Data Accuracy and Quality: How Server-Side Tracking Improves Data Collection

Many people who work with ad campaigns still rely on traditional tracking methods. Fair enough, they do give insights. Yet most likely, they’re like a sieve that lets vital figures and findings slip through unnoticed.

Incomplete or inaccurate data can be misleading for someone making crucial business decisions regarding the marketing strategy or distributing the ad budget. Data with gaps won’t provide the full picture for understanding your audience and their behavior. And a hit-and-miss approach with ad campaigns costs lots of drained resources before you manage to figure out what works or not through trial and error.

So, how can you ensure you’re getting the data you need? And what is the role of server-side tracking in boosting data accuracy and quality? Learn why server-side tracking is a path to more precise and trustworthy data and how server-side tracking improves data collection.

Key Takeaways:

• Server tracking helps bypass issues with ad blockers and browser limits, making collected data more accurate.
• With server-side tracking, companies gain more control over how they collect, use, and share data. This improves security and makes sure you follow privacy rules.
• Although setting up server tracking requires tech skills, it yields more meaningful data and improves marketing effectiveness.
• Server-side tracking is a smart long-term choice that adapts well to evolving privacy rules and disappearing traditional tracking methods.

Why Data Accuracy Matters

Getting the right data is the bedrock of good digital ads. If you don’t have solid information, your choices might be off. This can lead to wasted money, missed chances, and ads that just don’t work. Here’s how data accuracy helps your ad campaigns.

Understanding Your Audience

Accurate data shows how people interact with your ads and campaigns. You see who likes what and what they do after clicking. This helps you make ads that fit their needs to create a better experience for them.
It is possible that you’ll discover patterns, unveiling what type of content resonates and urges a person to take action. This can help you rethink your targeting or get more creative with your ads.

Optimizing Campaigns

Using accurate data and real-time performance metrics can help you weed out the inconsistencies. You identify what works easier and may adjust the campaigns, including their placement, messaging, and design to boost their effectiveness.
For example, data might show you that a certain format performs better on mobile devices. With such data-driven insights, you can tweak the ads to ensure that the campaign delivers better results.

Spending Money Wisely

Correct tracking makes sure your ad money is used well. You can see exactly where your money is going, and what you are getting in return. This allows you to fine-tune your budget and maximize your return on investment.
For instance, by tracking conversions accurately, you’ll find underperforming channels. This will let you reallocate your budget better to scale other campaigns to maximize ROI.

Making Smart Choices

Data accuracy lets you make confident choices. Whether you’re starting a new ad campaign or adjusting your budget, you have the facts to guide you. Using reliable data helps make decisions with confidence, avoid risks, and increase the likelihood of success.
As such, if your data indicates that a particular audience segment is responding well to a specific message, you can confidently scale that campaign. You’ll know for sure that it’s based on solid evidence.

How Server-Side Tracking Works

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Various trackers are capable of “spying” on people while they surf the web. However, legacy tracking solutions that heavily rely on the user’s browser can be easily disrupted by ad blockers. That’s why many consider switching from client to server-side tracking.

What is server side analytics tracking? The S2S method collects and processes user data on a website’s server rather than in the user’s browser. It shifts the tracking process from the client side (where data is collected via JavaScript in the browser) to the server side (where data is captured and processed directly on the server).

How does it work? Essentially it goes something like this:

1. A user interacts with a website, mobile app, email campaign, landing page, and so on.
2. The data on a user’s digital interactions is sent directly to your server. The collected data can include actions like page views, clicks, sign-ups, purchases, among others.
3. The data is then processed on the server which acts as a central hub. Processing may happen in real-time, and the obtained data can be enriched with extra information (such as CRM data) before it’s sent to analytics platforms.
4. After processing, the data gets distributed to various analytics and marketing tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads.

The findings are then analyzed to derive actionable insights. With analytics server side tracking you get a lot more control over what data is collected, how it is used, and where it is sent to better align with business goals and adhere to privacy rules.

Why Is Server-Side Tracking Better Than Client-Side?

