Technology
What is a VAST Tag, and How to Create & Validate It?
Ankitesh Thakur
The notice of an Ad increase in video content. The public is turning their attention toward video content at a faster pace than text or audio. With the increase in internet access and the rise of video-related platforms, this trend will not fade away anytime soon. Since people are more inclined to watch video than audio or text, publishers and advertisers are investing in video content. This is where VAST comes in.
The Video Ad Serving Template, also known as VAST, is a model for organizing advertising tags. Publishers are adopting VAST at the fastest rate and can now use powerful tools to ensure the highest revenue increase from video advertisements.
This article will provide publishers with all that they need to know about VAST, including the background and benefits, the validation creation process, and the crucial policy guidelines to be aware of.
The Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) organizes ad tags to serve ads for video gamers.Developed in partnership with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), VAST uses the Extensible Markup Language (XML) framework.. VAST tags can serve audio and video advertisements to players that play media and transmit crucial information about the ad through the web server and to the user.
In response to the growing popularity of video ads, developers created the standard to enable efficient communication between video players and enhance the user experience.VAST informs the player when and how to fetch and display an advertisement for the server and provides additional important information about the video, including price. In addition to information about the video, you can add tracking pixels VAST to track the video more effectively.
Ads are served on either the client’s or server’s side. In the case of the client-side VAST, the media player on the client requests ads from the server. In contrast, for the Server-side VAST, the server produces ads and stitches them to the media directly.
The Request: First, the player requests the ad server to retrieve the video ad.
Inline Response: After the ad server is notified of the user’s request, it sends an inline response containing the video file and the required tracking URLs.
Playing the Video: The viewer receives the video’s creative via the Content Delivery Network (CDN) and then plays the video
Pinged URLs: When the advertisement has been playing, the video starts tracking URLs and pixels to gather metric data from either party.
Variation Depends on Additional Ad Server Involvement
Selecting a reliable third-party advertising server can help smooth the process for the advertiser. Furthermore, if the server offers the proper software and data, it could help you maximize your profits.
To meet the growing demands for video content, the first version of VAST- VAST 1.0 was released in 2008 by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). VAST received numerous upgrades as the demand for video content increased, as well as the tech behind players for video advanced. It is currently at VAST 4.0, which was introduced in June 2018. (Source: IAB).
The initial version of VAST supported MP4, 3GP, and MOV and provided basic tracking capabilities. In addition, VAST 2.0 introduced quartile event and player tracking with various other formats. VAST 3.0 enhanced error tracking and enabled advertisers to present skippable ads. The most recent version, VAST 4.0, introduced new features for server-side support and raw mezzanine file formats, compatibility with various formats, a brand new categorizing system for ads, macros for standardized timestamps, and more.
The VAST tag can be described as a Thirst-Party Advertisement script created in XML by an ad server to show video advertisements. The code runs the entire procedure and provides the necessary information about the ad, including the length, format of the video, and URL to the destination. Each VAST tag contains various parameters that can be adjusted to meet the requirements of both advertisers and publishers.
Here is an example of a VAST tag with parameters such as unviewed_position_start (which indicates delayed video impressions), ciu_szs (a list of companion sizes), and gdfp_req.
While creating VAST tags is straightforward, there are multiple approaches to generating them.
Manually: creating VAST Tags doesn’t require coding skills, but it does require a basic understanding of XML. Here are some predefined parameters needed to create a VAST tag manually. Once you establish the parameter values, you can use them to create an XML file to tag the image.
Google Ad Manager: It is among the leading ad servers for generating VAST tags. Google allows the procedure to be simple and can support the use of HTTP and HTTPS URLs. With a specialized Google Ad Manager account, advertisers can create tags within a couple of steps:
Although Google is the best advertiser server for VAST tags, advertisers can use any VAST-compatible ad server. However, to avoid errors, it is essential to ensure that the application is compatible with all specifications.
Since its launch fourteen years ago, the VAST platform has enabled advertisers and publishers to take advantage of the growing demand for video content from viewers.
Since every VAST tag uses XML, it is advisable to validate them before they go live to ensure that there aren’t any problems. Here are a few of the most commonly used validators that are available:
Video Suite Inspector: One of the easiest and most effective ways to check if your VAST tag works properly with the IMA SDK for HTML5 is by using Google’s Video Suite Inspector. This tool enables publishers to validate their VAST tags with just one click.
IAB’s VAST Validator: The IAB VAST Tag Validator is another trusted VAST tag validation tool. It can be used with VAST 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 and allows publishers to examine required attributes and nodes in specific situations.
YouTube VAST Validator: If you’re serving video ads on YouTube, you can use the YouTube VAST Validator to ensure that your VAST ads meet the requirements for third-party video advertisements.
Video content has experienced rapid growth and will continue to grow for a while. It’s predicted that by 2025, online video will account for greater than 82% of internet traffic for consumers, fifteen times more than it was in 2017 (Source: Forbes). With the rise of video in popularity, advertisers must take advantage of the chance to reach a broad audience through video ads. Utilizing VAST tags effectively can be a boon to your income stream.
At Performoo, we help you accelerate revenue growth with our innovative monetization for future publishers. If you’re looking to test an uncomplicated and flexible video solution, then go with Performoo Video Player! It is software that automates and expands the creation of content for publishers.
Do you require a quick-loading solution that integrates with your website? Take advantage of the Performoo Creative Platform. Contact us for a no-cost call today!
Continue your learning journey with these related insights
AdTech plays a important role in executing successful digital advertising campaigns. Advertisers rely on AdTech to buy, manage, and measure digital ads across various platforms. It helps streamline ad delivery, optimize targeting, and improve overall campaign performance for better return on investment (ROI). AdTech and Its Role in Digital Advertising Ad-Tech, or advertising technology, includes […]
Join thousands of advertisers who trust Performoo to optimize their campaigns and maximize revenue.
Privacy regulations for data are increasingly stringent, resulting in the rise of consent management platforms as crucial instruments for advertisers and publishers. What is a consent management system, and why is it essential to our online interactions? In essence, a CMP (consent management platform) is a digital gatekeeper created to ensure that websites can balance […]
AdTech is a crucial asset for running successful digital advertising campaigns. It enables advertisers to purchase, manage, and optimize ads efficiently. By leveraging data-driven insights, AdTech helps brands target the right audience, track performance, and maximize ad effectiveness across multiple platforms. Advertising technology also referred as called Ad-Tech, is a broad term that refers to […]