Server-Side Tracking Systems

Fix post iOS 15+ tracking issues with reliable server-side tracking

Finally, track all your website and online shop conversions again!

Ads and Ventures helps to overcome today’s tracking challenges through an innovative server-side tracking setup that can track and measure activities on your shop or website, despite any ad blockers used by visitors and despite Apple iOS updates.

Through our server-side tagging system...

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Reviews 5,0
5/5

This proven server-side tracking system works for:

Want to chat about your business?

Do you know the following

problems with ConversionTracking in 2023

Most online shop and website owners struggle with the following:

Since iOS 14, You don’t know what's happening on your website

Your Analytics Data is incomplete. Since the end of 2021, it looks like fewer visitors and fewer conversions are coming in. Visitors using Apple devices or ad blockers can't be seen in your reports.

You cannot measure any events or conversions

You are running Facebook ads or google ads campaigns, and your conversion can't get attributed towards any of your campaigns, meaning you don't know where and how to optimise your campaign budget.

Setting up server-side tracking is difficult and time-consuming

You've heard of server-side tagging or tracking, but you have absolutely no idea how to set it up. You don't even know whom to ask to help you set up a Google Cloud Server... Researching all of this probably takes the same time and effort as a university degree.

Frequent results of these problems are...

You burn money by flying blind on your marketing activities

You are not sure where the sale or the lead came from. Therefore, you don't know where to focus your marketing budget and where you should spend less. You are just guessing, hoping and praying that you are betting on the right horse.

You cannot optimise what you cannot measure

The optimisation of every marketing campaign depends on accurate data. Especially the algorithms of Facebook and Google optimise your campaigns depending on the data they are receiving. No data = no optimisation.

Unqualified / Unexperienced Freelancers trying their luck

You are hiring inexperienced freelancers, who promise you to get it done, but they are just trying it themselves without actually knowing how its done right. You end up with a half-baked setup, not knowing if it measures accurately. Your analytics, reports and numbers remain doubtful.

What is
Server-Side Tagging?

Understand what server-side tagging is and whether you need it

The server-side tagging method is one of the most promising methods for collecting and processing data in the future.

In the wake of Apple’s iOS14 updates, when user privacy and cookie restrictions were a major concern, server-side tagging became more popular.

Most data collection and processing tools ran on the client, including Google Tag Manager. A client-side tag uses browser cookies within your web browser, such as Google Chrome. Cookies are loaded, processed, and sent through your browser. An ad or cookie blocker will therefore prevent tracking from working. The same with the latest Apple iOS updates. They prevent browser cookies from working.

Server-Side Tagging is essential for an online shop like Shopify stores and websites – especially those that rely on remarketing campaigns.

Client-Side Tracking vs Server-Side Tracking

The Ads and Ventures SERVER-SIDE Tagging SYSTEM

Client

Client-Side-Tagging

This is the typical tracking method used by almost all websites, where 3rd party browser cookies collect data.

Server

Server-Side Tagging

When Server-Side Tagging is implemented, your cloud server collects and processes data instead.

Most websites still use client-side tracking as their primary tracking method. Most actions take place in the visitor’s browser. The Google Tag Manager (if installed) runs through the visitor’s browser (e.g. Google Chrome or Safari), reads the data layers, and sends requests to third parties with the corresponding data attached.

 

 These tracking cookies primarily enable visitors to be recognised when they revisit the website. Thanks to these cookies, the advertiser will know which campaigns/ad groups work better and bring more purchases.

 

If the visitor uses an ad blocker or an Apple iPhone, none of this will happen. As a result, your reports will never show this visitor.

As a result, you will never know which campaign or channel brought that particular visitor and if the visitor purchased your product or service.

 

It is impossible to run good remarketing campaigns because Safari (especially in-app Safari) stores cookies for only a very short time and doesn’t even allow third-party cookies. This means that Facebook or Google Tag Manager can no longer leave cookies on your visitors’ browsers. At this point, the server-side becomes important.

