The Easiest Way to Set Up Server-Side Tracking

Question

Hi, Jon. Kim McCoy here from High Rise Promotions Ad Agency. My question is, can you give me tips on the easiest setup and integration for server-side tracking conversions API? I mean, I know we can't live without it, so what's the most economical way for a brand to get this set up?

Answer

This is a great question, Kim!

So, yeah, this is super important. First, let me explain what this means for those who don’t understand terms like server side tracking and conversions API.

Meta needs data from us that announces when various conversion events happened. Initially, that was done only with the website pixel. So, we would create events for things like a purchase or lead, and we’d send that event to Meta when someone completed that action. Meta doesn’t know when that action happens otherwise.

This information is super important for a couple of reasons. Of course, you need it for reporting. You need Meta to be able to say that you spent $1,000 on ads and were able to generate 10 conversions.

But it’s also important for optimization. When Meta knows that someone performed the action that you want, the algorithm learns from it. Especially in these days of algorithmic targeting and less control, Meta can search out more people like that who might perform that specific action.

So the problem is that the website pixel isn’t nearly as dependable as it once was. This is due to all sorts of reasons, from privacy laws to browser settings. You should still use the pixel, but it’s not going to generate complete data for Meta.

That’s why you also want to send first-party data that you own to Meta. This is done using the Conversions API.

There are two primary types of data you might send via the API. Website data, which essentially piggybacks off of the pixel, and customer data from your CRM.

The easiest step, and I say “easy” with huge caveats, is the web API. The problem is that the best way to set all of this up really depends on your website.

If you have an ecomm website using Shopify, there’s an easy process for setting this up automatically. Otherwise, my preference is using the Conversions API Gateway.

It doesn’t matter how your pixel or website is set up. It will generate the same events that you’ve already created with the pixel, deduplicate them, and send via the API.

The easiest and most cost-effective route for setting this up is with Stape (S-T-A-P-E dot io). I don’t have any affiliation with Stape, but I’ve used it for a few years now. It honestly only takes a few minutes to set up, and most advertisers can get away with spending only $10 per month.

So sending server-side website events using the Conversions API Gateway and Stape is a good first step.

The next is sending CRM events. This could be especially useful if you collect leads, have a sales team that contacts your leads, and then a purchase is made over the phone. If that’s the case, you’re not sending website events.

Unfortunately, this can be a much bigger technical hurdle. But if you have a CRM that works with your website to set this up quickly and easily, that’s the preferred method. Because otherwise, you need to worry about deduplication.

If an event is sent both from your website and your CRM, Meta needs to know that they are the same event. Otherwise, it will be counted twice.

One solution would be sending CRM events only for transactions that happen exclusively away from your website.

Something I’ve started doing is using Make (that’s M-A-K-E dot com) to set up scenarios using my CRM and the official Facebook Conversions API module.

There are lots of potential pitfalls, and it’s best if you hire someone with technical expertise to set this up and avoid deduplication issues. But the more complete your data, the better Meta’s optimization will be, and the more complete your results will be.

And the truth is that the need to set this up will only increase as the pixel becomes less effective.

Thanks for your question, Kim!