There are several notable benefits of server side tracking. To compare, unlike traditional client-side tracking, server side data collection bypasses ad blockers and browser restrictions, which paves the way to collecting data more accurately and consistently. Here’s a brief overview of other notable points when comparing client-side vs server-side data collection.

Dealing with Ad Blockers

Many people use ad blockers, and client-side tracking is easily blocked. It’s like trying to take a photo through a foggy lens, there’s an obscured view, and you miss important details. Server-side tracking, on the other hand, gives you that high-definition image without the lens flare, blurs, and smears.

Analytics server side tracking collects data on the server, it’s less affected by things like ad blockers. They can’t stop you since S2S tracking is able to bypass ad blockers and browser restrictions, so it’s less likely that important data that you care about will get blindfolded. This basically means that:

• you get data from all users, even those with ad blockers;
• your data is more accurate, so you can ascertain that you’re getting all the right numbers and figures without gaps.

Adhering to Privacy Rules

Privacy rules are getting stricter. If a business or individual doesn’t follow them, the legal consequences could get ugly (think heavy fines for intentional breaches). But on a positive note, server side tracking GDPR and CCPA compliance is not an issue.

Even as the rules about privacy are changing, using a server analytics system means you are ready for them now and in the future. This approach ascertains that you adhere to privacy rules without any violations and have control over user consent.

Server-side tracking implements various security measures, including data anonymization and pseudonymization, making sure to align with privacy principles and that only necessary data gets processed. Topping that, it lets you enhance security and safeguards sensitive data from exposure, meaning you can protect your data better.

Having More Accurate Data

As we discussed earlier, data accuracy and consistency are crucial for informed decision-making. Client-side tracking relies on the user’s browser and often encounters issues that compromise data completeness and quality. With server side analytics, obtained data is much more reliable. The main reason for that is that server side data gives you more control, providing more valuable outputs. Specifically, you:

• avoid differences in data between different tools;
• track users consistently across different devices;
• get more accurate data, even on busy websites;
• can better understand the user and tweak your campaigns.

Keeping Control

Having more control over your data means that you get to decide what to track and how to use it. Yet client-side tracking often depends on other companies’ services, so if third-party servers experience issues, your tracking breaks.

With server side data, you are in charge, maintain control, and don’t have to wait on other systems. So even if a third-party analytics platform is down, S2S tracking will still capture user interactions so you won’t miss valuable insights. This means:

• you keep collecting data even if other services fail;
• you send fewer requests to other servers, making performance faster;
• you have better control over how your data is distributed.

Moreover, you get to decide how the data is distributed. You’re the one to determine which data is sent to certain marketing tools and platforms, adding another layer of data security.

Getting Better Results from Your Marketing

When your data is accurate, you can make better decisions, it’s as simple as that. Client-side tracking can lose data, especially when people use ad blockers. Since server-to-server overcomes traditional tracking limitations, this can visibly boost the ROI gained from digital marketing campaigns and the ads you run.

You see the full “panorama” when tracking insights and can make more informed calls regarding what to change, what to drop, or what to invest in more. The major benefits of server side tracking in this respect include:

• seeing the whole picture, not just parts of it;
• running better ad campaigns;
• knowing which ads and channels are working best;
• spending your marketing money wisely.

Making Websites Faster and Smoother

Another difference between server side vs client side analytics is their effect on performance. With client-side tracking, every tool, tracking script, and ad tag adds more work on the user’s end. It’s like extra customers crowding the checkout, they slow everything down.

Server side analytics helps by handling these tasks on your server, behind the scenes. It reduces the load on the user’s device, improving performance. This means:

• pages often load a lot faster;
• people are less likely to leave the page because it’s slow;
• pages work better on various devices, including phones and tablets;
• search engines like speed, so fast pages may rank higher.

Server Side vs. Client Side Analytics

The bottom line is that S2S is a more secure, accurate, and reliable approach compared to client-side methods. It manages to address multiple challenges associated with traditional tracking and can deliver more trustworthy results that are crucial for business success.

Yes, setting up server side tracking takes more work and requires technical expertise. You need someone who knows the ropes. But the good thing is, server side tracking benefits your business in the long term, giving you better data, better control, and better performance, all while helping you meet privacy standards. Here’s a quick recap of the main differences between the approaches.

