We, at EGO Digital, frequently mention cookieless tracking and the ways it can improve the data quality. We call our system server-side cookieless tracking system but what exactly is cookieless tracking and how does it work?

To answer this, first we have to explain how traditional and most other server-side tracking systems work.

The problem breaks down into two parts:

• Tracking becomes impossible in environments with cookie writing restrictions. (For example, ad blocker blocked the browser pixel that generates the first-party cookie)
  
  
• Limited cookie lifetime causes attribution and marketing data to be loss, which is so essential for effective ad optimization. (Safari browser removes all JavaScript and HTTP cookies from third parties, like tracking pixels within 7 days.)
  

Our system provides the solution for both of these problems, but in this article we will focus on the first one - What is cookieless tracking and how it overcomes the challenges with cookie writing restrictions.

Cookieless tracking is a way to keep data flow and consistency within the processed events on the server, even when the data source, like a website, blocks access to browser storage and cookies.

Cookies in reality are not the main drive behind the user identification and tracking . Instead, the user identification and tracking needs storage, memory to keep consistency and accuracy. But because browser pixels worked inside the browsers only, this was always contained inside the browsers and so the cookies were the only best option to be used as storage.. Until they were not.

Cookieless tracking technology moves the identification, marketing data extraction, data accuracy & consistency management and tracking memory from the browser to the server.

So, instead of browser pixels searching and evaluating the tracking information inside the browser, this data is sent to the server where it is processed using the powerful algorithms.

Cookieless tracking system executes all necessary identification steps on the server with highest available precision and then shares the outcome with the connected external platforms (Meta Conversion API, GA4, Google Ads etc.) without any need of a browser.

The cookieless tracking systemreally makes the browser what it should have been in the first place - Data source, not the data processor or storage system.

Cookieless tracking, specifically server-side cookieless tracking solution, can go so much further that it can and is already the best answer for the true server-to-server tracking and analytics, where the data source is not the browser but your website back-end, your CRM platform, Email automation tool or something completely different. 

The cookieless tracking system can receive, process and distribute data from all external sources. And all of this because of the simple reason -  identification, marketing data extraction, data accuracy & consistency management are the core parts of the server itself.

The cookieless tracking is a powerful functionality that can keep your tracking active even when cookie storage is not available at all. This is the feature that transforms server-side tracking into the tracking management system that handles all aspects of digital marketing data without any external help so that you can see data in your digital marketing platforms with the highest accuracy possible.

But this is just one part of the story. Server-side cookieless tracking extends data lifetime and dramatically improves your conversion attribution rate

If you want to find out more about cookies and server-side tracking, checkout out next article about the server-side marketing data storage