Server-side tracking tools

Server-side tracking is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your website's performance, influence your advertising strategy, and provide valuable insights into user interaction. 

This blog post will introduce you to the concept of server-side tagging and guide you through the most popular server-side tracking tools. By the end, you'll be equipped with the knowledge to choose the right software for your company, based on its unique features and capabilities.

Server-side tracking is a type of tracking/data collection method that involves a cloud server instead of a client’s browser. You install and manage it yourself, but the principle behind this is the same as with client-side tagging — only now there’s an additional step. This method has several significant advantages:

When it comes to methods of server-side tracking, there are 4 main ones we can highlight. All of them have advantages and disadvantages and may be more or less applicable for different projects.

While all 4 methods described above are equally viable, you must understand your business’s needs and nuances to select the one that would provide you with the best effect. If you address the Stape experts, we could advise you on the better choice, but we would not make it for you. 

Many tools on the market help set up server-to-server tracking. This guide will focus on the most popular: server Google Tag Manager, Segment, and Tealium. 

Stape has almost become a synonym for server-side tracking for the last couple of years. It is one of the most popular services for a server GTM hosting, and in addition to that, it offers dozens of features and power-ups. For instance, you can connect all the needed APIs, set up the webhooks, or configure gateways with us. In other words, we provide almost 360° coverage of all your tracking needs. Almost, because there is always something new and room to grow.

Another important aspect of cooperating with Stape is the price of our services. Our prices start at $20 (our plans are flexible, so the final number depends on your needs), and small businesses can even enjoy our services for free. By the way, if we have already started talking about free things, we also offer a library of sGTM tags and Stape Academy with a step-by-step course on how to set up server-side tracking.

Pros:

Cons: 

Segment is a tool that combines the functionality of web and server GTM, adding a few features on top, such as personas or CDP. Compared to GTM, Segment tries to make the tagging process more straightforward. It was initially designed as a tagging tool for non-tech people. 

Simplicity comes at a higher cost. Segment has a Free plan that fits small websites with less than 1000 visitors/month and uses only two destinations. Most small websites will need the next tier, which costs $120/month and includes 10,000 visitors/per month. You will need to pay more if you have a more significant business with more than 300 daily users. 

So, it may be more cost-effective to hire an sGTM professional and set up web GTM and sGTM tagging, paying a one-time setup cost than to cover recurring Segment costs that will grow if your site grows.

Pros:

Cons:

From our experience, Tealium is a choice of big enterprise companies that don't want to use GTM. This could be because of Google360 costs or the features that Tealium offers compared to GTM. 

Tealium's versatility makes it a complex tool. Learning the ropes of this platform takes some time, but once you find your footing, there are no limits to what can be accomplished!

Pros:

Cons:

We believe server GTM is the best option for server-side tagging solutions among all the tools. The reasons are simple: web GTM is free, and sGTM is cheaper than most competitors. In addition, the number of integrations in sGTM is enormous due to a community gallery. 

You can even hire a specialist to develop a custom solution for you. At Stape, we do that often for our clients, so if you need help with a custom tag or any time of integration with the database, etc., feel free to reach out to agency@stape.io.

Please visit our blog if interested in the possibilities sGTM can offer you. We have many articles on only sGTM tags and more advanced techniques like enriching data, storing data, processing data, etc.

Thank you for reading! We hope this article introduced you to server-side tagging and helped you understand what the most popular server-side tracking tools are about. If you want to learn more about sGTM or what possibilities it can offer your company, Stape has excellent solutions. Our team of experts is always happy to help new users get started with tracking and answer any questions.