances of &amp to &
HTTP://bs.serving-sys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&ActivityID=25873&ns=1
1. Create a JavaScript function to do the following:
Create a new image. Set the source of that image to the amended URL from the <img> tag.
<script>
function ebConversionTracker(conv)
{
var ebConversionImg = new Image();
var ebConversionURL = "HTTP://bs.serving-sys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?"
ebConversionURL += "cn=as&ActivityID="+conv+"&ns=1";
ebConversionImg.src = ebConversionURL;
}
</script>
Attach the function to the button’s onClick event.
<input type="button" value="Click Here" onClick="javascript: ebConversionTracker(‘12345’)">
Conversion tags can be placed in Flash-based pages in your site.
The code can be placed anywhere in the Flash file.
For ActionScript 1 or 2, it creates a movie clip that loads an SWF with the conversion parameters. The call to the
conversion will be done automatically.
For ActionScript 3, it creates a loader object that loads an SWF with the conversion parameters.
Copy and paste the code into the appropriate place in your Flash page depending on when you want to report the
conversion; for example, if you want the conversion reported when the user clicks on a specific button:
For ActionScript 1 or 2, place the code inside the button using the appropriate event, such as onRelease ().
For ActionScript 3, place the code in the function that handles the click event.

If you want the conversion reported only after the user sees a movie clip, then use the timeline event.
There is no need to create a movie clip or loader to call the conversion. The code already does that.
Whether you want to fire a Sizmek conversion tag on a button, on a link, or as the page loads, the following custom
script will ensure that the conversion tag itself and its third-party tag will fire before redirecting to the landing page.
To implement conversion tags on buttons or links:
1. From the code generated in the Sizmek platform, copy the ID, and discard the rest of the code. The
following script should be placed as the first element of the <head>:

For a standard page:
<script src="http://ds.servingsys.com/BurstingRes/CustomScripts/mmConversionTagV4.js"></script>

For a secure page:
<script src="https://secure-ds.servingsys.com/BurstingRes/CustomScripts/mmConversionTagV4.js"></script>
2. When you want to fire the conversion tag, call the General Function. It can consist of up to five
parameters, as described in the table below.
General Function
mmConversionTag(id, obj, targetWindow , redirectURL, extraParams);
Parameters
Description
Type
Required?
If Left
Blank?
Examples /
Possible Values
Id
The id of
your
conversion
tag (as
found in the
Sizmek
platform)
Number
Mandatory
N/A
Example:
The button
or link
object
Object
New or
same
window
String
Obj
targetWin
dow
redirectU
RL
Landing
page URL.
The URL to
redirect to
after the
conversion
tag and its
third-party
tags get
called.
120394
Mandatory
N/A
There is only one
possible value:
this
String
Optional
Optional
If a
redirect
URL
was
passed
, then it
will be
opened
in a
new
window
.
Then
Sizmek
will not
perfor
m any
redirect
.
Possible values:
'self'
'_blank '
null
Examples:
'http://www.Sizme
k.com
(http://www.Sizme
k.com) '
'http://www.yourla
ndingpage.com
(http://www.yourla
ndingpage.com) '
extraPara
ms
These are
all the extra
nonstandard
parameters
that could
possibly get
passed to a
conversion
tag such as
sales tag
parameters,
session ID,
or custom
parameters.
String
Optional
Then
the tag
will act
like a
regular
counter
conver
sion
tag.
Examples:
'&Session=123
456'
Pass the above
code if you want
to count the
conversion tag
once per browser
session. Of
course, you must
replace 123456
with the actual
session ID.
'&Session=123
456Order
ID=555&V
alue=100
'
Pass the above
code if you want
to count the
conversion tag
once per browser
session, plus pass
the order ID and
the value/revenue
of a sales
conversion.

Fire conversion tag, no redirect
<a onclick="mmConversionTag(123456, this); return false;" href="">Click
Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, no redirect, and pass extraParams
<a onclick="mmConversionTag(123456, this, undefined, undefined,
'&productId=123456'); return false;" href="">Click Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, redirect to landing page in new window
<a onclick="mmConversionTag(123456, this, '_blank', 'http://www.Sizmek.com');
return false;" href="">Click Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, redirect to landing page in same window
<a onclick="mmConversionTag(123456, this, '_self', 'http://www.Sizmek.com');
return false;" href="">Click Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, redirect to landing page in new window, and pass extraParams
<a onclick="mmConversionTag(123456, this, '_blank', 'http://www.Sizmek.com',
'&productId=123456'); return false;" href="">Click Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, redirect to landing page in same window, and pass extraParams
<a onclick="mmConversionTag(123456, this, '_self', 'http://www.Sizmek.com',
'&productId=123456'); return false;" href="">Click Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, redirect to landing page in new window, pass extraParams, and use site function
<script>
function sitesFunction1() {…}
</script>
<a onclick=" mmConversionTag(123456, this, '_blank', 'http://www.Sizmek.com',
'&productId=123456'); return false; siteFunction1();” href="">Click
Here</a>

