This feature is only available to networks with a dedicated Google account manager, and might not be enabled for your network. Contact your account manager for more information. If you do not have an account manager, your network is not eligible for this feature.
Third-party tracking URLs are used to measure ad metrics. They provide details about user interaction with creatives.
For video line items, advertiser-supplied tracking URLs are usually used for this purpose. If the advertiser is using VAST, it's recommended that the publisher book a VAST redirect which eliminates the need for third-party tracking URLs.
The table below shows the third-party tracking URLs that are available for video creatives. You can enter multiple URLs for each type of tracking, except for survey, custom click, and click tracking, which only support one.
| Tracking URL | Description of tracked activity |
|---|---|
| Accept invitation | The number of times a user expands the viewable area and launches another portion of an ad. |
| Click tracking | The number of clicks on the video. |
| Close* | The number of times a user closes a video. |
| Collapse* | The number of times a user collapses an ad, either to its original size or to a different size. For overlays, this tracks the The number of times the user minimizes the ad without fully removing it from the player. |
| Complete | The number of times the video plays to the end. |
| Creative view | The number of times the first frame of the video initially plays for a user. Often used as a synonym for "impression". |
| Custom click | The number of times a user performs a custom click, such as clicking on a video hot spot. |
| Engaged view | The number of times the ad was viewed to completion. For VAST 3 or 4, a completion occurs either when the user reaches the end of the ad, or reaches the "Skippable view time" defined in your network settings, whichever comes first. |
| Expand* | The number of times a user expands a non-linear creative, such as an overlay. |
| First quartile | The number of times the video plays to 25% of its length. |
| Fullscreen | The number of times a user expands the video to full-screen size. |
| Fully viewable and audible for 50% duration | The number of impressions that were considered audible and had 100% of their pixels in view for 50% of its length. |
| Measurable impressions | The number of impressions that are measurable by Active View out of the total number of eligible impressions. |
| Midpoint | The number of times the video plays to 50% of its length. |
| Mute | The number of times a user mutes the video. |
| Pause | The number of times a user pauses the video. |
| Resume | The number of times a user resumes the video. If the resume control is the same as the pause control, the reporting should be able to differentiate between the two. |
| Rewind | The number of times a user rewinds the video. |
| Skip | The number of times a user skipped the creative (different than "Close"). |
| Skip shown | The number of times the "skip" button was shown (the skip button is shown 5 seconds after a skippable ad starts). |
| Start | The number of times the first frame of the video plays for a user (different than "Creative view"). |
| Survey | The URL that calls a survey to accompany an ad. For example, when a creative is served for an ad, a survey may also be served in a pop-up window. |
| Third quartile | The number of times the video plays to 75% of its length. |
| Unmute | The number of times a user unmutes the video. If the un-mute control is the same as the mute control, the reporting should be able to differentiate between the two. |
| Video abandon | The number of times a user views the video but does not complete. |
| Viewable impression | The number of impressions that were viewable by Active View out of all measurable impressions. For in-stream video ads, 50% of its area must be displayed for at least two seconds. |
* Appears in the creative set interface in Ad Manager but it is not yet included in the VAST response.
