How to set up tagging server URL for server GTM

Setting up a tagging server is the first step if you want to implement server-side tagging. Tagging server works as a proxy and communicates between the data source (website, CRM, etc.) and the analytics platform. In this blog post, I want to talk about what tagging server is and how to set up a tagging server URL for the server Google Tag Manager container. 

Third-party cookies and javascripts have been used for years to track user interactions on your website, but with the rise of tracking restrictions and concerns about user privacy, these are no longer enough. To get around these problems, most platforms started to recommend switching to a server-side type of tracking.

With the help of ss tagging, you can set first-party cookies, make your website work faster by removing 3rd party javascripts, and keep user data secure. 

Tagging server works as an intermediary between your data source (website, CRM, etc.) and tracking platforms. The data source firstly sends information about users and events to the tagging server, and then tagging server distributes information to the tracking platforms.

For now, the most popular and the easiest way to integrate server-side tagging is server Google Tag Manager container. You can connect web and server GTM containers and use web GTM as a data source for the sGTM. 

When the tagging server URL for sGTM is located in the same domain hierarchy as the website sending the requests, it sets first-party cookies and loads scripts from your domain. It helps to reduce the impact of tracking restriction and increase cookie lifetime.

Server GTM tagging uses concepts familiar to web GTM:

But there are also brand new features:

To get started with server-side tagging using server Google Tag Manager, you need:

The first step is easy to do - you just need to open the Google Tag Manager and create a new container. While tagging server is a new thing for most web analytics.  

Tagging server URL works as a proxy in-cloud environment. After tagging server receives requests it distributes them further to other platforms (like Facebook, Google Analytics, etc.). 

Using stape, you can create a tagging server URL for your server Google Tag Manager container in one click. When you create a server GTM container on stape, we automatically set up a cloud server on Google Cloud.  

stape.io sGTM hosting has these benefits:

1. Open tagmanager.google.com -> Admin -> Click + in the Container section -> Add container name -> Select Server in the Target platform. 

2. Choose “Manually provision tagging server,” copy your container config and paste it in any text editor. We will need it for the next steps.