Server-side tagging provides many benefits that client-side tagging doesn’t, and as an agency, you need to make the most of every tool at your disposal to deliver the best possible results for your clients. Client-side tags are commonly used to track website visitors and gather user data. However, they face significant challenges due to the use of ad blockers and the decline of third-party tracking support in browsers, prompting a shift towards server-side solutions for more accurate data collection.
This blog post will discuss the benefits and cost of server-side tracking for agencies and offer tips on setting it up. Whether you're a small agency just getting started, a big, established one with a full team, or even a solo entrepreneur, server-side tracking is a great fit for everyone. It can help you improve processes and achieve better results.
Server-side tracking is a tracking method in which data (like user interactions or website events) is sent from the user's device to the server rather than relying on the user's browser to send data to third-party services.
Client-side tracking, on the other hand, relies on the user's browser to execute tracking scripts, potentially affecting website performance and data privacy. Then, it’s moved to analytic tools.
We have a more detailed blog post on benefits of server-side tracking with Stape.
Server-side tracking can provide valuable insights for advertising agencies and analytics specialists. This data collection method gives you access to accurate, detailed information about user behavior, empowering you with knowledge that can transform your business.
User interactions trigger tags that generate event data sent as HTTP requests. Monitoring and processing this data in client-side and server-side tagging setups is crucial to ensure accurate user behavior tracking and data visibility in analytics reporting.
Advertising agencies can achieve more cost-efficient campaign results with the help of S2S tracking. For example, Facebook conversion API users have seen an impressive 13% average decrease in cost per result. In addition, Snapchat’s CAPI documentation promises to provide more efficient cost-per-action after implementing S2S integration.
Let’s take a look at how exactly your agency can take advantage of server-side tracking:
Advertising platforms will have access to server-side tracking data, which can be used to improve campaigns and maximize cost efficiency. This essential information allows for the precise optimization of advertising strategies that will result in tremendous success. The critical factor is that you can share 1st party user data with ad platforms with server-side tagging.
Server-side tagging utilizes first-party cookies to ensure accurate conversion tracking for advertising platforms - a win for accuracy and longevity. With these, clicks can remain associated with conversions for up to two years rather than seven days of standard web tracking's third-party cookie option.
With Conversions API, you can create influential custom audiences that can be used for remarketing or to build Lookalikes and start targeting customers with renewed vigor. Again, this is because you can share quality first-party data with ad networks.
Unlock the power of metrics from across all your marketing channels to better understand campaign success. With Conversions API, you can access deeper insights and build upon performance results.
Not only is server-side an excellent solution for tracking conversion that happened on your website, but you can also use it to track phone orders, in-store orders, and any offline action.This kind of tracking allows a company to understand better which marketing campaigns and strategies drive customers to make online or offline purchases.
We have a detailed article that covers the top tools currently used for server-side tracking. We would also like to talk about the server Google Tag Manager. It's a great option for clients who want to simplify and improve their server-side tagging process:
Most importantly, with server-side GTM, you can achieve more accurate data, faster website load times, and greater control over data privacy.
Additionally, Stape is a leading hosting provider for server-side GTM solutions. It offers more affordable pricing compared to GCP for sGTM hosting. By choosing Stape, you can optimize both your data tracking and your budget.
Stape offers two main features for agencies.
1. Agency account
An Agency account allows you to create sub-accounts for your clients and manage their containers. At the same time, your client will have login credentials for their Stape account. It looks like a simplified version of a Google Ads MCC account or FB Business Manager.
An Agency account fits best when you need to manage billing separately for each client. However, a standard account would work better if you want to use one billing for all clients.
2. Partner program
Once your agency account has more than five paid containers, you can apply for a Partner program or get a discount on Stape service for your clients.
The partner program shares up to 40% of your client’s subscription value. Click on the top right menu to access the Partner Program and find out more details! We also have a detailed article on how to become a Stape partner in our blog.
You can always schedule a 1:1 meeting with us to discuss how we can best support you.
3. Server-side tracking setup
Integrating Google Analytics into your tracking systems can boost data quality and privacy. Using it with server-side setups also helps improve website performance and solves issues accompanying traditional client-side tracking.