Feature	Client-Side Tracking	Server Side Analytics Tracking
Data Accuracy	Can lose data due to blockers	Helps in bypassing ad blockers
Privacy Compliance	Limited control over privacy	High compliance with regulations
Security	More vulnerable to sensitive data exposure and data breaches	Processed data on the server with higher security, reducing data exposure
Flexibility	Restricted customization	Customizable data processing
Handling Large Data Volumes	May struggle with high traffic or large datasets	Can handle large volumes of data efficiently
Data Control	Limited control over how data is distributed	Precise control over data sharing
Data Enrichment	Limited ability to enrich data due to browser limitations	Enriches data in real-time from various sources
Reliability	Can be disrupted by third-party service outages or external issues	Maintains data collection even if external services fail
Performance Impact	Slower page loads	Faster performance

How Server-Side Tracking Enhances Data Collection

Again, instead of relying solely on the user’s web browser, server-side tracking moves data collection to your own servers. This simple change brings big improvements in accuracy, quality, and security.

How does server-side tracking improve data accuracy? Here are things that it does that help enhance data collection.

Provides a Complete Picture with Server-Side Data

When you use server side data collection, you capture events directly on your server. This means you get a more complete and reliable view of user behavior.

Regular browser-based tracking can be stopped by ad blockers or browser settings. But S2S doesn’t miss a beat, ensuring that you see the full story of how the user took the action. And it supports various approaches to attribution modeling, including multi-touch, multi-channel, and cross-device attribution.

Cuts Down Lost Data

Often, ad blockers and privacy settings on browsers can stop tracking tools from collecting data or interfere with the completeness of the pulled data. This leads to missing or insufficient information.

Server-side tracking stops this problem. Because it collects data on the server, you get more accurate and dependable data.

Takes Control of Data and Follows Privacy Rules

One of the key server-side tracking benefits is that it gives you more control over data. You decide how it is processed and shared. This is important for complying with rules like GDPR and CCPA.

Why bother? Using GDPR server side tracking helps you build trust with your users while staying within allowed limits. Obviously, it can save you from legal proceedings as well.

Ensures Data Security

Processing data on your server before it goes to other platforms makes it much safer. This reduces the risk of data breaches and limits access you haven’t allowed. Server-side tracking helps you:

• keep user data out of client-side code, where it could be seen;
• remove personal information before sharing it;
• handle sensitive data, like personal information, more safely;
• control who can access data with server-side checks
• stop hackers from using client-side weaknesses.

Gives More Information

Server-side tracking lets you add extra information to your data in real-time. You can therefore enrich the data by integrating information from various sources, such as pulling it from your customer systems or databases. This makes sure your data is consistent and useful across all your tools.

Need an example? For instance, if someone makes a purchase online, S2S can append important details to supplement the transaction data. This could be the user’s demographics or even information on their purchase history. In turn, this gives a more comprehensive view of customer behavior and preferences, letting teams understand user journeys, improve customer segmentation, boost marketing strategies, and tailor their ad efforts to various markets.

Keeps Data Consistent

Another fundamental point is data standardization. Server-side tracking centralizes data collection and processing on the server, which helps maintain data consistency across multiple platforms and devices. There are way fewer discrepancies and errors with this method, which is very important if you want to be certain that you’re relying on accurately captured cross-platform data.

Handles Lots of Data Quickly

The thing is that sophisticated analytics tasks like funnel analysis or A/B testing may cause delays. Nonetheless, analyzing extensive datasets without backpedaling, compromising speed, or causing performance issues is essential.

Keeping the resource responsive and fast is particularly valuable for businesses that generate a high volume of user interactions. This could, for example, concern big e-commerce stores or sites with thousands of concurrent active users.

Luckily, server-to-server tracking lets you conduct complex data analysis without slowdowns or unreliable processing risks. This method is built to deal with large amounts of data very fast, efficiently processing it in real-time. Even during high-traffic periods or with the expansion of data scale, S2S can handle the increased volumes. Another solution is integrating MongoDB with BigQuery, which enables real-time, scalable analysis of millions of user events—empowering businesses to gain insights quickly without affecting the performance of transactional systems.

