As you know, third-party cookies on browsers are a thing of the past now because of privacy restrictions. This deeply troubles Shopify marketers as they cannot come up with an effective retargeting strategy without third-party cookie tracking. 

What’s even worse is that ITP 2.3, a privacy update for browsers like Safari and Firefox (soon Chrome might join too), throws a wrench into our cookie jar. ITP 2.3 automatically deletes third-party cookies that track users across the web after seven days, making it much harder to see the full picture of a user’s journey to conversion.

The crazy impact of  ITP 2.3’s privacy update includes

• A shortened attribution window is the timeframe you use to understand how users interact with our marketing efforts. 
• Retargeting abandoned carts becomes trickier since those helpful cookies that identified past visitors are gone. 
• Analytics platforms like GA4 have started showing ghost users because returning visitors with expired cookies are counted as new ones. 

The bottom line is, ITP 2.3 makes it a challenge to understand your audience and optimize marketing campaigns effectively. 

The solution lies in none other than “server-side 1P domain tracking”. This approach bypasses the limitations of expiring cookies and provides a more accurate picture of user behavior. By implementing this technique, you can expect to see improved ad campaign performance, increased conversion rates, and overall better results from your marketing efforts on Meta Ads and Google Ads.

In this blog, we’ll explore server-side 1P domain tracking to address challenges with user tracking and attribution in your Shopify store.

What exactly is 1P domain tracking?

Server-side first-party cookie tracking involves setting cookies directly from your server onto your visitors’ browsers. These cookies are called “first-party” because they originate from your own domain (the 1P domain), not from a different website or service (third-party).

Since these cookies come from your own domain, ad blockers and privacy-focused browsers like Safari and Firefox are less likely to block them. This means you can collect more data and retain it for longer periods. And, by setting a series of first-party cookies throughout your user’s journey on your store, you can gain valuable insights into their behavior and preferences.

What can 1P domain tracking do that client-side tracking can’t?

There are a lot of differences between how traditional client-side tracking and server-side 1P domain tracking work. And, these differences impact how effectively you can track user journeys and attribute actions.

The problems with how client-side tracking work

Blinded by blockers! Traditional tracking often relies on scripts from third-party domains (like ad networks) to set cookies. Browsers like Safari and Firefox (with ITP 2.3) and ad blockers tend to block these third-party cookies.

Missing data points: Blocked cookies lead to incomplete user journeys and inaccurate attribution of actions like purchases.

Steer past the problems with server-side 1P domain tracking 

Server-side 1P domain tracking sets cookies directly from your own domain (first-party) using a subdomain (e.g., 1p.customerlabs.com). Since the subdomain isn’t mapped to an external domain using CNAME records, browsers recognize these cookies as first-party and don’t block them.

Improved data retention: Unlike client-side cookies that expire after seven days in some browsers, server-side cookies persist longer, allowing you to track user journeys even if they return after a week. This leads to:

Continuous user journey: You can track a user’s entire journey across your website, even if visits happen days apart.

Accurate attribution: You can accurately attribute actions like purchases to the original marketing touchpoint (e.g., ad click) even if the purchase happens beyond the typical seven-day window.

Why does 1P domain tracking matter so much?

1p domain tracking matters the most because of 2 things.

1. Improved conversion attribution accuracy

Traditional cookies often expire quickly, leading to missed conversions. Server-side tracking with first-party cookies stores data longer on your server, ensuring accurate tracking even if a user returns to purchase after the initial cookie expiration. This prevents misattribution of conversions, like a paid ad click leading to a later purchase being credited as a direct visit.

For instance, let’s say, a user clicks on your ad and visits your store, but doesn’t buy right away. With traditional cookies expiring, a later purchase might be attributed incorrectly. While server-side tracking ensures the ad campaign gets the credit.

2. Enhanced identity resolution

Server-side tracking allows you to leverage customer data for a longer period. This, combined with advanced identity graph technology (e.g., Stitcher 2.0), helps unify user profiles across different sessions and touchpoints.

It creates a complete picture of your customers (360-degree view). It improves ad personalization across platforms by collecting and unifying external IDs and click IDs throughout the customer journey. Plus, it ensures the right acquisition channel gets credited for conversions, avoiding misattribution costs.

