The test ad tags are set up to always return ads for valid requests. This is
meant to facilitate integration and make it easier to test how your player
requests and renders ads. However, ads are not always available in every
format for your site, account, or ad unit. If your integration is working
properly for the test tag but not for your own tag, the cause may be one of
the following:
You're serving videos of an unsupported format to your environment. For example,
you're serving only HTML5 ads to iOS or Android.
If you're using Ad Manager, your publisher ID may not have any ads targeted to
it at this time. Also, ensure that you have approved the relevant ads and
creatives in Ad Manager.
If you're using AdSense, the targeting criteria for your site or test page may
not have any active advertisements. The most common cause is the use of
private, uncrawled websites.
If you're using Ad Exchange Network Partner Management and
descriptionURL is not set or is not on the owned or operated
domains management list, ads do not serve to this.
Check the minCPM thresholds defined in Ad Exchange Video. A
fairly high CPM may result in very low fill rates. To correct this, try either
removing the minCPM or removing the ad unit parameter from the ad request
(i.e., slotname) to verify whether this is affecting the fill rate.
What does a good descriptionUrl look like?
To be most effective, the content of the page that descriptionUrl
points to shouldn't be a collection of words or phrases but rather
1-3 paragraphs actually describing the content and your role in providing it.
One method that has been successful in the past is to stitch together
descriptionUrl page content dynamically from predefined blocks.
For example, a few sentences about the content, a few sentences about your
site's offering, and then a few predefined snippets associated with each
AdSense channel (like "Entertainment" or "Sports"). As a result, each piece of
content has a reasonably distinct descriptionUrl associated with
it that provides both general information (such as genre descriptors) as well
as specific information (content about the content directly).
This metadata HTML should be simple, for example:
<html>
<head>
<title>Domain.com - Your tag line here!</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Descriptions</h1>
<h2>About this Content</h2>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. ...</p>
<h2>About Domain.com</h2>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. ...</p>
</body>
</html>
Why am I receiving the error "Ad response does not contain a valid ad type"?
This error generally appears because no ads have been targeted to the
specific publisherId (for the given time period). This condition
may vary throughout the day, or over several days as campaigns begin and end.
You should check that the ad you wish to target has not expired and that the
ad targeting criteria are correct.
As long as ads are properly requested, received, and rendered using
the test publisherId, you can be sure that these ads are
properly handled using your live publisherId when the ads are
available.
Do you have an Ad Manager video ad tag that I can use for testing?
Sample tags are available on the sample tags page.
Should I set the adSlotWidth and adSlotHeight to the same
values as the sz in my Ad Manager ad tag?
Not necessarily. The adSlotWidth and adSlotHeight
must be set to the width/height of the player or area you want your ads to
fill. They are used by AdSense to determine which ads are available to fit
into that space. The sz key/value pair in your Ad Manager ad tag is
a targeting parameter and does not necessarily affect the creative served
(more information below).
The demo ad tag looks great, but when I switch it with my ad tag, no ad appears.
Check to ensure that something is trafficked to the ad tag you are
requesting. The easiest way to find out is to watch the HTTP traffic. If a
1x1 pixel grey.gif image is returned within an HTML anchor block,
then you need to check your targeting in Ad Manager.
I want to request ads using the same tag more than once, but I only get ads for my first
request. How do I fix this?
When you request ads more than once, you need to let the ad server know
that these are legitimate requests, and not accidental duplicates. The SDK
does this for you with two quick API calls:
Call destroy() on your AdsManager instance.
This prevents any post-rolls from playing when you make the below call to
contentComplete(). You get a new AdsManager
when you make your next request.
Call contentComplete() on your AdsLoader
instance. This resets the SDK so the new ad request doesn't look like a
duplicate of the previous one.
After making the two calls above, you can call requestAds() on
your AdsLoader instance to get another set of ads to play for your
new video.
How do I request overlay and full slot AdSense ads using the IMA SDK?
