After Reading This Article, You Can Start with Server Side Tracking!

You are about to make the shift to Server Side Tracking. In my opinion, this is the right choice. You are transitioning to first-party data collection, ensuring a future-proof tracking setup that can be dynamically adjusted. Additionally, you’ll benefit from several other SST advantages. Here are some of the most important ones:

• More data
• Higher data quality
• More control
• Faster website due to fewer scripts
• Become GDPR proof

Now, let me show you the steps to best approach this, so you’ll have your future-proof tracking setup ready in no time.

And yes, I must inform you:

• Yes, it takes time
• Yes, it costs money
• Yes, things will go wrong

But that’s part of the process. The tracking landscape is becoming more complex. That’s the life of a marketer. Tracking is only going to become more important in the coming years. As it stands now, Server Side Tracking seems to be the best solution.

Want to outsource this? Send me a message

What Do We Need in Advance?

• Google Tag Manager account
• Google Analytics account created and configured
• Basic knowledge of Google Tag Manager

What Are We Working With?

First, let’s look at what we’ll be working with. We use Google Tag Manager because it is easy to adjust and therefore future-proof. Do you already have a setup? Server Side Tracking will integrate with your existing setup, making it easy to test. Ensure that Google Analytics is linked with Google Tag Manager so that the data from your website flows to GA4. There are many guides / videos available on this topic, so I won’t go into further detail here.

What Does the Data Flow Look Like Now?

With Server Side Tracking, an additional server is introduced into the process. Here’s how the data flow will look:

Choose the Right Hosting

With Server Side Tracking, an additional server is incorporated into your infrastructure, similar to how you host your website. This server will require monthly hosting fees. The cost is often dependent on the size of the website, meaning how much data flows through your website.

Determine What’s Important for You:

• Do you need hosting with the most features, or are you okay with just the basics? This can significantly impact the cost.
• Are you opting for more expensive hosting with maintenance contracts, or do you prefer to minimize expenses?
• Do you want analytical functions to see what Server Side Tracking delivers for you, or do you find that unnecessary?
• Do you need servers located in your country for GDPR compliance, or is that not a priority for you?
• Can you set everything up yourself, or do you need good (live) chat support?

These are all choices you can consider.

The good news is that you can easily switch between hosting providers by changing your subdomain. So, choose your hosting and get started!

What Do I Recommend?

I work at TAGGRS, a Server Side Tracking hosting company with unique features that no one else offers.

• Server Side Analytics: Easily see how much extra data you get with Server Side tracking, making it easy to test.
• Independent Infrastructure: Built on its own infrastructure, not dependent on the Google Cloud environment, which provides advantages for GDPR compliance.
• GTM Template Gallery: Set up the basics in just a few clicks using the Google Tag Manager template gallery.
• Cost-Effective: One of the most affordable options on the market.

Typical for hosting: When setting up your hosting account, it’s essential that your data routing is configured through the hosting. This is achieved by creating a subdomain and adjusting your DNS settings within your website hosting provider’s control panel. This way, the data flows through the server.

Subdomain?

I mentioned the word subdomain. Yes, the data now runs through the subdomain. A subdomain is an extension of your main domain that functions as a separate section within your website. For example, blog.yoursite.com or shop.yoursite.com are subdomains of yoursite.com. The data flows through the subdomain to the relevant platforms. This is also why Server Side Tracking can improve page speed, as the large scripts are loaded from the subdomain and not your main domain.

This allows you to make the shift from third party to first party because the subdomain is in your hands making it first party data collection.

Add a Data Layer to Your Website

Are you an e-commerce store without a data layer on your website? It’s crucial to implement one. A data layer organizes your website’s data in a way that enables you to use this information for your tags and triggers. If you aim to track events such as purchases, add-to-cart actions, etc., it is important to implement a data layer. Most CMS platforms offer free plugins or add-ons that you can download for this purpose.