Fire conversion tag, redirect to landing page in same window, pass extraParams, and use site function
This is not possible. Redirecting within the same window will prevent the site function from firing.
Sales tags are typically placed in confirmation or checkout pages. To implement sales tags, you must replace
tokens in the conversion tag code with your own values, which report back the sales information recorded by the
conversion tag.
The tokens that can appear in the code are described below. The commonly used tokens are Revenue and Order
ID:

var ebRev = '[Revenue]'; Reports the amount entered by the user (the purchase price).
For example: var ebRev = '<%=charge%>';
Note: The value should be a decimal number.




var ebOrderID = '[OrderID]'; Reports the unique transaction (purchase/sales ID), and is also usually located
in the confirmation page in your site.
var ebQuantity = '[Quantity]'; Reports the number of items in the shopping cart.
var ebProductID = '[ProductID]'; Reports the product ID, if relevant.
var ebProductInfo = '[ProductInfo]'; This variable can reports additional product information, if relevant.
Similar to the [SessionID], the [Revenue], [OrderID], [ProductID] and [ProductInfo] parts of the tag must be replaced
using the site’s server side scripting language.
Adding Third-Party Tracking Tags
In Sizmek, the media agency can add third-party tracking tags to a conversion tag for reporting conversions to the
advertiser’s affiliate networks. The media agency can add up to 100 different tracking URLs per conversion tag.
This applies to tags that use deduplication, as well as tags that are not deduplicated.
Third-party tracking tags can be viewed in the conversion tags list by expanding the arrow to the left of the
conversion Tag ID as follows:
To add a third-party tracking tag:
1. From the main menu, select Manage > Advertisers.
2. Select the advertiser for which you want to add third-party tracking tags and on the toolbar, select Edit >
Tags > Conversion Tags.
3. Select the conversion tag to which you want to add third-party tracking tags.
4. Click New, and from the drop-down list select Third-Party Tracking Tag.
5. From the Conversion Tag drop-down list, select for which conversion tag you are adding a third-party
tracking tag.
6. In the Third-Party Tag Name field, enter the third-party tag’s name as it will appear in the system and in
reports.
7. From the Status drop-down list you can enable or disable the third-party tracking tag. When disabling the
tag, the third party will not be called. This setting becomes effective immediately.
8. In the Third-Party Tag field, enter the code you received from the affiliate network or third-party. This code
will be used when the conversion tag calls the third-party to notify it about the conversion.
To add to this code additional information that can be passed on with the tags, see the following sections.
Conversion Tag Generated
Description
Supported Third-Party Tag Code
Script or IFrame Code
HTML Tag & Image URL
<script src=“http://...js”></script>
<script>var …</script>
<img src=“http://...jpg”></img>
<iframe src=“http://...html”></iframe>
http://...jpg
Flash (AS2 or AS3) Code
Image URL Only
http://...jpg
Conversion Tag Generated
Description
Unsupported Third-Party Tag
Code
Script or IFrame Code
URL to JavaScript File
http://...js
Flash (AS2 or AS3) Code
Any HTML Tag
<script src=“http://...js”></script>
<img src=“http://...jpg”></img>
<iframe src=“http://...html”></iframe>
9. Select No Script Mode if on the advertiser page for which this specific tag is placed, the browser does not
support scripts, or scripts were blocked by the user. A no script tag cannot be JavaScript; it can only be
URL-based.
You can enable this option for one third-party tracking tag only, so make sure you use this option for the
most important third-party tracking tag you have. This tag must be an image tag.
Conversion Attribution Settings
If you want to use deduplication to report the conversion either to a specific third party or SEM (in case of
campaigns with Search and Display ads), continue with the following steps:
Note: To achieve deduplication, the affiliate networks (sites) must be tracked with Sizmek tracking
placements. Make sure the sites are set up with tracking placements.
10. From the Deduplication Type drop-down list, select one of the following options:



