How server-side tracking works
Client-side (browser) tracking
During the automatic installation process, Littledata adds a data layer and tracking script to all the store pages.
- A
LittledataLayerwindow-scope Javascript object is added on all pages, which you can also use with Google Tag Manager (GTM). - A minified tracking script, loaded via Littledata's app embed in your Shopify theme
- The marketing platform's own tracking library is then loaded on each page
- Cookie identifiers are passed to Littledata's servers to ensure consistent user journey tracking
- Fully compatible with Online Store 2.0
Server-side tracking
During the setup, Littledata also adds a set of webhooks to your Shopify store. This means that each time a user takes action our servers can relay that event to the marketing platform, ensuring 100% accuracy. There are many advantages to this approach:
- Smaller script in the browser = faster page load
- No scripts are loaded on the sensitive and secure checkout pages
- Complete event capture for checkout flow, including sales, post-purchase upsells and refunds/returns
- Avoids missed tracking or double tracking of the order status page
- Accurate marketing attribution (sessions stitched together) across all checkout types
- Persistent identity for users
- Data security and spam reduction: only authorised servers can feed into your data stream
Why server-side tracking
- In situations where the native tracking script might be blocked by ad blockers or iOS / Safari restrictions, Littledata can still pass through events to the marketing platform's server.
- Events can be enriched with extra product and customer data we sync with Shopify
- Events can be customized before being relayed to the marketing platform
Destinations that support server-side tracking
All our major destinations support server-side tracking, including:
Supported identifiers
Our advanced tracking script automatically fetches and passes to Littledata servers the following identifiers:
| Identifier | Description |
|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics client ID |
| _ga_<Measurement ID> | Google Analytics session ID |
| _gcl_aw | Google Ads click identifier |
| _gcl_ag | Google Ads gbraid |
| _gcl_gb | Google Ads wbraid |
| _epik | Pinterest click ID |
| _ttp | Tiktok client ID |
| ttclid | TikTok click ID |
| fbp | Meta client ID |
| fbc | Meta click ID |
| ajs_anonymous_id | Segment anonymous ID |