Zync Tag Variables

Zync tags are essential for capturing digital behaviors and data signals that enhance audience targeting, personalization, and measurement within the Zeta Marketing Platform. By incorporating the appropriate variables into your Zync tags, you ensure that your marketing engine operates with clean, consistent, and meaningful data.

At a fundamental level, every Zync tag contains a core set of standard variables designed to support privacy compliance and session-level tracking:

page_url
page_referrer
cache_buster
gpp
gpp_sid
gdpr
gdpr_consent

These variables establish a robust foundation for monitoring user sessions while adhering to consent frameworks. To fully leverage the capabilities of Zeta’s tools, it is advisable to include additional variables that align with your business model and customer behaviors. This guide presents recommended custom Zync Tag variables by vertical, assisting you in optimizing your strategy, whether you operate in Retail, Financial Services, Travel, or other sectors. These recommendations draw from successful implementations within Zeta's client base, aiming to accelerate your launch while enhancing data quality and minimizing rework.

💡 While these are not strict rules, they represent strong best practices. Your Zeta team is available to collaborate with you in tailoring these practices to align with your specific goals and the Zeta solutions you may be using.

AUTO

Variable	Variable Description	Zync Tag Type
Customer ID	A unique customer identifier. The value must not include any personally identifiable information (PII).	Universal/Conversion
Product ID	The unique product identifier, such as a SKU, represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Category ID	The product category identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Model	Vehicle model	Universal/Conversion
Model Year	Vehicle model year	Universal/Conversion
Order ID	The unique identifier of the quote, expressed as an alphanumeric string.	Conversion
Order Amount	Quote amount, expressed in the format integer-period-decimal.	Conversion
MD5	The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) 128-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
SHA256	The SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) 256-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
Custom 1 - 100	Any additional custom variables deemed essential for achieving your objectives.	Universal/Conversion

FINANCE

Variable	Variable Definition	Zync Tag Type
Customer ID	A unique customer identifier. The value must not include any personally identifiable information (PII).	Universal/Conversion
Customer Type	An indicator that differentiates between new and existing customers.	Universal/Conversion
Product ID	The unique product identifier, such as a SKU, represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Category ID	The product category identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Order ID	Loan approval unique identifier expressed as an alphanumeric string.	Conversion
Order Amount	Loan amount, expressed in the format integer-period-decimal.	Conversion
MD5	The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) 128-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
SHA256	The SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) 256-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
Custom 1 - 100	Any additional custom variables deemed essential for achieving your objectives.	Universal/Conversion

HOSPITALITY

Variable	Variable Definition	Zync Tag Type
Customer ID	A unique customer identifier. The value must not include any personally identifiable information (PII).	Universal/Conversion
Customer Type	An indicator that differentiates between new and existing customers.	Universal/Conversion
Loyalty Status	Indicator of user’s loyalty or rewards enrollment	Universal/Conversion
Search Location	The destination sought by the user.	Universal
Property ID	Selected property’s unique identifier	Universal/Conversion
Check-in Date	Date of check-in	Universal/Conversion
Check-out Date	Date of check-out	Universal/Conversion
Adults	Number of adults	Universal/Conversion
Children	Number of children	Universal/Conversion
Length of Stay	Length of Stay	Universal/Conversion
Number of Rooms	Number of rooms selected/booked	Universal/Conversion
Number of Nights	Number of nights selected/booked	Universal/Conversion
OrderID	The booking’s unique identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Conversion
Order Amount	Total booking value, expressed in the format integer-period-decimal.	Conversion
Rewards/Points	An indicator of whether the user has booked using rewards or loyalty points.	Conversion
Promo Code	The promotional discount code entered by the customer during the booking process expressed as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Currency Code	The 3-digit ISO 4217 currency code.	Universal/Conversion
MD5	The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) 128-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
SHA256	The SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) 256-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
Custom 1 - 100	Any additional custom variables deemed essential for achieving your objectives.	Universal/Conversion

NON-PROFIT

Variable	Variable Definition	Zync Tag Type
Customer ID	A unique customer identifier. The value must not include any personally identifiable information (PII).	Universal/Conversion
Customer Type	An indicator that differentiates between new and existing customers.	Universal/Conversion
Product ID	The unique product identifier, such as a SKU, represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Category ID	The product category identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Order ID	The donation’s unique identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Conversion
Order Amount	Total donation value, expressed in the format integer-period-decimal.	Conversion
Currency Code	The 3-digit ISO 4217 currency code.	Universal/Conversion
MD5	The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) 128-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
SHA256	The SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) 256-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
Custom 1 - 100	Any additional custom variables deemed essential for achieving your objectives.	Universal/Conversion

RETAIL

Variable	Variable Definition	Zync Tag Type
Customer ID	A unique customer identifier. The value must not include any personally identifiable information (PII).	Universal/Conversion
Product ID	The unique product identifier, such as a SKU, represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Category ID	The product category identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Cart Amount	The total value of the shopping cart, before any conversion or transaction event takes place—such as on the shopping cart page—expressed in the format of integer-period-decimal.	Universal
Cart Quantity	The number of items in the shopping cart before any conversion or transaction event takes place—such as on the shopping cart page—represented as an integer.	Universal
Promo Code	The promotional discount code entered by the customer during the check-out process expressed as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Order ID	The unique identifier of the transaction event expressed as an alphanumeric string.	Conversion
Order Amount	The order’s total value expressed in the format integer-period-decimal.	Conversion
Order Quantity	The number of items purchased represented as an integer.	Conversion
Loyalty Status	Indicator of user’s loyalty or rewards enrollment	Universal/Conversion
Rewards/Points	An indicator of whether the user has booked using rewards or loyalty points.	Conversion
Currency Code	The 3-digit ISO 4217 currency code.	Universal/Conversion
MD5	The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) 128-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
SH256	The SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) 256-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
Custom 1 - 100	Any additional custom variables deemed essential for achieving your objectives.	Universal/Conversion

