Collect on your domain
Requests land on a subdomain you own. Browsers treat them as first-party, so tracker blocklists and third-party cookie rules don't touch them.
Server-side tracking
Server-side tracking that catches the conversions your browser pixel misses.
Arctic Aura logs each event on infrastructure you control, then delivers it to Meta, Google, Adform Flow and Microsoft with the pixel duplicate removed and the player attached.
Or explore the interactive tour 20 screens, no account needed →- ◉ Served from your own subdomain
- ✓ 95%+ of conversions recorded
- ⚡ Live in under half an hour
One website, one month, two ways to count
Recorded per eventBrowser pixel versus first-party server layer, previous 30 days
Seen by the pixel342Lost the rest to blockers, iOS limits and unanswered banners
Seen by the server561Conversions, first-party and deduplicated
Recovered+219 conversions
| Event | Pixel | Server-side | Pixel missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| ▤PageView | 9,140 | 13,720 | 33% |
| ▤Registration | 251 | 409 | 39% |
| ▤First Deposit | 68 | 116 | 41% |
| ▤Deposits | 23 | 36 | 36% |
| ▤Reactivation | 11 | 19 | 42% |
ⓘ Registration, First Deposit, Deposits and Reactivation are the conversions. The deeper in the funnel, the larger the gap, which leaves bidding algorithms learning from roughly six in ten outcomes.
The definition
What is server-side tracking?
In short
Server-side tracking means your conversion events are sent to ad platforms and analytics tools by a server you control, rather than by scripts running in each visitor's browser. Collection happens on a subdomain of your own site, so blockers, Safari's cookie caps and failed pixels stop dictating which results Meta, Google and your CRM ever hear about.
Write it on the server
The event exists as soon as the request arrives. Whether a browser script finished loading no longer matters.
Deliver server to server
Events reach each platform's conversion API with an event ID, so the copy your pixel also sends is dropped automatically.
Keep the identity attached
An anonymous count is of limited use. The click ID stays with the player until the first deposit lands, then the result is reported back.
The problem
Your pixel lives in the browser, the place built to block it.
Before a browser pixel can register anything, it has to get past blockers, consent prompts, Apple's privacy features and its own loading quirks. Combined, these can hide up to four in ten conversions.
- ×
Blockers kill the script on load. Many business visitors run one, so for them the pixel simply never fires and their conversions never show up.
- ×
Safari limits cookies to a week. Someone who clicks today and converts ten days later appears as a brand-new, unattributed visitor.
- ×
Consent prompts hold the pixel back. Visitors who decline or ignore the banner are never counted by browser tags.
- ×
iOS opt-outs leave Meta guessing. An iPhone that declined tracking gives the platform nothing to connect back to the ad.
- ×
Third-party calls fail without a trace. Slow scripts, strict security policies, extensions or flaky networks each drop events silently.
- ×
Surviving events arrive thin. With identifiers stripped, match quality drops, so even counted conversions only earn partial credit.
The platform under-reports and optimizes on the subset it saw. A rising CPA is often a measurement issue, not a creative one.
Watch
The data your browser never passed along
A short walkthrough of how iOS and blockers hide conversions, and how a server-side layer brings them back.
How the data moves
Clicks arrive first-party. Conversions leave server to server.
Browsers talk to your own subdomain, so events are stored before a blocker or cookie limit gets involved. From there they're deduplicated, linked to the player and returned through each platform's API.
Ad platforms and your site
Meta Ads
Google Ads
Adform Flow
Microsoft Ads
Your website
Arctic AuraStored on your own server↻Registrations, deposits and reactivations sent back via the conversion APIs
What platforms and CRM receive
☺Registrations
▤First deposits
✓Deposits
€Reactivations
Linked to the matching CRM record
Integrations
All your channels and your CRM, connected.
The platforms a visit can start from, and the CRMs where the outcome gets read. Hover any tile to see what flows between it and Arctic Aura.
Ad platforms
Spend, campaigns and click IDs flow in. First deposits and reactivations flow back as offline conversions.
- Meta Ads
- Google Ads
- Adform Flow
- Microsoft Ads
- TikTok Ads Soon
- Pinterest Ads Soon
- Reddit Ads
- X Ads
Organic channels
Unpaid visits from search and social, attributed per post, video and keyword.
