Your analytics are telling an incomplete story. Ad blockers, browser privacy features, and consent requirements are eroding your tracking data every day. Server-side Google Tag Manager helps recover what's being lost.
As a certified Addingwell partner, DATA HIT implements server-side tracking solutions that recover your lost data, strengthen campaign attribution, and ensure privacy compliance.
Modern privacy measures are eroding your ability to measure marketing performance.
The data loss journey typically looks like this: you start with 100% of website traffic, but after GDPR and consent requirements you're down to around 80% trackable. Ad blockers reduce this further to approximately 64%. Browser privacy features like Safari ITP, Firefox, and Brave can cut trackable traffic to 45% or less.
This creates real business consequences. Your analytics dashboards show incomplete data. Campaign attribution becomes unreliable. Retargeting audiences shrink. Marketing decisions are based on guesswork rather than evidence.
Server-side tagging moves your tracking infrastructure from the visitor's browser to a server you control. Instead of relying on scripts that ad blockers can detect and browsers can restrict, data flows through your own first-party domain.
Traditional client-side tracking works like this: the user's browser loads third-party scripts which send data to analytics platforms.
Server-side tracking works differently: the user's browser sends data to your server (on a first-party domain), which then forwards it to analytics platforms.
This architectural change makes your tracking resilient to the restrictions affecting client-side tags.
Server-side implementation recovers tracking up to the 80% consent stage. For businesses currently seeing significant data loss from ad blockers and browser restrictions, this represents a substantial improvement in measurement accuracy.
Browser restrictions limit client-side cookies to 1-7 days. With server-side tracking using a custom domain, cookies can persist for up to 400 days. This means better user journey tracking and more accurate attribution across longer consideration periods.
More complete data means clearer understanding of which channels drive conversions. Stop over-crediting direct traffic and start seeing the true contribution of your paid campaigns.
Platforms like Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, and LinkedIn increasingly rely on Conversion APIs for accurate measurement. Server-side GTM provides the infrastructure to implement these APIs properly, improving match rates and signal quality.
Server-side tracking gives you complete control over what data is collected and where it is sent. You can anonymise data before it reaches third-party platforms, ensuring compliance with GDPR, PECR, and other privacy regulations.
Moving tracking scripts server-side reduces the number of third-party tags loading in your visitors' browsers. Fewer scripts means faster page loads and better user experience.
DATA HIT is a certified partner of Addingwell, an all-in-one server-side tagging platform. This means you benefit from managed infrastructure, comprehensive monitoring, and ongoing support.
Server-side tracking requires deep understanding of both the technical implementation and the business context. With over 15 years in digital analytics, including GA4, Google Tag Manager, and consent management, DATA HIT brings the expertise to implement solutions that deliver measurable results.
Server-side tracking is complex. Misconfigured setups can break your data collection entirely. DATA HIT handles the technical implementation, testing, and validation so you can focus on using the data rather than wrestling with the technology.
Server-side GTM is a version of Google Tag Manager that runs on a cloud server rather than in your visitors' browsers. It receives data from your website (or other sources), processes it according to your configuration, and forwards it to analytics and advertising platforms. This architecture makes tracking more reliable and gives you greater control over your data.
Client-side tracking runs JavaScript in the visitor's browser. This makes it vulnerable to ad blockers, browser privacy features, and network interruptions. Server-side tracking processes data on a server you control, bypassing many of these restrictions whilst still respecting user consent.
No. Server-side tracking still respects user consent choices. If a user declines tracking consent, no data is collected or processed. The difference is in how data is handled after consent is given, ensuring more accurate measurement without compromising compliance.
Results vary depending on your current setup and audience. Businesses typically see improvements from the 45% tracking level up to around 80% (the consent-limited ceiling). The exact improvement depends on factors like your audience's ad blocker usage and browser distribution.
Server-side GTM supports most major analytics and advertising platforms, including Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Conversions API, LinkedIn Conversions API, TikTok Events API, Microsoft Advertising UET, Pinterest Conversions API, Snapchat Conversions API, and many others.
Server-side tracking requires cloud hosting for your GTM server container. Through Addingwell, costs are based on the volume of events processed. For most small to medium businesses, hosting costs are modest relative to the value of recovered data and improved attribution.
A standard implementation typically takes 2-4 weeks, depending on the complexity of your current tracking setup and the number of platforms to be integrated. More complex setups with multiple websites or extensive ecommerce tracking may take longer.
Yes, positively. By moving tracking scripts server-side, fewer third-party tags need to load in your visitors' browsers. This typically improves page load times and Core Web Vitals scores.
Once implemented, server-side tracking requires minimal ongoing maintenance. DATA HIT provides documentation and can offer ongoing support packages for monitoring and adjustments as your needs evolve.
Server-side tracking delivers the most value for businesses that rely on accurate attribution for marketing decisions, particularly those running paid advertising campaigns across multiple platforms. If you are making significant marketing investments and need reliable data to optimise spend, server-side tracking is worth exploring.
Stop making marketing decisions based on incomplete information. Book a discovery call to discuss how server-side Google Tag Manager can improve your tracking accuracy and campaign attribution.
With years of dedicated experience across agency and client-side, I bring a wealth of industry knowledge and technical skill to every project.
Get direct access to the services and skills you require for your project to maximise the value of your investment.
I can integrate with any existing communication platform.
I will provide transparent communication for every step of the journey.
My project recommendations aren't tied to a specific set of platforms or ecosystems.
Matt is a reliable analytics architect and data expert who consistently delivers high quality work for clients. His deep and diverse experience across sectors and platforms ensures that clients receive balanced advice. The robust implementations that he produces cover scalability and future-proofing needs as standard. Talented and operates with great integrity, with a real passion for his work. Highly recommended, without hesitation.
DATA HIT has become a certified partner of Addingwell, an all-in-one platform designed to help businesses navigate these challenges through server-side tagging.
A recent Data Import product update in Google Analytics 4 has significantly simplified the process of connecting it to Salesforce.
