Is your store’s speed costing you sales? You need server-side tracking!

This Meta ad is a cash cow. 

You can tell because it has been running since 2022. No one switches off ads that work. 

Now, imagine finding a winning ad that sends traffic to your product - but your store visitors can’t checkout because your store is too slow. 

This is the eventual fate of every store owner who’s still using default client side tracking instead of server side tracking.  

This post was written thanks to Yiqi Wu, ex-Meta engineer and founder of Aimerce - a first-party data tracking Shopify solution for recovering sales lost to Meta/Google privacy updates.

ELI5: Why is client side tracking bad for my store?

We all know that a slow store is bad news for sales, the same way a restaurant that takes 3 hours to serve food is bad for sales. 

Imagine your store is like a busy restaurant. Every time someone walks in, a waiter has to follow them around writing down everything they look at. Pretty annoying, right? That's exactly what traditional client-side tracking does to your online store – it follows your customers everywhere, making everything slower.

If you’ve left your store default settings on, your store probably client-side tracking. Here's what that means in simple terms:

Every time someone visits your store, their web browser (like Chrome or Safari) has to:

• Load your products and images

• Keep track of what they click

• Remember what they add to cart

• Send all this information to Facebook and Google

• Handle lots of tracking codes

It's like asking one waiter to serve tables, cook food, AND wash dishes all at the same time!

Slow stores lose sales

Research shows that customers are impatient online. When your store is slow:

• People leave before your pages finish loading

• Shoppers get frustrated and abandon their carts

• Your store appears lower in Google search results

• You lose sales while people wait for pages to load

One store owner told us: "I was losing $100 a day because some customers couldn't wait for my product pages to load. They'd just leave!"

How Server-Side Tracking Fixes This

Server-side tracking is like hiring a separate team to handle all the tracking work. Instead of your customer's browser doing everything:

• Your store's server (a powerful computer) handles all the tracking

• Your customer's browser just focuses on showing products

• Pages load faster because there's less work to do

• Everything runs smoother for your customers

The Real Benefits You'll See

When you switch to server-side tracking:

1. Faster Page Loads

•    Products appear almost instantly

•    Images load quicker

•    Cart updates happen faster

2. Better Shopping Experience

•    No more freezing or slow-downs

•    Smoother checkout process

•    Better mobile experience

3.  More Sales

•    Fewer abandoned carts

•    More people stay to shop

•    Higher conversion rates

A Real Store's Success Story

Take Sarah's jewelry store for example. Before server-side tracking:

• Pages took 5 seconds to load

• 40% of visitors left before seeing products

• Mobile customers rarely completed purchases

After switching to server-side tracking:

• Pages loaded in under 2 seconds

• Only 15% of visitors left early

• Mobile sales doubled

The Best Part? It's Easy to Set Up

Modern tools make switching to server-side tracking simple:

• No technical knowledge needed

• Works automatically with your store

• Starts improving speed right away

What Should You Do Next?

Don't let slow tracking chase away your customers. Server-side tracking gives you:

• A faster store

• Happier customers

• More sales

• Better performance

And the best part? You can set it up with just a few clicks. No computer science degree required!

Remember: In online shopping, speed equals money. Make your store the fastest it can be with server-side tracking.