What is Server-Side Data Collection?

Server-side data collection is the process of collecting data and sending it to a web server for filtering, processing and distribution to destination systems, like analytics, martech, and advertising services. Unlike client-side data collection which is done exclusively in your web browser, server-side processes operate almost entirely on a server. This means that server-side data collection minimizes the load on browsers, streamlines and improves data collection, and improves privacy and security for consumers. 

Don't worry – we'll get into all of this and how server-side works in detail.

The traditional approach to data tracking on the web is what is known as client-side tagging. This approach has been popularized by services like Google Tag Manager, and rely on data collected directly in the browser itself. Client-side data collection uses cookies, scripts (aka, tags), and events sent from websites to provide basic data infrastructure for your web and mobile properties. 

The client-side method has served us well – but has many limitations that are increasingly becoming liabilities for modern digital analytics and data teams. Among these challenges are issues with the deprecation of third-party cookies resulting in a rapid decline in data quality, privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, and the rise of ad blockers. 

Organizations are increasingly turning to server-side technologies to modernize their data infrastructure approach and ensure they are staying competitive and compliant.

Is server-side tracking the future?

Yes, server-side tracking is the future for data collection on the web. It addresses data privacy and security challenges, provides more accurate data, and improves pagespeed and website load times. 

Over the past few years, we've seen a technological and regulatory shift that is contributing to the rise of server-side tagging. Businesses have noticed this shift in the decline of data quality collected from their websites and increasing concerns over privacy. Ad blockers are stripping organizations of valuable data and insights, and the deprecation of third-party cookies means that data custody is a necessary requirement for your analytics engine.

With regulations like GDPR and CCPA, just to name two prominent regulations, we're seeing the industry move toward privacy-focused, secure data handling practices. As a consumer, this is good news; as an organization, it presents unique challenges.

Server-side isn't a cure-all, but it is a viable, modern approach that provides a future-proofed method for data collection. Teams that use server-side tagging are less impacted by changes to browser policies around cookies and client-side scripting. All data collected via server-side is technically first-party data, and is therefore less impacted by updates from browsers like Firefox or Chrome.

Server-side is more consistent and reliable as it doesn't rely on a varying client-side environment. Ad blockers stop all JavaScript from running and prevent scripts from reading browser data; however, server-side doesn't rely on scripts to collect data and the server can collect data based on user interactions. 

Browsers seek to block third-party cookies and scripts, which are easy to spot because they don't come from your domain but instead a third-party's domain. On the server-side, the scripts that are run on your website come directly from your domain and therefore are much less likely to be blocked by browsers.

It's much easier to enforce privacy compliance with server-side because it allows for consolidation of user consent and data handling on the server. Simply put, do you know everything that is being tracked by the various client-side scripts you have installed on your website? With server-side tagging, you control what data is sent to these destinations and can therefore follow the letter of the law much more closely.

Client-Side vs Server-Side Tracking

What is the difference between client-side tracking and server-side tracking? The difference is that client-side tracking is done in the browser, while server-side tracking occurs on a web server. 

Here's a table that provides an in-depth breakdown of each method.

The benefits of server-side tracking

Server-side tracking offers benefits over client-side tracking such as improved web performance, enhanced security, and better, more accurate control over your data and analytics. Let's take a deeper look at each benefit:

• Improve performance
• Enhanced security
• Better data control
• Data privacy
• Scalability

Improve performance

Which is faster client-side or server side? The answer is that server-side is typically faster because it eliminates the latency introduced by client-side tags. This improvement in load times and page speed translates to a better user experience and possibly SEO benefits.

Client-side tracking works by loading code snippets on the user's web browser (the client) and executing code to capture and transmit data. Client-side tagging solutions will often load all the scripts when a user visits your website, even if those scripts aren't needed. If there's no reason to load an advertising script, then why load it at the cost of pagespeed? 

Enhanced security

Server-side tracking is more secure than client-side tracking because it reduces the potential surface available to bad actors. Server-side don't have the same vulnerabilities as client-side tracking, for instance, by not relying on scripts executing in a client's browser that could potentially be exploited by bad actors. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities occur when attackers use client-side scripts to inject malicious code into web pages.