- Bing
- YouTube
- TikTok
AI search engines
Visits most analytics tools label as direct. The script separates them automatically.
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity
- Claude
- Gemini
- Copilot
- Grok
CRM and retention
Lifecycle stages and deposit values come in, so each campaign sees the revenue it produced.
- Solitics
- Optimove
- Fast Track
- Zoho CRM
- Attio
- Close
- GoHighLevel
- ActiveCampaign
- monday.com Soon
Features
Everything server-side tracking needs, minus the container.
t.northpeak.comActive
go.fjordline.noActive
m.kestrel.agencyActive
A tracking domain of your own
Collection runs on a subdomain like t.yourbrand.com. Browsers see a request to your own site, which is why blocklists and third-party cookie limits don't apply.
<script src="https://t.yourbrand.com/aa.js" async></script>
Events stored on the server
Each event is saved when the first-party request lands, together with the visitor's consent status, so a failed script never erases a conversion.
Conversions API for each platform
Delivery runs through Meta CAPI, Google Enhanced and offline conversions, Adform Flow and Microsoft offline conversions. No per-event tag building.
MetaGoogleAdform FlowMicrosoft
10:14:02 click · gclid=EAIa…ok10:14:09 form · /signupok10:15:31 postback · deposit 2210ok10:16:05 visit · crawler UAblockedDeduplicated against your pixel
Leave the pixel in place. Both sides share one event ID, so overlapping conversions count once while the server covers what the browser lost.
Google Ads64%
Adform Flow51%
Meta Ads27%
Hashed identifiers on each event
Email, phone and click ID are sent hashed alongside first-party IDs, pushing event match quality well past what a lone pixel reaches.
Jonah Okafor
SourceGoogle Ads
CampaignFirst Deposit · Search
First touch03 Sep · 10:14
Linked to the player record
Events attach to the player in Solitics, Optimove or Fast Track, so deposit value can flow back to the ad.
SoliticsOptimoveFast Track
In the product
What server-side tracking looks like day to day.
Your workspace
Event match qualityRegistration event · Meta CAPI
9.1/10was 5.4 with the pixel alone
- Click ID (fbclid) attached
- Hashed email
- Hashed phone
- First-party browser ID (fbp)
- Server-side IP and user agent
- Event ID shared with pixel
Each event carries the fields platforms match on.
Open any event to see exactly what was sent: click ID, hashed contact details, first-party IDs and the shared event ID, next to the score the platform returned.
- Click ID, hashed email and phone on every event
- First-party IDs set server-side, not via cookie
- Shared event ID for deduplication
- Per-event match score beside the pixel-only baseline
Your workspace
Server event logOutgoing, past hourLive
- Registration/signup, pixel blockedRecovered
- RegistrationSame signup, pixel also firedDeduplicated
- First DepositCashier, Mira Holt (Skerry)Enhanced
- ReactivationSolitics segment, returning playerMatched
Follow each event from your server to the platform.
A live feed of outgoing events: what happened, where it originated, which platform received it and whether it matched.
- Recovered and deduplicated events labelled clearly
- Source, destination and match status per row
- CRM stage changes as standalone conversions
- Complete click, conversion and postback logs on all plans
Your workspace
Capture by visitor stateSame 30 days
561Server-side
342Pixel only
+64%Lift
| Visitor state | Pixel | Server-side |
|---|---|---|
| Consent given | Full event | Full, deduplicated |
| Consent declined | Nothing | Counted, no personal data |
| Blocker active | Script blocked | Full, first-party |
| Safari, day 9 | New visitor | Same person, click ID kept |
What each visitor state records, pixel versus server.
The pixel needs a loaded script plus a surviving cookie. The server layer only needs a first-party request.
- Consent given: full event, deduplicated
- Consent declined: anonymous first-party event
- Blocker: a request no blocklist recognises
- Safari: click ID stored server-side, not in a 7-day cookie
Setup
Up and running in three steps
No container hosting, no tag manager workspace, no developer ticket.
- 1Around 5 minutesCNAME t → edge.arcticaura.io
Add a subdomain and one script
Point something like t.yourbrand.com at Arctic Aura and drop one snippet in your site header. It works the same on WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix or custom code.