 

Server-side tagging requires using a Cloud Server (we can set one up for you). Your website’s user data and events are sent ONLY to your cloud server. Your very own First-Party-Cookie is the ONLY cookie left in the user’s browser.

Client

3rd Party Cookie

A cookie from facebook.com or google-analytics.com

Server

1st Party Cookie

A cookie from your own website or server, under your own sub domain

Ad blockers can’t recognise your individual first-party-cookie and won’t block the requests sent to your own server (first party).

 

Since the cookies are first-party cookies, they are not deleted immediately. Instead, your Cloud server sends the requests to third parties and stores the necessary information in your first-party cookie.

Benefits of Server-Side Tagging

The proven Ads and Ventures advantages

Why does the Ads and Ventures method work better than traditional tracking systems?

Boosts page speed and reduces loading time

Third-party JavaScript libraries like Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, and many others can adversely affect your page speed. Rather than installing five different scripts on your site, you will upload one script and have it processed and shared with third parties on your server. As a result, your server-side setup handles the heavy lifting and visitors' browsers are not overloaded.

Can track Safari & Apple iOS 14+ users

The recent updates to Apple's Safari and iOS apps have made cookies and tracking more difficult. By using server-side tagging, you can extend the lifetime of cookies. The blocking of third-party cookies by iOS will not affect it either. This affects Shopify merchants who use Facebook and Instagram for marketing, especially on mobile devices.

Take full control of the data

Instead of directly sending data to third-party libraries, you can control what is sent on your server. Facebook Pixel tags, for example, may collect a lot of information about your users. However, only a certain amount of data, such as purchase details, must be submitted. If you have a server-side setup, you can easily do the filtering.

Reduces the impact of ad blockers.

Ad blockers and Apple iOS updates block client-side cookies and java scripts. Using server-side tagging will solve this problem. Although ad blockers might be able to block GoogleAnalytics.com and similar requests, they will not block requests from your own subdomain.

get a clear, accurate picture of your data and gain certainty

Finally, you can rely on your data and get a clear picture of what is happening. We guarantee our setup works accurately and provide 12 months of support and maintenance to grant you peace of mind regarding tracking accuracy.

Optimise every marketing dollar based on accurate data

Every marketing platform, like Facebook ads or Google Ads, optimises its campaigns based on data. The richer the data, the better the performance. Your campaign managers can make better decisions, and the algorithms can perform better.

Why Use
Server-Side Tagging

Typically, Shopify stores rely on Facebook and Instagram as their marketing channels and revenue sources. Also, remarketing/retargeting campaigns are often the best-performing campaigns because you are targeting visitors who have already visited your Shopify store and maybe even made a purchase.

You cannot optimise what you cannot track. To improve your marketing ROI, you need the right data to understand your target audience’s behaviour. For example, if you are running Facebook Ads, you should send your purchase and visitor data to Facebook as efficiently as possible. As a result, you will be able to view your top-performing campaigns, allowing Facebook to optimise your ads with the help of your data.

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How to Setup
Server-Side Tagging

A Server-Side-Tagging setup is a complex, technical and delicate process. It also requires data validation and maintenance. There are several methods to achieve the result. We highly recommend using our Cloud Server solution, where we set up an individual cloud server n the name of your company. All your data will pass through the server, which is a very sensitive issue. A dedicated Google Cloud Plattform server can cost you between $80 and $100 or more, depending on your traffic, which may seem excessive. We offer you cloud server packages that are more cost-efficient than renting your own server on Google Cloud Platform or AWS (Look at Cloud Server packages below).

The benefits are worth it since you’ll have total control over your data.

We offer a complete server-side tagging setup that includes server-side GTM, Analytics, Google Ads, and FB Conversion API.

We set up a cost-efficient server for you and then do all your server-side tagging on your account.

All done for you. All conversion tracking problems are solved.

