FrontPage / HP4U integration

Introduction

Taboola's FrontPage for Newsroom provides real-time engagement data, and allows you to A/B test headlines and images on your homepage.

Taboola's HP4U (Home Page For You) generates personalized recommendations on your homepage, boosting user engagement.

Both solutions rely on a detailed mapping of your homepage, and share a common integration. These steps are outlined below.

A/B Testing

To ensure a smooth HP4U integration, Taboola implements a gradual rollout, via A/B Testing.

In a typical rollout plan, the following test groups are used: 1%, 10%, and 90%.

(A control group of 10% is maintained post-rollout.)

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A/B testing is carried out by Taboola - without any action on your side.

Using a special event exposed by HP4U, you can track if the current user is in the control or test group, and report this to your analytics tool.

For more information, contact your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.

A bird's-eye view

The following summary provides a bird's-eye view of the integration:

🚧

Homepage

  1. Add the relevant <script> tags to your homepage.
  2. Add data-tb attributes to all relevant HTML tags on your homepage.
  3. Notify Taboola so that they can complete your server-side configuration.

Article pages

  1. Add the relevant <script> tags to your article pages.

Validation and verification

  1. Validate that you have tagged your homepage correctly.
  2. Verify your implementation.

Add scripts to the homepage

loader.js

  1. Add the Taboola loader script to your homepage, inside the <head> section (see below).
  2. Fill in your param values - or use the prefilled script provided by your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.
<script>
        window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
        _taboola.push({homepage: 'auto'});
        !function (e, f, u, i) {
            if (!document.getElementById(i)) {
                e.async = 1;
                e.src = u;
                e.id = i;
                f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);
            }
        }
        // Fill in your Publisher ID _or_ Network ID (an alphabetic string, as provided by Taboola):
        (document.createElement('script'),
            document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],
            '//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/<publisher-id>/loader.js',
            'tb_loader_script');
        if (window.performance && typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {
            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');
        }
    </script>
ParamInstructions
<publisher-id>Fill in an alphabetic Publisher ID or Network ID, as provided by Taboola.

If your Publisher ID is '<<publisherID>>', then the URL should read:

'//c2.taboola.com/nr/<<publisherID>>/newsroom.js'

----
Note:
If you are using network-level integration at Taboola, fill in your Network ID.
For more detail, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.

newsroom.js

  1. Immediately below the above script, add the Taboola newsroom script (see below).
  2. Fill in your param values - or use the prefilled script provided by your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.
<script>
    window._newsroom = window._newsroom || [];
    window._newsroom.push({pageTemplate: 'home'}); // Fill in your template name, as provided by Taboola
    window._newsroom.push({pageDashboard: 'home'}); // // Fill in your template name, as provided by Taboola
    window._newsroom.push('auditClicks');
    window._newsroom.push('trackPage');

    !function (e, f, u) {
        e.async = 1;
        e.src = u;
        f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);
    // Fill in your Publisher ID (an alphabetic string, as provided by Taboola):
    }(document.createElement('script'),
            document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0], '//c2.taboola.com/nr/<publisher-id>/newsroom.js');
</script>
Placeholder/ParamInstructions
<publisher-id>Fill in your alphabetic Publisher ID, as provided by Taboola.

If your Publisher ID is '<<publisherID>>', then the URL should read:

'//c2.taboola.com/nr/<<publisherID>>/newsroom.js'

----
Note:
newsroom.js does not support network-level integration - you must provide a specific account.
For more detail, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.
pageTemplateFill in your template name, as provided by Taboola.
E.g. 'home'
pageDashboardFill in your dashboard name, as provided by Taboola.
E.g. 'home'

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Guidelines

  1. Load the scripts as soon as possible - without any lazy loading.
  2. Do not split a given script into multiple parts. This can cause a race condition and may result in a loss of data.

Tag the homepage

Regions, items & properties

First steps

Prior to the implementation, your editorial team will work with Taboola to document all regions and items on your homepage.

