Getting Started with the Digital Publisher Audit

How to get started with the Digital Publisher Audit.

Getting started with the Digital Publisher Audit is easy.

An AAM auditor will contact you to begin the audit process and schedule a kick-off meeting to review the audit requirements and timelines. You’ll be asked to email the following information to AAM.DPA@auditedmedia.com:

  1. Indicate whether your company uses Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics (or another web analytics vendor) and provide access to your web analytics account:
    • Google Analytics clients should provide "Read & Analyze" access to AAM email aam.digital2@gmail.com.
    • Adobe Analytics clients should provide their report suite ID and "Read" access to AAM.
    • If another web analytics vendor is used, we’ll need similar access to your account.
  2. Provide a list of the websites (i.e., domains) that will be subject to the AAM Digital Publisher Audit.
  3. Provide the number of pages and ad impressions your website(s) averages on a monthly basis.
  4. Provide contact information for the web/IT person who typically places and manages the web analytics tags on your website.
  5. Begin preparing a list of your ad tech vendors and partners (ad servers, sponsored content providers, viewability and fraud vendors, etc.) and the person at your company responsible for each. Later in the audit process, an AAM auditor will provide you with the Business Process Review form where this information will be required.

Note: Contact AAM if you have any questions regarding tagging your site.

Installing the AAM Tag

  • The AAM tag is a lightweight piece of JavaScript code (5.6 KB) that can be easily copied and pasted on your webpages or installed via a tag management system.
  • The AAM tag collects information related to every page impression that is generated on your website(s) and this data is used in the audit.
  • The AAM tag’s observed loading time is approximately 85 milliseconds.
  • Asynchronous tracking ensures the browser loads different tags in parallel.
  • During the registration process you’ll receive your unique AAM tag from an AAM auditor.

Tagging Best Practices

The following best practices will help ensure the onboarding process for your audit goes smoothly:

  • Configure rules to filter internal IP addresses and known robots from your web analytics.
  • Place the AAM tag directly next to the web analytics tag in the page source code.
  • Place the AAM tag on every page of your website where there is a web analytics tag.
  • If your website contains photo galleries, place the AAM tag on every page of your website that has a photo gallery.
  • If you use third-party content providers, work with them to tag their pages or any other third-party content that is part of your website. If your vendors will not install the AAM tag on content that they host on your behalf, those pages may not be audited. An AAM auditor will assess this during the audit.
  • If you have Facebook Instant Articles or Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), please refer to the specific instructions for each.

Webpages

The AAM tag should be placed directly next to the web analytics tag. If you use templates to generate pages, enter the AAM tag just before the closing tag in the file that contains the section <head>. Copy the AAM tag on every page of the website you want AAM to audit.

Galleries

If your website has a large number of photo galleries and thumbnail images, you will need to place the AAM tag on these pages. In order to capture website traffic correctly, place the AAM tag as close as possible to the web analytics tag (e.g., inside the navigation callback function that changes the picture).

Dynamic Websites

If your website was built using a dynamic programming language or has a web framework such as ASP.NET or PHP, you're probably using templates, master pages or another form of content inclusion. In this situation, the best approach is to add the AAM tag to one of the common layout files instead of manually adding it to all pages.

Steps for a PHP Example

Create a PHP file called "aamDigital.php" using the AAM tag provided and include it in each PHP template page. Add the following line to each template page before the closing tag:

<head>:

<?php include_once("aamDigital.php") ?>

Tag Management Systems

Copy and paste the AAM tag into the tag manager and define the ID as ‘variable.’

Facebook Instant Articles

AAM can track your Facebook Instant Articles by adding the AAM tag to your pages.

  • Notify your AAM technical representative that you would like to tag your Facebook Instant Articles.
  • The web analytics tag is specified using the standard HTML5 <figure> element, which wraps an <iframe> element containing the AAM tag. To embed the web analytics tag within your Instant Article, apply the op-tracker class to the <figure> element enclosing the tracking tag. The web analytics tag must appear in the body of the article and cannot appear in the header or footer.
  • Place the AAM tag directly next to the web analytics tag.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

AAM can track pages optimized with AMP HTML.

  • Notify your AAM technical representative that you have AMP web pages.
  • Place the AAM tag on all AMP web pages, directly next to the web analytics tag.

 

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