Macros

The ad unit macro inserts the ad unit path from your Google Publisher Tag into the creative code when it is served.

Here's how you would add the ADUNIT macro to a third-party creative code snippet:

The ad unit macro expands to the full ad unit path contained in the original ad request, including the network code. Here's an example of how the ad unit path would expand when the ad gets served:

<script type="text/javascript">
document.write('<sc'+'ript type="text/javascript" src="http://3rdparty.com/?dfpAdUnit=/1234/site/section"<>/scr'+'ipt>');
</script>

The destination URL macro expands to the creative's click-through URL, which is either the line item's click-through URL or an override set for the creative within the line item.

The destination URL macro is useful in custom creatives and creative templates. If the creative code needs to include the creative's click-through URL, and the click-through URL changes as the creative or template is used across different line items, then this macro can help.

There are three click-through URL macros: escaped, double-escaped, and unescaped. Typically the amount of escaping (whether you include ESC once, twice, or not at all) depends on the third-party click-tracking company. Some third-party click-tracking companies require the URL to be escaped, while others do not. The level of escaping required by a third-party click-tracking company is often specified in the tag with the click= string in the third-party ad tag or custom creative code in Ad Manager:

• click=: Escape it once (%%DEST_URL_ESC%%).

• click0=: Don't escape it (%%DEST_URL_UNESC%%).

• click1=: Escape it once (%%DEST_URL_ESC%%).

• click2=: Escape it twice (%%DEST_URL_ESC_ESC%%).

The file server macro %%FILE:file_display_name%% expands to the full URL of a creative asset that has been uploaded for a creative. Use this macro to call uploaded assets, such as an image, with custom creative code.

To use this macro, replace file_display_name with the display name of the creative asset, as it's shown in Ad Manager when you view the creative details.

These macros insert the creative height and width, as defined in Ad Manager by the creative's "Target ad unit size" field value, into the custom code of a creative during the ad serving process.

The height and width macros can be especially useful if you're creating a creative template that you want to reuse with creatives of different sizes. Instead of hard-coding the size for each creative, you can let the height and width macros insert the values into each creative dynamically.

Use the pattern match macro to pass one or more custom variables such as a targeting value into a creative. You can use this macro to pass key-values, replace the entire targeting string, or expand the referrer URL. This can be helpful if you want to serve different creatives based on information you know about a user, such as a user's content preferences.

The pattern match macro is limited to 100 replacements per creative.

%%PATTERN:key%%

For example, you have two creatives for a given line item: one that was designed to appeal to female users and one that was designed to appeal to male users. The "key" used in the macro must be alphanumeric characters or the underscore (_).

Here is how the process works:

1. You're passing the custom value (in this case, user's gender) into an ad tag on your page using key-values:
   googletag.defineSlot("/1234/adunit1/adunit2", [728, 90], "div-gpt-ad-123456789-0")
.addService(googletag.pubads())
.setTargeting("gender", "male");
2. In the custom or third-party creative, dynamically pass the custom value (user's gender) using the following macro: <some creative script here>...&gender=%%PATTERN:gender%%
3. The entire macro of %%PATTERN:gender%% will be replaced with "male".
4. Ad Manager will call and serve the “male” creative file to this user.

%%PATTERN:TARGETINGMAP%%

You can use %%PATTERN:TARGETINGMAP%% to replace the entire targeting map and dynamically create passback tags.

Here's how you would add the TARGETINGMAP macro to an ad tag:

.updateTargetingFromMap(%%PATTERN:TARGETINGMAP%%).display();

Here's an example of the complete key-value string when the ad gets served:

.updateTargetingFromMap({"key1":["value1"], "key2": ["value2","value3"]}).display();

%%PATTERN:url%%

You can also use the reserved key url to expand to the URL of the referring page.

Note that url is a reserved key; any key-values in your Campaign Manager 360 tags that have url as the key name will be overwritten with the referrer URL.

The tag parameter macro is used in conjunction with other ad tag parameters, and is only available to be used with the following parameters:

• pmad
• pmxd
• pmnd
• correlator
• scor
• pod
• vpos
• mridx
• ppos
• lip
• us_privacy

Where supported, it expands to the value of the parameter.

For example, %%TAG_PARAM:correlator%% (supported) expands to the value of correlator from the ad tag, but %%TAG_PARAM:ppid%% (unsupported) does not expand to any value.

The target in new window macro indicates whether the target window setting specified for the ad unit where a creative is served is "_blank" (new window) or otherwise.

• If the target window is _blank, the macro expands to 1.

• If the target window is any other value, or if no target window is specified, the macro expands to 0.

Use the %%TARGET_WINDOW%% macro if you want to insert the actual target window setting value.

The target window macro expands to the target window specified for the ad unit where a creative is served. You can use the macro within the code of a creative to specify whether a click on the creative will take the user to a new window or load the landing page in the same window, depending on the settings for each site where users will see the ad.