Make sure you received the above scoping sheet from your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager. Using that sheet as a guide, follow the steps below to tag all regions and items on your homepage.

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You must tag all regions and items - including those that will not be personalized by Taboola.

This allows Taboola to track performance and prevent duplicate items.

Terminology

πŸ“˜

Refer to the sample screenshot, below.

  • Region - a group of related items on the homepage - e.g. a group of items that belong toSports.
    • In the screenshot below, the region is marked in orange (the outer recatangle).
  • Item - a content slot on the homepage. Each item contains properties that must also be tagged.
    • In the screenshot below, the region contains 4 items, each marked in blue.
  • Properties - The properties of a given item - e.g. category, thumbnail, links, title, date etc.
    • In the screenshot below, each visible property is marked in a different color:
      • Title - in green
      • Date - in yellow
      • Thumbnail - in pink (first item only)
      • Category - in light blue (first item only)
      • Premium icon - in brown (first 2 items only)

A sample screenshot

πŸ“˜

Sample walkthrough

For a guided walkthrough of how to tag the region depicted above, see the sample walkthrough.

Tagging steps

Tag all regions

For each region on the homepage:

  1. Add a data-tb-region attribute to the <div> or HTML block element that wraps that region.
  2. Set the attribute value to the region name.
<div class="section-sports" data-tb-region="sports">

πŸ“˜

Refer to the scoping sheet provided by your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.

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Region guidelines

  1. All regions must be tagged - including regions that will not be personalized by Taboola.
  2. Do not nest a region within another region.
  3. Make sure that every item is enclosed within a region.
  4. Assign a region name to each data-tb-region attribute:
    1. The name must be unique.
    2. Choose a descriptive name - e.g. sport. Avoid using names like region-1, region-2, etc.

Tag all items

For each item (content slot) in a given region:

  1. Add a data-tb-region-item attribute to the HTML element for that item.
  2. Set the attribute value to an empty string - or leave out the value altogether.
<article class="card" data-tb-region-item>
<article class="card" data-tb-region-item="">

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Item guidelines

  • All items must be tagged - including items that will not be personalized by Taboola.

    There is one exception to this rule: if a given content slot is dedicated to sponsored content or other ad units, then it should not be tagged.

  • Do not assign a value to the data-tb-region-item attribute.
  • Make sure to tag all relevant item properties - see next section.

Tag all item properties

  1. For each property in a given item, add the relevant data-tb attribute.

    See below: Available data attributes

  2. Set the attribute value to an empty string - or do not provide an assignment at all.

An example - tagging the item's thumbnail:

<img src="https://www.example.com/latest-news/gbiv68/picture272621373/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Heat76ersBasketball%20(1).JPG"
                        alt="Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap losing skid"
                        loading="lazy" data-tb-thumbnail>
<img src="https://www.example.com/latest-news/gbiv68/picture272621373/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Heat76ersBasketball%20(1).JPG"
                        alt="Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap losing skid"
                        loading="lazy" data-tb-thumbnail="">

🚧

Property guidelines

  • Tag all relevant properties in the item.

    Any property that needs to change when providing personalized content must be tagged.

  • Note: different items within the same region might have different properties.

    E.g. some items might display an thumbnail, and others not.

  • Note: not all properties are visible.

    E.g. the link property is not visible.

  • Do not assign a value to the data-tb attribute.

πŸ“

IMPORTANT

If any needed properties are not tagged, then Taboola will not be able to update them.

In that case, when Taboola provides personalized content, those properties will be incorrect.

Data attributes

All supported data attributes are listed in the tables below.

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For a guided walkthrough, see the sample walkthrough, below.

Region

πŸ“˜

Each region has a single, required attribute.

NameData AttributeUsageInstructions
Regiondata-tb-regionRequiredApply to the HTML container (e.g. <div>) that wraps the items in that region.
--
Make sure to follow the guidelines.

