Understanding Stape power-ups: key features and how to use

Want to get more precise insights into your customers’ journeys? Stape power-ups can make a difference! In this post, we’ll explore the key features and practical uses of Stape power-ups, showing you how they can improve your server-side tracking and boost data accuracy.

 Let’s start and see how to make the most of these useful tools!

Custom Loader changes the loading path of Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 4 scripts against ad blockers and ITPs by modifying gtag.js and gtm.js loading paths.

Using a Custom Loader and Custom Domain allows you to set first-party cookies, extend cookie lifetimes, and improve defenses against ad-blocking tools.

The Anonymizer power-up is available to all Stape users and is designed to remove or anonymize user data in Google Analytics 4.

This product utilizes GeoLite2 data provided by MaxMind, available at https://www.maxmind.com.

In the Anonymizer configuration settings, you'll find a list of Google Analytics parameters that can be removed or anonymized. Choose whether to keep the parameter as is, remove it, or anonymize it.

You can send requests to the server GTM container from outside web GTM, but remember that only web GTM requests are visible in server GTM preview mode. To address this limitation, use Stape's sGTM Preview Header config for better visibility.

This power-up helps you see requests sent to sGTM from outside web GTM in the sGTM debugger.

To set it up, open sGTM preview mode, click the three dots in the top right, choose "send request manually," copy the Preview Header, and paste it into your Stape container settings.

If you do not remove the Preview Header from your stape.io account after testing, Stape will automatically turn it off for you.

This power-up adds a user ID to the sGTM event data. You can effectively track and connect user actions across different devices and sessions by assigning a unique ID to each visitor. This enhances your understanding of user behavior and improves the accuracy of your marketing campaigns.

The user ID is created using a hash of:

• User IP
• User-agent
• TLS settings

With the POAS Data Feed power-up, you can store profit values in Stape’s storage. The power-up is helpful if you need to set up profit on ad spend (POAS) tracking in server-side GTM. Instead of reporting revenue (the amount a customer pays), you can send actual profit to your analytics and advertising platforms.

With the GEO Headers power-up, you can add X-GEO-Country, X-GEO-Country-Name, X-GEO-Region, X-GEO-City, X-GEO-Ipaddress, and X-GEO-PostalCode to your event data in the server Google Tag Manager.

This product uses GeoLite2 data from MaxMind, which you can find at https://www.maxmind.com.

The GEO Headers power-up is available on all plans.

The User Agent Info power-up lets you add a header to your server hits and access that information in your server container for reporting.

The X-Device-Mobile, X-Device-Os, X-Device-Browser, X-Device-Browser-Version, X-Device-Engine, X-Device-Engine-Version header is added to event data inside your server's Google Tag Manager. 

You can use a Google Service Account to connect your Google Tag Manager container server with BigQuery and Firestore. This setup allows you to enrich server data using Firestore, store it in BigQuery, read or write to Google Sheets, or set up the SpanChat Conversion API.

With a Google Service Account, you can work with your server-side data. You can easily store data from the GTM server in Google Sheets or Firestore and retrieve it when you need to add it to your sGTM tags.

Webhooks help track events outside your website or app, like in an offline store. However, they often send data in XML format. To improve compatibility with server GTM, it’s best to use JSON instead.

The XML to JSON power-up can convert XML data to JSON format within Google Tag Manager on the server.

By default, the gtm.js (Google Tag Manager script) is blocked for bots, preventing search engine robots from accessing your GTM scripts. However, Stape's power-up changes that. You can control what bots see, ultimately boosting your SEO performance and improving your site's presence online.

By enabling "Open Container for Bot Index," your GTM script will be accessible to bots, enhancing your data collection and ensuring you capture valuable bot interactions.

Stape received requests from clients for a bot detection feature. In response, we developed an easy-to-use power-up that scores every request from 0 to 100. A score between 50 and 75 means the request looks suspicious, but we do not block it because the checked parameters do not fully confirm bot activity. A score above 75 means all parameters match bot behavior and the request is blocked if blocking is enabled.

