Magasin, a prominent Danish retail brand, understands the importance of optimizing its data management and digital performance. To address this opportunity, they turned to DEPT® for help implementing a server-side tagging solution.
Building a solid server-side foundation for tagging solutions
To minimize the amount of data sent to third-party analytics and marketing platforms, Magasin decided to implement server-side tagging as a new web analytics and tracking approach. This would allow them to collect and process data on the server side rather than on the client side.
To build a robust foundation for this implementation, we created and configured a server-side GTM (Google Tag Manager) container. After that, we created a secure and scalable server-side environment within the Google Cloud Console.
This infrastructure served as the backbone for Magasin’s data processing and facilitated the integration of the implemented components into the server GTM container.
Enhancing Magasin’s digital ecosystem with GA4 and Meta tags
To optimize Magasin’s digital ecosystem, we created and deployed the necessary tags tailored specifically for GA4 (Google Analytics 4) and Meta. This meticulous process guaranteed accurate data collection and seamless integration with Magasin’s digital properties.
Our approach went beyond their immediate needs, as we strategically designed the system to allow for additional components in the future.
Key benefits of server-side tagging
The implementation of server-side tagging brought about several significant benefits for Magasin:
Improved third-party integrations
Magasin now can fire all third-party integrations from their server environment. This has resulted in enhanced performance for their conversion API integrations, GA4 server-side property, and overall page performance.
Market-specific server environments
We established separate server environments for Magasin’s markets in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. This segmentation streamlined data management and ensured optimal performance for each market.
Data control and GDPR compliance
With the setup in Google Cloud and sGTM (server-side Google Tag Manager), Magasin can now easily access and modify its data before passing it on to third-party integrations.
This setup helps Magasin control and filter data for PII (personally identifiable information), which aligns its data collection practices with GDPR regulations.
Page performance optimization
We are currently testing methods to frontload Magasin’s client-GTM container from the server. The goal is to reduce page load times and further enhance the user experience.
The path forward to holistic customer insights
Throughout our partnership, we’ve achieved three main goals: to enable efficient data management, enhance brand performance, and ensure GDPR compliance.
As our collaboration with Magasin continues, we are exploring new potentials for server-side tagging. We’re focusing on a holistic view of all of Magasin’s users from an omnichannel perspective, aligning with Magasin’s goal of leveraging data to gain deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences.
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Senior Digital Analytics Specialist