None: Deduplication is disabled .The third party tag is always activated, no matter if a conversion
occurred or not.
Sites/Affiliates: Deduplication is enabled between third-party vendors/affiliates. Only if the winner
event according to the attribution setting belongs to this affiliate, the third party tag will be activated.
The site/affiliate must match what is in the media plan.
Search/Display: Deduplication is enabled between search and display events. In this case, the thirdparty tag will be activated only if the winner event (according to the attribution settings) was a search
event. In case a display event wins the conversion, the search third party will not be notified.
If you selected Sites/Affiliates, select the Market and the Site.
11. Cookie Window - Impressions: This is the period (number of days up to the conversion) for detecting
impression events. If a winning event (based on the attribution model) is detected in this period, the third
party tag will be activated. Changing the cookie window affects the results in real time, affecting the
decision to activate the third party or not. The impression cookie window can be up to 90 days.
12. Cookie Window - Clicks: This is the period (number of days up to the conversion) for detecting click
events. If a winning event (based on the attribution model) is detected in this period, the third party tag will
be activated. Changing the cookie window affects the results in real time, affecting the decision to activate
the third party or not. The click cookie window can be up to 90 days.
13. Click Save, or Save and New if you want to add additional third-party tracking tags.
Sizmek's conversion tags track various parameters that can be passed on to third parties using the third-party
tracking tags.
There are three kinds of parameter types:
1. Parameters that exist when a sales conversion tag is used. The advertiser must assign values to these
parameters. To pass this information to the third-party tag, use the following parameters:





Order ID: [%orderid%]: Tracks the Order ID.
Order Revenue: [%value%]: Tracks the Order Revenue.
Product ID: [%productid%]: Tracks the Product ID.
Product Info: [%productinfo%]: Tracks the Product Info.
Cache Busting: [%Random%]: Adds a random value for Cache Busting.
2. Parameters that provide additional conversion information when the tokens are added to the third-party
tracking tags. When the third-party tag is called from the advertiser's page, these tokens are replaced with
the actual conversion information.
The following is the full list of tokens that can be used:























tp_CampaignName
tp_PublisherName
tp_SectionName
tp_PlacementName
tp_PlacementClassifications1
tp_PlacementClassifications2
tp_PlacementClassifications3
tp_PlacementClassifications4
tp_PlacementClassifications5
tp_PlacementBannerSize
tp_AdName
tp_AdClassifications1
tp_AdClassifications2
tp_AdClassifications3
tp_AdClassifications4
tp_AdClassifications5
tp_AdFormat
tp_CampaignID
tp_PlacementID
tp_AdID
tp_keyID
tp_IsClick
tp_UserID
The tokens must include the prefix “tp_”. For example, to add the parameter called “Age”:
http://www.samplesite.com/?Age=[%tp_Age%]&OrderID=[%orderid%]
3. To add your own custom parameters, add custom tokens to both the conversion and third-party tracking
tags.
Note: Adding custom variables should be done manually after the code is generated.
Note: When creating a sales tag with the counter type Number of Items in shopping cart, an additional
parameter is added to the code: "%quantity%". To pass this value to the 3rd party, you will need to add
the prefix "tp_".
Sample Code:
The following is a sample code of a sales tag. The code in bold needs to be manually added. The value for the Age
parameter in this example should be replaced on the advertiser site.
Note: In the code below, the amp should be removed (from all instances stating &amp) from the conversion tag
before implementing it. Doing so will prevent any conversion recording issues.
var ebAge = '[Age]';
var ebRev = '[Revenue]';
var ebOrderID = '[OrderID]';
var ebProductID = '[ProductID]';
var ebProductInfo = '[ProductInfo]';
var ebRand = Math.random()+'';
ebRand = ebRand * 1000000;
//<![CDATA[
document.write('<scr'+'ipt src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=12349&amp;rnd=' + ebRand +
'&amp;Value='+ebRev+'&amp;OrderID='+ebOrderID+'&amp;ProductID='+ebProductID+'&amp;tp_Age='+ebAge+'
&amp;ProductInfo='+ebProductInfo+'"></scr' + 'ipt>');
//]]>
</script>
<noscript>
<img width="1" height="1" style="border:0" src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=12349&amp;Value=[Revenue]&amp;OrderID=[Ord
erID]&amp;ProductID=[ProductID]&amp;ProductInfo=[ProductInfo]&amp;tp_Age=[Age]/>
</noscript>
Tokens can be added to your third-party tracking tags. The tokens are used for adding additional data such as the
campaign, placement, and/or ad ID details sent to third parties. The tokens are replaced in the URL with the
relevant data from the Sizmek server before being sent along on the URL.
The full list of tokens that can be used is below. A sample of the tokens that can be used include:


Is Click: [%tp_isclick%]: This parameter delivers conversion information. A value of “1” means a post-click
conversion was made. “0” is returned for a post-impression conversion. No value (“”) is returned when no
conversion was made.
Keyword ID: [%tp_keyid%]: Used with Channel Connect for Search.
Note that you must add the token to the third-party tracking tag, including the prefix “tp_”. For example:
http://www.samplesite.com/?adid=[%tp_ adid %]
To add a token(s) to a URL:
Add one or more of the following tokens to your code as shown in the example that follows.