Item

πŸ“˜

Each item has a single, required attribute.

NameData AttributeUsageInstructions
Itemdata-tb-region-itemRequiredApply to the HTML element (e.g. <div>, <article>, etc.) that represents that item.

Item properties

πŸ“˜

The commonly used attributes for item properties are listed below.

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Tagging guidelines

  • Occasionally, you may need to tag a given HTML element twice. For example, a link that wraps a title needs to be tagged as both a link and a title.
  • Look carefully at the data attributes below:
    • Some attributes are applied to the HTML element itself (e.g. the <img> tag).
    • Some attributes are applied to the element that directly wraps that value (e.g. forTitle, Date, etc.)

      Make sure to tag the element that directly wraps that value (not a parent of that element).

NameData AttributeUsageInstructions
Titledata-tb-titleRequiredApply to the HTML element that directly wraps the title (main headline) in that item.
Linkdata-tb-linkRequiredApply to the <a> tag in the item that links to the target article.
--
Apply to the <a> tag itself - not a container that wraps <a>.
If a given item contains 2 links - e.g. for the thumbnail and the title - then tag both of them.
--
For an actual example, see the sample walkthrough.
Thumbnaildata-tb-thumbnailCommonApply to the <img> tag in that item.
--
Apply to the <img> tag itself - not a container that wraps <img>.
If the item uses a background image (applied via CSS), contact your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager
Datedata-tb-dateCommonApply to the HTML element that directly wraps the published/updated date in that item.
Categorydata-tb-categoryCommonApply to the HTML element that directly wraps the category text in that item.

Example 1 (an \<a> tag):

<a data-tb-category href="http://domain.com/sports"> Sports </a>

Example 2 (an <h2> tag):

<a href="http://domain.com/sports"> <span><h2 data-tb-category>Sports</h2></span> </a>
Category Linkdata-tb-category-linkNot commonThis attribute is required in certain cases only, and works together with data-tb-category (see above row).

Guidelines:

- Always tag the immediate parent with data-tb-category (see above row).
- If that parent is not an <a> element, then tag the wrapping <a> element withdata-tb-category-link.

Example:

<a data-tb-category-link href="http://domain.com/sports"> <span><h2 data-tb-category>Sports</h2></span> </a>
Authordata-tb-authorCommonApply to the HTML element that directly wraps the author text in that item.
Descriptiondata-tb-descriptionCommonApply to the HTML element that directly wraps the description (heading subtext) in that item.
Alternative headlinedata-tb-alternative-headlineNot commonIf relevant, apply to the HTML element that directly wraps the alternative headline

Item properties for special use cases

πŸ“˜

Data attributes for special use cases are listed below.

Working with these attributes typically requires some customization.

To iron out a strategy, consult with your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.

NameData AttributeUsageInstructions
Video icondata-tb-videoSpecial Use CaseIndicates that the <img> tag is a video icon.
Premiumdata-tb-premiumSpecial Use CaseIndicates premium content - e.g. premium icons or text.
Extensiondata-tb-extensionSpecial Use CaseFor special use cases only.

For more detail, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager
Hidedata-tb-hideSpecial Use CaseIndicates that Taboola should hide this content, when displaying a personalized recommendation.
Customdata-tb-[custom_name]Special Use CaseIf your item includes a property that is not listed on this page, then a custom property is needed for your account.

For more detail, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager

A sample walkthrough

πŸ“˜

Refer to the sample screenshot, above.