If your agency team wants to start implementing server-side tracking for your clients but needs help figuring out where to start, we can help you with the setup, teach your team, and provide consultations or audits later if necessary.
Many agencies have already used this offer to teach their team how to implement server-side tracking, or some even outsource server-side tagging setup to Stape.
To find out the price of the website setup service, answer these simple questions, and we will send you a quote. If you are interested in an audit, this questionnaire is for you. You can also email us at agency@stape.io.
4. Demo account
Whether you're looking to boost your server-side tracking, polish your workflows, or simply try out Stape, our Demo account is your chance to explore how Stape works without any limits. You can check out all the integrations, see how tracking works, and play around with all the settings.
You get to test everything as if you’re on a paid plan, so you can see if it fits your needs before committing. It’s a complete, hands-on preview with no restrictions.
What’s the difference between a Demo account and a Free account with 10k requests?
The Demo account is a great way to explore Stape's features, including access to paid-tier functionalities, giving you a complete picture of what the platform can do. On the other hand, the free plan allows you to set up an actual sGTM container with a limit of 10,000 requests to implement and test your website with natural settings.
5. Stape Academy
Stape Academy is a free online course that helps you learn about server-side tagging, and it’s available for all Stape users! Whether you're just starting out or want to level up your skills, this course walks you through everything—from setting up server-side GTM to connecting platforms like Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and more.
There are 32 video lessons covering over ten topics, and you even get a certificate when you finish. If you're already using Stape, just log in to get started. If not, you can sign up for free. Oh, and since it’s in Beta, they’re all ears for your feedback to make it even better!
6. Stape Analytics
Measuring the impact of server-side tracking can be tricky - so at Stape, we've developed Stape Analytics, a feature that gives you clear insights into how well your server-side setup is performing.
Whether you're a website owner wanting to track your data quality improvements, or an agency needing to showcase results to clients, Stape Analytics is the perfect tool. It shows you the requests that are usually blocked by ad blockers or browser settings, so you can see exactly how server-side tracking boosts data accuracy.
Plus, our clients, like Procab Studio, have already seen impressive results, such as a 35.71% increase in purchases tracked for PPC campaigns. Want to see how server-side tracking can improve your results? Check out our case studies and start using Stape Analytics today!
Stape is one of the best choices for sGTM hosting, and let us explain why:
Stape power-ups can improve your server-side tracking and boost data accuracy. We’ve got a guide on Stape power-ups.
We have unbeatable pricing plans. You can start with the free plan or choose one of the standard plans that fit your website. The minimum cost for a production setup on Google hosting is USD 120, which covers three cloud servers at USD 40 each. On the other hand, Stape’s minimum cost starts at just USD 20.
For larger sites, we also offer a Business plan for only USD 100. Our pricing is designed to be flexible, so it can fit any budget or need. Curious why we’re more affordable? Check out this blog post where we explain how Stape optimizes the cost of hosting your GTM server.
The setup process takes only 2 minutes. You can quickly implement server-side tagging for your website without requiring time-consuming manual configurations, allowing you to focus on what matters most.
Faster gtm.js/gtag.js/analytics.js loading time. This faster loading means a smoother user experience, improved site speed, and faster tracking, all of which contribute to better data accuracy and lower bounce rates. Plus, faster loading helps with SEO rankings, as search engines like Google prioritize websites that load quickly.
In short, Stape ensures your tracking scripts load as quickly as possible.
When you're ready to move your setup to the production environment, you don’t need to worry about running any scripts yourself. With Stape, the transition is smooth - our hosting takes care of everything for you in less than 30 seconds. No extra steps, no manual coding - just a smooth, hassle-free upgrade to production.
Stape’s sGTM hosting automatically scales up or down based on your website’s traffic volume. When our monitoring systems detect a spike in traffic, we instantly adjust by adding more CPU or memory to ensure everything runs smoothly.
This means that whether you're experiencing a sudden surge in visitors or a quiet period, Stape adapts to your needs without manual intervention. If you're on the Pro plan, for example, you’ll still pay the same fixed price of USD 20 per month for three days, but you’ll automatically get more CPU or memory when needed.