Prepares for the Future of Web Tracking

Browsers are moving away from third-party cookies and adding more privacy tools. Server side analytics is a smart way to prepare for these changes. It works well with new technologies and supports integrations with multiple solutions, including AI and machine learning tools. This makes server-side tracking a path to web analytics mastery. This means:

• you do not have to rely on third-party cookies and are ready for a future without cookies;
• you can easily adapt to new privacy laws;
• you may work with new ways to identify users;
• you can make use of advanced data analysis capabilities;
• you prepare for scaling and larger data loads later on;
• there are plenty of integration opportunities to consider.

The outcome? By using server-side tracking, you can get better data, protect user privacy, and make sure your data strategies are ready for the future.

Possible Complexities with Server-Side Tracking Setup

While moving to server side analytics tracking brings many advantages, it’s important to understand that it’s not a simple switch. If you’re currently using traditional methods, you need to know not only how to send client side data to server side, but also how to handle the settings and integrations. You may likely run into some real challenges, such as those we bring up below.

1. Technical Expertise

Getting analytics server side tracking running means changing your current setup quite a bit. You need people who really know their stuff. This means developers, marketers, data analysts, and other team members that use such data must work together closely. They’ll have to define what data is most valuable for the campaigns and think through how data should flow through your system and connect with your platforms.

It’s a bigger job than just adding a few lines of code to your website. It involves significant infrastructure changes.

So when considering your server-side ad tracking software options, look for those solutions that offer robust support, clear documentation, or even skilled professionals to provide a shoulder to lean on. Ideally, there should be help available like:

• consulting and assisting with the transition;
• setting up server infrastructure and APIs;
• setting up SDKs for effective data transmission;
• configuring data pipelines;
• checking data format compatibility across different systems;
• handling the integrations with existing tools and platforms.

2. Can Cost More

Using server side analytics can cost more money. If you are using platforms like Google Tag Manager, you will need to pay for the servers and the infrastructure to support it. You have to carefully plan your budget to cover these costs and understand the ongoing spending, not just how much you’ll need for the setup.

3. Team Upskilling

Your team might need to learn new skills or hire new people. Your marketing team may not have the technical skills needed to handle server-side tracking. You might need developers who can rewrite tracking scripts and manage data flows. This can mean training your current team or finding new experts. This can mean training your current team, providing ongoing guidance withe the help of mentoring software, or finding new experts.

4. Privacy and Compliance Risks

Even though server side tracking GDPR can give you more control, you must be careful about privacy and following the rules. S2S requires careful planning and execution. If you do not handle this correctly, it’s easy to make mistakes if the matter isn’t properly managed.

Either way, you must make sure you are getting user explicit consent before you collect and process data. You must also follow all privacy laws, like GDPR or the ones applicable to your region. The latter might, for example, mean that you’ll have to make it easy for users to erase their data if they want to. Likewise, it makes sense to implement privacy-enhancing technologies right from the start.

5. Data Deduplication Strategies

Tracking data from multiple sources can be very difficult and requires careful planning when adopting S2S. Are you sure you aren’t collecting the same data twice?

Duplicate data prevention across different platforms or sessions is integral for data integrity. It’s essential to double-check that the collected data is accurate. You might have to do session tracking, validate user IDs, and control the timestamps to avoid issues.

Final Remarks on Server Side Analytics Tracking

Keeping track of what people do is getting harder. Regular tracking solutions can be blocked, and privacy rules are getting tougher.

But analytics server side tracking offers a way to handle this. It puts you in charge of your data. You get more accurate information and follow privacy rules. This method helps you stay ready for future changes too.

By adopting this approach, you can maximize the value of your data across multiple channels while protecting user privacy. It’s a smart strategic choice both for short-term success and long-term sustainability.

RedTrack can help you get started. It’s not just an S2S ad tracking tool, we also give you support to get it working right so you can focus on making informed decisions based on more accurate data to drive real results for your campaigns and ROI. So if you need help getting started or have questions about server-side tracking solutions? Feel free to reach out to us or book a demo, we’ll be glad to chat.