Server-side tracking
Server-side tracking has become a key component of digital marketing and data analysis. With the increasing complexity of online data collection, server-side tracking offers a solution that navigates strict legal frameworks and browser limitations.
Read on to find out why server-side tracking isn't just a "nice-to-have"—it's a "need-to-have."
Tracking – Why You Need to Keep Track of Your Data
Tracking plays an important role in understanding how users interact with websites. It provides insight into which parts of a site capture users’ interest and which do not. To customize and improve the user experience, it’s essential that you have insight into your users’ data.
Data collection helps you identify trends, streamline your marketing, and improve your online presence. To best meet your users’ needs and expectations online, tracking their behavior is therefore essential.
What is server-side tracking (tagging)?
Server-side tracking—also known as server-side tagging—has become a popular topic of conversation among marketing professionals over the past few years, and for good reason. Tracking has found itself caught in the crossfire between strict legal restrictions and browsers’ handling of privacy and cookies. But server-side tracking is precisely the solution you need to collect data—without being hindered by ad blockers, GDPR regulations, non-persistent cookies, and so on.
Server-side tracking is an advanced form of data collection on the Internet, in which information about users' activities on a website is collected and processed on a server.
Instead of using the user's browser to collect data, as in traditional tracking, server-side tracking sends the data directly from the website's servers to an analytics platform. This means that data collection takes place on the server side and does not depend on the user's browser or device.
Client-side tracking vs. server-side tracking
To put it simply, server-side tracking is data collection at the server level, whereas traditional client-side tracking takes place at the browser level. When you use client-side tracking, the data is transferred directly from the user’s browser to the tracking platform’s server.
However, there are several challenges associated with collecting data through cookies in a browser:
- More people are using ad blockers or browsers like Brave, which block JavaScript cookies.
- Apple's updates make it difficult to track users on Apple devices, as Safari blocks standard third-party cookies using its Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP).
- As more marketing channels and their associated cookies are added, browsers become overloaded. In addition, browsers allow users to completely delete cookies from websites (Enhanced Safe Browsing in Chrome, Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox).
- Shorter cookie lifetimes, sometimes as short as 24 hours.
Only data from unblocked cookies with a valid expiration date is tracked—and this is where server-side tracking comes into play.
By tracking at the server level rather than the browser level, you are less reliant on browsers such as Safari and Chrome to forward information to third-party platforms like Google Analytics and Facebook. This creates a sort of “intermediary” where user data is sent to a server that you control yourself.
Why should you use server-side tracking?
Server-side tagging is not only an effective solution but also a necessity for meeting modern requirements for data security, accuracy, and website performance.
- Server-side tracking actually gives you:
- More control over your data: With server-side tracking, you have full control over how your data is collected, processed, and where it is sent. This allows you to tailor data collection to your specific needs.
- Better data security: Server-side tracking uses first-party cookies that only your server can read. This prevents third parties from accessing data and enhances security.
- Track More Conversions: By bypassing ad blockers, privacy browsers, and Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention, you can track more conversions.
- Reliable data across platforms: You’ll get more accurate and reliable data for your analytics and marketing platforms, which can improve the effectiveness of your marketing automation.
- Less reliance on browsers: You avoid issues with ad blockers and browser restrictions that can limit client-side tracking.
- Faster Website Speed: Server-side tracking can improve your website's speed by preventing heavy JavaScript tags from loading in the browser.
- The Solution of the Future: With third-party cookies on their way out, server-side tracking is a sustainable solution for collecting first-party data.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Server-Side and Client-Side Tracking
There are both advantages and disadvantages to the two tracking methods:
Server-Side Tracking – Pros and Cons
Advantages:
- More accurate data collection, as it is less affected by ad blockers and browser technologies such as ITP.
- Improved website performance, since tracking scripts do not slow down the user's browser.
- A higher level of data protection and compliance with privacy regulations.
Disadvantages:
- It is technically more complex and may require advanced development resources.
- Potentially higher server operating costs.
Client-side tracking – pros and cons
Advantages:
- Easier to implement and manage, since it often involves standard cookies and JavaScript.
- Good for real-time data and user-level interaction tracking.
Disadvantages:
- More vulnerable to ad blockers, browser settings, and privacy technologies such as ITP.
- May negatively affect the website's loading speed and user experience.
- Reduced accuracy in data collection due to limitations in browser-based tracking.
Server-side tagging adds value to your business
Server-side tagging is a game-changer for businesses looking to optimize their online presence. With server-side tagging, you get more accurate and reliable data on how users interact with your website.
This means you can make well-informed decisions based on your customers' behavior and preferences.
How Your Business Can Benefit from Server-Side Tagging:
- A better basis for decision-making for your business/marketing, as you’ll have a more accurate picture of your marketing channels.
- Server-side tagging can have a significant impact on your business and marketing decisions if you're missing as much as 20%–40% of your data.
- Optimizing advertising budgets when you run ads.
Setting Up Server-Side Tracking
Setting up server-side tracking requires technical know-how and can be a bit challenging if you're not used to working with tracking; the setup process also involves several steps:
- Choosing a platform: First, you need to choose the right platform. Google Tag Manager offers a server-side option, which is popular. Consider your options based on your specific needs and the technology you’re already using.
- Server Setup: You'll need a dedicated server to run your server-side tracking. This can be hosted on Google Cloud or another cloud service, such as AWS or Azure.
- Configuring Tag Manager:In Google Tag Manager, you need tocreate a server-side container. This step requires a basic understanding of how Google Tag Manager works.
Integration with analytics tools: Integrate server-side tracking with your analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc. - Testing and Validation: Conduct thorough testing to ensure that tracking works correctly and collects the desired data.
- Monitoring and Maintenance: Continuousmonitoring and maintenance are necessary to ensure that your server-side tracking remains accurate and effective.
Learn Even More
Whether you're a generalist or a specialist in marketing, our experts have put together a number of helpful tips for you on our blog.