Complete walkthrough on how to implement server-side 1P domain tracking in Shopify

To leverage server-side 1P domain tracking for your Shopify store, first, you’ll need to subscribe to the dedicated add-on within the CustomerLabs app. 

Once subscribed, navigate to the settings section and locate the 1P Domain Tracking option. Here, you can initiate the process by clicking the button to add a new domain.

Set up Shopify for 1P domain tracking

After adding your naked domain (your domain name without the http/https or www prefix), essential subdomain details will automatically populate. Before proceeding, it’s crucial to verify the CNAME (Canonical Name) and SSL certificates with your domain provider. 

Once confirmed, return to CustomerLabs and initiate DNS verification by clicking the “Verify DNS” button. Following successful verification, you’ll need to reinstall the necessary tracking script and other codes required for Shopify integration. 

Head over to the “1P Domain Tracking Code” tab on the CustomerLabs homepage and choose your verified domain from the dropdown menu. Here, you can select the Shopify setup option and follow the Shopify integration instructions to best suit your needs, including options with or without post-purchase functionality. 

Finally, copy the provided tracking scripts and integrate them into your Shopify platform according to the given instructions.

Use your own Cloudflare account for 1P domain tracking

For those who prefer to use their own Cloudflare account, CustomerLabs offers an alternative setup process. 

Click on the “Add your own Cloudflare” link and enter your Cloudflare account ID and API token. You can find your Account ID within the Cloudflare dashboard under Websites → Overview. 

To generate a new API token, navigate to your Cloudflare account and copy it into the respective text box in CustomerLabs. Make sure the API token grants the necessary permissions for seamless integration. 

After saving these settings, return to the 1P Domain Tracking dashboard and follow the steps under the “1P Domain Tracking Code” tab to reinstall the tracking script.

Verify the 1P domain tracking setup

Once the setup is complete, you’ll want to verify the DNS settings and installation. Check the “Verified” status within the 1P Domain Tracking dashboard in CustomerLabs to confirm successful DNS verification. 

Also, monitor your cookie domain for any installation changes. A switch from io.v2.customerlabs.co to www.customerlabs.com indicates a properly configured domain tracking setup. 

By following these steps, you can effectively implement server-side 1P domain tracking using CustomerLabs, ensuring accurate data collection for your Shopify stores.

Perks of using 1P domain tracking

1. Privacy compliance with confidence

Data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA can feel like a minefield for Shopify marketers. Server-side 1P domain tracking helps you navigate these regulations with confidence. It ensures user data is collected within a legal framework, allowing you to retain valuable customer information while adhering to strict privacy standards. This translates to responsible data collection, processing, storage, and ultimately, secure transmission to advertising platforms like Facebook.

2. Accurate data, optimized campaigns

Imagine having a complete picture of your customers’ interactions across all touchpoints. Server-side tracking makes this a reality. Unlike traditional methods, it captures comprehensive user interaction data without any signal loss. This wealth of accurate data allows you to precisely sync conversion information with ad platforms, providing invaluable insights into the true performance of your campaigns. With this knowledge, you can pinpoint areas for improvement to optimize ad campaigns for your Shopify store and maximum return on investment.

3. Train smarter, advertise better

Server-side tracking goes beyond just data collection; it fuels the advertising efforts you put into your Shopify business success. By feeding ad algorithms with high-quality, first-party data collected through secure server-side connections, you can train them to deliver superior results. Consequently, you can develop more effective retargeting strategies, increasing the precision of your ad targeting, and ultimately, optimizing your overall campaign performance.

4. Take control of your data and secure your future

Stop relying on third-party cookies and data! Server-side 1P domain tracking grants you complete control over your customer data. You can finally manage and retain customer information within your own ecosystem, giving you full oversight of how data is collected, processed, and utilized. This complete control ensures compliance with data privacy regulations while safeguarding against unauthorized access or data breaches. 

With complete data control, you can leverage accurate analysis for informed decision-making, allowing you to craft highly personalized marketing strategies that resonate with your target Shopify users.

