Client-Side Tag FAQs

Make sure that the entire string after pdata= is URL-encoded in a GET implementation so that non-alphanumeric characters such as / can be properly parsed. This includes both the equals sign (=) separating the keys and values and the commas (,) separating the key-value pairs, as well as any non-alphanumeric characters in the keys and values themselves. For example, something like "pdata=visitor=new" will not work because it is not URL-encoded.

All letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers (0-9), dashes (-), underscores (_), dots (.), and tildes (~) can remain as is. Other symbols should be changed to their associated three-character string in the second row of the table below.

LiveRamp works with over 500 destination platform partners and each of them implement these workflows differently. LiveRamp does not hold a repository of these various partner macros. You should work with the third-party partner who is trafficking your creatives as they’ll generally have both macros and setup documentation for third-party tracking tags on their websites.

There will always be some discrepancy between the number of calls that you send versus the number of calls that LiveRamp's pixel server receives. There are multiple reasons this could be the case.

There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends entirely on your technology stack, other partners you're working with, the outcome you're trying to accomplish, and so on. There are a large number of ways to implement a tag, and you should use the one that will work best for your use case. When in doubt, you should implement the CST or eCST as an image tag that uses GET requests.

Yes. Work with your LiveRamp representative to configure your file to remove the fields that you don't want to be included.

It's important to note that LiveRamp does not set the Ref-URL. We simply read the value of the Referer HTTP header in the request that's made to our tag. This can be influenced by the Referrer-Policy that the website sets when it instructs the browser to make a request to our pixel server.

There are also Chrome extensions that allow users to obfuscate the Referer HTTP header with empty or confusing values. These extensions can also be set to spoof the Referer with a fake value, such as the address of the target server. In that case, we might see rlcdn.com populated as the Referer in requests to our pixel server.

LiveRamp's pixel server returns a 451 status code when a request is made from a country on the country exclusion list for that tag. If you are serving traffic from the EU, there will be special paperwork required, so work with your LiveRamp account team to determine where you are allowed to use your tag if you believe this is necessary.

If some of the columns and rows in your output Measurement file are misaligned, make sure that you aren’t sending URLs, equal signs (“=”), or commas (“,”)  as that tells our system that a new key/value pair is being sent to LiveRamp. URLs especially usually contain characters that will cause key/value pairs to separate unexpectedly, causing misalignment when your Measurement Enablement file is delivered.

If your ATS Identity Envelopes or LiveRamp cookies are not matching to RampIDs for your Activation or Measurement use cases, this generally points to an implementation issue:

Yes, however sometimes this doesn’t make sense such as sending both an IDFA and AAID in the same request. You may want to implement your eCST with multiple “it”/”iv” pairs if you are implementing the eCST through a creative as each “iv” may have its own macro. The absence of a value for an “iv” will not cause the pixel to error, so you can safely implement it with multiple “it”/”iv” pairs if you wish. 

Pairing a device-based identifier, such as a LiveRamp cookie or a MAID, with an ATS envelope is generally when you’d see multiple devices being passed on the same request. LiveRamp cookies are not included in the “it”/”iv” pairs as they are automatically collected in the request header.

No, eCST and CST log files can only be generated on a daily basis. Check with your LiveRamp representative to find a solution that works for you if this is necessary. This may require re-engaging with your Solutions contact as this is not an intended feature of the pixel.

At this time, the eCST does not support CID-based use cases.

No, LiveRamp does not control the firing conditions of the eCST. That is done through either your Tag Manager (the most common way of controlling firing conditions) or through a custom partner-created JavaScript module.

No, eCST should not be used as an opt out pipeline. You should use the existing LiveRamp opt out pipelines (for more information, see “Processing Data Subject Rights Requests”).

For more information on sending consent strings through LiveRamp tags, see “Sending Consent Strings for LiveRamp Tags”.

For standard implementations, LiveRamp does not provide custom javaScript to configure custom firing conditions for a CST or eCST implementation. You will need to either set firing conditions through your tag manager or create custom JavaScript yourself.

No. Data from the tag is gathered by LiveRamp daily and either ingested in Connect or delivered back to you or your measurement partner.

The only response to the tag firing is a status code (either 2xx or 3xx).

Use the “dynamic identifier” identifier type when eCST code is placed within an ad and macros are used in the iv parameter to capture more than one identifier type. An example of this would be a mixed mobile macro that could return an AAID or an IDFA, depending on where the ad is run. Using the “dynamic identifier” identifier type can reduce the number of tags to implement, but you must capture raw mobile device IDs.

LiveRamp works with over 500+ destination platform partners and each of them implements these workflows differently. LiveRamp does not hold a repository of these various partner macros. You should work with the third-party partner who is trafficking your creatives as they’ll generally have both macros and setup documentation for third-party tracking tags on their websites.