Now load Native Shopping Ads asynchronously*
We are happy to announce that you can now load Native Shopping Ads in an asynchronous mode. The asynchronous ad code is likely to enhance the browsing experience for the visitors on your site. This ad code loads Native Shopping Ads without holding up your page’s content. This means that the ads will load independently of the content on your pages and will not block loading of the page content. It promises to improve latency and provides a better end-user experience. You can easily download the asynchronous version of the ad code from the Associates Central.
*This feature is currently available only for Recommendation Ads
Important things to remember when integrating asynchronous ad code
What is the difference between asynchronous and synchronous ad codes?
Browsers can load various assets of a web page like text, images, and scripts in parallel. Most recent browsers can load scripts (particularly those which are not needed for core content rendering) without halting the rendering of the page if they are instructed to do so. If you embed an asynchronous ad code, then browsers are explicitly instructed to load the script asynchronously, without halting the rendering of the main page content. So, your users will not notice any slowness as the webpage loads. In general, we recommend you to embed asynchronous ad code in your web pages going forward, to ensure that Native Shopping Ads do not slow down your pages and your users can load your core content faster even on mobile devices with slow network connections. We also recommend that you convert all your existing Native Shopping Ads ad codes to asynchronous format.Can I embed both synchronous ad code and an asynchronous ad code together on the same page?
This is not recommended. While this may work in certain situations, it may lead to errors that are hard to detect and debug. We recommend that you convert all ads on a single page into asynchronous ad format at once.Can I embed two asynchronous ad codes in two slots on the same web page?
Yes. You can do that. But you need to ensure you generate two different saved ad codes from the Associates Central portal. If you embed an exact same piece of ad code in two placements on the same web page, it will not work. For example, you may insert the following two instances in one page - one in side rail and another in the end-of-content placement.
Please note how the IDs for the two ad codes are different.
I also use the Search and Custom Ads. How can I make them load asynchronously?
Currently, the asynchronous ad code is available only for Recommendation Ads.
How to get the ad code?
For existing Recommendation Ads
To change an existing Recommendation ad script to the asynchronous version, navigate to your Saved Ads page and click on ‘Get Ad Code’ for the specific saved ad from the list. You will see a pop up that has the ‘Asynchronous’ option selected by default as ‘Ad loading preference.’ Click on Highlight Ad Code button and the asynchronous code will get copied for you and you can place it on your web page where you intend to display the ad. If you do not see a specific ad in Saved Ads, you will have to create a new asynchronous ad.
For new Recommendation Ads
If you are new to Native Shopping Ads, using them for the first time or want to download a new ad code, follow these steps to create Recommendation Ads and get the asynchronous version of the code.
1. Login to associate central with you store ID
2. Navigate to Native Shopping Ads page (click on Product Linking>Native Shopping Ads).
Click on ‘Create Recommendation Ads.'
3. Once you have configured your ad preferences, click on ‘Save and View Ad Code.’
4. You will see a pop up that has the ‘Asynchronous’ option selected by default for ‘Ad loading preference.’
5. Click on ‘Highlight Ad Code’ and paste it into your web page where you intend to display the ad.
That’s it. Native Shopping Ads will now load asynchronously for you. Click here to learn more about best practices to follow while setting up Native Shopping Ads.