What is server-side tagging and how does it work?

In an increasingly digitized world where we rely on big data to optimize our marketing strategies and deliver personalized customer experiences, tagging plays a central role. Tagging in web tracking enables the capture and management of data, which in turn forms the basis for data-driven decisions. Until now, client-side tagging has been the most common method. But in recent years, a new technique has become increasingly popular: server-side tagging.

Server-side tagging offers a number of benefits that meet your needs and the challenges of today’s digital marketing. The growing complexity of the digital landscape requires a more flexible, efficient, and privacy-friendly tagging method.

In this post, we will take a closer look at server-side tagging, explain how it works, and discuss the benefits as well as the challenges to consider when implementing it. We will also draw a comparison to traditional client-side tagging to illustrate the differences and the respective deployment scenarios. In addition, we will look at the necessary prerequisites for the setup of server-side tagging and take a look at the cost aspects.

If you want to understand how server-side tagging can drive your business and the impact it can have on your data-driven initiatives, you’ve come to the right place.

How does server-side tagging work?

Server-side tagging offers an alternative method to classic client-side tagging, where your browser plays the main role. In classic web tracking, your website loads the GTM (Google Tag Manager) snippet and its container, which in turn contains all the tags, such as Google Analytics, Facebook, and Google Ads. These tags use JavaScript libraries to collect data and send it to their platforms. In doing so, your browser communicates directly with the endpoints of the various vendors, for example, Google Analytics sends its data to google-analytics.com.

With server-side tagging, we use your own server as a proxy in the data transmission chain. A special GTM server container is stored on this server. Instead of data being sent directly to the tools, they take the detour via your server. There, the data is transformed and enriched before it is forwarded to the tracking providers.

It is important to note that server-side tagging does not replace web tracking. On your website, we still need at least a minimum of tracking to capture interactions. This allows us to capture basic information about your user interactions and send it to the server.

Using server-side tagging as an intermediary gives you more control over data processing. Instead of the browser communicating directly with the tracking vendors, the data is processed on your own server.

Server-side tagging thus provides greater control over the data that is collected and sent to third-party vendors. It also allows for better customization of data processing to your specific requirements and privacy policies. Let’s take a closer look at these and other benefits.

Server-side Tagging Benefits

Server-side tagging offers a number of benefits that make it an attractive option for website owners like you. Here are some of the most important ones:

1. Full control over your data: With server-side tagging, you retain full control over the data collected from your website. Since processing takes place on your own server before submission, you can control exactly what data is collected and how it is processed. This allows you, for example, to comply with privacy regulations and control the use of sensitive information.
2. Improved data accuracy: By moving tag execution to the server, you can improve the accuracy of your tracking data. Client-side tags are susceptible to issues such as ad blockers, browser measures, or other technical limitations that can result in data not being transmitted directly to tracking providers. Server-side tagging minimizes these issues because communication with these third parties happens from your server instead of directly from the browser.
3. Better website performance: client-side tagging can affect the loading time of your website because the tags have to be executed by the user’s browser. By offloading the execution to the server, server-side tagging can reduce load times and improve the overall performance of your website. This leads to a better user experience and lower bounce rates.
4. Flexibility in integrating services: Server-side tagging allows you to seamlessly integrate various tracking services and tools into your website. Since the processing is done on the server, you can easily add new services or update existing services without requiring any changes in the client code. This simplifies the management and maintenance of your tracking implementation. Of course, you should also use a tag management tool client-side to simplify management there.
5. Data protection and compliance: with the increasing importance of data protection and compliance with regulations such as the GDPR, server-side tagging is a solution that can help meet data protection requirements. Since you have control over the data and the processing takes place on your own server, you can ensure that the required data protection measures are implemented.

Server-side tagging thus offers numerous benefits, including full control over your data, improved accuracy, better website performance, flexibility in integrating services, and compliance with privacy regulations. But of course, there are also challenges that can come with implementing server-side tagging that we should address.

Challenges that should be considered

Although server-side tagging offers many benefits, there are also some challenges that should be considered during implementation:

1. Implementation complexity: Compared to client-side tagging, server-side tagging usually requires a more complex implementation. It requires technical knowledge and setting up your own server or using a third-party hosting provider. So, configuring and maintaining the server-side tagging setup can be time-consuming and demanding.
2. Impact on debugging: Since the execution of the tags is done on the server, debugging may be more complex. In client-side tagging, you can check the tags directly in the browser developer tools, whereas in server-side tagging, this is not quite as easy. Instead, log files and other server tools must be used to monitor proper tag execution and identify problems. In the best case scenario, your server-side tool provides its own debug mode.
3. Server dependency: With server-side tagging, the availability and performance of your tracking tags depends on the availability and performance of your server. If there are server downtimes or problems, this can impact tracking and affect data collection. Reliable server infrastructure and monitoring are crucial, just like when hosting your website.
4. Difficulties with remarketing: One of the difficulties with server-side tagging is remarketing. Traditionally, remarketing is often done using third-party cookies set on the browser. With the increased use of privacy measures and the restriction of third-party cookies in many browsers, remarketing is already fundamentally more difficult. Since the processing is done on the server, third-party cookies can no longer be set in the browser from there to identify users for remarketing. It therefore requires alternative approaches such as the use of first-party cookies and data or other identifiers to capture remarketing data and still enable targeting.
5. Cost aspect: Another consideration when implementing server-side tagging is the cost compared to free client-side tagging. Server-side tagging may involve additional costs, as it requires the setup and maintenance of a dedicated server or the use of a third-party tag management vendor. The exact cost will vary depending on the scope of the setup, the infrastructure chosen, and the specific requirements. It’s important to consider these financial aspects and perform a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the increased data quality provided by server-side tagging will pay off for your organization.

