Rakuten server-to-server tracking

Rakuten has long been a leader in affiliate marketing, and now they're among the first who started to support server-to-server tracking. S2S technology allows direct communication between the publisher server and Rakuten servers. When using a custom domain, s2s tagging relies on first-party cookies, which live longer than third-party cookies. Increasing cookie lifetime considerably affects affiliate marketing results and affiliate commission.

This article will look closely at Rakuten's server-to-server tracking and how you can set it up using the server Google Tag Manager container.

Rakuten's server-to-server tracking works similarly to other affiliates’ s2s tracking (we already have blog posts and tags for Awin, Impact, Refersion, Outbrain, and Taboola). 

When a customer clicks on an affiliate link, their click is tracked and stored as a first-party cookie in the user’s browser. When the customer completes a purchase, the order information is passed back to the Rakuten server, with the click ID from cookies and order parameters configured in sGTM. 

Then Rakuten uses server GTM data to attribute the sale to the correct affiliate. This process happens without the need for 3rd party cookies, making it more accurate and reliable since 1st party cookies are longer live.

Rakuten’s server-to-server integration has several benefits over traditional browser-based tracking. 

First, because s2s tagging doesn't rely on 3rd party cookies, it is not susceptible to decreased cookie lifetime. You can be sure that Rakuten accurately tracks affiliates' sales and attributes them appropriately.