Digital ThrottleContact Us

Digital Advertising Creative Specifications

Complete creative specs for every ad format we run — banner sizes, file types, animation rules, third-party tags, social placements, and SEM text limits.

Ad LinkingIAB BannerInStream Video AdResponsive BannerPMAX (Performance Max) AdsPre-Roll VideoHigh Impact: Side SkinsHigh Impact: Floating Footer & Custom UnitsSocial Media: Facebook and InstagramSearch Engine Marketing: Google & Bing

Ad Linking

URL Format

Your ads can link to any public web address. This includes single website pages and pages with download links.

URL Downloads

Your URL cannot trigger an automatic download of any file. If you have files such as PDFs for a visitor to download, first create a page with links the user can click to initiate the download.

Secure Website

Your site should be secure — the web page should start with "https://".

Site Privacy Policy and Site Agreement

Your site should contain a clear and obvious privacy policy. At a minimum the user must be able to opt out of cookie tracking. It is also best practice to include a Site Agreement.

UTM Tracking

You may include UTM tracking for your ads. As a default, Digital Throttle will always include UTM parameters on your behalf:

  • source = "digitalthrottle"
  • medium = ad type ("banner", "social", "search", etc.)
  • campaign = number corresponding to the order details and invoicing

Best practices when building your own UTMs:

  • Lowercase only
  • Avoid spaces — use "_" instead
  • Avoid special characters

Example: https://www.offroadparts.guide/?utm_source=digitalthrottle&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=15781916

IAB Banner

Standard GIF / PNG / JPEG

UnitDimensionsMax File SizeAnimation
Leaderboard728 × 90150K3 loop max · 15 sec max · no flashing/strobing
Medium Rectangle300 × 250150K3 loop max · 15 sec max · no flashing/strobing
Wide Skyscraper160 × 600150K3 loop max · 15 sec max · no flashing/strobing
Mega Wide Skyscraper300 × 600150K3 loop max · 15 sec max · no flashing/strobing

Rich Media — Expandables (limited sites only)

UnitInitialInitial MaxExpandedDirectionFinal Max
Leaderboard728 × 9040K728 × 270Down100K
Rectangle300 × 25040K500 × 250Left / Right100K
Wide Skyscraper160 × 60040K300 × 600Left / Right100K

Third-Party Tags

Digital Throttle supports most third-party ad servers and accepts iFrame and JavaScript tags:

Xandr (AppNexus) · Atlas · Datalogix · DoubleClick · Eyewonder · Interpolis · MediaMind · Mediaplex · Nexac · Point Roll · Spongecell · Tumri

Advertising Icon

  • Size: 77 × 15 px
  • Design: Round circle with "i" icon
  • Placement: Top right corner of creative
  • Application: Ad Choices

InStream Video Ad

Build an HTML display banner by combining your YouTube video and graphics. The graphic can be clicked through to any URL you specify.

Set the YouTube video to "autoplay" with sound on mute. The autostart option is not able to display on mobile or tablet devices and some platforms may not allow it. Recommend running max 15-second videos for autostart versions.

Two sizes available:

  • 300 × 250 — static image is 300 × 81
  • 300 × 600 — static images 300px wide, total height 331px (300 × 81 top, 300 × 250 bottom)

Responsive Banner

Certain platforms such as Google and YouTube use dynamically-sized ads. Upload your assets (images, headlines, logos, videos, descriptions) and Google generates ad combinations for websites, apps, YouTube and Gmail.

Images (2 or more required — 1 square, 1 landscape, 1 portrait)

  • 1200 × 628 recommended (min 600 × 314)
  • 1200 × 1200 recommended (min 300 × 300)
  • 900 × 1600 recommended (min 450 × 800)

Logo (ideally PNG)

  • 1200 × 300
  • 1200 × 1200

YouTube Video (optional)

Send us the YouTube "share" link.

Text Details

  • Main Headline: 30 characters
  • Long Headline: 90 characters
  • Description: 90 characters

PMAX (Performance Max) Ads

Images (2 or more — 1 square, 1 landscape, 1 portrait required)

  • 1200 × 628 recommended (min 600 × 314)
  • 1200 × 1200 recommended (min 300 × 300)
  • 960 × 1200 recommended (min 450 × 800)

Logo (ideally PNG)

  • 1200 × 300
  • 1200 × 1200

YouTube Video

Aspect ratio 16:9, 1:1, or 9:16 — greater than or equal to 10 seconds. If you don't add a video, one may be auto-generated from your asset group. Upload a custom video to stop auto-generated videos from serving.