5. Enrich your data, deepen your understanding

Server-side 1P domain tracking ensures not only accurate data collection but also enhances the overall quality by allowing you to manage it on your own servers. Imagine combining data from website interactions, CRM entries, and even offline sources to create unified customer profiles. This enriched data provides a comprehensive understanding of your customers’ behaviors and preferences. With this information, you can create precise audience segmentation and deliver personalized ad experiences that truly resonate with your Shopify audiences. 

Plus, enriched data empowers you to leverage advanced machine learning models that can predict customer needs and drive highly targeted marketing strategies, ultimately leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.

6. Reach anonymous visitors, expand your audience

Did you know that a staggering 98% of your store visitors never log in? Generally, targeting these anonymous users across ad platforms has been a major headache. However, server-side tracking changes the game. It lets you collect data points like click IDs, browser IDs, and device IDs from these anonymous visitors. With this data in hand, you can finally retarget them across ad platforms, significantly increasing your reach and potential customer base.

7. Improve your event match quality (EMQ) score

By collecting event data with rich signals, you enable Meta to better match these events with individual users. This leads to a higher EMQ score on ad platforms like Meta, ensuring your advertising dollars for your Shopify business are reaching the right audience and maximizing your campaign impact.

8. Boost match rates, enhance performance

Server-side tracking allows you to accumulate valuable user data over time. Imagine collecting data for 60 to 180 days and then syncing it with ad platforms like Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok, etc. This comprehensive approach leads to significantly higher custom audience match rates for both anonymous and known users. This wealth of data empowers ad platforms to learn and utilize advanced algorithms to target the right Shopify audience at the right time with the right messaging. 

9. Drive sales by maximizing ad performance

Leveraging lifetime cookies is a powerful advantage that gives high custom audience match rates and a high EMQ score. This empowers advanced ad platforms to learn and target the right audience at the right time. With the right message reaching the right people, your ad campaigns will achieve maximized performance and bring awesome revenue.

Case study: CookD cuts customer acquisition cost by nearly half!

CookD, an e-commerce store that sells cooking recipes, faced a common struggle: optimizing their advertising spend to acquire customers more efficiently and maximize return on ad spend (ROAS).

Traditional cookie-based tracking limitations and basic event tracking hindered their ability to accurately attribute conversions and optimize campaigns.

How we helped them

Our team collaborated with CookD to implement a robust server-side tracking solution with 1P domain tracking. This powerful approach delivered several key advantages:

• Evergreen Browser Cookies: Server-side tracking eliminated browser cookie limitations. We helped CookD permanently store Facebook Click IDs and Google Click IDs on their server, ensuring valuable data wasn’t lost.
• Attribution Revolution: By capturing all click IDs, CookD gained a crystal-clear picture of campaign performance. We facilitated accurate attribution, enabling them to optimize campaigns based on the most impactful sources.
• High-Value Conversions in Focus: We worked with CookD to create custom conversion events (synthetic events) and synced them with Meta on the server side. These events optimized the ad campaign for high Average Order Value (AOV) purchases, allowing them to attract more valuable customers.

The phenomenal results they saw!

The impact of server-side tracking on CookD’s advertising performance was undeniable.

• 45% CAC Reduction: CookD significantly reduced the cost of acquiring new customers, boosting their overall profitability.
• ROAS Soars 35%: Their return on ad spend saw a remarkable increase, maximizing the value of their marketing investments.
• Incremental Revenue Visibility: CookD gained valuable insights into the additional revenue generated by their ad campaigns, enabling them to make data-driven decisions.

Takeaway

No more nuances with inaccurate data and lost conversions due to expiring cookies! Server-side 1P domain tracking offers a powerful solution for Shopify marketers. It ensures complete user journey tracking, improves ad attribution, and fuels data-driven campaign optimization. By complying with privacy regulations and reaching anonymous visitors, you can personalize ad experiences and ultimately boost sales. 

CookD’s success story is a testament to the transformative power of server-side tracking with CustomerLabs. By partnering with us, Shopify stores can gain a competitive edge through improved customer acquisition, return on investment, and overall campaign effectiveness.