A click tag is a parameter used in
HTML5
HTML5 is a markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and final major HTML version that is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendation. The current specification is known as the HTML ...
banner ads
A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking ...
. The parameter is a variable that defines the destination
URL
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...
from the markup code. By using a click tag, the advertiser can easily see and modify the
URL
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...
without a HTML5 developer.
The click tag is supported by every major ad server.
The click tag enables the ad serving network to gain
metrics
Metric or metrical may refer to:
* Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement
* An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement
Mathematics
In mathema ...
such as the amount of clicks and from which sites these clicks have been made. By reading the data gained by the click tag parameter, an advertiser can evaluate how effective the ad campaign has been.
Variations
There are no industry standards on how to program a click tag. The code for the programming is case-sensitive, but programmers format their capitalization differently so ad serving networks may require clickTAG, ClickTag, clickTag, or any variation of capitalization for that specific variable.
Some ad serving networks may also require the ad's programmer to specify the level or strata the advertisement directs to such as the Google click tag requirements.
Ad serving networks may also require protocol specification by forcing the URL to begin with "http:" as a security measure advised by
Adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
. Adobe warns that a malicious website could source the banner and pass a URL that begins with "javascript:" or another pseudo-protocol creating a hole for malicious scripts. This would allow someone access to the site's data,
cookies
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nuts ...
, or can perform actions on behalf of the website where the ad is placed.
Click tags also vary depending on the version of
JavaScript
JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...
used. They are case-sensitive.
Example code
AS2 Standard
on (release)
AS2 Google Network
on (release)
AS3 Google Network
Link_1.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, function(event: MouseEvent): void );
See also
*
Click identifier (disambiguation) Click identifier may refer to several online user tracking mechanisms:
* DoubleClick Click Identifier (dclid), used by DoubleClick, now Google
* Facebook Click Identifier (fbclid) used by Facebook in social media analytics
* Google Click Identif ...
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{Cite web , title=What are the requirements for Flash ads? , publisher=]Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
, url=http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=26938 , access-date=21 January 2010 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222211212/https://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=26938 , archive-date=22 December 2009 , url-status=dead
[{{Cite web , title=Myspace Flash Design Checklist , publisher= Myspace , url=http://www.myspace.com/adspecs?content=flashdesignchecklist]
[{{Cite web , title=Designer's Guide: Building Macromedia Flash Banners with Tracking Capabilities , publisher=]Adobe
Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
, url=http://www.adobe.com/resources/richmedia/tracking/designers_guide/
Online advertising