At Stape, our billing is entirely based on the number of requests, so you don’t need to worry about fluctuating fees due to traffic spikes.
Logs in Stape help you track and understand exactly what data was sent to your server-side GTM (sGTM) container and what response was returned. They give you clear visibility into your data flow, making it easier to troubleshoot issues, monitor data integrity, and ensure everything works as expected.
With access to detailed logs, you can quickly identify discrepancies, track how data is being processed, and make adjustments if needed, all without the guesswork. It’s like having a built-in audit trail to keep your setup running smoothly and your data accurate.
With Stape, you can get API access, allowing you to interact with your server-side GTM setup programmatically. You can automate tasks, retrieve data, and integrate Stape with other systems. Whether pulling logs for analysis or managing configurations at scale, the API provides the flexibility you need to control ańnd optimize your tracking setup.
API access makes it even easier to ensure your tracking is running smoothly and your data remains accurate.
Stape offers multiple server zones, meaning you can host your sGTM setup across different geographic locations. This helps optimize performance by reducing latency and ensuring faster load times for users, no matter where they are.
By using multiple server zones, your data is processed closer to your audience, improving both speed and reliability. This is especially useful for managing global websites with users from different regions. With Stape, you can choose the right server zones for your needs, ensuring a seamless user experience and better site performance.
Stape uses Cloudflare’s Global CDN to deliver your server-side GTM scripts from the nearest server to your site visitors. This reduces latency and speeds up page load times, improving the user experience.
By processing tracking server-side, Stape minimizes client-side scripts, boosting site performance, data accuracy, and privacy compliance. This setup also helps ensure more reliable data collection and better protection against ad blockers and cookie restrictions.
Using the Conversions API, Stape makes it super easy to send data from your server-side setup straight to Meta (Facebook and Instagram). This means you can track conversions more accurately, optimize your ad campaigns, and build better custom audiences with real first-party data. Plus, server-side tracking helps you avoid the issues caused by ad blockers and cookie restrictions, ensuring your data stays clean and your ads perform better.
With Stape’s TikTok Gateway, you can easily connect your server-side tracking to TikTok’s Pixel API. This helps you track events, optimize your ad campaigns, and create more effective audiences, all while ensuring your data is accurate and compliant with privacy laws like GDPR. It’s the perfect way to ensure your TikTok ads are running smoothly and delivering results!
Stape’s Snapchat Gateway lets you send data directly from your server-side GTM to Snapchat. This gives you more accurate tracking, helps you improve ad performance, and lets you build custom and lookalike audiences with real first-party data. Plus, server-side tracking means better privacy compliance and more reliable data, even if users use ad blockers.
As you can see, promoting Stape will be a breeze!
Server-side tags offer significant advantages over traditional client-side tracking, such as better performance, security, and more accurate data. They also help tackle privacy issues and comply with stricter data regulations, giving businesses a stronger solution for collecting data and staying compliant.
In case you are unfamiliar with server-side tracking, you can:
If your agency hasn't yet embraced server-side tagging, now is the perfect time to switch. In a world where privacy regulations are tightening, and traditional client-side tracking is becoming less reliable due to browser updates and ad blockers; server-side tagging offers a smart, future-proof solution.
By adopting server-side tracking, you'll improve the accuracy and security of your data, optimize website performance, enhance campaign results, and ensure better compliance with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. Plus, with the ability to get the most out of first-party data, your agency will be in a stronger position to create high-quality audiences, improve attribution, and track offline conversions that provide a complete picture of your clients' marketing efforts.
At Stape, we understand that switching to server-side tracking can seem like a big step, especially if you’re just starting out. That's why we’re here to help. Whether setting up server-side tracking from scratch, training your team, or providing ongoing consultations, Stape is committed to making the transition as smooth as possible. Our flexible pricing plans, fast setup, and dedicated support make it easier than ever to get started.
So, if you’re ready to take your agency’s tracking and data strategy to the next level, contact us today. Let Stape be your partner in implementing a robust, secure, and efficient server-side tracking solution to drive better results for your clients.
We’re excited to help you embrace server-side tagging - let’s start!
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