  1. The code snippet below shows a sample region with 4 items before, tagging:
To expand the *untagged* code snippet, select the second tab (above)...
<div class="digest">
    <div class="paper">
        <article class="card">
            <figure>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/nba/heat/article272609902.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                    class="image-link-macro kfocusable"
                    title="Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap losing skid"
                    >
                    <img src="https://www.example.com/latest-news/gbiv68/picture272621373/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Heat76ersBasketball%20(1).JPG"
                        alt="Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap losing skid"
                        loading="lazy" >
                </a>
            </figure>
            <div class="label sticky">
                <h2 class="impact caps h5" >
                    Sports
                </h2>
            </div>
            <div class="package">
                <h3>
                    <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/nba/heat/article272609902.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                         >
                        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"  width="12" height="14" viewBox="0 0 12 14">
                            <path fill="#a1a1a1" fill-rule="evenodd"
                                d="m22 556c2.1421954 0 3.8910789 1.683968 3.9951047 3.80036l.0048953.19964v2h1c.5522847 0 1 .447715 1 1v6c0 .552285-.4477153 1-1 1h-10c-.5522847 0-1-.447715-1-1v-6c0-.552285.4477153-1 1-1h1v-2l.0048953-.19964c.1040258-2.116392 1.8529093-3.80036 3.9951047-3.80036zm0 7-.7053423 2.02918-2.1478272.043769 1.7119017 1.297871-.622088 2.056231 1.7633558-1.227051 1.7633558 1.227051-.622088-2.056231 1.7119017-1.297871-2.1478272-.043769zm0-5c-1.0543618 0-1.9181651.815878-1.9945143 1.850738l-.0054857.149262v2h4v-2c0-1.104569-.8954305-2-2-2z"
                                transform="translate(-16 -556)" />
                        </svg>
                        Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap
                        losing skid
                    </a>
                </h3>
                <div class="update-date time" data-originalDate="1677562907" >
                    Updated February 28, 2023 12:41 AM 
                </div>
            </div>
        </article>
        <div class="package">
            <h3>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/high-school/article272611517.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                     >
                    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"  width="12" height="14" viewBox="0 0 12 14">
                        <path fill="#a1a1a1" fill-rule="evenodd"
                            d="m22 556c2.1421954 0 3.8910789 1.683968 3.9951047 3.80036l.0048953.19964v2h1c.5522847 0 1 .447715 1 1v6c0 .552285-.4477153 1-1 1h-10c-.5522847 0-1-.447715-1-1v-6c0-.552285.4477153-1 1-1h1v-2l.0048953-.19964c.1040258-2.116392 1.8529093-3.80036 3.9951047-3.80036zm0 7-.7053423 2.02918-2.1478272.043769 1.7119017 1.297871-.622088 2.056231 1.7633558-1.227051 1.7633558 1.227051-.622088-2.056231 1.7119017-1.297871-2.1478272-.043769zm0-5c-1.0543618 0-1.9181651.815878-1.9945143 1.850738l-.0054857.149262v2h4v-2c0-1.104569-.8954305-2-2-2z"
                            transform="translate(-16 -556)" />
                    </svg>
                    Westminster Christian’s beach volleyball squad motivated to recapture top
                    spot in state
                </a>
            </h3>
            <div class="time" >
                February 27, 2023 7:08 PM
            </div>
        </div>
        <div class="package">
            <h3>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/mlb/marlins/article272610917.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                     >
                    Hampson making early impression on Marlins. Plus notes on Burdick, Luzardo,
                    Sixto
                </a>
            </h3>
            <div class="time" >
                February 27, 2023 4:18 PM
            </div>
        </div>
        <div class="package">
            <h3>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/nhl/florida-panthers/article272611760.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                     >
                    Barkov and Bennett are out for another huge game. Here’s how the Panthers
                    must adjust
                </a>
            </h3>
            <div class="time" >
                February 27, 2023 3:05 PM
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/" class="more-link">
        More in Sports
    </a>
</div>
  1. Click below to start. Once the walkthrough opens, click on each step:
  1. After tagging, the code snippet will look like this:
To expand the *tagged* code snippet, select the second tab (above)...
<div class="digest">
