In this guide
- The most common use is recovering purchases and leads lost to blockers and Safari.
- Others: cookie restore, event enrichment, CRM stages to ad platforms, data control, bot filtering, webhooks, profit data and proxying files.
- Start with the one that fixes your biggest gap.
"What would we actually do with it?" is the right question before any tracking project. This page lists ten uses with what each needs. They are all things teams do today, and most work on a free plan. For definitions see server-side tagging explained, and for more unusual ideas see interesting use cases.
| # | Use case | What it needs | Look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recover purchases and leads lost in the browser | Server events with a shared event ID | Platform purchases closer to store orders |
| 2 | Keep cookies alive for Safari visitors | Cookie Keeper and the Data Store (every Open Tracked plan) | More returning visitors recognised |
| 3 | Enrich later events with stored customer data | Data Store and Enricher | Higher event match quality on page views and cart events |
| 4 | Send CRM stages to Meta and Google Ads | A webhook route and stored identifiers | Cost per qualified lead |
| 5 | Control what each vendor receives | Transformations and the Anonymizer | A privacy review you can pass |
| 6 | Keep bots out of analytics and conversions | Bot Detection header and trigger exceptions | Cleaner traffic numbers |
| 7 | Receive payment and shop webhooks | A custom client | Purchases that never reach the thank-you page |
| 8 | Send profit as the conversion value | POAS Data Feed (Pro) for GA4 and Google Ads | Profit per ad dollar |
| 9 | Serve pixel scripts from your own domain | File Proxy | Fewer blocked scripts |
| 10 | Add location and device data to events | Visitor Location and Device Info | Richer GA4 and ad platform events |
How to choose where to start
- If platform purchases are far below store orders: start with 1.
- If you have many returning iPhone visitors: add 2 and 3.
- If you sell by phone or have a long sales cycle: add 4.
- If privacy is the driver: start with 5.
Connected in minutes
Add your domain, install the pixel, connect your ad platforms and watch the first events land.
A starter order
- Server-side purchase and lead events, with a shared event ID.
- Cookie restore and enrichment.
- Bot filtering.
- CRM stages and offline conversions.
- Profit data.
See the setup checklist for the steps.
Works with your stack
Grab a logo and throw it. These are the tools Open Tracked already talks to.
A realistic example
A store reviews the ten use cases and picks three for the first quarter. First, server-side purchase and lead events, to close the gap between Meta and its orders. Second, cookie restore and enrichment, because a large share of its visitors are returning iPhone users. Third, bot filtering, because its analytics shows strange traffic from places it does not ship to. Each takes a few hours to set up and a week to measure. By the end of the quarter, Meta's purchases track the shop's orders within 10 percent instead of 30, returning visitors reach the platforms with match data and the analytics reports are cleaner. The store then adds CRM stages for its wholesale leads in the second quarter. Sequencing the uses, one at a time, kept each result clear.
Runs on your domain, anywhere
Your tracking runs on your own domain, so a visit from any country is handled the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What are server-side tagging use cases?
Recovering lost events, restoring cookies, enriching events, sending CRM stages, controlling data, filtering bots and more.
Which use case should I start with?
The one that fixes your biggest gap, often server-side purchase events.
Do I need a paid plan?
Most uses work on the free plan. Some, such as the POAS Data Feed and Request Delay, need Pro or Business.
Can I combine use cases?
Yes. They share the same container.
How do I measure the result?
Compare platform numbers with store orders before and after.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
Fix your tracking at the source
Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.
The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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