Why use server-to-server (S2S) tracking?
As you certainly know, from 1 January 2022 onward a new legislation is effective in the Czech Republic which has a significant impact on analytics and tracking of users on the internet. For more see this article.
The standard tracking (client side) uses the information saved in cookies to identify a user. By new standards it will impossible to save cookies in the user´s browser until the user itself has permitted it by way of a free decision. In practice it means that it´s impossible to track affiliate parameters and thus it´s impossible to measure click through rates and follow-up conversions for which publishers are to be duly rewarded with commissions until after a visitor to the e-shop has clicked the consent to the analytical/marketing cookies (cookie bar).
We have several options of how to deal with an arisen situation:
- An increase in commissions proportionally to the measured fall in the traffic from affiliate partners
- Implementation of server-to-server (S2S) tracking.
Comparison of methods of recording a conversion
| A visitor permitted all cookies | A visitor banned all cookies | |
| Cookie (current) | YES | NO |
| S2S | YES | YES |
Server-to-server (S2S) tracking
The biggest advantage of S2S is that it does not have to use cookie files to track users. Thanks to this affiliate click through rates and sales during the session can be measured even without a user´s prior consent. Session is used to mean the period from the visit to the e-shop through the browser window closure. If the user gives consent to saving cookies while browsing the e-shop, S2S detects it and save in cookies information based on which it can assign sale to the proper affiliate partner even upon expiry of the session duration and thus over the cookie validity period which is set up in advance according to the conditions of a given campaign.
The implementation of S2S is more complex than that of routine tracking and requires the programmer capacity. S2S runs on the server side and thus it´s necessary for it to be incorporated in your e-shop solution. This is why it´s impossible to provide a single universal solution for all e-shops. We´ll provide you with documentation on implementation describing the consequence of steps with sample pseudo-codes that need to be programmed just for the e-shop used by you.
You can also make use of the programmer capacity to implement automatic evaluation of commissions that will relieve you of monthly evaluation. You´ll find here the procedure how to do it.