To request AdSense ads using the SDK, you need to first obtain an AdSense
ad tag. You can learn more about that on the AdSense
for Video page. Once you have your tag, you need to take the following
steps to make either an overlay or a full slot ad request:
Overlay ads
In your AdsRequest, set your ViewModes to
NORMAL.
In your ad tag, add the parameter overlay=1.
Full slot ads
In your AdsRequest, set your ViewModes to
FULLSCREEN.
In your ad tag, add the parameter overlay=0.
I'm getting an "Invalid clickthrough URL" error when I click on my ad. What could be the cause?
The most common cause for this error is an improperly escaped clickthrough
URL. If you're seeing this error, check to make sure that your clickthrough
URL is properly escaped in your VAST response.
Why do I see a "VAST Document Empty" error?
This error occurs when the ad tag returns an empty VAST document, indicating
that the ad was not served properly. Talk to your account manager
or ad server representative to see why your ad tag is not working.
Can I change the size/text of the Skip Ad box or other UI elements?
The IMA SDKs do not support changing the layout, size, or content of UI elements.
For more details on UI elements, see AdsManager.uiElements.
Are native video controls supported with the HTML5 SDK?
No, the HTML5 SDK does not support native controls.
I'm seeing "Failed to execute 'play' on 'HTMLMediaElement': API can only be initiated
by a user gesture" in my HTML5 implementation. How do I fix this?
On mobile devices, you must call adDisplayContainer.initialize()
as the result of a user action (such as a tap). If you're
seeing this error, you're most likely calling it on a non-user-initiated context. Note that it
must be the direct result of a user action. For example, if you respond to a
"tap" event by playing a video, and then use the video player's "play" event to call
initialize(), the SDK returns this error. You must call initialize() as
the result of the tap event itself.
How do I handle keyboard focus on ad clicks?
If you use keyboard controls for your player you may notice that they will no longer work
following clicks on the adDisplayContainer. This is because, once an ad is clicked
keyboard focus is switched to the IMA iframe. To keep keyboard focus on the content player, please
utilize the
CLICK
event to transfer keyboard focus back to the desired container. See the following code snippet for
more details:
adsManager.addEventListener(
google.ima.AdEvent.Type.CLICK,
function(){
window.focus();
// Or another method to return focus to the desired container.
});
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-14 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe IMA HTML5 SDK facilitates ad integration and testing, but live ads depend on factors like ad targeting, formats, and publisher settings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf your ad tag isn't working, review your Ad Manager targeting, ensure your descriptionUrl is properly set up, and check for any errors in your VAST response.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor repeated ad requests, use \u003ccode\u003edestroy()\u003c/code\u003e on the AdsManager and \u003ccode\u003econtentComplete()\u003c/code\u003e on the AdsLoader to avoid duplicate requests.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eNative video controls are not supported with the HTML5 SDK, and on mobile devices, \u003ccode\u003eadDisplayContainer.initialize()\u003c/code\u003e must be called directly as a result of a user action.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eKeyboard focus can be managed by utilizing the CLICK event and transferring it back to the content player.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["- [Why am I not getting ads back for all formats?](#1)\n- [What does a good descriptionUrl look like?](#2)\n- [Why am I receiving the error \"Ad response does not contain a valid ad type\"?](#3)\n- [Do you have an Ad Manager video ad tag that I can use for testing?](#4)\n- [Should I set the adSlotWidth and adSlotHeight to the same values\n as the sz in my Ad Manager ad tag?](#5)\n- [The demo ad tag looks great, but when I switch it with my ad tag,\n no ad appears.](#7)\n- [I want to request ads using the same tag more than once, but I\n only get ads for my first request. How do I fix this?](#8)\n- [How do I request overlay and full slot AdSense ads using the IMA\n SDK?](#9)\n- [I'm getting an \"Invalid clickthrough URL\" error when I click on my\n ad. What could be the cause?](#10)\n- [Why do I see a \"VAST Document Empty\" error?](#12)\n- [Can I change the size/text of the \"Skip Ad\" box or other UI elements?](#13)\n- [Are native video controls supported with the HTML5 SDK?](#15)\n- [I'm seeing \"Failed to execute 'play' on 'HTMLMediaElement': API can only be\n initiated by a user gesture\" in my HTML5 implementation. How do I fix this?](#17)\n- [How do I handle keyboard focus on ad clicks?](#19)\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nWhy am I not getting ads back for all formats?