You've created a TAGGRS account and want to start with Server Side Tracking. You've installed TAGGRS tracking tags to measure data differences and set up all tags and triggers in Google Tag Manager. The data difference is positive but unrealistically high (>60%).
This article discusses the most common causes of this situation. The causes are ordered from most to least common.
This is a general list of causes that could apply to all users. By checking these items, you can likely quickly resolve the issue. If the points in this list do not solve the problem, please send us a support ticket.
Let’s get started.
1. No Consent Mode in Server Container, but Present in Client Container
GA4 always sends data to the server container, regardless of whether cookies are accepted or not. If you have consent mode set up in the web container but not in the server container, tracking from the server container will always be activated, regardless of the consent level.
Learn to set up consent mode V2 in the server container.
2. Duplicate Events Due to Addition to Google Tag in GA4
The Google Tag is designed to simplify tracking. You can now add events from GA4 that are then measured by the Google Tag. However, this can quickly lead to messy tracking. For instance, if you've added events in GA4 as well as in GTM.
You might end up measuring duplicate events. For example, if you've added page_view to the Google tag in GA4, you might measure double the number of page_view events. Depending on your settings, the server container might also receive these events twice, resulting in an unrealistically high data difference.
To exclude this, check if extra events have been added to the Google tag in GA4. Then compare this with the events measured in GTM. Go to GA4 settings > data streams > (click on the relevant stream) > Create custom events.
If you find events in this list that are also measured in GTM, it's best to remove them from GA4.
3. No Client Selected for Trigger for Server Tracking Tag
If you use multiple methods to send data to the server container, an event, like page_view, might be sent to the server container more than once. If you send all page_view events with the server-side tracking tag, you will notice an excessively large data difference in the chart.
The solution is to always specify a specific client in the trigger. In most cases, GA4 is used as a method to send data to the server container, so you can specify the GA4 client here.
4. Another direct GA4 integration detected on the website
In the event of an additional direct GA4 integration (bypassing GTM) being operational on your website—perhaps via a plugin—certain issues may arise. This supplementary integration could reroute requests away from Google Tag Manager, potentially causing some requests to go unregistered. Consequently, this disparity might manifest as a downturn in the tracking tag metrics.
By conducting an inspection within Chrome, one can scrutinize the presence of Google Tag Manager scripts to identify any such supplementary direct GA4 integrations operating on the website.
Wrapping up
These are the main reasons for an unrealistically high difference between the client and server line in the TAGGRS Tracking Tags. If your issue isn't listed here or if you've discovered another cause relevant to other users, send us a support ticket.