    <div class="paper" data-tb-region='sports'>
        <article class="card" data-tb-region-item>
            <figure>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/nba/heat/article272609902.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                    class="image-link-macro kfocusable"
                    title="Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap losing skid"
                    data-tb-link>
                    <img src="https://www.example.com/latest-news/gbiv68/picture272621373/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Heat76ersBasketball%20(1).JPG"
                        alt="Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap losing skid"
                        loading="lazy" data-tb-thumbnail>
                </a>
            </figure>
            <div class="label sticky">
                <h2 class="impact caps h5" data-tb-category>
                    Sports
                </h2>
            </div>
            <div class="package">
                <h3>
                    <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/nba/heat/article272609902.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                        data-tb-link data-tb-title>
                        <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" data-tb-premium width="12" height="14" viewBox="0 0 12 14">
                            <path fill="#a1a1a1" fill-rule="evenodd"
                                d="m22 556c2.1421954 0 3.8910789 1.683968 3.9951047 3.80036l.0048953.19964v2h1c.5522847 0 1 .447715 1 1v6c0 .552285-.4477153 1-1 1h-10c-.5522847 0-1-.447715-1-1v-6c0-.552285.4477153-1 1-1h1v-2l.0048953-.19964c.1040258-2.116392 1.8529093-3.80036 3.9951047-3.80036zm0 7-.7053423 2.02918-2.1478272.043769 1.7119017 1.297871-.622088 2.056231 1.7633558-1.227051 1.7633558 1.227051-.622088-2.056231 1.7119017-1.297871-2.1478272-.043769zm0-5c-1.0543618 0-1.9181651.815878-1.9945143 1.850738l-.0054857.149262v2h4v-2c0-1.104569-.8954305-2-2-2z"
                                transform="translate(-16 -556)" />
                        </svg>
                        Takeaways and details from Heat’s much-needed win over 76ers to snap
                        losing skid
                    </a>
                </h3>
                <div class="update-date time" data-originalDate="1677562907" data-tb-date>
                    Updated February 28, 2023 12:41 AM 
                </div>
            </div>
        </article>
        <div class="package" data-tb-region-item>
            <h3>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/high-school/article272611517.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                    data-tb-link data-tb-title>
                    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" data-tb-premium width="12" height="14" viewBox="0 0 12 14">
                        <path fill="#a1a1a1" fill-rule="evenodd"
                            d="m22 556c2.1421954 0 3.8910789 1.683968 3.9951047 3.80036l.0048953.19964v2h1c.5522847 0 1 .447715 1 1v6c0 .552285-.4477153 1-1 1h-10c-.5522847 0-1-.447715-1-1v-6c0-.552285.4477153-1 1-1h1v-2l.0048953-.19964c.1040258-2.116392 1.8529093-3.80036 3.9951047-3.80036zm0 7-.7053423 2.02918-2.1478272.043769 1.7119017 1.297871-.622088 2.056231 1.7633558-1.227051 1.7633558 1.227051-.622088-2.056231 1.7119017-1.297871-2.1478272-.043769zm0-5c-1.0543618 0-1.9181651.815878-1.9945143 1.850738l-.0054857.149262v2h4v-2c0-1.104569-.8954305-2-2-2z"
                            transform="translate(-16 -556)" />
                    </svg>
                    Westminster Christian’s beach volleyball squad motivated to recapture top
                    spot in state
                </a>
            </h3>
            <div class="time" data-tb-date>
                February 27, 2023 7:08 PM
            </div>
        </div>
        <div class="package" data-tb-region-item>
            <h3>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/mlb/marlins/article272610917.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                    data-tb-link data-tb-title>
                    Hampson making early impression on Marlins. Plus notes on Burdick, Luzardo,
                    Sixto
                </a>
            </h3>
            <div class="time" data-tb-date>
                February 27, 2023 4:18 PM
            </div>
        </div>
        <div class="package" data-tb-region-item>
            <h3>
                <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/nhl/florida-panthers/article272611760.html#storylink=hpdigest_sports"
                    data-tb-link data-tb-title>
                    Barkov and Bennett are out for another huge game. Here’s how the Panthers
                    must adjust
                </a>
            </h3>
            <div class="time" data-tb-date>
                February 27, 2023 3:05 PM
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    <a href="https://www.example.com/sports/" class="more-link" data-tb-category data-tb-link>
        More in Sports
    </a>
</div>

