Also known as: Banner Code, Ad Tag, Creative Tag
A banner tag is a snippet of HTML or JavaScript, supplied by a broker or affiliate network, that renders a promotional banner on a partner's website while automatically carrying that partner's tracking link. Pasting the tag both displays the ad and wires up impression and click tracking in one step.
The advantage over a plain static image is that the creative is served dynamically. Because the tag points at the broker's ad server rather than a fixed file, the broker can swap the banner behind it, changing a 20% deposit bonus to a 50% one, rotating between account-type promotions, or localising the offer by the visitor's country, without the partner touching their site. Your tracking ID stays embedded through every swap.
Tags come in standard IAB sizes: a 300x250 medium rectangle for sidebars, a 728x90 leaderboard for headers, a 160x600 skyscraper for margins, and responsive units that adapt to the container. As a concrete example, you might paste a single 300x250 tag into a WordPress sidebar; it renders a live animated ad for zero-spread accounts, and each view and click is logged against your partner ID in the dashboard automatically.
Because a tag executes broker-controlled code on your page, it also carries trade-offs. The banner depends on the broker's ad server being up and fast, and script-based tags can be blocked by ad blockers or flagged by strict content-security policies, which is why some partners still prefer a static image plus a manual tracking link.
When a visitor loads your page, the banner tag calls the broker's ad server, which returns the current creative for that slot along with your embedded tracking parameters. The impression is logged at render, and a click passes the visitor through the broker's tracking redirect, which stamps your partner ID before landing them on the sign-up page.
Because the creative lives on the broker's server, any change they publish appears instantly across every partner running that tag. Server-side rules can also target the banner by GEO, device, or campaign. The dependency is that rendering and click tracking both rely on that external call succeeding, so ad blockers, slow servers, or a blocked script can leave an empty slot.
Choose a banner format such as 300x250 or 728x90 and the promotion you want to feature from the partner portal.
The portal generates an HTML or JavaScript snippet with your tracking ID already embedded.
Add the tag to a sidebar, header, or in-content slot on your site or CMS widget.
Load the page with and without an ad blocker to confirm the creative appears and the click routes correctly.
Watch the dashboard to see which placement and size convert best, then optimise position and offer.
Why it matters for partnership: Banner tags let you drop tracked broker creatives onto a site in seconds and keep them fresh automatically. The broker can update the offer behind the tag, so your placement always shows the current promotion without you editing code, improving CTR and reducing maintenance.
You copy a 300x250 banner tag from the IC Markets partner portal and paste it into your WordPress sidebar. It renders a live animated ad for raw-spread accounts, and every impression and click is recorded against your partner ID. When IC Markets updates the creative to a new promotion, your placement updates automatically with no work from you.
| Aspect | Banner tag | Static image + link |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-updates offer | Yes | No |
| Tracks impressions | Yes | Not by default |
| Ad-blocker resistant | Weaker | Stronger |
| Setup effort | Paste once | Manual per change |
Place banner tags above the fold where they are visible without scrolling to maximise impressions and click-through rate.
Using ad-blocker-sensitive class names or script tags means visitors running blockers see a blank space instead of your banner, silently killing clicks you never realise you lost.
A static banner is a fixed image you link manually. A banner tag is a code snippet that pulls the creative from the broker's server, so the offer can change and impressions are tracked automatically.
It can add a small load, since the browser makes an external call to the ad server. Placing tags below critical content and limiting how many you run per page keeps the impact minimal.
Usually an ad blocker, a content-security policy, or a broker ad-server issue is stopping the script from loading. Test in a clean browser without extensions to confirm the cause.
The 300x250 rectangle and 728x90 leaderboard are the most widely supported and generally convert well, but the best size depends on where it sits on your page. Test placements against your own CTR data.
The tag embeds your tracking ID, so a click routes the conversion to you under the broker's attribution rule. If another partner's link is clicked later, last-click attribution can still reassign it.
Usually not directly, because the creative is controlled by the broker. You can pick the size and offer, but the artwork is served from their ad server to keep branding consistent and compliant.