> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.contentignite.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ad Debugging

When ads are not behaving as expected, a page can quickly turn into a crowded crime scene: ad server calls, header bidding, refresh, floors, targeting, third-party scripts, and page-level logic can all be involved. Fusion's ad debugging parameters give you browser-level switches for isolating each layer without changing code or waiting on a deployment.

Append the relevant parameters to any page to enable logs, serve demo ads, disable parts of the ad stack, or isolate configs while QAing setups, investigating fill or rendering issues, validating staging, or narrowing latency.

<p className="branded">
  We've even created our very own debugging **Chrome Extension** tool for publishers using Fusion, allowing users to quickly enable these same flags for their Publisher Tag and monitor tags across their site. Check it out over at:
</p>

<p className="branded">
  [https://chromewebstore.google.com/publisher/content-ignite/u8aed5199b0d3546deb3d2e134d304227](https://chromewebstore.google.com/publisher/content-ignite/u8aed5199b0d3546deb3d2e134d304227)
</p>

***

## The Basic Principle

Append parameters to any page URL as query string values:

```text theme={null}
https://yoursite.com/article/example-page?cipt_debug=true
```

To use multiple parameters together, chain them with `&`:

```text theme={null}
https://yoursite.com/article/example-page?cipt_debug=true&cipt_test_ads=true&cipt_no_hb_ads=true
```

<Tip>Open your browser's developer console **before** loading the test URL. Some debug output fires on page load and won't be visible if you open the console afterwards.</Tip>

***

## The Parameters

### Enable Debug Logs

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_debug=true</code></p>

Outputs detailed logs in your browser's developer console (F12 → Console). You'll see targeting data, which ad units are loading, bid responses, and more.

**When to use:**\
As a first step in any diagnostic session. It gives you visibility into what's actually happening under the hood.

***

### Enable Demo Ads

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_test\_ads=true</code></p>

Replaces live programmatic ads with a suite of colourful demo creatives. This removes the uncertainty of whether a fill problem is caused by demand, targeting, or infrastructure.

**When to use:**\
To confirm that ad units are loading and rendering correctly, independent of any programmatic demand.

***

### Partially Enable Demo Ads

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_partial\_ads=true</code></p>

Same as above, but demo ads only serve approximately 50% of the time. This lets you observe fallback and passback behaviour without fully replacing live demand.

**When to use:**\
When testing what happens when an ad unit doesn't fill — do fallbacks trigger correctly?

***

### Disable GAM Demand

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_no\_gam\_ads=true</code></p>

Disables demand from Google Ad Manager entirely.

**When to use:**\
To check whether GAM is the source of latency or fill issues. If performance improves with GAM disabled, the problem likely lies in your GAM configuration.

***

### Disable Header Bidding

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_no\_hb\_ads=true</code></p>

Disables Prebid and Amazon (APS) header bidding.

**When to use:**\
To isolate whether header bidding is introducing latency. Header bidding auctions run before the ad server call, so if they're slow or misbehaving, they can delay everything downstream.

***

### Disable Unit Refresh

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_disable\_refresh=true</code></p>

Prevents ad units from refreshing while the page is open.

**When to use:**\
When debugging a specific unit and you need it to stay still. Refreshes can make it difficult to track a single auction's behaviour in the console.

***

### Disable Third-Party Ad Tech

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_disable\_tech=true</code></p>

Disables all third-party technology in the publisher or ad stack — including CMPs, ad block recovery tools, brand safety scripts, ID solutions, and so on — leaving only core ad serving technology running.

**When to use:**\
When you suspect a third-party script is causing latency or conflicts. This is one of the most powerful parameters for isolating issues outside of the core Content Ignite stack.

***

### Disable Google MCM

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_disable\_mcm=true</code></p>

For sites using Content Ignite's GAM account, MCM enforces a strict relationship between Content Ignite and the publisher domain. This can prevent demo ads from serving on staging or non-production domains.

**When to use:**\
When testing on a staging environment and demo ads aren't appearing. Disabling MCM removes that domain restriction.

***

### Disable Floors

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_disable\_floors=true</code></p>

Disables Fusion price floors.

<Note>Ad server floors may still apply even with this parameter active.</Note>

**When to use:**\
When investigating fill rate issues. If fill improves with floors disabled, your floor configuration may be set too high relative to available demand.

***

### Enable Guaranteed Roadblocks

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_grb=true</code></p>

Enables the Guaranteed Roadblocks (GRB) feature, which disables in-view triggering to accommodate roadblock campaigns.

**When to use:**\
When setting up or testing a roadblock campaign prior to go live, to verify the campaign configuration behaves as expected.

***

### Include Specific Configs

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_include=XXXX</code></p>

Loads only the config IDs you specify (comma-separated). Everything else is disabled.

```text theme={null}
?cipt_include=6797
?cipt_include=6797,8823
```

**When to use:**\
When you want to test a single config in isolation — for example, a new unit you're QA-ing before it goes live.