For example, the AdManager_News.com ad unit has the target window set to _top and the AdManager_Fashion.com ad unit has it set to _new. If the %%TARGET_WINDOW%% macro is included in the creative's code, it will expand to _top for users at AdManager_News.com and _new for users of of AdManager_Fashion.com.

Here's an example implementation:

<a href="%%CLICK_URL_UNESC%%%%DEST_URL%%" target="%%TARGET_WINDOW%%"><img src="my ad"></a>

Use the %%TARGET_IN_NEW_WINDOW%% macro if you want to determine whether the target window setting value is "_blank" or another value.

The tag for child-directed content (TFCD) lets you to let third parties know that a given ad request comes from a page with child-directed content. The macro is intended to assist in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

You can include the macro in any redirects or requests for third-party creatives, in the format coppa=%%TFCD%% or something similar. It can also be used in JavaScript to set GPT passback tag requests for child-directed treatment. The macro expands to 1 for child-directed content, or 0 for other content, based on information about the nature of the page, site or mobile app that sent the request to Ad Manager.

If you are using Google's advertising services and would like to implement child-directed treatment at the site or app level, please see Tag a site or app for child-directed treatment.

The URI encoding macro correctly translates spaces and other special characters in creative template variable values for use in URIs, also known as URLs.

This macro is especially helpful when using a creative template variable to define a click-through URL or redirect URL. Without correct encoding, the full URL in your creative might not function.

The cachebuster macro ensures that a fresh call is made to the ad server every time the code is executed, so you can count impressions accurately. If you don't add the cache-busting macro to creative code, you're more likely to see impression counting discrepancies between Google Ad Manager and a third-party ad server. Note that not all third parties require the cachebuster macro.

Most creative vendors will offer a placeholder in their tag to insert cache-buster macros. For example, if your third-party creative code contains something like this:

http://abc.3rd-party-serving.com/Targeting/;adServer.php?ab=cd&e=12fg=click&ord=[RANDOM_NUMBER]

You will want to select [RANDOM_NUMBER] and click Insert cachebuster macro so that it replaces the placeholder:

http://abc.3rd-party-serving.com/Targeting/adServer.php?ab=cd&e=12fg=click&ord=%%CACHEBUSTER%%

The cachebuster macros in VAST responses

The %%CACHEBUSTER%% macro expands to the same random number for all events in a given creative. This is particularly useful for video ads, since the macro expands to the same random number for every video tracking event in a VAST response.

The click macro expands to a special URL so you can track clicks in Ad Manager for third-party creatives. This macro is generally paired with the click-through URL of a creative in the anchor tag (<a>). Do not enter the click macro as the source of an image or iframe. Doing so results in a click being recorded every time the image or iframe renders, which is not legitimate and is filtered out as an invalid click. 

Use %%CLICK_URL_UNESC%% at the beginning of a link. Use %%CLICK_URL_ESC%% when the click-tracker is the parameter of another URL.

<a href="%%CLICK_URL_UNESC%%http://google.com">link</a>

<a href="http://google.com?rd_url=%%CLICK_URL_ESC%%">link</a>

Learn more about escaped and unescaped macros.

Verify your click macro implementation

An incorrectly-placed click macro won't track clicks. Follow these steps to confirm that Ad Manager will record clicks as you intend.

1. Preview the creative.
2. Click on the preview.

Ad Manager displays a confirmation that clicks will be recorded. If you do not see this confirmation, your click macro is not implemented correctly.

Use the expand macros within custom creative code or in a click-through URL to display ID values from Ad Manager when serving a creatives to a page. This is often used to match IDs from Ad Manager with IDs in a publisher's own database for troubleshooting or other reporting.

Expand macros can be separated from one another in the click-through URL with any character that is safe for use in Ad Manager click-through URLs. For example, http://site.com/?%eaid!;%ecid! expands to http://site.com/?1234567;4265598.

The %%ADVERTISING_IDENTIFIER_PLAIN%% macro allows in-app publishers to send a resettable device ID to advertising partners for serving interest-based ads. This makes it easier for you to give resettable device ID access to your advertisers and agencies.

In-app publishers can also use the %%ADVERTISING_IDENTIFIER_TYPE%% macro to send the type of device, and the %%ADVERTISING_IDENTIFIER_IS_LAT%% macro to send the Limit Ad Tracking (LAT) setting, which indicates the Limit Ad Tracking signal from a device.

Learn more about resettable device IDs for user targeting, which includes the supported device types.

Prerequisites

Set HTTPS encryption for creatives. This is a requirement for both the creative as well as any third-party pixels that you use for conversion tracking. If creatives aren't encrypted for HTTPS, or if you override automatic SSL compatibility, the macro will not expand the value, but the creatives will still serve.

How it works

1. In Ad Manager, the publisher includes the macros in their creative and/or tracking URLs.

2. The macros expand to have the device ID of the user, device type and/or LAT setting, which are then included in the creative as they make calls to the third party.

   The identifier macro won't expand if the ad request is from a child-directed app (TFCD) or if Limit Ad Tracking (LAT) is activated. In these cases, this macro returns an empty string ("").

