Many VAST servers use tag variables to optimize fill and provide more information on how ads are being viewed. All-in-One Video Gallery supports a number of variables that can be added to your VAST URL. Once an ad call is made by All-in-One Video Gallery plugin, the variables will be replaced accordingly.
Supported Ad Tag Variables in VAST
The following is a list of ad tag variables supported by the All-in-One Video Gallery plugin:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| [domain] | The domain name the player is embedded on. |
| [player_width] | The width of the video player on the page in pixels. |
| [player_height] | The height of the video player on the page in pixels. |
| [random_number] | A random number. Typically used as a cache-buster, to ensure there is no local caching of the VAST response. |
| [timestamp] | The current time of the user’s computer, as a UNIX timestamp. |
| [page_url] | The URL of the current page (the one the video is embedded in). |
| [referrer] | The URL of the page that brought the viewer to the current player. |
| [ip_address] | The client IP address. |
| [post_id] | ID of the currently playing video. If cannot find the video ID, then fall back to the post ID the player is embedded on. |
| [post_title] | Title of the currently playing video. If cannot find the video title, then fall back to the post title the player is embedded on. |
| [post_excerpt] | Short description of the currently playing video. If cannot find the video description, then fall back to the post description the player is embedded on. |
| [video_file] | The file URL of the currently playing video. |
| [video_duration] | The duration in seconds of the currently playing video. |
| [autoplay] | 0 if Autoplay is off, 1 if Autoplay is on. |
Example:
https://adserver.com/vast/12345678?name=[video_title]&page_url=[page_url]&duration=[video_duration]&cachebuster=[random_number]
If we deconstruct the URL above, you can see that the ad partner is asking us to send back the following values, and we’re doing so using the All-in-One Video Gallery ad tag variables:
- name: the ad partner is asking for the name of the video for which we’re requesting an ad, so we’re sending this back using the [video_title] tag variable, which sends back the video title if possible or the page title the player is on.
- page_url: the ad partner wants the URL of the webpage the video player is embedded on, so we’re sending this back using the [page_url] tag variable, which dynamically grabs the page URL using the web player.
- duration: the ad partner wants the duration of the video, so we’re sending this back using the [video_duration] tag variable which will send back the total duration of the video.
- cachebuster: often you’ll see an ad server ask for a “cachebuster” or some other random string value to include in your ad tags; here we’ve filled that value using the [random_number] tag variable.
What if I don’t see a tag variable (macro) on this list that’s required by my ad server?
We’re always on the lookout to support more types of ad tag variables (macros). While we may not be able to add every specialized tag variable that exists, we’re happy to receive your request for consideration.
If you see a tag variable missing from this list that’s required by your ad server, please reach out to our support with the following information: the name of your ad partner and the details about the tag variable you need.