Case study: Zumnorde achieves a 40% reduction in Direct Traffic with server-side tagging | Projecter

Founded in 1887, Zumnorde is a leading German premium shoe retailer, operating 23 stores across Germany and a successful online shop. Known for its high-quality footwear and customer service, Zumnorde continuously seeks to optimize its marketing strategies to stay competitive. 

In collaboration with Projecter the company implemented server-side tagging via Stape to enhance data accuracy and attribution in its online marketing efforts.

Challenge

Zumnorde faced a significant challenge in accurately attributing revenue to its marketing channels due to browser tracking limitations. A crucial factor was the high number of users browsing on Safari, which accounted for 51% of Zumnorde’s traffic. Safari’s 24-hour cookie expiration led to a substantial portion of user sessions being inaccurately classified as Direct traffic in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). 

This misattribution distorted the performance metrics of key channels, such as Google Ads and Email Marketing, and hindered effective budget allocation - ultimately resulting in a suboptimal growth.

Solution

To tackle these issues, Zumnorde and Projecter implemented server-side tagging using Stape. The setup included:

• Server-side Google Tag Manager to handle data processing and improve tracking across browsers, particularly Safari.
• Implementering a Custom Loader to circumvent challenges with ad blockers either blocking or decreasing the efficiency of tracking scripts.
• Server-side first-party cookies to extend user session tracking beyond 24 hours.
• Laying the foundation for future integrations with platforms like Facebook’s Conversions API.

Results

The server-side tagging implementation led to a substantial improvement in data attribution:

• 40% reduction in Direct revenue, providing more accurate channel attribution.
• 9% increase in measured Google Ads revenue.
• 13% increase in measured Email Marketing revenue.
• 14% reduction in new users, reflecting improved user recognition.

Conclusion: impact on marketing strategy

With more accurate tracking, Zumnorde can now:

• Better understand customer journeys across devices and browsers.
• Improve the efficiency of marketing strategies through precise channel insights.
• Future-proof its digital marketing efforts in an evolving privacy landscape.

Following this success, Zumnorde also implemented Facebook’s Conversions API, with plans to integrate more platforms for even richer data insights.