Changing the homepage

🚧

Before publishing a new homepage layout, make sure to update your Taboola integration:

  • Tag all affected regions and articles with data-tb attributes.
  • Sync with your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager to update your server-side configuration.

Add scripts to the article pages

  1. Add the following script to each article, inside the <head> section:
<script>
    window._newsroom = window._newsroom || [];

    !function (e, f, u) {
        e.async = 1;
        e.src = u;
        f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);
    
    }(document.createElement('script'),
            document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0], '//c2.taboola.com/nr/<publisher-id>/newsroom.js');
</script>
  1. Replace <publisher-id> with your own Publisher ID (or Network ID), as provided by Taboola - or use the prefilled scripts that were provided.
PlaceholderDescriptionNotes
<publisher-id>Your Taboola Publisher ID (or Network ID)An alphanumeric String, as provided by Taboola.

If your Publisher ID is '<<publisherID>>', then the URL should read:

'//c2.taboola.com/nr/<<publisherID>>/newsroom.js'

πŸ“˜

Which pages?

Place the script on each article or post - e.g. article posts, video posts, gallery pages, etc.

🚧

Guidelines

  • Load the above scripts as soon as possible - without any lazy loading.
  • Do not split a given script into multiple parts. This can cause a race condition and may result in a loss of data.

Cater for special use cases

During the initial scoping, you may decide to cater for special use cases - e.g. to implement a flow for premium content, or a flow for custom business logic.

This might include either of the following steps:

  • Add metadata to your article pages - e.g. to tag certain pages as premium content.
  • Provide Taboola with relevant hooks to your existing solution - e.g. so Taboola can insert icons or text, according to your own business logic.

The exact approach taken will vary, depending on your specific needs and preferences.

Consult with your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager to iron out a strategy that works best for you.

Validate your tagging

in order for HP4U and Newsroom to run smoothly, it's critical that all regions, items and properties are tagged correctly.

🚧

If tagging was not implemented fully and correctly:

  1. Personalized content may display incorrectly (or not at all).
  2. Curated content might be duplicated by personalized content.

To help with validation, Taboola provides a Chrome extension.

πŸ‘

Which validations does it run?

A list of validation rules run by the extension can be found in the appendix.


Tip: These rules can also provide a valuable guideline for tagging your homepage.

The Chrome extension

The Taboola Chrome extension provides a Head-Up Display (HUD) of your HP4U configuration, allowing you to validate your markup and fine-tune your settings.

🚧

Setup requirements

Before your team can use the Chrome extension:

  1. Taboola must enable HP4U for the chosen domain.
  2. You must embed newsroom.js in your homepage, under that domain.
  3. Each user that accesses the extension will need a Taboola Newsroom user account for that domain.

To confirm that your setup is complete, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.

πŸ“˜

Additional resources

This page describes how to validate your markup.

For additional information about the Chrome extension, see the Taboola Newsroom Help Center.

Installing the extension

  1. Install the Taboola Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store.

    Tip: Once installed, click on Extensions and pin the extension icon .

The extension slide-out

  1. Open Google Chrome and browse to your homepage. Wait for the homepage to load fully.

    Tip: Once you have enabled the extension, the icon turns blue once the page has loaded.

  2. Click on the extension icon to slide-out the extension window.

    Tip: You may need to click on Extensions to see the icon.

  3. If you are not logged into Taboola Newsroom, the extension will prompt you to log in.

    In order to use the Chrome extension, you need a Taboola Newsroom account with the relevant permissions.

