50% increase in tracked events: webhooks setup for HandyHand and HappyHelper | Obsidian Digital

Handyhand and HappyHelper, two leading Danish marketplace platforms, partnered with Obsidian to implement an innovative webhook tracking solution using Stape's server-side infrastructure (namely: Data Client, Data Store, Stape User ID).

This collaboration tackled crucial tracking challenges in a market where Safari accounts for 25.55% of users, and for some businesses, Safari drives as much as 48.46% of traffic and 50.2% of sales. Complicating matters, Safari browsers can delete cookies after just 24 hours, making reliable tracking especially difficult.

Handyhand and HappyHelper operate two marketplace platforms serving Denmark. Handyhand connects individuals with local helpers for everyday tasks, while HappyHelper focuses on recurring home cleaning, with thousands of cleanings performed monthly.

Both platforms faced the inherent complexity of marketplace tracking, where customer journeys involve multiple stakeholders across different devices and time periods.

The primary challenge was fundamentally different from typical eCommerce tracking. The platforms needed to track whether a booking made on the website as a result of an advertising conversion actually gets completed and paid, and therefore can be accurately included in ROI calculations.

This presented a unique technical challenge: how do you connect two events that the user does not perform on the web platform? 

In the marketplace model, the initial booking might be made by a customer on their mobile device after clicking an ad. Still, the actual service completion and payment confirmation might occur through a different user (the service provider) on a completely different device.

Traditional client-side tracking methods were insufficient for this complex customer journey. The platforms needed a solution that could track customer interactions across multiple touchpoints, connect initial ad clicks to final service completion, and maintain data accuracy despite Safari's cookie limitations.

Obsidian helped implement a comprehensive cookieless server-side tracking solution using Stape's infrastructure. The solution was designed to capture and connect customer signals throughout the entire journey, from first touch to final conversion, across both platforms.

The technical implementation centered around server-side Google Tag Manager (sGTM) hosted on Stape's platform. This setup moved data processing from the user's browser to a secure server environment, bypassing browser-based privacy features and ad blockers.

Key components included:

• Server-side container. A dedicated sGTM container hosted on Stape's platform for centralized data processing.
• Multi-source integration. Data collection from websites, mobile apps, CRM systems, phone calls, and offline interactions.
• Custom database. Sophisticated user identification using Data Store functionality with encrypted user IDs.
• API-driven flow: POST calls and webhooks from various sources to the sGTM using Stape's Data Client.
• Enhanced attribution. Advanced conversion tracking, connecting completed services to originating marketing touchpoints. 

The solution incorporated Stape's advanced features for handling consented first-party data, ensuring GDPR compliance while maximizing data collection capabilities.

The implementation made a big difference in how both platforms measure their marketing and optimize campaigns.

Most importantly, it allowed them to reliably link the first customer interaction to the completed service and final payment. For the first time, they could calculate the real return on ad spend — something traditional tracking couldn't provide.

Key benefits included:

• Accurate end-to-end attribution. Visibility from initial ad interaction through service booking, completion, and payment.
• Improved campaign optimization. Reliable conversion data enables the identification of the most valuable campaigns and audiences.
• Cross-platform insights. Unified tracking across both Handyhand and HappyHelper platforms.
• Safari resilience. Consistent tracking performance across all browser types and devices.
• Improved performance. 50% increase in tracked events (compared to previous tracking that did not include webhooks), besides the ability to track events that were not possible before.

"We had a great collaboration with Obsidian Digital, working closely with Juan, who impressed us with his dedication and depth of understanding. He didn't just treat our setup as another ad account – he truly immersed himself in the specifics of our business and helped us tailor a strategy that fit our unique use cases and growth stage.

One of the most valuable parts of the collaboration was his ability to help us identify key customer signals throughout the journey. Together, we worked in a structured way with offline tracking and APIs to ensure we captured those signals – from first touch to final conversion – across both platforms. Juan's guidance and technical know-how were instrumental in making that happen".

With support from Stape's infrastructure and Obsidian Digital's tracking expertise, Handyhand and HappyHelper were able to measure marketplace performance with a level of accuracy they hadn't reached before. This approach shows what's possible for other platforms struggling to track conversions as third-party cookies disappear.