Server-side tracking with Stape: DATA HIT joins the partner programme

Following our recent partnership with Addingwell, DATA HIT has now joined the Stape partner programme. This further strengthens our server-side tracking capabilities and gives clients more choice when it comes to infrastructure and implementation.

Why server-side tracking matters

Client-side tracking continues to lose ground. Ad blockers affect roughly a third of users, Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) limits cookie lifetimes to as little as 1 to 7 days, and heavy browser-side scripts slow page loads. The combined effect is that up to 30 to 40% of events can go unrecorded, leading to gaps in attribution, inflated direct traffic, and unreliable reporting.

Server-side tracking addresses this by routing data through a server you control before forwarding it to platforms like GA4, Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and others. Cookies set via your own domain can persist for up to 400 days, giving you far more stable user identification and attribution. You also gain full control over what data is shared with third parties, which is an important consideration for GDPR compliance.

What Stape offers

Stape is a dedicated hosting and tooling platform for server-side Google Tag Manager. It removes much of the infrastructure complexity that has historically made sGTM adoption difficult for smaller businesses.

Key capabilities include:

• Quick container provisioning: set up an sGTM container in minutes with guided steps, no shell scripts or manual cloud configuration needed
• Custom Loader: delivers tracking scripts in a way that reduces blocking by ad blockers, improving event capture rates
• Cookie Keeper: extends first-party cookie lifetimes up to 400 days for more reliable attribution
• Stape Analytics: shows the real impact of ad blockers and browser restrictions on your tracking, with visibility into recovered events
• CMS and CRM integrations: plug-and-play apps for Shopify, WordPress, Magento, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and more
• Bot detection: filters out non-human traffic to improve data quality
• Compliance credentials: ISO 27001 certified, with GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and DORA alignment

Measured results from server-side adoption

The case for server-side tracking is supported by observable improvements in campaign performance. According to data from Stape's client base, average results upon switching include a 20% reduction in CPA, a 30%+ increase in ROAS, a 24% reduction in Google Ads cost per click, and a 13% reduction in Meta cost per click. Website speed improvements of up to 2x have also been recorded where heavy client-side scripts were offloaded.

For e-commerce clients specifically, server-side implementations have delivered 20 to 50% more tracked conversions and meaningful reductions in misattributed direct traffic. One case study showed a 40% drop in direct traffic once proper attribution was restored through sGTM.

How this complements Addingwell

DATA HIT now works with both Addingwell and Stape as server-side tracking partners. Both platforms serve the same core purpose (hosting and managing server-side GTM containers) but they differ in their approach, pricing models, and additional tooling. This gives us the flexibility to recommend the right fit based on each client's requirements, budget, and technical environment.

Regardless of which platform is chosen, the underlying benefits remain the same: better data accuracy, improved campaign performance, stronger privacy compliance, and faster websites.

What this means for DATA HIT clients

As a Stape partner, DATA HIT can offer end-to-end server-side tracking implementation covering audit, setup, testing, and ongoing monitoring. This includes:

• Tracking audits to identify data gaps and quantify lost conversions
• Server-side GTM container setup with custom domain configuration
• Platform tag deployment for GA4, Google Ads, Meta CAPI, TikTok Events API, and others
• Cookie and consent management configuration
• Ongoing monitoring and optimisation

If you are running paid campaigns and relying solely on client-side tracking, there is a good chance you are working with incomplete data. Server-side tracking will not solve every measurement challenge, but it closes a significant gap, and the performance improvements are well documented.

Get in touch

If you would like to understand how server-side tracking could improve your data accuracy and campaign performance, get in touch or schedule a call to discuss your requirements.