Server-side tracking. The Ethereum of analytics. It is bound to happen — But it seems to be really hard to wrap your head around. In this post, I will illustrate how you can move a significant chunk of an analytics implementation server-side and therefore considerably improve data accuracy and data control:

• With your existing client-side tagging setup
• Without using server-side Google Tag Manager and without necessarily getting any Google servers involved
• With an easy implementation

One could call it a Hybrid Model — combining the benefits of both worlds.
Client-side data collection.
Server-side data preparation and dispatch.

First party data…

The analytics community agrees: The launch of Google Tag Manager Server-Side is a significant milestone for the industry. Not only does it underline the paradigm shift towards server-side technology for analytics, it also has the potential to completely overthrow how organizations approach data collection and building their data model.

This article is not an introduction to the concept of server-side tag management and its terminology. Simo Ahava and Julius Fedorovicius have brilliantly covered this in great detail. …

As a Senior Digital Analytics Consultant at a leading international analytics vendor, I have been keeping a close eye on the current crusade of modern web browsers against cookie technology.

Turns out, there is a way to track individual non-signed in users without using cookies. I implemented it. Here is how.

A few quick opening remarks: The whole point of this piece is to spark discussion and awareness in the industry and among users. Personally, I would never advocate for employing these tracking practices and I am glad to be working for an analytics vendor, that has always put privacy…

It is common for people to explore what their data looks like. But have you ever wondered what your data sounds like?

Just like visualization helps you consume data through your eyes, data sonification does the exact same for your ears. Sonification can express data in a variety of ways by leveraging different instruments, synthesizers, volume, speed, pitches, instrument-density, or dynamics. This can result in anything from presenting single data points as notes to crafting entire musical compositions based on large scientific data sets. …

Digital couponing is widely used among online shops. And rightfully so. Promotional discounts can be tools for user-attraction, incentivization, retargeting, upsell, or churn prevention.

Since there are so many promo codes floating around the WWW, some of which might be targeted campaigns, it is impossible for an online customer to be aware of all ongoing promotions and whether there are available discount codes that could save them some serious money on their order. This is where tools like Honey join the party.

Honey offers a popular browser extension, which is triggered while a user is completing the checkout funnel in…

Ever since I picked up my first Echo, the flashing ring of blue light has kept me on the edge of my seat. And after developing a handful of insanely meaningful Alexa skills and turning my lights on & off a few times, I started thinking about the bigger picture. How does the recent outburst of voice user interface adoption impact our digital ecosystem?

From the perspective of a passionate Alexa-for-everything-user, Senior Digital Analytics Consultant for the publishing industry, and AWS certified skill developer — Here are my two cents for digital content providers:
Why the concept of online content…

I moved to London a month ago. My daily trip to work takes me from East London all the way to the West on the H&C Line. Turns out, I am not the only one who spends a good part of their morning & afternoon with TfL. People are generally on auto-pilot. Strict no-smile zone. But HEY: Commuting time is life time. Why would you ban all kinds of happiness and enjoyment from such an essential part of your daily life?

The commuting-ecosystem is habitual and strangely fascinating at the same time (I would love for Snoop Dogg to narrate…

If you are a basketball-fan and you are also currently living outside the US, the behavior of the NBA.com website can be quite a pain. In Germany for instance, it automatically redirects to a German version of the site. And every sports-fan knows how much of a bummer it can be if your local sports reporting is being robbed of its natural language. I, for my part, strongly prefer the US version of nba.com and I know many others who feel the same way. While the site gives you the option to set your default version in the header, it…