Two validation types

The Chrome extension supports 2 validation types:

  1. General (aka automatic) validations - these run automatically, as soon as Display page markup is enabled (as explained below).
  2. Property-specific (aka manual) validations - these can be enabled on a per-property basis.

Running general validations

  1. Open the extension slide-out.

  2. Enable the extension, using the toggle switch provided (top, right).

    • Tip: At any time, use this toggle to quickly view a 'clean' homepage (without annotations).
  3. In the extension slide-out, select the Validation tab, and click on the Display page markup toggle switch (middle, right).

  4. On your homepage, note how each item displays a validation icon (top, left):

  5. Review each item of interest, and check for a failure or warning status:

    IconStatusDescription
    Failure1 or more validations failed for this item.
    Warning1 or more properties in this item might need fixing.
    SuccessAll validations passed for this item.
  6. To see more information, mouse over the status icon:

    πŸ“˜

    In the above example, the data-tb-category attribute was not applied to an anchor tag.
    Since the direct parent of the category text might be a different tag, this is a warning only.

    πŸ“˜

    Mousing over the status icon will show all warnings (and errors) that apply to that item.

Running property-specific validations

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Before you start

In order to run property-specific validations, you must turn on general validations.

  1. In the extension slide-out, select the Validation tab.

  2. Locate the color-coded list of item properties (shown below).

  3. For each item property, use the checkbox provided to turn validations on/off.

  4. The following example illustrates, using the Title property:

    1. Select Title:

    2. On your homepage, eachTitle is annotated, using the same color as the property list:

    3. Deselect Title (by clearing the checkbox):

    4. On your homepage, annotations for Title are removed:

  5. Continue to enable validations for each property of interest. On your homepage, each property is marked with a matching color - e.g. titles in yellow, links in green, etc.

  6. Once you have enabled 1 or more property-specific validations, review each item of interest, and check for a failure or warning status:

    IconStatusDescription
    Failure1 or more validations failed for this item.
    Warning1 or more properties in this item might need fixing.
    SuccessAll validations passed for this item.
  7. To see more information for each error, mouse over the status icon.

    Mousing over the status icon will show all warnings (and errors) for that item.

An important caveat

Note that a given item might not contain the selected property at all. If that is intentional, then simply ignore the error shown. The following example illustrates:

  1. In the property list, the user selectsAuthor (to run validations for items that do contain an author).
  2. A given item (shown below) does not contain author text at all.
  3. The extension detects that there is no data-tb-author attribute within that item, and flags an error: Missing tag(s): Author.
  4. However, since this item is not supposed to contain an author at all, you can simply ignore the error and move on.

Validation rules

When validating your homepage, the Chrome extension applies the following rules:

πŸ‘

Tip

The rules below provide a valuable guideline for tagging your homepage.

SeverityDescription
Errordata-tb-link is not present in the item.
Errordata-tb-link is present - but is not in an <a> tag.
Warningdata-tb-link is missing in the additional <a> tags.
Warningdata-tb-category is not in an <a> tag.
WarningData attribute is assigned to an indirect parent (instead of the direct parent).
----
Applies to: data-tb-title, data-tb-description, data-tb-category
ErrorMore than 1 data-tb-title is present in the item.
ErrorMore than 1 data-tb-thumbnail is present in the item.
ErrorMore than 1 data-tb-description is present in the item.
ErrorMore than 1 data-tb-category is present in the item.
Errorproperty-specific validation failed.
----
Either the HTML element is present and was not tagged - i.e. an error.
Or the HTML element itself is not present - e.g. an item without an image - which may be intentional.
ErrorItem is not nested within a region.
ErrorItem is nested within another item.
ErrorRegion is nested within another region.
Error2 or more regions have the same name.

Verify your integration

Once your integration is complete, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager. Taboola will assist your team to verify that the integration is working smoothly.

Need a hand?

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For specific guidance, at any stage of the integration, reach out to your Taboola Newsroom Engagement Manager.