tp_CampaignName
tp_PublisherName
tp_SectionName
tp_PlacementName
tp_PlacementClassifications1
tp_PlacementClassifications2
tp_PlacementClassifications3
tp_PlacementClassifications4
tp_PlacementClassifications5
tp_PlacementBannerSize
tp_AdName
tp_AdClassifications1
tp_AdClassifications2
tp_AdClassifications3
tp_AdClassifications4
tp_AdClassifications5
tp_AdFormat
tp_CampaignID
tp_PlacementID
tp_AdID
tp_keyID
tp_IsClick
tp_UserID
The following example includes the Ad ID, Placement ID, and Campaign ID tokens.
The tokens are added as follows:
http://www.Sizmek.com?AdID=[%tp_adid%]&PlacementID=[%tp_PlacementID%]&CampaignID=[
%tp_campaignid%]
and are replaced with values before being sent to the third parties, as follows:
http://www.Sizmek.com?AdID=123456&PlacementID=123456&CampaignID=1234
Third-party tracking tags are activated based the deduplication type and attribution model. But if you want to trigger
the tags only under specific conditions, you can do so by adding conditional parameters to the conversion tag's
code. For example, you may want to trigger a third-party tag only if the product ID matches a specific value, or if a
zip code is within a certain range. You can use both default and custom parameters as conditional parameters.
To add conditional parameters:
Add the conditional parameters to the relevant third-party tag, as follows:
1. In the third-party tracking tag, expand the Conditional Parameters section.
2. Click Add New.
3. For each conditional parameter, enter the following details:



Parameter Name
Type: String or Range.
Value
Click Add New to add more conditional tags. For each additional conditional tag, select the AND or OR
option.
4. After generating the conversion code tag, edit the code according to the following example:
http://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=233282&amp;acp=$$OrderID=1234&amp;
ProductID=5678$$
where OrderID = 1234
ProductID = 5678
acp = conditional parameter
$$ = Anything between the $$ tags indicates the conditional parameters
5. After editing the code, send the updated code to the advertiser's webmaster to insert in the relevant pages.
You can add custom parameters (such as height or gender values) to a conversion tag in order to capture specific
data and later view those parameters in conversion reports. Once you have created custom parameters and
regenerated the conversion tag code, you can embed the added custom parameters and inject the updated code
into the advertiser's website. The custom parameter data will be accumulated and viewable within the relevant
conversion reports.
At the advertiser level for custom parameters, you can:


Add, edit, or delete custom parameters, and
Attach the parameters to conversion tags.
Let's assume you want to add a custom parameter variable called myZipCode to the code. Here you can see the
code before and after the addition of parameters to the code.
Before
<script type="text/javascript">
var ebRand = Math.random()+ ' ';
ebRand = ebRand * 1000000;
//<![CDATA[
document.write('<scr'+'ipt src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=26293&amp;rnd=' + ebRand + '"></scr' + 'ipt>');
//]]>
</script>
<noscript>
<img width="1" height="1" style="border:0" src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=26293&ns=1" />
</noscript>
After
<script type="text/javascript">
var ebRand = Math.random()+ ' ';
ebRand = ebRand * 1000000;
var ebZipCode = '<%=myZipCode%>';
//<![CDATA[
document.write('<scr'+'ipt src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;ActivityID=26293&amp;ebZipCode='+ ebZipCode +
'&amp;rnd=' + ebRand + '"></scr' + 'ipt>');
//]]>
</script>
<noscript>
<img width="1" height="1" style="border:0" src="HTTP://bs.servingsys.com/BurstingPipe/ActivityServer.bs?cn=as&amp;
ebZipCode=<%=myZipCode%>&amp;ActivityID=26293&ns=1" />
</noscript>
To add, edit, and delete custom parameters:
1. From the main menu, select Advertisers, and from the toolbar above the advertisers list, select Edit >
Tags > Custom Parameters. Here you can see the entire pool of custom parameters, and know which
parameter is connected to which conversion tag.
2. Click the Add New button on the toolbar to add a new custom parameter. Note that when a custom
parameter is first created, it will not be attached to any tag.
3. In the Custom Parameter Name field, enter a name for this parameter. This name must be unique for this
advertiser.
4. In the Notes/Comments field, enter any additional notes or comments regarding this parameter.
5. In the Assigned to Tags field, Yes or No appears, indicating whether this parameter is assigned to any
conversion tags.
6. Click the Delete button on the toolbar if you want to delete a custom parameter. You cannot delete a
custom parameter that is attached to a conversion tag.
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