Pre-Roll Video

In-Banner Video

UnitDimensionsMax File SizeNotes
In-Banner300 × 25040K polite load · 1MB high bandwidth15 sec recommended (30 max) · ≤24 fps · muted autostart only · user-initiated audio · start/stop/mute required

Hosted Pre-Roll Video

SpecValue
CompressionMPEG-4 / H.264
Aspect Ratio16:9
Frame Rate24 FPS
DepthMillions of colors
Optimal Resolution640 × 360
AudioAAC · 48 kHz · 16-bit · Stereo (L,R)
Max File Size2 MB (15 sec) · 4 MB (30 sec)

Third-Party VAST 2.0 Tags Accepted

AppNexus · Atlas · DoubleClick · EyeView · Eyewonder · Innovid · Mixpo · Media Point · PointRoll · Spongecell · Telemetry · VideoHub · Videology. VPAID possible but needs to be tested.

Hosted Pre-Roll Companion

UnitDimensionsFile TypeMax File Size
Companion (provide iFrame URL)300 × 250.gif, .jpeg, .swf, .png40K

Third-Party Tracking

  • Impression Tracking: supply 1×1 tracking tag
  • Click Tracking: supply standard clicktag
  • Event Tracking: optional tags for 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% view-through

YouTube Campaigns

UnitFormatMax FileAudioBorder
300 × 60 CompanionGIF, JPG, PNG, HTML5150 KBNo audioVisible border of contrasting color required for partially black/white backgrounds
YouTube VideoPublic YouTube linkUnder :30 seconds——

YouTube Text Details

  • Main Headline: 15 characters
  • Long Headline: 90 characters
  • Description: 70 characters

High Impact: Side Skins

Sites have final approval on skin designs. Please supply artwork no less than two (2) weeks prior to launch date.

Side Skin Properties (static only — no animation)

UnitDimensionsMax File (GIF/PNG/JPEG)Max File HTML5
Skin300 × 105080K80K

Additional Details

Creative messaging should stay within the safe area of 160 × 700 pixels. Secondary images and copy may extend beyond the safe area. Provide a separate left and right 300 × 1050. Skins scale max 10% larger / 70% smaller to fit PC screens. Third-party accepted: provide a 1×1 and click tag.

Design Considerations

Safe & Bonus Areas: Skins display when monitor size is at least 1280 × 768. The screen minus content is the "safe area" — place essential copy here. Space beyond this on larger monitors is the "bonus area" for secondary imagery.

Image: Use the same image (mirror image preferred) on left and right skins. Index any text to the right or left edge.

Colors & Blending: Skins should not stand out — use subtle colors. We apply a matching background color beyond the bonus area. Use one background color and fade / blend to the outer edges.

Social Media: Facebook and Instagram

Recommended ad specs for Facebook Advantage+. Use images with aspect ratios from 1:1 to 1.91:1 (1:1 optimal for mobile) and videos between 1:1 and 16:9. For 4:5 or 9:16 ratios, pair with 1:1 or 16:9 to avoid autocropping.

Placement Specs

PlacementRatioPixel SizeFile Type
Newsfeed1:1, 16:9, 1.91:11080×1080 · 1920×1080 · 1080×608JPEG, PNG, MP4, MOV, GIF
Stories / Reels9:16, 4:51080×1920 · 1080×1350JPEG, PNG, MP4, MOV, GIF
Right Column1.91:1, 16:91080×608 · 1920×1080JPEG, PNG, MP4, MOV, GIF

Facebook — Text Details

  • Primary Text: no limit (125–750 characters recommended)
  • Headline: 25 characters for mobile (40 max)
  • Description: 30 characters

Facebook — Technical

  • Video Duration: 1 second to 241 minutes
  • Max File Size: 4 GB
  • Min Width × Height: 1080 × 1080

Instagram — Text Details

  • Primary Text: no limit (125–750 characters recommended)
  • Max Hashtags: 30

Instagram — Technical

  • Video Duration: 1 second to 60 minutes
  • Max File Size: 250 MB
  • Min Width: 1080 pixels

Best Practice Combination

Recommended combination: 1:1, 9:16, and 1.91:1 (photo) or 16:9 (video) for comprehensive optimization across all Facebook platforms. To adhere to Digital Throttle best practices, prepare two sizes — newsfeed (1:1 or 16:9) and stories (9:16). If portrait video is unavailable, we can create one by overlaying a blurred background under the original.

Search Engine Marketing: Google & Bing

SEM (search engine marketing) is using paid strategies to increase search visibility. Also referred to as paid search or pay-per-click.

Ad Text Details

Top Headings

  • Headline #1 — 30 characters max
  • Headline #2 — 30 characters max
  • Headline #3 — 30 characters max

Lower Descriptions

  • Description #1 — 90 characters max
  • Description #2 — 90 characters max

Need Help With Creative?

Our design team builds ads that meet every platform spec — included with your campaign.

Get Started📞 (800) 331-4702 ext. 301