Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a popular tool for managing and deploying marketing and analytics tags on your website. However, the standard GTM is limited in its capabilities because it relies on client-side processing. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at server-side Google Tag Manager and how it differs from the standard GTM.
What is server-side Google Tag Manager?
Server-side Google Tag Manager (SSTGTM) is a version of GTM that operates on the server-side of your website, rather than on the client-side. This means that all of the processing of tags and tracking data occurs on your web server, rather than in the user’s browser.
SSTGTM can be implemented in a few different ways, but the most common method is to use a tag management platform (such as Tealium or Adobe Experience Platform) to deploy your tags server-side. With SSTGTM, your tags are loaded directly from your server, rather than from a third-party script loaded by your website.
How is server-side Google Tag Manager different from standard GTM?
There are a few key differences between server-side Google Tag Manager and the standard GTM:
- Privacy and security One of the main benefits of SSTGTM is that it can help improve user privacy and security. With client-side processing, all of the tracking data is sent to third-party servers, which can be a concern for some users. With SSTGTM, all of the tracking data is processed on your server, which can help alleviate these concerns.
- Speed and performance Because all of the processing of tags and tracking data occurs on your server, SSTGTM can be faster and more efficient than the standard GTM. This is because the user’s browser doesn’t have to load and process the GTM script, which can be a resource-intensive task.
- Flexibility SSTGTM also offers greater flexibility in terms of how you deploy your tags. Because all of the processing occurs on your server, you can use any programming language or technology stack that you prefer. This means that you can customize your implementation to suit your specific needs.
How to set up server-side Google Tag Manager
Setting up SSTGTM can be a bit more complex than setting up the standard GTM. Here are the basic steps you’ll need to follow:
- Choose a tag management platform that supports server-side tagging.
- Set up a container for your website in the tag management platform.
- Configure your server to handle server-side tag requests.
- Create and deploy your server-side tags in the tag management platform.
Conclusion
Server-side Google Tag Manager is a powerful tool that offers a number of benefits over the standard GTM. By processing tags and tracking data on your server, you can improve user privacy and security, boost speed and performance, and enjoy greater flexibility in how you deploy your tags. While setting up SSTGTM can be a bit more complex than setting up the standard GTM, the benefits are well worth it for many businesses.
