How does Stape improve data accuracy compared to client-side tracking?
It cuts the conversions lost to ad blockers and browser limits, but it doesn't remove the loss, and we don't promise a percentage. With server-side tracking, events go to a server container that sends them on to GA4, Google Ads and Meta, and each conversion carries one event ID so the platforms count it once. On our own site we load the tags from our own domain through Stape's Custom Loader, and the gain is resilience to ad blockers.
What gets more accurate
With browser-only tracking, every platform runs its own script in the visitor's browser, and ad blockers and Safari's cookie limits stop some of it. A server container, hosted on Stape, receives each event once and passes it on from the server. It mitigates the loss. It doesn't bring it to zero.
What we set up
- Tags served from your own domain. We put the server container on your domain, or on a path of it, in a region you choose, with an EU region where that matters. On our own site, GTM loads same-origin through a Cloudflare Worker at
/sgtmusing Stape's Custom Loader. Load time was unchanged, and the gain is resilience to ad blockers. Custom Loader is on every Stape plan. - One event ID for each conversion. The browser event and the server event carry the same event ID and transaction ID, so GA4, Google Ads and Meta count it once rather than twice.
- Conversions sent from the server to GA4, Google Ads and Meta. On our own site LinkedIn and Reddit get them too.
What stays the same
- Server-side tracking doesn't bypass consent. How consent is handled is built per project.
- A badly set up browser event is still wrong. The server passes it on.
- Someone who never loads the page, or leaves before it fires, is still missed.
The faults we check for
Stape's free plan stops the container at 10,000 requests a month, and we've seen a container go dark when it hit that, so we watch the request count. We also check for the Click ID Restorer fault, where the click ID is set to the word "stape", which we've found on live sites. Stape's Cookie Keeper, which sets cookies from the server, starts on the Pro plan. We have it off on our own site because same-origin makes it unnecessary.
How we show it's working
We test end to end, including the next day's data in BigQuery, rather than quote a recovery rate. It's never a hundred percent, and the size of any gain depends on the site and its audience. Our technical tracking service covers the set-up and the checks.
The tools in this answer
StapeStape runs the server side of our tracking. Tags load from the client's own domain, and the server passes each conversion on to GA4, Google Ads and Meta, so fewer get lost to ad blockers and Safari.Tech
GTMHolds every tag, in the browser and on the server, so a change goes in once and gets tested before it goes live.Tech
GA4Counts sessions and events. We check it against the raw data before we report from it.Reporting
Where this came up in our work
- Client work
Belrose Group
A self-storage investment, development and consulting firm got a new Webflow site with a page for each of its three divisions, a lead funnel it trusted, and its investor portal moved to a new platform.
Read the story - Client work
Hear Me London
A London audiology clinic got local pages, an online hearing test that logs to a sheet and emails the clinic, and server-side tracking behind every booking: 378 online bookings in 15 months, over half from organic search.
Read the story
Also worth asking
Other answers about the same tools.
What is technical and tracking infrastructure?
It's the set-up that counts what happens on your site and sends it where it needs to go: tracking tags, analytics, ad-platform conversions, your CRM connection and cookie consent, plus the hosting and security around your website.
How do you set up website analytics and tracking?
We agree with you what counts as a conversion, then set up Google Tag Manager and GA4, plus server-side tracking through Stape for sites that spend on ads. Before we hand over, we check the data is actually arriving.
What is server-side tracking, and why do we use Stape?
Server-side tracking means your site sends each event once, to a server container, and that server passes it on to GA4, Google Ads and Meta, instead of every platform running its own script in the visitor's browser. We use Stape to host that container so you don't have to run a server. It reduces lost conversions. It doesn't get them all back, and it doesn't get round consent.
How do you handle compliance management for my website?
We work with your cookie consent tool, or suggest one we've worked with, and connect it to your tags so they follow the visitor's choice. How that's wired depends on the project, so we test what your tags actually do. We don't write legal text or give legal advice, so your privacy policy needs sign-off from someone qualified.
What is ad platform integration and why does it matter?
Ad platform integration means joining your website, tracking and CRM to the ad platforms, so they receive the leads and sales that came from their ads. Without it, bidding learns from clicks and form fills instead of customers.
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