Server-side tracking tools

Server-side tracking is a great way to improve website performance, impact your advertising strategy and give you all sorts of insights into how users interact with the site. This blog post will introduce you to server-side tagging and walk through some of the most popular server-side tracking tools. We will also check which software might suit your company depending on what kind and feature set it has available.

Server-side tracking is a type of tracking/data collection that involves a server instead of a client's browser. You install and manage it yourself, but the principle behind this is precise as with client-side tagging - only now there's an additional step. On that server, a cloud tagging server gets the data about events on your site and then distributes it to the analytics systems.

SS tagging can help your site load faster, handle data loss caused by ITPs, and iOS limitations, and lessen the impact of AdBlockers. This is due to two factors: the use of a custom subdomain for server-side tracking, which establishes first-party cookies and server-side data streams that cannot be disabled or detected and replace heavy javascript placed on your site.

However, there are two drawbacks of ss tagging: price and complexity. Cloud servers that process all requested data are a vital component of ss tagging, and you must pay for servers separately. In addition, though sGTM appears comparable to the web version, the logic for configuring ss tagging is different. As a result, it may lead to misunderstandings and issues while creating ss tags.

But here comes Stape for the rescue! Stape's hosting for the server Google Tag Manager is more than just the cheapest and easiest one to set up. We also offer numerous hosting features and server-side tagging solutions, making your tagging experience straightforward.

1. Increase cookie lifetime 

Third-party cookies are going away. One of the last but the most popular browsers that still rely on third-party cookies is Chrome. All other big players like Safari and Firefox have been limiting the life of 3rd party cookies to 7 days for several years. Even Chrome plans to stop relying on 3rd party cookies by 2024. By the way, they have already postponed the sunset of third-party cookies two times, so who knows if it will happen in 2024. 

With server-side tagging, you can set secure 1st party cookies that live for 2 years or unless a user cleans cookies. This results in more accurate user journey analysis and accurate estimation of the impact of each traffic source on conversions. 

2. Improve paid ads attribution

Data is the new currency in paid advertising. However, more is needed to track your customers' behaviors - you need accurate data that tells a story about who they are and how best to reach them with ads, offers, or other communications relevant to their needs. This is what correct attribution is all about. 

Server-side tracking can help you improve the quality and accuracy of customer data sent with conversions to each advertising network. For example, with proper cookie lifetime and 1st party user data, paid channels like Facebook or TikTok receive a proper level of credit towards their campaigns, providing meaningful data on the channel or campaign responsible for each conversion. Learn more about FB server tracking, TikTok ss, Snapchat ss, and Google ads in our blog. 

3. Help comply with privacy regulations like GDPR.