Get Set: Building a tailored tracking infrastructure

In our previous post, we explored Step 1: Audit and Align, looking at how evaluating data integrity and connecting tracking to core KPIs builds a reliable strategic baseline. But once you know where your tracking gaps lie, what comes next?  

Moving from evaluation to execution requires technical set up that is bespoke to your specific commercial goals. Out-of-the-box analytics tools rarely fit bespoke business needs, and relying on default configurations can leave you with inaccurate or missing data. 

In this second post of our 5-step Data Journey series, we break down Step 2: Get Set. This step of our Data Journey is all about our process for implementing tailored tracking configurations that help you to collect accurate data. 

Get Set is the technical set up phase of the Varn Data Journey. Once an audit defines what needs correcting and aligning, Get Set focuses on installing robust, tailored tracking setups across your platforms.  By configuring core platforms like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) alongside advanced setups such as Server-Side Tracking (SST) and BigQuery, this step ensures your business captures useful and accurate user data.

While installing a standard Google Analytics script provides a basic starting point, default client-side setups leave critical blind spots in your commercial reporting:  

• In GA4, complex or custom queries frequently trigger data sampling, meaning you are viewing estimated calculations rather than raw, unmanipulated data.  
• Client-side tracking scripts are routinely blocked by ad blockers and browser privacy controls, leaving legitimate conversions unrecorded and masking your true marketing ROI.  
• Firing multiple tracking tags directly in a visitor’s browser slows down page load speeds, driving potential customers away before they convert and impacting user experience of your site.

This is why we offer advanced tracking setups, including Server-Side Tracking and BigQuery integrations. Crucially, we take a pragmatic approach; we only recommend and implement these advanced configurations when they make clear commercial sense for your specific setup, traffic volume, and business goals.

To eliminate blind spots and build a reliable setup, Step 2 delivers specialist data products tailored to your technical requirements:  

Standard tracking configurations only measure generic pageviews and simple clicks. We build custom tracking configurations in GA4 and GTM designed around your specific user journeys and commercial metrics.

• What’s included: Implementation of bespoke tracking on your chosen platforms, either built from scratch or upgrading existing setups.  
• The focus: Accurately measuring the specific user behaviours that drive business growth, such as multi-step form completions, video interactions, or key checkout milestones.  
• The deliverable: Tailored tracking that accurately captures your core KPIs without unnecessary data clutter.  

As browser-based tracking becomes less reliable, moving your tracking code from the client browser to a secure server container restores control over your data collection.  

• What’s included: Complete implementation and thorough testing of a server-side container setup.  
• The focus: Reducing the data loss gap caused by browser blocks, extending first-party cookie duration, improving website load speeds, and enhancing privacy control. 
• The deliverable: Tracking migrated smoothly across to a server-side container and rigorously tested for accuracy. 

Did you know that standard GA4 reports often rely on sampled rather than raw data? Connecting your analytics platforms directly to Google BigQuery gives you total ownership over your raw marketing data, giving you the full picture of user behaviour on your site. 

• What’s included: Seamless integration connecting GA4, Google Search Console, or other key marketing sources to BigQuery. 
• The focus: Delivering raw, unsampled data directly to your business to eliminate sampling restrictions and provide complete clarity. 
• The deliverable: Full integration and configuration of BigQuery, giving your business permanent control over its raw data assets. 

Moving beyond standard client-side analytics to an advanced tracking setup that combines bespoke event tracking, Server-Side Tracking, and BigQuery integrations, does far more than just fix technical errors. It delivers measurable improvements in data volume and accuracy, recovering critical commercial data that off-the-shelf setups can sometimes miss.  Here is how implementing our Step 2 tracking solutions delivered tangible results for our clients:

• For a specialist publishing network relying heavily on membership sign-ups, standard client-side tracking was failing to capture nearly 30% of registrations when compared against internal CRM records. By deploying Server-Side Tracking and BigQuery, we reduced missed conversion tracking from 29.41% down to just 4.5%,  capturing 94% of verified leads. The change in set up also led to a 21% increase in page views and total users that browser tracking had previously hidden.