For B2B websites, this is often not necessary because it is already built into GTM. Watch the video to see how these built-in variables look in Google Tag Manager’s preview mode.

To track more advanced events, particularly e-commerce-related activities that GTM does not recognize by default, it is necessary to add a specific Data Layer to your website.

Integrating Platforms Server Side

Now, Google Tag Manager comes into play. You need to set up a server container with tags, triggers, and variables. Which platforms do you wish to measure? This involves setting up all tags and triggers for the platforms you want to track. In this case, let’s take a basic WooCommerce webshop. I have added a data layer using a data layer plugin.

Setting Up:

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
• Google Ads
• Facebook

The challenging part is that everything needs to be set up slightly differently in the server container. You might be used to setting up the Facebook pixel, but in the server container, this becomes the Facebook Conversion API.

As you can see, this setup is structured a bit differently.

Now you have two options:

• Use Preconfigured Templates
• Configure Manually

TAGGRS offers a comprehensive Template Gallery with preconfigured Server Side Tracking templates for popular content management systems like WordPress and Shopify. These templates speed up the implementation process and are fully customizable to meet your business needs.

For full control over your tracking setup, you can also choose to configure everything manually. This is ideal for companies that want to migrate or refine their existing tracking infrastructures.

There are an increasing number of guides available on how to set up Server Side Tracking for these platforms. Simply search on Google for “[platform] Server Side Tracking” and you will find plenty of guides and videos.

Using a Template

In this case, we will go for a template. The WooCommerce template is based on a GA4 data layer, so we can download the basic e-commerce template from the gallery. Then, we import it into our own tag manager, where the basic setup is already in place.

Now, we only need to go to variables and fill in the correct codes/URLs wherever it says “fill in.”

Then, we remove everything we don’t need. For this example i only need Google Analytics / Google Ads and Facebook so i pause all the other tags en triggers.

This is what a configuration could look like. Often, hosting providers offer much more than just Server Side Tracking. For example, you can also set up profit tracking, but for most people, the basics are enough.

Now Comes the Most Important Part

Test Your Setup: For this, I have written another testing blog. With the introduction of Server Side Tracking, testing has also changed slightly.

Where do most Server Side Implementations go wrong?

These are the 3 most common mistakes when setting up Server Side Tracking that I have come across after 100+ server side setups.

A: Misunderstanding the Data Layer

Google allows users to determine their own Data Layer structure, resulting in a variety of Data Layers. While this offers flexibility, it also presents a challenge: the diversity in configurations means that the variables you need to extract from the Data Layer can vary depending on the setup.

This means that, despite the standardized approach of GTM, you may encounter different types of Data Layers, where not all variables are universal. Make sure you choose the right template in the TAGGRS template gallery with the right data layer.

B: Duplicate Tracking Tags

In some cases, the Google Tag Manager script is loaded in multiple ways in the code, often through manual placement plus via a plugin or old Universal Analytics GTM code. This can disrupt tracking. Always check if there is a tracking code (per container) in the code. The other link can “hijack” the request from the correct GTM code, preventing all requests from being sent to the server container.

You can check this by right-clicking > inspect and then searching (ctrl + F) for GTM or Collect in elements. If you encounter two identical scripts, you know you can remove one.

Some hosting providers offer the option to implement the script via the hosting, anonymizing it for ad blockers. This prevents ad blockers from blocking the data. It’s sometimes forgotten to remove the other script in this case.

C: Not Reading Instructions Carefully

Mistakes are easily made, so take it seriously. As I mentioned at the beginning, it takes time, so take your time. A mistake is easily made. If just one trigger is incorrect, the tracking will fail.

Are You Ready?

Yes, every website is different, and you will most likely encounter things that are not common. This is where you, as a marketer, can distinguish yourself.

Not sure if you’ve covered everything? Check out this FREE Server Side Tracking checklist I’ve created.

Need more information? Feel free to send me a message anytime.

Good luck with your Server Side Tracking journey!

Happy Tagging!