Overview of Stape Gateway

Stape Gateway is Stape's standalone product for setting up server-side tracking for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Ads – without the usual hassle of manually configuring tags in a server Google Tag Manager (sGTM) container. You configure normal web tracking for GA4/Google Ads, point a custom domain at Stape Gateway, and it handles the server-side tracking for you.

Stape Gateway only works with data that your web GA4 and/or Google Ads requests send. Therefore, you need to already have web GA4 and/or Google Ads tracking configured on your site.

Stape Gateway supports:

• Google Analytics 4
• Google Ads remarketing
• Google Ads conversion tracking

Both the server GTM container and the Stape Gateway are used to track and collect data on the server side, and each of them provides enhanced data quality and protection. Stape Gateway is a lightweight version that can be used only for Google Analytics and/or Google Ads (for conversion tracking and remarketing), while the sGTM container is more versatile and can be set up for a wide range of platforms.

Given the greater flexibility of sGTM, it requires more technical skills to set up. Besides registration, adding a custom domain and Custom Loader, you will also need to create an sGTM container and do additional configurations based on the platforms you use.

Stape Gateway is easier to set up as it consists of three steps:

1. 1.
   Registration and choosing a subscription plan.
2. 2.
   Add a custom domain. By setting up a custom hostname on your website's domain (such as ss.example.com for example.com) browsers recognize your tracking scripts and cookies as first-party data rather than third-party requests. This integration prevents browsers like Safari and Firefox from cutting cookie lifetimes short, ensuring your analytics stay accurate and reliable.
3. 3.
   Set up the Custom Loader power-up. The Custom Loader minimizes the impact of ad blockers on your GTM and GA4 scripts by routing them through a path that turns all cookies into first-party cookies.

1. 1.
   When a visitor views a page, adds an item to their cart or completes a purchase, the GA4 or Google Ads tag fires in the browser. It sends the request to your gateway address instead of straight to Google. That address is either your custom domain or the default address.
2. 2.
   The gateway passes the requests to Google's first-party serving host and rewrites Google's domain to yours in the response, helping bypass ad blockers and prolonging first-party cookie lifetime.

Stape Gateway on Stape Global is available in:

• US Center (Iowa)
• SA East (Brazil)
• EU West (Belgium)
• AP East (Singapore)

Stape Gateway on Stape Europe is available in:

• Europe Center (France)

Choose the server zone nearest most of your visitors so requests to your Stape container travel a shorter distance. This ensures faster data transmission, helping to prevent event loss – especially for users on slower connections.