New feature! Track your video campaign metrics with ExoClick’s Third-party tracking URLs 

Introducing ExoClick’s Third-party tracking URLs. This is an event tracking software for a fast, effective, and cost-efficient Video tracking alternative to creating VAST Video Tags. In this article, we will cover all you need to know about this new feature including the Tracking Events available, the benefits of using Third-party tracking URLs, and when it is more appropriate to use VAST Tags for Video tracking. Read on to see how you can maximize video revenues using Third-party tracking URLs!

ExoClick’s Third-party tracking URLs

Traditionally when analyzing Video ads you have access to clicks, impressions, and views metrics. And if you want to track deeper insights you need to implement a VAST Tag. However, with ExoClick’s Third-party tracking URL feature, you can track the number of specific variations in the viewer’s experience like Video duration, Video tracking, and end user actions without needing a VAST Tag. These tokens can be added to your In-Stream, Outstream, and Video Slider ads.

How to use Third-party tracking URLs 

Here are the steps on how to add the tokens to your campaign.

1. Click the “Ad Variations” button.
2. Select the “Landing Page Group” box.
3. Choose the landing page group you wish to run.
4. To add Third-party tracking Events to your campaign, click the “Add” button below “Third-party tracking URLs”.
5. Then, select the Tracking Event and add the URL you want to call when this event occurs in the video.
6. You can add more events by clicking the “Add” button again.
7. You can add Dynamic Tokens to your URL to obtain additional information about the traffic, such as the Campaign ID winning the impression or the Zone ID.

This alternative to creating VAST Video Tags is easy to apply and you can apply as many Tracking Events as you need! So, let’s look at the different Tracking Events available with Third-party tracking URLs!

Tracking Events available with Third-party tracking URLs 

There are over 18 Tracking Events available with our Third-party tracking URLs, under three categories Video Duration, Video Tracking, and User Actions. These tokens allow you to monitor events such as Video duration, Video tracking, and end user actions. Let’s now look at each event and its unique characteristics, so you can utilize them to the fullest extent to track and optimize your Video ad campaigns.

Tokens for Video Duration

Get insights into how long the end user is watching your Video ad creatives!

• Start: The tracking event begins once the Video has been loaded and playback begins for the end user.
• First Quartile: The video creative plays continuously for a minimum of 25% of the total duration at normal speed.
• Midpoint: The Video plays continuously for at least 50% of the total duration at normal speed.
• Third Quartile: The Video plays continuously for 75% of the total duration at normal speed.
• Complete: 100% of the Video was played at normal speed.

Tokens for Video Tracking

These events allow the Advertiser to track the Video ad clicks and how it appears to the end user.

• Creative View: Indicates when the end user sees the first section of your ad creative. It differs from impressions as it confirms that the first ad creative was displayed to the end user.
  This is also different from the ‘start’ tracking event because Creative View shows when the Video is loaded and not when playback begins.
• Click Tracking: Tracks all additional events related to clicks on the Video. You can monitor where the end user clicked and what events followed.
• Custom Click: Allows Advertisers to track custom elements they have created and any additional clicks.

Tokens to track end User Actions

These events are triggered by the end user’s interaction with the Video ad. They are a great way to understand how your end user is interacting with your content.

• Mute: Tracks if the creative was muted.
• Unmute: Tracks if the end user unmuted the creative.
• Pause: The pause control was triggered and the Advertiser can see when the creative stops.
• Rewind: The end user rewound the Video to a previous point in the creative timeline.
• Resume: The end user continues the creative after pausing.
• Fullscreen: The Video is opened to full screen.
• Expand: The end user extends the player to a larger size.
• Collapse: The end user reduces the player to a smaller size.
• Close: The user can click or activate a control to remove the ad from the player environment, ensuring that the ad cannot be displayed again.
• Accept Invitation: the end user can activate a control that launches an additional portion of the linear creative.

Benefits of using Third-party tracking URLs for Advertisers

Now that we have seen all the tokens available on ExoClick’s platform, let’s look into some of the benefits of using Third-party tracking URLs and how they can assist Video Advertisers.

#1 No need to create VAST Tags: The perfect alternative to creating VAST Video Tags! Simply select the tracking event you wish to follow from the list and your domain URL in order to start tracking additional insights. It is that easy! Using these Tracking Events reduces server costs because your tokens are counted as one event.

#2 Understand the customer journey: You can understand your end users even more by adding events to your content. Try using our Video duration tokens or the end user actions to have deeper insights into your customer behaviors. For example, if you know that your end users are only watching the first 15 seconds of your ad you can put your CTA in the first 10 seconds to make an impression.

#3 Custom Attribution: Have you ever wondered how your clients find your offers without clicking on the ads? With this new feature, you can track the actions of your end user. If a new lead signs up for your offer through search you can now see if they saw your Video ad in the last 48 hours! This can be done by setting up a tracking cookie on your tracking URL that can be used to identify the end user! This is a great way for you to learn more about your customer’s journey! You can see if your ads are being considered and the amount of time it takes your audience to convert.

#4 Send Tracking Events to your Google Analytics dashboard: You can now use UTM codes and Google Analytics to track your ads and conversions. Select your tracking event and add your URL with the Google Analytics UTM tag, this will ensure all tracked events will be synchronized on your Google account as well as your ExoClick Dashboard.

#5 Compare variation sales versus viewability: You may get a lot of impressions for your ad but the end user may not be converting. By using Tracking Events like end user interaction, you can improve your Video creatives by understanding your customer’s journey. If you know that the end users usually mute your content you can create visuals and subtitles to tell the story improving your ad impressions. This in turn will increase your revenue, reduce your costs, and help you optimize your Video content.

#6 Optimize your Video Creatives: You have advanced tools such as the expand and collapse tool to see what size your end users watch the ad. You can see the parts of the ad that they may repeat and you can see what creatives the end user may pause on. This will give you insights not only into your target demographic but also the most repeated parts of your content. This will help you to test variations of your ads quickly and learn what creatives drive the highest conversions.

#7 Cost reduction: You can decrease your time spent on testing to find the best combination of creatives and content for your target audience as the tags will give you further information on the aspects of your ads that are working and areas of improvement. Saving your time and helping you to maximize video revenues using ExoClick’s Third-party tracking URLs.

When should I use VAST Tags instead?

If you are wondering, why would I use a VAST Tag when Third-party tracking URLs collect equally detailed data and are a great alternative to creating VAST Video Tags? Well, there are specific cases in which we recommend using VAST Tags.

If you would like to enable your Video ads to connect directly to an ongoing live stream and have the ability for the end user to subscribe, a VAST Tag is necessary. It is also still recommended for the dynamic rotation of Video ads. In all other scenarios, particularly when you aim to track user data, understand your customer’s journey, and tailor your ads to enhance their experience, third-party tracking URLs are the more suitable choice as they are faster, cheaper, and equally as effective at tracking data as VAST Tags.

Conclusion: Maximize video revenues using Third-party tracking URLs

The Third-party tracking URLs feature comes as standard to all Advertisers on ExoClick’s Network! If you would like more information on the best strategies for your Video campaigns or need more information about the benefits of using Third-party tracking URLs compared to VAST Tags, get in touch with our Customer Success team. Or maybe you are not yet using ExoClick’s platform and would like to join for access to our high-performing ad formats and Advertiser tools. Sign up now to maximize your video revenues using Third-party tracking URLs today!