Format

This macro sends a 32 uppercase hexadecimal digits value, displayed in five groups and separated by hyphens, in the form 8-4-4-4-12 for a total of 36 characters (32 alphanumeric characters and four hyphen).

Example: 201F2EB1-8041-9E39-CD07-FCBBA5A29B41

See the possible values for supported device types and Limit Ad Tracking (LAT).

Use the preview mode macro in custom creative code to prevent counting of preview impressions by your backend systems or third-party systems. The macro expands to true if the creative is being viewed as an Ad Manager preview, false if it's a regular impression.

The scheme macro expands to http: or https:, whichever matches the security scheme of the webpage where a creative is being served. You can put it at the beginning of a URL.

<img src=%%SCHEME%%//website.com/img/logo.gif>

Expands to the domain of the URL parameter in an ad tag (for example, google.com). The macro can be used to modify your creative based on where the request came from. It doesn't work on AdExchange ads that are marked as anonymous.

The viewed impression macro lets Ad Manager to count an impression each time a creative is downloaded in the user's device and has begun to load. Only use this macro in out-of-page creatives.

There are multiple ways to send a view ping. We recommend using an <img> tag:

<!-- This img tag is invisible. It makes the browser send a request to the VIEW_URL. -->
<img src="%%VIEW_URL_UNESC%%" style="display:none">

<!-- This img tag shows the real ad.-->
<img src="[%Imagefile%]" border="0">

The first <img> tag retrieves a 1x1 image from VIEW_URL. Set the style to “display:none” so that it is hidden and doesn't affect the layout of the page.

Expands to the value of gdpr= associated with the request

Expands to the Transparency & Consent (TC) string associated with the request. If the Transparency & Consent (TC) string is blank or invalid, this macro will not expand. Use this macro to pass the TC string to a third-party creative provider in a URL in non-programmatic creatives.

Replace "XXXX" with the IAB GVL ID of the third-party provider. If the TC string is blank or invalid, this macro will not expand.

Creatives with the ${GDPR_CONSENT_XXXX} macro may become blocked if the third-party provider associated with the IAB GVL ID you inserted does not have user consent.

When used in a VAST tag and the third-party provider lacks user consent, this macro will not expand.

The ${GDPR_CONSENT_XXXX} macro should only occur once within the URL. Contact your third-party creative vendor to understand their requirements on passing the TC string and URL length restrictions. The macro will be replaced on relevant IAB TCF v2.0 requests with the full, unmodified TC string.

Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) macros do not expand when they are implemented in the HTML of an HTML5 creative. Only Display Redirect and Custom Display creatives support expanding TCF macros via “Third-party URL” and “HTML code” fields respectively.

Expands to the Additional Consent (AC) string associated with the request.

Expands to value of 1 to tag the request for EEA and UK users under the age of consent.

Expands to the duration of the video ad in milliseconds. For VAST wrappers/redirects, the macro expands to the declared duration of the ad in Ad Manager.

Use %%DESCRIPTION_URL_ESC%% (single-escaped) when the macro is inside a URL, and use %%DESCRIPTION_URL_UNESC%% (unescaped) in other contexts. Learn more about escaped vs. unescaped macros

In redirect ad tags, these macros expand to the description URL parameter from the original Google Publisher Tag's description_url query parameter. The description URL should typically be the same as the referrer URL. You should specify the description_url in the Google Publisher Tag if there are embeds where the IMA SDK might not accurately detect the page URL, or if you are using video in Ad Exchange or AdSense for Video.

Use %%REFERRER_URL_ESC%% (single-escaped) when the macro is inside a URL, and use %%REFERRER_URL_UNESC%% (unescaped) in other contexts. Learn more about escaped versus unescaped URL macros

This macro expands to the referrer URL (the URL of the page where the video player is located) in redirect ad tags. It does so in the following manner: Ad Manager parses the ad tag's URL query parameter, isolates the referrer URL, and replaces the macro text with that URL. It works only with the Google IMA SDK, with the following qualifications:

• Script access must be activated on the page for this macro to work.
• The macro doesn't work inside an iframe.

Expands to the duration of the video in milliseconds.

Expands to the ID of the video content currently playing, which is the unique ID in the CMS or the dfpvideo:ContentID value from MRSS. 

Expands to metadata about the video where the creative is being served, based on key-values associated with the video content. The key-values are set up in Ad Manager in the "Video" tab. 

Once a video metadata key has been targeted, it can be expanded by the video metadata macro. The "key" used in the macro must be alphanumeric characters or the underscore (_).

The video title macro expands to display the title of a video as defined in Ad Manager.

Content ingestion is required for this macro to work. 

Expands to the FreeWheel custom ad ID.

This macro only applies to publishers using FreeWheel for video ad serving.

Used to pass ad categories for creatives that you've manually classified with labels. This macro returns a comma-separated list of applicable standard IAB categories (converted from Google classified categories).

This macro can be used by publishers sharing video inventory with FreeWheel, and want to pass ad categories as custom parameters. For example, you could add &iab_categories=%%IAB_CATEGORIES%% to your VAST redirect tag.