Optimizing Server-side Tagging Cost

If you’ve decided to move server-side tagging for enhanced data accuracy, more control, and more security while sending sensitive user or business data with privacy centric values, but you’re unsure about the costs involved and optimizing server-side tagging cloud cost, this is where you start.

Server-side tagging is a new way to use Google Tag Manager to instrument your application across devices. Server containers use the same tag, trigger, and variable model that you’re used to, while also providing new tools that allow you to measure user activity wherever it happens. — Source: Google

The server runs in your own Google Cloud Platform project — or in a different environment of your choosing — and only you have access to the data in the server until you choose to send it elsewhere. You have full control over how that data is shaped, and where it is routed from the server. Tags are built using the sandboxed JavaScript technology. Permissions give you the visibility into what the tag can do, and policies allow you to set boundaries around the container. — Source: Google

It’s quite like running Google Tag Manager on your own computer whether it has 512MB or 12GB of RAM on instances server costs are then determined by your traffic volume.

If you optimize and maintenance your tagging hosting setup, using autoscale features, or committing resources can further optimize your costs.

Unoptimized server-side tagging cost vs your actual server-side tagging cost

Server-side tagging can be expensive or fairly priced due to several factors outlined in the provided sources.

Server-side Tagging Hosting Costs

Hosting a server-side container, especially on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), incurs monthly costs that can range from $240 to $300, up to $3000-$3500 annually based on your web or app traffic.

Example server-side tagging cost calculation

Considering the hosting costs range from $240 to $300 per month, let’s take an average of $270 per month.

If we calculate the annual cost based on this average, it would be $270 x 12 months = $3240.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP):

Google recommends having at least 3 servers in a production environment, with each server costing approximately $40 per month.

This would result in a minimum monthly cost of *3 $40 = $120**

For websites with higher traffic volumes and more tags, Google Cloud can autoscale to 5–6 servers, leading to monthly costs ranging from $240 to $300.

Additional costs may arise if logging is not disabled when deploying server GTM, potentially adding around $100 for 500.000 requests.

Amazon Web Services:

You can find the huge guidance for using Google Tag Manager for Server-Side website analytics on AWS, here.

You are responsible for the cost of the AWS services used while running this Guidance. As of , the cost for running this Guidance with the default settings in the <Default AWS Region (Most likely will be US East (N. Virginia)) > is approximately $1,180.70 per month for processing ( 1 mil records each day ).

Here is the source.

Technical Complexity

Implementing server-side tagging requires a higher level of technical expertise compared to client-side tagging, potentially leading to increased costs associated with hiring skilled professionals or investing in training

• Increased Requests: Server-side tagging costs can vary based on the number of requests sent, with higher request volumes potentially leading to higher expenses
• Optimization and Maintenance: Ensuring the smooth operation and optimization of server-side tagging containers requires ongoing maintenance, updates, and potentially additional costs for optimizing server configurations
• Implementation Costs: Moving from client-side to server-side tagging may incur additional expenses, such as hosting fees on platforms like Google Cloud Platform, AWS or Azure. These costs contribute to the overall implementation budget for server-side tagging. For instance, expenses may include consultations with various stakeholders such as project managers, digital marketing leads, IT for DNS configurations, cloud architects, and agency representatives. Additionally, allocating time for meetings, such as a x-hour(s) session with a product analysts, adds to the implementation costs.

Example complex diagram of using Google Tag Manager for Server-Side website analytics on AWS

So, the expenses associated with server-side tagging stem from hosting costs, technical complexity, increased requests, optimization and maintenance requirements, and the transition costs involved in moving from client-side tracking to server-side tagging.

Usage

• Logging: In server-side tagging, data flows through an intermediary server before reaching analytics or marketing platforms, enhancing data security and control
• Performance: The performance of self-hosted server-side tagging can vary based on the requests per second (RPS) it can handle, impacting costs.

Maintenance?

Yes, this is important part of setup and using server-side tagging hosting.

• Security: Hosting server-side tagging on platforms like GCP provides security benefits, reducing potential security risks and offering more control over data handling.
• Revisions: Regular revisions and maintenance are essential to ensure smooth operation and data integrity, especially when transitioning from a test to a production environment.

Setting up GTM server-side tagging involves creating a server container, choosing hosting options, and configuring the server. Usage focuses on data flow, performance, and security benefits. Maintenance includes security measures, updates, and transitioning to production.

How to optimize server-side tagging cloud?

This is also depending how you manage your server, but here some tricks to optimizing your server.

Committed use discounts (CUDs)

Committed use discounts (CUDs) provide discounted prices in exchange for your commitment to use a minimum level of resources for a specified term. The discounts are flexible, cover a wide range of resources, and are ideal for workloads with predictable resource needs.

For example, when you purchase Google Cloud committed use discounts, you commit to a consistent amount of usage for a one- or three-year period. With spend-based commitments, the usage is measured in dollars per hour and equivalent to your on-demand spend. You receive a discounted rate on the usage your commitment covers, but any usage over the committed amount is charged at the on-demand rate. — Source: Google

Disabling Logs

By default, information about every single request (e.g. request path, query parameters, etc) is logged. If your tagging server handles a lot of requests per month (e.g. greater than 1 million), those log messages may incur significant logging charges. To reduce or eliminate the logging charges, we recommend disabling the request logging.

You can get more details from Simo Ahava's Tips for Logging Server-side Tagging here.

Instance Updates

Google Cloud run, by default scale each instances if you setting up max-instances for how much you will need to pay for resources.

However, you may choose to run fewer (or more) servers. Expected that autoscaling 2–10 servers will handle 35–350 requests per second, though the performance will vary with the number of tags, and what those tags do.

The problem with that, you have to develop and run Cloud Functions to alerting or updating this server-side instances if you want to run your server-side tagging server instances as dynamically, according your regular requests counting like GA4 total events, or any marketing tags on your client-side Google Tag Manager to trigger GET and POST requests.

Server-side tagging costs vary depend on your hosting/cloud provider choices, website/app traffic volumes, and additional features. You may running the all progress as a service like **Hardal**.

Hardal is designed to server-side cost challenge, utilizing advanced algorithms for efficient tagging cost reduction and cloud log forecasting.

Here is how Hardal can optimize server-side tagging cost using AutoRevision algorithm.

If you want to use server-side tagging with Google Tag Manager and server-side callback endpoints to using Google Tag Manager on iOS and Android, simply you start using Hardal.