Ad Platform, Pixel & Conversion API Integrations
Six destinations, one pattern: browser pixels deliver context, server APIs deliver robustness, and consent decides what may flow at all.
Every platform on this list accepts conversions on two paths: a browser pixel and a server-side API. The pixel installs fast and delivers browser context but loses signals to ad blockers, ITP, and consent failures. The server APIs send from your own container, first-party and filterable.
Our project standard is therefore hybrid: both paths in parallel, deduplicated over a shared event ID, fed from oneGTM Server-Side container. In front of it sits consent-aware routing: the CMP signal decides per platform whether anything is sent at all, see the Consent & CMP category. The table carries the exceptions: Criteo mostly stays on the pixel, Outbrain only does either-or.
The six destinations compared
| Platform | Browser tag | Server API | Recommended path | Deduplication | Required identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | Google Ads Tag (gtag.js) | Enhanced Conversions via sGTM / API | Hybrid | Yes | gclid, transaction_id |
| Meta Ads | Meta Pixel | Conversions API (CAPI) | Hybrid | Yes | event_id |
| TikTok Ads | TikTok Pixel | Events API | Hybrid | Yes | event_id |
| LinkedIn Ads | LinkedIn Insight Tag | Conversions API | Hybrid | Yes | eventId |
| Criteo | Criteo OneTag | Events API (server-to-server) | Browser only | No | — |
| Outbrain | Outbrain Pixel | Server-to-Server (S2S) conversion tracking | Server-side only | No | ob_click_id |
Details, event mapping, and common mistakes live on the linked destination pages.
When browser pixels are enough
Small budgets, few conversions, no consent edge cases: then the pixel carries on its own and the server rebuild can wait. Criteo shows the case in its purest form, where product context in the browser delivers more than any server path.
When server-side tracking is needed
As soon as budget gets optimised on the numbers, every lost purchase counts twice: as a measurement error and as a wrong bid signal. Ad-blocker losses, iOS restrictions, and long B2B cycles are the three triggers that make the conversion APIs mandatory. The infrastructure lives in theserver-side category, usually as astape.io-hosted container.
Why deduplication matters
Two paths mean two reports per conversion. Without a shared event ID the platform counts twice, optimises on phantom revenue, and reports a ROAS nobody can find again. That makes the event_id the entry ticket to any hybrid setup, not a nice-to-have. Platforms without a dedup mechanism, like Outbrain, force a one-path decision.
Consent and DACH privacy
All six destinations are marketing purposes: no consent, no event, server-side included. The server container makes data flows controllable; it legalises nothing. Google additionally demands Consent Mode V2, Meta punishes unhashed PII, and the measurement gap without consent is closed cleanly only by your own analytics baseline, see theanalytics category.
Common implementation mistakes
- Event IDs formatted differently on the browser and server paths.
- CAPI tags firing past the CMP because only the pixel is consent-gated.
- Click IDs (gclid, ttclid, ob_click_id) lost in redirects and URL rewrites.
- Unhashed emails in the server payload.
- Transaction IDs guessed from the dataLayer instead of delivered by the backend.
Related services
The full rebuild is whatConversion API & Pixel Trackingdelivers, embedded in Measurement & Privacy Engineering. The Paid Media Tracking Audit establishes where your setup stands; the Server-Side Tracking Audit, whether the infrastructure carries it.
Do your conversions arrive in the platforms? Two audits, one answer.
Does every platform need its own server container?
No, one GTM Server-Side container serves all destinations from a single event stream. That is exactly what turns the per-platform hybrid build into an extension instead of a project.
What does the move to server-side tracking cost?
The entry via stape.io sits at modest infrastructure costs plus setup effort; from €2,400 the audit determines which platforms justify the rebuild.