TRAVEL

Variable	Variable Definition	Zync Tag Type
Customer ID	A unique customer identifier. The value must not include any personally identifiable information (PII).	Universal/Conversion
Customer Type	An indicator that differentiates between new and existing customers.	Universal/Conversion
Loyalty Status	Indicator of user’s loyalty or rewards enrollment	Universal/Conversion
Search Location	The destination sought by the user.	Universal
Travelers	Number of travelers	Universal/Conversion
Arrival Date	Date of arrival	Universal/Conversion
Arrival Location	Location of arrival	Universal/Conversion
Departure Date	Date of departure	Universal/Conversion
Departure Location	Location of departure	Universal/Conversion
Fare Type	Type of fare, such as business, advanced purchase, etc.	Universal/Conversion
Trip Type	Type of trip, such as round-trip, one-way, multi-city, etc.	Universal/Conversion
OrderID	The booking’s unique identifier represented as an alphanumeric string.	Conversion
Order Amount	Total booking value, expressed in the format integer-period-decimal.	Conversion
Rewards/Points	An indicator of whether the user has booked using rewards or loyalty points.	Conversion
Promo Code	The promotional discount code entered by the customer during the booking process expressed as an alphanumeric string.	Universal/Conversion
Currency Code	The 3-digit ISO 4217 currency code.	Universal/Conversion
MD5	The MD5 (message-digest algorithm) 128-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
SHA256	The SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) 256-bit hash value of a customer's email address, which must not be used for any customer geographically within a GDPR region.	Universal/Conversion
Custom 1 - 100	Any additional custom variables deemed essential for achieving your objectives.	Universal/Conversion

Implementing Zync Tags with Custom Variables

When deploying a Zync tag on your website, it’s essential that your tag management or web development team dynamically populate the required tag variables at runtime. These variables should be replaced with actual values sourced from your CRM or Tag Management System (TMS) at the time the HTML document is rendered.

Variable Replacement Logic

Each tag variable is initially provided with a placeholder macro that must be replaced with a valid, context-specific value. This substitution must be completed before the tag is fired, ensuring accurate data capture and transmission.

Example:

Provided Variable & Macro:

&CustID={customerId}

Expected Output After Page Render:

&CustID=970033140789446465

Handling Multiple Values

If a variable requires multiple values (e.g., a list of product IDs in a cart), these values should be concatenated using a non-ampersand delimiter, such as a comma , or pipe |. This ensures the tag parses the data correctly without triggering unexpected behaviors.

Example:

Provided Variable & Macro:

&productID={productID}

Expected Output After Page Render:

&productID=AC123,BD456,EF789

Zync Tag Standard Variable Considerations

As previously noted, each Zync tag comprises a core set of standard variables. When Zync tags are generated within the Zeta Marketing Platform, these variables are automatically populated with values to facilitate streamlined deployment. However, their configuration requires careful consideration.

Considerations: Standard Variables with Custom JavaScript Values

The standard variables outlined below are, by default, pre-configured with custom JavaScript that populates the corresponding variable values at runtime:

PageUrl=encodeURIComponent(window.top.location.href).replace(/[!'()~]/g, escape).replace(/\*/g, "%2A");
page_referrer=encodeURIComponent(document.referrer);
cache_buster=Date.now();

These self-populating variables are designed to integrate seamlessly with most standard Tag Management Systems (TMS), including widely-used platforms such as Google Tag Manager and Adobe. However, they may encounter compatibility issues with tag deployment methods that restrict or do not allow the execution of custom JavaScript. Examples of such methods include:

Google Campaign Manager 360 (Floodlight)
Shopify Pixel Integration
Certain CMS or no-code website builders with limited script control

As part of our standard procedure, Zeta collects information about your tag deployment method prior to tag generation to ensure that your Zync tags are correctly formatted for your specific setup from the outset. We understand that initially agreed-upon deployment methods may change. If you experience issues with these self-populating variables not rendering as expected in your implementation environment, please reach out to your Zeta representative to communicate your updated deployment method. The Zeta Tag Team will then format the tags according to your deployment environment's requirements. Please note that once reconfigured, you may need to incorporate your deployment platform's macros into these variables to ensure the corresponding values are populated.

Considerations: Privacy-Related Standard Variables

The standard variables outlined below are pre-configured by default with globally recognized macros that return the necessary privacy signals on websites designed for compliance with GPP and/or GDPR.

gpp="${GPP_STRING_469}"; - Macro returns the complete Global Privacy Platform (GPP) consent string, which includes signals for U.S. states and other supported regions.
gpp_sid="${GPP_SID}"; - Macro returns the GPP Section ID(s), specifying the segments of the GPP string that apply (e.g., specific jurisdictions or regulatory modules).
gdpr="${GDPR}"; - Macro returns a binary indicator that flags whether GDPR is applicable to the user/session.
gdpr_consent="${GDPR_CONSENT_469}"; - Macro returns the user's GDPR/TCF consent string, which is utilized for downstream consent validation and decision-making.

To ensure that Zeta remains compliant with privacy regulations, it is vital that these variables and macros are not modified in any manner, regardless of whether the site where Zync tags are deployed is GPP and/or GDPR compliant. While the pre-populated globally recognized macros are compatible with most tag deployment environments, certain platforms, such as Google Campaign Manager 360 floodlights, may not accept them. If you encounter compatibility issues with these variables and macros in your deployment environment, please reach out to your Zeta representative. They will connect you with Zeta’s Tag Team, who can provide the necessary support.