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Tag Manager Training
GTM & GA4 glossary

GTM glossary

Server-side tagging

A setup where tracking data goes from the browser to your own tagging server first, which then forwards it to tools like GA4 and Google Ads.

Also known as: Server-side GTM, sGTM, Server container

On this page
  1. In plain English
  2. Example
  3. Official documentation
  4. Related terms

In plain English

In a normal (client-side) setup, every tag loads in the visitor's browser and sends data straight to each vendor. With server-side tagging, the browser sends data to a server container you control, usually on a subdomain of your own site, and that server decides what to forward and where.

The benefits are more control over what data is shared, fewer scripts in the browser and first-party cookies that are more durable. The costs are hosting fees (on Google Cloud or a provider such as Stape) and more setup and maintenance.

It doesn't replace consent. The same privacy rules still apply.

Example

An online store sends GA4 events to metrics.example.com, a server container. The server forwards them to GA4 and sends purchase data on to Google Ads and Meta, stripping out any fields those platforms shouldn't receive.

Official documentation

Last reviewed

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