Server-side GTM implementation: Advantages for increased Campaign Efficiency
Traditionally, Google Tag Manager (GTM), a technology that allows the collection and processing of data, operates on client-side, executing tags within a user’s browser. Server-side GTM shifts the execution onto a server instead of the user’s browser. This makes the data less susceptible to manipulation, leading to data sovereignty, higher accuracy and reliability. An added benefit: it can help speed up your website if previously you had a lot of tracking codes in standard GTM.
From our point of view it is even more interesting to look at the possibilities that server-side GTM offers in combination with 1st party data. With this we mean business-unique insights like product data, order or customer data that you get from your e-shop, CRM or ERP system.
KPIs: From Revenue to Margin
The traditional and most widely used metric for measuring the success of advertising campaigns is sales or revenue (ROAS). However, a much better and business-accurate metric would be profit margin. Measuring margins and optimising campaigns towards this metrics gives a much more accurate picture of performance and allows for more effective and efficient budget optimisation.
We need to put a much bigger emphasis on data accuracy and quality to allow advertising campaigns to work effectively and efficiently. Automated, real-time bidding relies on quality data input to work well.
Lukáš Vožda
Head of Analytics, Proficio
Campaigns are like a box into which we put input - budget, product data, campaign goals. The better the input, the better the output.
What happens when you Optimise towards Sales only
A revenue-focused campaign seeks to maximise sales. Looks great on a first view but when you look closely at your bottom line you will see inefficiencies as a result of large volume sales from low margin products.
Take a look at the below example: If we only took revenue into consideration all 4 products perform similarly well. Looking at margins we now see that there is clear winner and loser products.
If you give your campaigns only revenue data then the bid strategy will not know which products are the most profitable for you. This can lead to budget inefficiencies.
Solution: Use Server-side GTM and feed your campaigns with better data
Server-side GTM can connect to a database containing your margin data and send these values in real-time as part of conversion data to advertising systems. No risk of exposing your margins to the competition.
The Results for our Clients
Thanks to the implementation of server-side GTM and the use of data from Google BigQuery, our clients experienced a significant improvement in the way its advertising campaigns were managed. Key results include:
Higher profitability of campaigns: The transition from sales to profit margins allowed for better budget allocation, giving campaigns with higher profitability bigger spending capability and thus allowing them to drive more profitable growth.
More accurate conversion tracking: Server-side GTM has improved the accuracy and reliability of conversion data by protecting it from client-side manipulation. This allows for better evaluation of campaign effectiveness and better optimisation.
Flexibility and scalability: The implementation of server-side GTM and integration with Google BigQuery is a flexible and scalable solution that can be easily expanded for other needs and projects.
Increased return on investment (ROI): By better managing and optimising campaigns based on profit margins, our clients able to achieve a higher return on advertising investment, which has improved the overall profitability of their businesses.
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I’m responsible for the analytics department at PROFICIO. My mission is to keep our agency up to date with the latest trends in analytics and technologies such as Google Cloud or Power BI.
