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Display Tag Scanner Overview

Need to QA your direct campaigns? Having an issue with a specific tag? Worried creative updates were made on the backend? We can help!

Meghan Mark avatar
Written by Meghan Mark
Updated over a year ago

With our Display Tag Scanner, you have the ability to scan a tag or HTML zip file as part of our live site scanning process. Aside from checking the tag for malicious behavior, this part of our product will also allow you to view all of the ad metrics related to the individual creative(s). This includes:

  • Cookies

  • CPU (in both MS and as a %)

  • Creative Dimensions

  • Data Collectors

  • Requests (initial and total)

  • Size (initial, subload and total)

  • Trackers

The scanner can also check to see if media files are present for audio and video.

Perhaps most importantly, our tool provides an easy pass/fail status column so your ops team can quickly assess which tags meet your site specs and which do not.

Submitting Tags for Scanning

Depending on the needs and size of your team, there are several ways tags can be submitted for scanning:

  • Single tag upload via the UI

  • Batch tag upload via the UI (We support both DCM and Sizmek tag sheets in addition to our own template.)

    • If you are uploading an HTML5 zip, you'll need to click on the "Batch Upload" button and then drag and drop the zip file in.

  • Via our Tag Scanning Display API (You'll need a key to access this, so please reach out to your account manager for help.)

To upload tags via our UI, select "Display" from the "Tag Scans" drop down menu.

Clicking on this will navigate you to the main Tag Scanning screen, where you are able to see previously entered tags as well as submit new tags. 

To add new tags, you can either click on the "Submit New Tags" button or the "Batch Upload" button.

(For purposes of this article, we'll be using the "Submit New Tags" button to walk you through how our Display Tag Scanner works. If you'd like to read more about batch uploading tags, you can save this article for later.)

When you click "Submit New Tags," it will pull up the following screen:

You'll need to enter the following details:

  • Select whether the tag is desktop or mobile from the first dropdown 

  • In the description box, give the tag a naming convention of your choice. This is how the tag will be displayed in the main "Ad" grid.

  • From there, enter the dimensions of the tag and then copy and paste the HTML source code accordingly

  • Lastly, at the end you are given the option of adding the tag to scan in rotation. Clicking this box creates a continuous scan of the tag rather than just creating a one-off scan.

Once you have completed these steps, click "Evaluate Tags" or "Add Another Tag" if you have multiple tags you are looking to submit at once.

Viewing Tag Scan Results

Now that you've submitted tags, you'll be able to view results in the same place you submitted the tags (Tag Scans > Display). This view provides a quick snapshot of which tags meet your site specs and which do not via the Status column. Additionally, you can see the exact number for each metric.

If you wish to dig into the tag details further, you can click on the Actions button all the way to the right, which will pull up a full report that includes:

  • Tag Scan Summary

  • Tag Details

  • Tag Criteria

  • HTML Source

  • Data Collection

  • Resources

You can also click over to the "Ads" tab and view the upload tags alongside your other scanned ads. Viewing all of this data together gives you a holistic view of how your uploaded tags will perform among the other ads running on your site. Alternately, if you'd like to see just the uploaded tags you can use the "Tag" filter.

Viewing All Samples of a Tag

For tags you've chosen to add to the scan rotation, you're able to view all of the scanned samples. To view these samples, click on the "All Samples" link in the right rail of the page, as shown below.

From there, you'll be taken to a page where you can view every sample and further dive into the details of each.

Rescanning a Previously Uploaded Single Tag

As a publisher, you may want to rescan a tag you previously uploaded when you believe the payload has changed. If the tag you previously uploaded was added to 'scan in rotation,' than the ADL platform has been continuously scanning that tag so you should already be able to see the results you need. However, if you'd previously uploaded the tag as a single, one-off scan, you can rescan that tag.

To do this, you'll need to navigate back to "Tag Scans" and click on "Display" in the dropdown menu. From there, you'll want to locate the tag you'd like to rescan and click on the </> button under Actions, as shown below:

This will bring up the Tag Details module and, in the bottom right-hand corner, you'll see a button labeled "Re-Evaluate Tag." Clicking this will kickoff a new scan for this tag and bring you back to the "Display" page you were previously on.

You should now see a new tag in the UI that will have the same description as your previous tag, with the word "rerun" at the end. "Rerun" signifies the new tag.

If at any point you have questions, feel free to chat with us using the icon in the lower righthand corner of the UI. Happy scanning!

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