Eneco becomes the owner of their web data streams using server-side tracking
Eneco
- Klantcase
- Technical Web Analytics
- Data consultancy
Eneco has been working with us for years for the (client-side) tracking of their online traffic. When server-side tracking emerged at the end of 2022, it was a logical step for them to ask us to think about the business value of this tracking method. They wanted to compare their existing Google Analytics implementation with a tagging server on Microsoft Azure.
Approach
We set up the new server-side tracking framework parallel to the client-side implementation as a proof-of-concept (POC) with an evaluation after six months. The intention here was not to phase out client-side tracking immediately but to look at the differences between client-side and server-side tracking based on BigQuery analyses.
The main questions of the POC were:
- To what extent does server-side tracking add value compared to the current implementation?
- To what extent can the new framework mitigate the drawbacks of tracking prevention*?
- Is there a difference in data quality between the two tracking methods?
- Is it worth the investment to roll out server-side tracking further?
We started by developing the server-side architecture. Eneco used Google Tag Manager, which integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics. The tagging server had to run on Azure, which was less compatible with GTM. We shared our architecture plan and the resources we needed with Eneco. Their own engineers then implemented this in Azure using Azure Kubernetes Services.
In collaboration with the client, we looked at which measurements we wanted to perform via the own tagging server. Besides the hosting costs, you pay for each outgoing HTTP request sent from your tagging server in server-side tracking. This can quickly become expensive. For the POC, we decided to focus on e-commerce interactions and exclude, for example, scroll events.
To test the infrastructure, we first rolled it out for the subsidiary label Oxxio. Due to the lower visitor volume, it was safe to experiment here. We used the learnings from this to set up the tagging server for Eneco. Our Technical Web Analysts and Data Engineers worked intensively with the Engineers.
Result
Thanks to automated tagging server monitoring with BigQuery and Looker Studio, we were able to provide clear insights into the data reliability and uptime of the server. For example, we determined how many events were measured client-side and server-side.
The conclusion of the POC was that server-side tracking delivers a dataset of high-quality web data. The new framework still runs parallel to the client-side implementation. Eneco is ready for the future. If legislation changes or server-side tracking becomes the standard, they can phase out client-side tracking seamlessly.
Need help implementing server-side tracking?
Let our Technical Web Analysts guide you through the process seamlessly! Contact us or schedule a meeting directly here.
Want to know more?
Stefan will be happy to talk to you about what we can do for you and your organisation as a data partner.
Commercieel Manager Technical Web Analytics020 308 43 9006 33 65 99 17stefan.put@digital-power.com
Receive data insights, use cases and behind-the-scenes peeks once a month?
Sign up for our email list and stay 'up to data':