Collecting a large amount of data while protecting the privacy of your website visitors: it can be done with server-side tracking. We tell you why this method of data collection is indispensable for your business.
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With server-side tracking, you collect data about your visitors without compromising their privacy. As a result, we see that the popularity of this method continues to grow.
Client-side tracking vs. server-side tracking
We answer your questions
Is server-side tracking a solution for you? And how does it actually work? We list everything for you here.
For whom is server-side tracking a solution?
Server-side tracking can be of interest to anyone. However, it is important to consider the complexity of server-side tracking. In fact, integrating server-side tracking is a complicated process. It requires some technical knowledge. In this regard, a background in marketing also helps. It takes some time, but once you understand how it works, server-side tracking offers many benefits. If you have a medium to large organization, your Web site also has a lot of visitors. There is then a lot of potential for valuable data collection.
The benefits of server-side tracking
- Server-side tracking allows you to bypass adblockers. Adblockers are extensions that can block cookies, including cookie requests from well-known data companies such as Google. With server-side tracking, cookies are placed in the first-party context, so browsers and adblockers have no control over them. Thus, even from visitors who use adblockers, you still receive anonymous data.
- Using server-side tracking also means that you can measure 100% of your conversion value. In the Netherlands, on average around 85-95% of the conversion value is measured (difference between Analytics and the back-end of a webshop), but in Germany the percentage is around 75% because privacy is a bigger issue there. Giving less conversion data back to the algorithms of Google, for example, means that the algorithms work less well. Algorithms are only as good as the amount of data you give them to learn from. With server-side tracking, you simply have more data available (100%). This allows algorithms to better understand who your customers are, which then improves the performance of your Google Ads campaigns.
- As you collect more data, you can better respond to the online behavior of your visitors. You can better tailor your ads and campaigns to the needs of your target audience, optimizing your website's conversion rate.
- Another advantage is that you control your own data. So with server-side tracking, the data collected goes to you first, before it goes to outside parties. You have the ability to filter information and add additional data. Control over the data remains in your own hands.
- Data collection is also a lot faster if you do it from the server. That's because fewer tracking pixels are loaded into your viewer's browser. And because this is all done on your own server, the data stream is shorter and your website becomes faster.