***

### Exclude Specific Configs

<p className="custom-h3"><code>cipt\_exclude=XXXX</code></p>

Disables the config IDs you specify (comma-separated), while everything else continues to load normally.

```text theme={null}
?cipt_exclude=10474
?cipt_exclude=10474,11302
```

**When to use:**\
When you suspect a specific config is causing a problem and want to confirm the page behaves correctly without it.

***

### Enable Prebid Debugging

<p className="custom-h3"><code>pbjs\_debug=true</code></p>

Activates Prebid.js's built-in debug output in the browser console. Shows bid requests, responses, timeouts, and auction details for every Prebid auction on the page.

**When to use:**\
When diagnosing header bidding latency or when specific bidders appear to be underperforming or not responding.

***

### Enable Amazon Debugging

<p className="custom-h3"><code>amzn\_debug\_mode=true</code></p>

Activates Amazon's (APS) debugging output in the browser console.

**When to use:**\
Alongside `pbjs_debug=true` when Amazon specifically seems to be a source of latency or low fill.

***

## Combining Parameters: The Real Power

Individual parameters are useful, but the real diagnostic power comes from combining them. Below are common workflows for the most frequent publisher issues.

### Scenario 1: Ads aren't showing — demand problem or rendering problem?

Start by eliminating programmatic uncertainty entirely:

```text theme={null}
?cipt_test_ads=true&cipt_no_gam_ads=true&cipt_no_hb_ads=true
```

* **Demo ads appear** → Units are loading and rendering correctly. The issue is on the demand side. Investigate your GAM or header bidding configuration.
* **Demo ads don't appear** → There's a rendering or configuration problem with the units themselves.

***

### Scenario 2: The page feels slow — find what's causing the latency

Strip out all non-essential layers first:

```text theme={null}
?cipt_disable_tech=true&cipt_no_hb_ads=true&cipt_debug=true
```

If the page feels noticeably faster, the latency is coming from one of those disabled layers. Re-enable them one at a time:

1. Re-enable header bidding (remove `cipt_no_hb_ads=true`) — does latency return?
2. Re-enable third-party tech (remove `cipt_disable_tech=true`) — does latency return?

***

### Scenario 3: Header bidding seems slow — get full auction visibility

```text theme={null}
?pbjs_debug=true&amzn_debug_mode=true&cipt_debug=true&cipt_disable_refresh=true
```

Full console output from Prebid, Amazon, and Content Ignite, with refresh disabled so you can examine a single auction cleanly.

***

### Scenario 4: Testing on staging and demo ads aren't serving

```text theme={null}
?cipt_test_ads=true&cipt_disable_mcm=true&cipt_no_gam_ads=true
```

MCM restrictions can block demo ads on non-production domains. Disabling MCM resolves this so you can validate your setup pre-launch.

***

### Scenario 5: Fill rate is low — could floors be the cause?

```text theme={null}
?cipt_disable_floors=true&cipt_debug=true
```

Watch the console for bid values. If bids are coming in but not filling, and fill improves with floors disabled, your floor settings may need adjusting relative to current demand.

***

### Scenario 6: QA a single config without interference from others

```text theme={null}
?cipt_include=6797&cipt_test_ads=true&cipt_disable_refresh=true&cipt_debug=true
```

Loads only your target config, replaces demand with demo ads, disables refresh, and surfaces all debug output.

***

## Quick Reference

| Parameter                   | What It Does                                      |
| :-------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------ |
| `cipt_debug=true`           | Console debug logs                                |
| `cipt_test_ads=true`        | Replace live ads with demo creatives              |
| `cipt_partial_ads=true`     | Demo ads 50% of the time (tests fallbacks)        |
| `cipt_no_gam_ads=true`      | Disable Google Ad Manager demand                  |
| `cipt_no_hb_ads=true`       | Disable header bidding (Prebid + APS)             |
| `cipt_disable_refresh=true` | Stop ad unit refresh                              |
| `cipt_disable_tech=true`    | Disable all third-party ad tech scripts           |
| `cipt_disable_mcm=true`     | Disable MCM — useful on staging domains           |
| `cipt_disable_floors=true`  | Disable Fusion price floors                       |
| `cipt_grb=true`             | Enable Guaranteed Roadblocks for campaign testing |
| `cipt_include=XXXX`         | Load only specified config IDs                    |
| `cipt_exclude=XXXX`         | Disable specified config IDs                      |
| `pbjs_debug=true`           | Prebid.js console debugging                       |
| `amzn_debug_mode=true`      | Amazon APS console debugging                      |

***

## Tips for Effective Diagnostics

<Tip>
  **Work by elimination, not assumption.**

  Start broad — disable all potential sources — then re-enable them one at a time. This is faster than guessing and avoids confirmation bias.
</Tip>

<Tip>
  **Test on the actual page experiencing the issue.**

  Parameters applied to a homepage won't tell you much about a problem specific to article pages. Match the URL as closely as possible to the affected template.
</Tip>

<Tip>
  **Document your combinations.**

  When you find a parameter combination that reveals the problem, note it down. It becomes a repeatable test case you can hand to a developer or use in future investigations.
</Tip>