\n:\n The test ad tags are set up to always return ads for valid requests. This is\n meant to facilitate integration and make it easier to test how your player\n requests and renders ads. However, ads are not always available in every\n format for your site, account, or ad unit. If your integration is working\n properly for the test tag but not for your own tag, the cause may be one of\n the following:\n\n - You're serving videos of an unsupported format to your environment. For example, you're serving only HTML5 ads to iOS or Android.\n - If you're using Ad Manager, your publisher ID may not have any ads targeted to it at this time. Also, ensure that you have approved the relevant ads and creatives in Ad Manager.\n - If you're using AdSense, the targeting criteria for your site or test page may not have any active advertisements. The most common cause is the use of private, uncrawled websites.\n - If you're using Ad Exchange Network Partner Management and `descriptionURL` is not set or is not on the owned or operated domains management list, ads do not serve to this.\n - Check the *minCPM* thresholds defined in Ad Exchange Video. A fairly high CPM may result in very low fill rates. To correct this, try either removing the minCPM or removing the ad unit parameter from the ad request (i.e., slotname) to verify whether this is affecting the fill rate.\n\nWhat does a good `descriptionUrl` look like?\n:\n To be most effective, the content of the page that `descriptionUrl`\n points to shouldn't be a collection of words or phrases but rather\n 1-3 paragraphs actually describing the content and your role in providing it.\n One method that has been successful in the past is to stitch together\n `descriptionUrl` page content dynamically from predefined blocks.\n For example, a few sentences about the content, a few sentences about your\n site's offering, and then a few predefined snippets associated with each\n AdSense channel (like \"Entertainment\" or \"Sports\"). As a result, each piece of\n content has a reasonably distinct `descriptionUrl` associated with\n it that provides both general information (such as genre descriptors) as well\n as specific information (content about the content directly).\n\n This metadata HTML should be simple, for example:\n\n ```text\n \u003chtml\u003e\n \u003chead\u003e\n \u003ctitle\u003eDomain.com - Your tag line here!\u003c/title\u003e\n \u003c/head\u003e\n \u003cbody\u003e\n \u003ch1\u003eDescriptions\u003c/h1\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eAbout this Content\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. ...\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eAbout Domain.com\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. ...\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/body\u003e\n \u003c/html\u003e\n \n ```\n\nWhy am I receiving the error \"Ad response does not contain a valid ad type\"?\n: This error generally appears because no ads have been targeted to the\n specific `publisherId` (for the given time period). This condition\n may vary throughout the day, or over several days as campaigns begin and end.\n You should check that the ad you wish to target has not expired and that the\n ad targeting criteria are correct.\n As long as ads are properly requested, received, and rendered using\n the test `publisherId`, you can be sure that these ads are\n properly handled using your live `publisherId` when the ads are\n available.\n\nDo you have an Ad Manager video ad tag that I can use for testing?\n: Sample tags are available on the [sample tags](/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/html5/tags) page.\n\nShould I set the `adSlotWidth` and `adSlotHeight` to the same\nvalues as the `sz` in my Ad Manager ad tag?