How Our Server-Side Tagging Setup Works

The Ads and Ventures SYSTEM

01

Onboarding
& Account Creating

We will assist you (during a video call or by sharing detailed video documentation) with the following:

02

Initial Setup
& Validation

For a business, data is one of the most sensitive topics. For this reason, we have a strict data validation phase. After we have completed the setup process, we will first submit your data to the test properties while maintaining your setup. Afterwards, we cross-check your original data against the new installation.

03

Production
& Delivery

As soon as we are 100% sure everything is running smoothly, we will disconnect your existing data analytics setup and set the server-side tracking live.

Case Studies

Pure Results. No Excuses.

Josh Huberman
Josh Huberman
Ads and Ventures Fixed our Conversion Tracking.
Read More
Having a team that uses its skills effectively is excellent. This is precisely what Ads and Ventures did for us when fixing Google Analytics and Facebook conversion tracking!
Trevor Ambrose
Trevor Ambrose
Ads and Ventures are highly recommended.
Read More
If you have difficulty implementing server-side tagging, I highly recommend contacting Ads and Ventures. In my case, I didn't really know what I was doing. However, despite the tight deadline, the team was able to implement the fix in no time.
Morgan Collens
Morgan Collens
Exceptional professionals.
Read More
Excellent professionals. Setting up Facebook conversion APIs and Google Ads server-side tracking with advanced matching has been extremely beneficial for my company's marketing strategy! This team is highly recommended if you need fast, efficient web/server analytics services.
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One-Time Set-up Fee

– Including Setup, Validation, Support

Server-Side Tagging is a great deal. We will set up everything for you, validate, deliver, and maintain.

Ads and Ventures

Server-Side Tracking System

Starting from

US$ 1800

One-time set-up fee

per store / website

Got questions?

What’s included: 

Done for You. Guaranteed Results.

We can set up server-side tagging for you.

All it takes is a few simple questions.

Click Get A Quote, fill out the form, and we will send you a quote.
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Reviews 5,0
5/5

Already got a Set Up and need a fix?

The only solution you need to solve all your tracking issues.

Track conversions reliably despite Ad Blockers and Apple iOS updates.

Our server-side tracking solutions are designed to meet the needs of every online shop or website.

This includes templates for clients, tags, and variables for the Google Tag Manager container on the server. 

From plugins and scripts for CMSs like WordPress and Shopify to custom-built sites and everything in between.

Done for you - add ons

We can set up server-side tracking for your website. This will improve tracking accuracy as well as speed up your website.

US$ 90/h

We Audit your self-made setup

Would you like to ensure that your self-made server-side setup is correct? Our team can conduct a server-side tracking audit and provide recommendations for improvement.

US$ 125/h

Consultation

A server-side tracking system may seem complicated. We're here to help! Get personalised guidance or answers to your questions by scheduling a consultation.

US$ 250/h

Want to talk about your tracking?

Need a Cloud Server?

We Setup your Cloud server on Google Cloud Platform for you

Monthly Server Hosting

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If you get a Google Cloud Platform server yourself it might cost between US$70 – $140/per month to set up your own server.

That depends on your traffic.

Ads and Ventures offers you a lower, fixed fee to host the server for you. You can start with a free tier.

The Pro version starts at US$40 / month.

By using the Ads and Venturs Server Setup you will save about EUR/USD 100.- per month in server costs.

Screenshot: Original Google Cloud Platform Invoice for one month, using one server for one server-side tracking setup. Total in EUR €139.06

Cloud Server Hosting PAckages

Your Google Cloud Platform Server 

Save up to US$ 1280.- per year,
by selecting the Ads and Ventures Pro Server Yearly plan, instead of opening your own Google Cloud Platform server.

Switching to yearly billing and save 2 full months.

Questions about the Servers?

