Ad Tracking vs Server-Side Tracking

Developers should learn ad tracking to build or integrate systems that measure marketing performance, especially in roles involving e-commerce, mobile apps, or data analytics meets developers should use server-side tracking when handling sensitive data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like gdpr or ccpa, or when client-side tracking is blocked by ad blockers or browser restrictions. Here's our take.

Ad Tracking

Nice Pick

Developers should learn ad tracking to build or integrate systems that measure marketing performance, especially in roles involving e-commerce, mobile apps, or data analytics

Pros

• It is crucial for implementing tracking pixels, SDKs, and APIs from platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads to attribute conversions and optimize ad spend
• Related to: google-analytics, facebook-pixel

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Server-Side Tracking

Developers should use server-side tracking when handling sensitive data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA, or when client-side tracking is blocked by ad blockers or browser restrictions

Pros

• It's particularly valuable for e-commerce platforms, financial applications, and any system requiring high data integrity, as it reduces data loss from client-side issues and provides more reliable attribution
• Related to: data-privacy, web-analytics

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Ad Tracking is a concept while Server-Side Tracking is a methodology. We picked Ad Tracking based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Ad Tracking wins

Based on overall popularity. Ad Tracking is more widely used, but Server-Side Tracking excels in its own space.