Despite these challenges, the benefits of server-side tagging often provide enough incentive to overcome them. It is important to consider these challenges during implementation and have the right resources and expertise available to successfully transition from client-side to server-side tagging. Let’s take another look at the cost of a server-side setup.

What is the cost of server-side tagging?

Server-side tagging costs can vary depending on the scope of the setup and the service providers you choose. It’s important to consider the potential costs to make sure they fit into your budget. Compared to free client-side tagging, there are additional expenses as you will need at least the server and may also need to hire the professional skills.

An example of a third-party provider of server-side tagging services is Tealium. Tealium offers a comprehensive tag management system with server-side functionality. The cost of Tealium depends on several factors, such as the number of hits, the number of tags used, and the desired functionality. Prices usually start at a few hundred dollars per month and can increase depending on the specific needs of your business.

Another example is Google Tag Manager (GTM), which also supports server-side tagging. GTM itself is free, but using server-side tagging with GTM may incur additional costs for server operation and infrastructure. These costs depend on the server infrastructure you choose, such as using Google Cloud Platform or other cloud providers. Prices for server operation vary depending on the specific requirements and the amount of data being processed. They often start at less than 100 dollars, but can increase quickly depending on the volume.

It is advisable to compare different vendors and carefully review prices to find the solution that best fits your needs and budget. Remember that the cost of server-side tagging includes not only the pure service cost, but also potential costs for maintenance, training, and adapting the setup to new requirements or changes in your business. Which brings us directly to the requirements for your setup.

Requirements for your setup

For a successful server-side tagging setup, certain technical and business requirements must be met. On the technical side, you need a stable and powerful server infrastructure on which the server-side tagging setup can be hosted. In addition, open APIs are important to enable integration with tracking providers and their tools. Without these interfaces, you won’t get the data sent to the tracking vendors. In addition, you should have the necessary resources to process and, if necessary, transform the collected data before it is sent to the tracking providers.

On a business level, it is crucial to define clear tracking requirements. You should know exactly what data you want to collect and which tracking providers you want to use. It is important to understand the specific requirements and features of each provider to ensure that they can be integrated into the server-side tagging setup.

Ideally, you’ll have a team with the appropriate skills. Server-side tagging requires technical skills in areas such as server administration, web development, and tag management. Make sure you have a team that has these skills or that you have access to experts to successfully implement and maintain the setup.

Finally, you should also be aware of data protection and compliance requirements. It is important to know the applicable data protection regulations and ensure that you take the necessary measures to protect personal data and comply with legal requirements.

By meeting these technical and business requirements, you lay the foundation for a successful server-side tagging setup. It is advisable to plan carefully, allocate the appropriate resources and, if necessary, bring in external experts or service providers to ensure that your setup is set up properly and works well.

Differentiation from server-side tracking

The difference between server-side tagging and server-side tracking is also important to understand. Both approaches use the server as a middleman, but their functionalities and purposes differ.

Server-side tagging refers to the use of a server as a proxy to process data coming from a client-side setup before it is forwarded to tracking providers. The server receives the data, processes it if necessary, and then forwards it. The focus is on controlling data flows and flexibility in implementing different tags.

In contrast, server-side tracking refers to direct tracking from server to server. Here, tracking data is collected directly from the server (e.g. your shopping backend) and sent to the tracking platforms or analytics tools without going through the client browser. This enables direct collection of data at the server level, which can offer advantages in some scenarios, such as server-generated events or non-browser-based applications.

While server-side tagging primarily aims to improve control over data flows and flexibility in tag implementation, server-side tracking focuses on capturing data directly at the server level. Both approaches have their specific use cases and can be applied depending on the individual requirements of an organization or website.

It is important to note that server-side tagging and server-side tracking are not mutually exclusive. It is quite possible to use both approaches in combination to get the benefits of both solutions and meet specific requirements.

Conclusion

Server-side tagging offers organizations the opportunity to improve control over their tracking data and adapt to increasing data protection requirements. By moving tag processing to the server, they can increase data security, reduce reliance on third-party cookies, and enable more flexible tracking implementations.

However, when implementing server-side tagging, you should also consider the challenges, such as the technical and business requirements needed and the associated costs. It helps to compare the different vendors and their pricing models to find a solution that meets your individual needs and budget.

Overall, server-side tagging offers an attractive alternative to traditional client-side tagging. It’s a development that’s gaining traction in a privacy-conscious digital landscape, giving organizations the ability to maintain control over their tracking data while complying with privacy regulations. 

Hopefully this post has been of help to you in carefully weighing the pros and cons and finding the best solution for your needs. If you still have questions or need assistance, feel free to contact me.