This article was published on 9 April 2024 and is for those who use AdWords or Facebook to drive traffic and rely on accurate data and tracking for your conversion. You need to read this.
The year 2024 brings about two significant transformations reshaping the industry: the proliferation of cookie blockers and updates to Google Chrome.
These shifts redefine how businesses track traffic sources and campaigns, presenting hurdles to tracking conversions and refining advertising strategies.
If you would like an instant quote to set up Server Side Tracking to re-connect your tracking to AdWords, Facebook or whatever third-party medium you use, then you can obtain an instant quote below, and we will also send you a link to meet and discuss your situation.
Cookie Blockers, Data Privacy & Why This is Changing?
The rising emphasis on data privacy has propelled the adoption of cookie blockers, empowering users to restrict websites from monitoring their online behaviours. Consequently, conventional methods of tracking traffic sources and conversions, which heavily rely on cookies, face substantial impediments. Marketers may encounter difficulties accurately attributing conversions to specific campaigns or channels, impacting metrics such as Cost per Conversion (CPC) and Return on Investment (ROI).
Impact on Google Analytics and AdWords
Google Analytics and AdWords, pivotal components of numerous online marketing strategies, heavily depend on cookies to track user interactions and assign conversions. The prevalence of cookie blockers undermines the efficacy of these platforms, resulting in incomplete data and inaccurate insights. Marketers may face challenges gauging their campaigns' performance and making informed optimisation decisions.
Limitations in Facebook Pixel Tracking
Similarly, Facebook Pixel, an essential tool for tracking conversions and refining ad campaigns on the social media platform, encounters obstacles due to cookie blockers. As users inhibit cookies, the ability to precisely track conversions diminishes, affecting the targeting and retargeting functionalities of Facebook ads. Marketers might observe disparities between reported conversions and actual outcomes, impeding campaign effectiveness.
GTM and Server-Side Tracking Limitations
While Google Tag Manager (GTM) facilitates tracking website events and interactions, its operation on the client side and reliance on cookies for data collection reduce effectiveness when cookies are blocked. In contrast, server-side tracking offers a solution that circumvents cookie restrictions and captures data directly from the server, ensuring more dependable and comprehensive tracking capabilities.
Benefits of Server-Side Tracking with stape.io
Integrating server-side tracking, mainly through platforms like stape.io, provides a robust solution to the challenges posed by cookie blockers and Chrome updates. By capturing data at the server level rather than relying on client-side cookies, server-side tracking guarantees the accuracy and completeness of data insights. Marketers can attain a holistic view of user interactions, irrespective of cookie settings, enabling them to make data-driven decisions confidently.
Enhanced Data Accuracy and Reliability
Server-side tracking enables businesses to overcome the limitations of cookie-based tracking and achieve enhanced accuracy in monitoring traffic sources and conversions. By capturing data directly from the server, marketers can eradicate discrepancies and ensure that every interaction is precisely recorded. This results in more reliable insights into campaign performance, facilitating improved optimization and resource allocation.
Improved AdWords and Facebook Conversion Tracking
Integrating server-side tracking with AdWords and Facebook accounts enhances conversion tracking capabilities, even in the presence of cookie blockers. By bypassing client-side constraints, marketers can attribute conversions accurately to their respective advertising channels, optimizing campaign targeting and maximizing ROI. This ensures that marketing budgets are allocated efficiently, driving tangible results for businesses.
So, what should you do?
Do nothing if you’re not worried about where your traffic is coming from. However, as cookie blockers grow in prevalence in 2024 and platform updates continue to evolve, investing in server-side tracking becomes crucial for future-proofing marketing strategies. By embracing technologies like stape.io and setting up server-side data capture, businesses can adapt to shifting regulations and take complete control of the events and data they wish to collect. Why? Cause you’re in control.
The influx of cookie blockers and Chrome updates in 2024 poses significant challenges for online marketers in monitoring traffic sources and tracking conversions. Nonetheless, by leveraging server-side tracking, businesses can surmount these challenges and ensure the accuracy and reliability of their data insights.
If you want to talk with us, take the online assessment for an instant quote. We will send you a Zoom link to discuss your pain points and offer you some free advice, or we can set you up within 7 days.
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