ImplementingPixelsforAdvertisers

What to include in your privacy policy for audience based targeting

Audience based targeting allows you to reach people who previously visited your website, and match the right people with the right message. While this type of targeting can be a great way to attract past visitors back to your site, you should inform these people that you gather information for retargeting on your website.

When you use the retargeting feature in your website, you're required to have the following information in your website's privacy policy:

  • An appropriate description of how you're using retargeting to advertise online.
  • A message about how third-party vendors show your ads on sites across the Internet.
  • A message about how third-party vendors usecookiesto serve ads based on someone's past visits to your website.

Information about how your visitors can opt out of DoubleClick's use of cookies by visiting the DoubleClick opt-out page. Alternatively, you can point your visitors to opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies by visiting theNetwork Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

Googlealsoprovidesthefollowinglink:

HereisanexampleofsourcecodewithaDoubleClickfloodlighttag.

PixelsPlacedonWebsitesviewingsourcecode:

InsertthePixelsnearthetopofthepage,immediatelyafterthe<body>tag.

Placingtagsatthetopofthepageifyouarenotabletodoadditrightbelowthe<body>tag.

‐ThisallowsthePixelrequesttobesenttoourDCMadserverintheeventthattheuserpressesthestopbuttonornavigatesawayfromthepage.

AddingMultiplePixelsPlacedOnAPage:

EachPixelisprocessedindependently,soyoucanputmorethanonesetofPixelsonawebpage.

Keepinmind,however,thataPixelimpressionwillberecordedforeachsetofPixelswheneverthepageisloaded,potentiallyresultinginahighercostfortheadvertiser.

ConsideryourPixelstrategycarefullybeforeimplementingmultiplePixelsonasinglewebpage.

Pixelsandiframes:

Ifyou'replacingPixelsonawebpagethatusesIframes,putthetagsintheHTMLpagewiththemaincontent.

DonotputthePixelsintheHTMLpagecontainingthe<frameset>tags.

PixelPlacedonActionClick/Button:

HerearethreeJSexamplesalongwiththreeHTMLtriggersofa“Link,Image,Formbutton."

PlaceoneoftheJSfunctionsonthe<a>tagonClicktofirethepixel.

PlaceoneoftheJSfunctionsonthe<a>or<image>tagonClicktofirethepixel.

PlaceoneoftheJSfunctionsonaformsubmitbutton<input>tag.NOTE:Youneedtotakeintoaccountyouhavetotriggeryourform“action”aswell.

PixelPlacedonActionClick/ButtonContinued:

YoucanuseaJavaScripteventhandlertoinitiateaFloodlight(Pixel)callwhenuserstakesomeactionsuchasaclickonabutton.

  • Thismethodrequiresthattheuser'sbrowserhaveJavaScriptenabled.IfJavaScriptisturnedoff,thentheFloodlight(Pixel)callwillnotbemade.
  • Thismethodshouldonlybeusedwhennootheroptionisavailable,asitcanhaveunpredictableeffectsonthecountingofclick‐throughconversions.
  • BecausetheFloodlight(Pixel)tagisnotplacedonatruelandingpage,theremightbeovercounting,butbecausethetagdependsuponJavaScriptbeingenabled,therecouldalsobeundercounting.
  • AscenarioinwhichyoucouldconsiderthismethodwouldbeanadthatclicksthroughtoaPDFfile.However,eveninthisinstance,itisstillpossibletoplacethePDFfileonalandingpageasanembeddedobjectandtoplacetheFloodlight(Pixel)tagonthelandingpage.
  • Embeddingobjectsinlandingpageswillresultinmoreaccuratecounts.
  • Thebasicpremiseofthismethodistohandletherandomnumbergeneration,thecallingoftheFloodlight(Pixel)andtheredirectionofthebrowser(orlaunchingofanewwindow)inoneJavaScriptfunction.
  • ThereasontodoallthreeatonceistoavoidascenarioinwhichtheredirectionoccursbeforetheFloodlight(Pixel)call.
  • TheonlywaytoexplicitlycontroltheorderinwhichthesearedoneistohavealloftheactionsinoneJavaScriptfunctioncall.
  • Here'sanexampleofthepseudo‐code:

...

functioncallFloodAndPDF(optionalparameter){codeforrandomnumber,assignedtoavariable;

callforFloodlight(Pixel)tag,withrandomnumberappended;

redirectbrowsertonewlocation,orlaunchnewwindowwithnewlocation;

}

...

oThefunctionabovecanbecalledusinganonClick()oronSubmit()functioninsidethebodyoftheHTML.

PixelTaggingaLinkExample:

BelowisalinkforcodingexampleswhichillustratehowtosuccessfullycodeaFloodlight(Pixel)tofireonclick.

  • Thebasicpremiseofthismethodistohandletherandomnumbergeneration,thecallingoftheFloodlight(Pixel)lightandtheredirectionofthebrowser(orlaunchinganewwindow)inoneJavaScriptfunction.
  • Thereasonbehinddoingallthreeisthatwehaveseeninstanceswheretheredirectionpiecewashandledoutsideofthefunctioncall(i.e.inaHREFcall)andtheredirectionactuallyhappenedbeforetheFloodlight(Pixel)wascalled.
  • TheonlywaytoexplicitlycontroltheorderthatthesearedoneistohavealloftheactionsinoneJavaScriptfunctioncall.
  • Hereiswhatthepseudocodelookslike(forillustrationpurposes):

...

functioncallSpotAndPDF(optionalparameter){codeforrandomnumber,assignedtoavariable;

callforFloodlight(Pixel),inapixelsrclikely,withrandomnumberappended;redirectbrowsertonewlocation,orlaunchnewwindowwithnewlocation;

}

...

  • ThenthefunctionabovecanbecalledusinganonClick()oronSubmit()functioninsidetheBodyoftheHTML.

ItisimportanttonotethattheactualcodeusedwillbetheresponsibilityofthesitethatwillbeimplementingtheFloodlight(Pixel)code.Thisincludesfullytestingthefunctionalitypriortolaunch.