With third-party cookies disappearing, I’m really anxious about tracking user journeys.
Our acquisition funnels depend on cross-domain tracking. We need to see the entire path when users click ads and convert in-app.
What solutions are others exploring? Server-side tracking looks tricky, and first-party data has its limitations.
I built a simple tracking system with URL parameters and session storage.
I capture source data when users hit my landing pages, store it locally, then pass it through when they convert.
Covers 90% of what I need and took a day to build versus weeks on complex server stuff.
Simple beats fancy most of the time.
Most funnels do not work anyway. Just focus on what converts.
First party data isn’t that limited. You can collect quite a bit without cookies.
Server-side tracking is pretty straightforward once you get it running. Most ad platforms take conversion data straight from your backend.
I track the important stuff through my server and push it back to Facebook and Google. You get way better data quality than cookies since you’re controlling exactly what gets sent.
I switched everything to web funnels. Web2Wave.com tracks users with server-side events while they’re on the web, then passes clean conversion data to the app. No cross-domain headaches. I can test different tracking setups instantly instead of waiting for app updates.
Stick to cohort analysis and UTM parameters. Don’t bother tracking every tiny interaction - focus on what drives revenue. Get your attribution windows set up right in your app analytics. Most apps obsess over vanity metrics, but you just need to know which campaigns bring paying users. Track the big stuff, ignore everything else.
Been running campaigns for years and honestly? The cookieless thing is overblown.
I doubled down on email capture early in my funnels. Now I can tie conversions back to specific campaigns through email matching in my CRM.
Also started using conversion APIs more. Facebook’s works great - I send purchase events directly from my app backend with hashed emails. Way more accurate than pixel tracking ever was.
The visibility drop isn’t as bad as people think. You lose some granular journey data but keep the stuff that actually matters for optimization.