This power-up determines whether requests are coming from a bot.

The Cookie Keeper power-up from Stape helps you maintain the entire duration of first-party cookies, even in browsers with strict privacy settings, like Safari 16.4+. It creates a "master cookie" that stores each user's unique ID as a first-party cookie on your site. When users return, Cookie Keeper verifies their ID and restores any missing marketing cookies, ensuring accurate user behavior tracking. 

This solution helps you adapt to ITP regulations while maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

The Multi-Domain power-up allows Stape Business Plan users to map multiple subdomains to a single server container. This is particularly useful for businesses with separate websites for different countries or languages or those operating various sites within a niche. 

Using one sGTM for all these domains simplifies tracking and data management, helping you keep your sites consistent.

With the File Proxy power-up, you can route any file through the server Google Tag Manager. This allows you to load files directly from your domain instead of relying on third-party domains. Proxying files through your subdomain (the one set up for server-side tracking) gives you greater control over file hosting than using a third-party domain. This increased control improves the security of your files.

The Enricher power-up from Stape lets you enrich incoming event data with user data collected during previous interactions. It builds a repository of user information that the system can reference in real time, so returning users are recognized and their events are automatically enriched with the data you already have on them.

The Request Delay power-up on Stape lets you delay server-side Google Tag Manager (sGTM) data requests from 1 to 2000 minutes. This power-up helps you control when data is sent, ensuring transfers happen at the best times for more accurate and reliable analytics.

With Stape's Request Delay power-up, you gain control over when data requests are sent, reduce duplicate or unnecessary data, and customize your data flow.

If you want to send requests on a defined schedule, we’ve created the Schedule power-up just for you! In the path field, specify the request path that should be sent on schedule. You can send requests daily at a specific time or once an hour.

The Dedicated IP power-up routes all outgoing requests from your Stape container through one fixed IP address. Because it’s static, it ensures your tracking stays consistent and reliable. This is particularly helpful when you need to whitelist an IP for specific destination endpoints.

The Dedicated IP requires manual activation on our end. Simply submit your request in the power-up’s menu, and we will contact you for details.

Enter the list of IP addresses that you wish to block, and the power-up will automatically exclude requests from those addresses in server Google Tag Manager. A perfect solution for filtering internal or suspicious traffic.

Have you ever wondered how many users don’t see your advertisements because of ad blockers? This power-up will give you the answer! Learn the impact of ad blockers on your marketing and adjust your campaigns accordingly.

Ever noticed your reports missing conversions? One of the possible reasons is that Safari and Brave browsers may be stripping away its users’ click IDs. The Click ID Restorer power-up brings them back, so your data tells the full story.

We filmed videos on Stape power-ups that can help you reach a perfect server-side setup.

• How to extend cookie lifetime using Cookie Keeper power-up from Stape

• Map multiple domains inside sGTM container [Step-by-step guide]

• Stape power-ups overview: boost your server-side tracking setup

• How to enrich user data in your server-side GTM [User Agent Info, User ID, Bot detection power-ups]

• How to fix browser tracking issues and collect more data [Custom loader power-up]

• How to anonymize user data in GA4 with server GTM [Anonymizer power-up]

• How to setup region-specific behavior tracking in GA4 with server GTM [GEO Headers power-up]

Check them out for overview, setup hints and valuable server-side tracking hints.

With Stape, server-side tracking can be easy, straightforward, and fun. We aim to provide personalized solutions that let our users maximize the benefits of server-side tracking. We understand that every business has unique needs, and we’re here to provide the right tools to help you improve your tracking and analytics.

Please let us know if you didn’t find what you’re looking for! We’re adding more solutions based on customer requests, so the Stape app will keep evolving to meet your needs. You can leave your request here at our helpdesk.