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Insights on Server-Side Tracking

Guides, tutorials, and deep dives on conversion tracking, ad platform APIs, and e-commerce analytics.

Facebook Pixel vs Conversions API

Not two ways of doing the same thing. The Pixel creates the _fbp cookie that CAPI depends on, and CAPI sees conversions the browser never will. What each one can and cannot observe, and why removing either one costs you money.

Chris GaudySep 8, 202614 min read

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Guide

How to Check if Your Meta Pixel and Conversions API Are Working

A green Pixel Helper icon is not proof that your Meta tracking works. The five checks that matter (pixel loads once, PageView, ViewContent with value, event_id for deduplication, _fbp and _fbc cookies), how to run each one by hand, and how to run all of them in about 40 seconds.

Chris GaudySep 30, 202611 min read

Guide

Safari Deletes Your Tracking Cookies After 7 Days: How to Check Your Store

Safari caps cookies written by JavaScript at 7 days (24 hours after an ad click), and applies the same cap to cookies from a CNAME or a server on a different IP. What that does to returning visitors and attribution, how to check it in Safari, and how to fix it.

Chris GaudySep 30, 202610 min read

Guide

Meta CAPI Deduplication: Why Events Count Twice and How to Test a Pair

How Meta matches a browser pixel event with its Conversions API copy (event_name plus event_id, 48 hour window), the six ways the match breaks, how TikTok, Pinterest and Reddit differ, and how to test one browser and server pair in your browser without uploading anything.

Chris GaudySep 30, 202610 min read

Guide

Consent Mode v2: How to Test What Your Site Sends Before and After Reject

How to check Google Consent Mode v2 on your own site: read the gcs and gcd parameters in the Network tab, test what fires before anyone touches the banner and after a visitor clicks Reject, and find the tags that ignore the choice.

Chris GaudySep 30, 202610 min read

Guide

TikTok Events API for WooCommerce

How TikTok's server-side Events API actually works - the v1.3 payload, the hashed-vs-clear match keys, the 48-hour deduplication window - and why a WooCommerce store loses purchases without it. With the exact WooCommerce hooks that fix it.

Chris GaudySep 8, 202617 min read

Guide

UTM Parameters for Facebook, Google, TikTok & Reddit Ads: 2026 Cheat Sheet

Every ad platform has its own URL macros: {{campaign.name}}, {campaignid}, __CAMPAIGN_NAME__, {{CAMPAIGN_ID}}. Copy-paste UTM templates for Facebook, Google, TikTok and Reddit ads - plus a free UTM builder that generates your tagged URL in seconds.

Chris GaudyAug 12, 202612 min read

Guide

WooCommerce Conversion Tracking: Why Your Pixel Misses Sales (and the Server-Side Fix)

WooCommerce reports fewer purchases than your store actually sold - or randomly doubles them. The real causes: the unreliable thank-you page, off-site gateways, Cart/Checkout Blocks, HPOS, and consent plugins. With the server-side fix.

Chris GaudyJun 19, 202617 min read

Guide

Why Your GA4 Server-Side Events Return Success but Never Show Up (and How to Fix It)

You POST events to the GA4 Measurement Protocol, get a 2xx success, and nothing appears in your reports - or they land as ghost sessions and (not set) traffic. Here's every Measurement Protocol gotcha and the fix.

Chris GaudyJun 17, 202617 min read

Guide

Why Your Facebook Event Match Quality Score Is Low (and How to Raise It Above 8)

Your Event Match Quality is stuck at 4-6 even on Maximum data sharing. Here's exactly what EMQ measures, the parameters Meta scores, the real reasons your score is low, and the server-side fix that lifts it past 8.

Chris GaudyJun 16, 202616 min read

Guide

Why Your Google Ads Conversions Keep Disappearing (and How to Fix It)

Google Ads shows fewer conversions than your store actually sold - or counts them, then removes them days later. The real causes: lost GCLID, the 90-day window, iOS wbraid/gbraid, indexing delay, and the wrong conversion action. With the server-side fix.

Chris GaudyJun 15, 202617 min read

Guide

How to Set Up the Facebook Conversions API: The Complete 2026 Implementation Guide

Step-by-step facebook capi setup guide: access token, all 4 implementation methods, hashing rules, EMQ, deduplication, and troubleshooting for 2026.

Chris GaudyJun 11, 202618 min read

Guide

Shopify Server-Side Tracking: The Complete 2026 Guide to the Conversions API

Master shopify server side tracking and the Shopify Conversions API: sandbox limits, CAPI setup, deduplication gotchas, EMQ, and which approach fits your store.

Chris GaudyJun 11, 202618 min read

Guide

Facebook CAPI Deduplication: Why Your Conversions Doubled After Adding the API

Diagnose and fix Facebook Conversions API double-counting with event_id. The exact failure modes, how to verify deduplication in Events Manager, and why a shared event_id is the only reliable fix.

Chris GaudyJun 2, 202612 min read

Guide

Why Server-Side Tracking Matters in 2026

A complete guide to understanding why client-side tracking is broken and how server-side tracking fixes it.

Chris GaudyApr 7, 20268 min read

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