Is Server Side Tracking Worth It?

I would like to preface this article by saying this is my own opinion on the state of tracking in 2025. Marketers are renowned for being opinionated, so I don't doubt that others will have different opinions from me.

Given the tumultuous relationship Google has had with tracking and user data over the past couple of years, I think it's fair to be questioning what the best move for businesses is. Server-side tracking is a sensible move for most e-commerce businesses, moving as much data to a 1st party context can only be a good thing. However, there is an associated cost with server-side tracking, so for some smaller businesses, this might not be a worthwhile investment. Nevertheless, for most businesses, having all their customer data move away from a 3rd party context will absolutely be worth the costs of hosting a server. It gives you as a business significantly more control over which platform gets which data.

Google seems to be going back and forth on removing 3rd party cookies entirely, with the introduction of Consent Mode V2, many of us thought that day would come last year. Google seemed to get cold feet, leaving many in a state of limbo or ignorance. However, I'm almost certain that 3rd party cookie degradation is not a question of 'if', but 'when'. So there really isn't a better time to get your data affairs in order.

With Google's changes to their cookie and consent rules, planning for an ultimately cookieless future is a wise long-term decision. This is not something you need to implement immediately, server-side tracking in a 1st party context will suffice for the next few years. However, beyond that I am of the opinion that cookies and tracking as we know it today will be removed on a long enough timeline.

The jury is still out on how exactly marketers will adapt to this, the vast majority of them haven't even given it a second thought. One thing is for certain, the first to adapt will come out on top.

The concept of zero-party data (data that is volunteered willingly via surveys etc) has been mentioned as a solution, but personally, I feel that is a very clunky solution.

Perhaps we will have a renaissance of non-tracked marketing in a Mad Men-esque fashion. One can only dream.