Here are the answers

The following nine hosted zones are available: US Center (Lowa), US East (South Carolina), US West (Oregon), EU West (Belgium), EU North (Finland), EU Center (Germany), AP East (Singapore), SA East (Sao Paulo), AP South (Delhi). For all European companies, the European zone is mandatory.

Our 100% European-owned cloud proxy servers for sGTM allow you to use Google Analytics in compliance with GDPR.

Data from European users should not be accessible to US intelligence services (including Google Analytics). Implementing a proxy server in the EU is one solution. Proxy servers can be configured with Server Side Google Tag Manager.

You should also pseudoanonymize user data before sending it to GA. You must use the server GTM interface to perform this task manually.

We do this by optimising the cost of a single server.

The cost of an on-demand server is generally higher than the cost of purchasing many reserved servers in bulk before use.

If you have a smaller site that sends less than 10,000 requests per month, we also offer a free plan that provides free server-side hosting access.

The answer is no.

Each site requires an individual container and plan (similar to Web GTM). Therefore, one container equals one site.

However, you can have as many containers as you like.

FAQ: Have some questions?

We have the answers

Our server-side tagging setup includes your own cloud server, a server-side GTM, Analytics, Google Ads, and FB Conversion API. So first, we set up a Google Cloud server for you and then complete the server-side tagging.

The cloud server will be hosted under the name of your company.

Your properties will host the server-side tagging setup. Your own server will host the data.

We will never collect or bypass any data on your properties. Data will be sent directly to your Google Cloud Server, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager accounts.

Our team will be responsible for setting up and validating the system.

Ads and Ventures’s server-side tagging starts from US$ 1800 for the initial set up: a one-time fee for setup, service, and support.

This fee and can vary depending on your website but usually is should cover everything.

You will also need a Cloud server to run the server-side tagging.

Our Ads and Ventures cloud servers are set up with the Google Cloud Platform. Depending on your traffic, it might cost between US$60 – $90/per month to set up ypur own Google Cloud Platform Server.

Ads and Ventures offers you a lower, fixed fee to host the server for you.

You can start with a free tier. The Pro version starts at US$40 / month.

Server-side tagging is a whole other concept. It doesn’t only include Facebook Conversion API – but it also makes Google Tag Manager (sGTM), Google Analytics, and Google Ads work through the server.

In addition, it overcomes ad blockers and Safari’s and iOS’ cookie lifetime limitations. Last but not least, it sends more data to Facebook (compared to the native integration), so the event match rates go higher.

Client-side tracking is the typical tracking method that almost all websites currently use. Almost every action takes place in the visitor’s browser. When a visitor visits our websites, Google Tag Manager (if installed) runs through the browser (e.g. Google Chrome or Safari), reads the data layers (if installed), and sends requests to 3rd parties along with the related data attached to it.

As for server-side tracking, the data collection and processing happen on your server. You can check our article if you wish to learn the concept further.

After the initial setup, we have a data validation phase where we send all the data into staging properties and cross-compare it with the original data. Finally, we will move your setup to production once we are 100% sure. The total process takes 5 to 7 days.

We’re here to ensure that your site is as efficient and error-free as possible. Once the server-side tracking for your website is implemented, we’ll stay with you for two weeks and check everything runs smoothly.

For now, you can move Facebook, Universal Analytics, Google Analytics 4, and Google Ads (Adwords), TikTok, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Hubspot, Affiliate tags. In addition, we are working on creating server-side tags for Snapchat and Pinterest.

Yes, we can help you.

We can set up server-side cloud hosting for you and create custom server clients, tags, and variable templates.

Please send an email to [email protected] or use a contact form on the site.

We host our servers on Google Cloud. Our prices are lower than GCP because we optimise server costs. If one individual buys only one server on-demand, it costs more than if you’d buy several reserved and prepaid servers for a few years.

Well, the answer is no. We calculate billing individually for each container, so basically, one container equals one site, and there aren’t any packages or plans that come with multiple sites on them either – sorry!

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