The data collected is more secure because of its first-party data – as in, you own the data collection methods and can enforce security measures like using HTTPS for data in transit and using encryption for data at rest. With a server-side tag management system like MetaRouter, the minimal amount of scripting required is all done securely from your own domain or subdomain.

Server-side also makes it easier to comply with security standards such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2. You can precisely control who in your organization has access to sensitive data and can take appropriate steps to safeguard that data. With client-side tagging, the data collected is outside of your control. Server-side data collection gives you precise control over what you collect, how you distribute that data, and who has access.

Better data control

If you're considering modernizing your data management tech stack with a data management platform (DMP) or customer data platform (CDP), then moving to server-side tagging is a must. With server-side tagging, you have control over what data is collected from users and how that data is distributed to various destinations or endpoints. To get the level of precision required, you often need to implement logic that isn't feasible with client-side solutions.

Client-side tagging often takes an approach of "track all of the things" whereas the precision and thoughtfulness of a server-side approach provides much better data control. You control how it's collected, transformed, and sent to vendors. You can redact sensitive data to ensure compliance, and you can enrich that data at the point of collection before sending it to vendors.

Server-side systems aren't as susceptible to issues like script blocking or browser compatibility, so data collected tends to be more accurate and complete. This reliability means an improvement in data quality for your analytics and business intelligence tools. 

Data privacy

Server-side tracking enhances data privacy and makes it simpler to comply with data privacy regulations. Do you need consent for server-side tracking? Yes, you still need consent for server-side tracking, but you can provide users with much more granular selective options for data sharing. Unlike client-side tracking, server-side tracking allows you to implement data governance strategies that offer precise control over what data is collected and distributed, greatly improving your ability to transparently communicate with users.

Server-side tracking centralizes data collection on the server and improves data handling by pushing it away from the browser. This allows you to improve encryption, create audit trails, and implement strict access to that data. Server-side tracking is often said to align with "privacy by design and by default" principles of privacy regulation. What this means is that you can directly integrate data privacy and security into your data collection system.

In an increasingly security and data privacy conscious digital world, server-side data collection is the most future-proofed solution available.

Scalability

Many organizations start out with one or two client side tags, and then, before they know it, the site is clogged with tags and scripts. There are a few issues that hinder scalability. First, the tags slow down pagespeed. Second, the tags are often deployed by marketing teams without evaluating the privacy or security risks. Third, they often add redundant functionality to the website.

Server-side data collection provides a central repository for data collection. You can collect any event from the website and distribute it to different destinations. For example, you don't need to deploy Facebook, Google Ads, and LinkedIn advertising pixels to track conversions; in server-side, you collect a single event, send it to your server, and then use conditional logic to determine where to send that conversion data. More importantly, you can choose what data to send to those vendors. 

Adding a new vendor is simple compared to deploying a new client-side tag, such as if you decide to start doing advertising on Reddit. All you need to do is add a new destination for that data and it's distributed quickly, safely, and securely. No need to add more scripts to your website and slow down web performance. 

Conclusion

The choice between client-side and server-side tracking is not a binary one. Both methods have their pros and cons, but many organizations are now moving to server-side tracking. Server-side data tagging provides a range of advantages that make it an essential tool for modern businesses looking to gain a better understanding of their customers. With its enhanced accuracy, real time capabilities, improved security measures and ability to easily segment customers according to behavior and preferences - there’s no doubt that server side data tagging will continue to be an integral part of customer analytics in years ahead.

Many organizations are beginning to move fully server-side, a change that used to require a significant amount of internal resources and tooling, but with the introduction of next-generation CDI's like Metarouter, it offers a single control-plane of ALL of your customer data.  

Our approach to server-side tracking offers a promising way to optimize data collection and analysis while addressing the challenges associated with each method–it offers organizations a secure, accurate, cost-efficient, and transparent solution for collecting customer data for better downstream activation. By doing so, organizations can ensure they have the data they need to make informed decisions in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Ultimately, understanding the basics of server-side data collection will help businesses maximize their return on investment when it comes to collecting customer data while also increasing security standards for collecting this sensitive information securely and accurately - making it clear why server-side is quickly becoming the future of customer data collection and tracking.