\n: Not necessarily. The `adSlotWidth` and `adSlotHeight`\n must be set to the width/height of the player or area you want your ads to\n fill. They are used by AdSense to determine which ads are available to fit\n into that space. The `sz` key/value pair in your Ad Manager ad tag is\n a targeting parameter and does not necessarily affect the creative served\n (more information below).\n\nThe demo ad tag looks great, but when I switch it with my ad tag, no ad appears.\n:\n Check to ensure that something is trafficked to the ad tag you are\n requesting. The easiest way to find out is to watch the HTTP traffic. If a\n **1x1 pixel grey.gif** image is returned within an HTML anchor block,\n then you need to check your targeting in Ad Manager.\n\nI want to request ads using the same tag more than once, but I only get ads for my first\nrequest. How do I fix this?\n:\n When you request ads more than once, you need to let the ad server know\n that these are legitimate requests, and not accidental duplicates. The SDK\n does this for you with two quick API calls:\n\n 1. Call `destroy()` on your `AdsManager` instance. This prevents any post-rolls from playing when you make the below call to `contentComplete()`. You get a new `AdsManager` when you make your next request.\n 2. Call `contentComplete()` on your `AdsLoader` instance. This resets the SDK so the new ad request doesn't look like a duplicate of the previous one.\n\n\n After making the two calls above, you can call `requestAds()` on\n your `AdsLoader` instance to get another set of ads to play for your\n new video.\n\nHow do I request overlay and full slot AdSense ads using the IMA SDK?\n\n: To request AdSense ads using the SDK, you need to first obtain an AdSense\n ad tag. You can learn more about that on the [AdSense\n for Video page](//support.google.com/adsense/answer/1705822). Once you have your tag, you need to take the following\n steps to make either an overlay or a full slot ad request:\n\n **Overlay ads**\n\n 1. In your `AdsRequest`, set your ViewModes to `NORMAL`.\n 2. In your ad tag, add the parameter `overlay=1`.\n\n **Full slot ads**\n\n 1. In your `AdsRequest`, set your ViewModes to `FULLSCREEN`.\n 2. In your ad tag, add the parameter `overlay=0`.\n\nI'm getting an \"Invalid clickthrough URL\" error when I click on my ad. What could be the cause?\n:\n The most common cause for this error is an improperly escaped clickthrough\n URL. If you're seeing this error, check to make sure that your clickthrough\n URL is properly escaped in your VAST response.\n\nWhy do I see a \"VAST Document Empty\" error?\n: This error occurs when the ad tag returns an empty VAST document, indicating\n that the ad was not served properly. Talk to your account manager\n or ad server representative to see why your ad tag is not working.\n\nCan I change the size/text of the **Skip Ad** box or other UI elements?\n: The IMA SDKs do not support changing the layout, size, or content of UI elements.\n For more details on UI elements, see `AdsManager.uiElements`.\n\nAre native video controls supported with the HTML5 SDK?\n:\n No, the HTML5 SDK does not support native controls.\n\nI'm seeing \"Failed to execute 'play' on 'HTMLMediaElement': API can only be initiated\nby a user gesture\" in my HTML5 implementation. How do I fix this?\n:\n On mobile devices, you must call `adDisplayContainer.initialize()`\n as the result of a user action (such as a tap). If you're\n seeing this error, you're most likely calling it on a non-user-initiated context. Note that it\n must be the **direct** result of a user action. For example, if you respond to a\n \"tap\" event by playing a video, and then use the video player's \"play\" event to call\n `initialize()`, the SDK returns this error. You must call `initialize()` as\n the result of the tap event itself.\n\nHow do I handle keyboard focus on ad clicks?\n:\n If you use keyboard controls for your player you may notice that they will no longer work\n following clicks on the `adDisplayContainer`. This is because, once an ad is clicked\n keyboard focus is switched to the IMA iframe. To keep keyboard focus on the content player, please\n utilize the\n [CLICK](/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/html5/client-side/reference/js/google.ima.AdEvent)\n event to transfer keyboard focus back to the desired container. See the following code snippet for\n more details: \n\n ```text\n adsManager.addEventListener(\n google.ima.AdEvent.Type.CLICK,\n function(){\n window.focus();\n // Or another method to return focus to the desired container.\n });\n \n ```"]]