- 2Around 15 minutesMetaGoogleAdform FlowSolitics
Connect ad accounts and CRM
Authorise Meta, Google, Adform Flow and Microsoft via OAuth, then your CRM. Native for Solitics, Optimove and Fast Track, webhook for the rest.
- 3Same day
- Registration → Meta CAPI
- First Deposit → Google Enhanced
- Deposits → Adform Flow, Microsoft
Map your events
Pick which events and player stages go to which platform. The pixel keeps running and deduplication starts within the first hour.
Compare
Browser pixel, self-hosted container, or a managed first-party layer.
| Requirement | Browser pixel | Self-hosted server GTM | Arctic Aura |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where events are recorded | In the browser, if it loads | A server container you run | Managed first-party layer |
| Resists blockers and Safari ITP | Blocked or expires fast | With a custom domain you configure | First-party subdomain by default |
| Build and maintenance | One tag per platform | Clients, tags, triggers and updates on you | About 20 minutes, no developer |
| Pixel deduplication | Nothing to compare against | Event IDs you set up both sides | Shared event ID, automatic |
| Knows which player deposited | Ends at the browser event | Only with webhooks you build | Player stages and deposit value, native |
| Hosting, consent, DPA | Third-party, cookie-reliant | Your region, DPA varies | EU hosting, first-party, Art. 28 |
What changes
What improves once conversions are counted server-side.
More conversions visible
Registrations, first deposits and reactivations the pixel dropped reach the platforms through their APIs, so bidding learns from the full picture.
Higher match quality
Hashed contact details and click IDs on every event raise the match score, and matched events are the ones that get credit.
Lower cost per result
More signal per euro means faster learning and sharper targeting, which is usually where a cheaper first deposit comes from.
Reports that match the CRM
Ad platform, dashboard and pipeline count the same events, so meetings are about decisions, not reconciling numbers.
No servers to babysit
No container, no cloud invoice, no tag updates queued for engineering. The layer is managed and the subdomain stays yours.
Procurement-ready
EU hosting, first-party collection and a signed DPA answer legal's first questions. Our security page covers the rest.
FAQ
Server-side tracking, common questions
What teams usually ask before moving conversions off the browser.
How is server-side tracking different from server-side tagging?
Server-side tagging usually refers to running a Google Tag Manager container on a server you manage. Server-side tracking is the wider idea of capturing events on a server and forwarding them to platforms. A self-hosted container is one route; a managed layer like Arctic Aura is another, with CRM matching and reporting built in.
Does it work around cookie consent?
No. It improves reliability, not permissions. Arctic Aura collects first-party and stores no personal data until consent is given, so a declined banner stays declined.
Do I need a developer or a GTM server container?
No. You add a DNS record for a subdomain, paste one script and connect accounts via OAuth. There's no container to run or cloud bill to pay. Most teams finish in about 20 minutes.
Will conversions be counted twice alongside my pixel?
No. Browser and server events share an event ID, so the platform keeps one copy. The pixel stays on, and the server fills the gaps.
Why does a first-party subdomain matter?
Blockers rely on lists of known third-party domains, and browsers restrict third-party cookies. A subdomain of your own site avoids both, and identifiers set server-side last months instead of days.
Which platforms receive the events?
Meta via the Conversions API, Google Ads via Enhanced and offline conversions, Adform Flow, and Microsoft Ads via offline conversions. Player stages can be sent as their own events.
Will it work on my website builder?
Yes. The script sits in the site header, so WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix and custom builds all behave the same, with or without a tag manager.
Free walkthrough
See what your pixel misses, on your own traffic.
Book a demo and we'll connect one of your domains live: what the pixel reports, what the server captures, and the difference between them.
Or explore the interactive tour 20 screens, no account needed →One conversion, server-sideFrom the click to the ads manager
JO
Jonah OkaforSkerry Systems
Sent to 3 platforms- Google AdsClick logged on t.yourbrand.com with gclid
- BrowserPixel blocked by an extension. Nothing lost.
- ServerRegistration stored with hashed email and click ID
- Conversion APIsDelivered to Google, Meta and Adform Flow, deduplicated
✓ Visible in the ads manager 3 of 3
The browser recorded nothing. The server recorded all of it.