/53-tracking-setup-global

name: 53-tracking-setup-global
description: "Use when the user needs to set up or fix conversion tracking before running ads: Meta Pixel and Conversions API, Google Ads conversion tracking with Enhanced Conversions, GA4, TikTok Pixel and Events API, server-side GTM, consent management for GDPR and CCPA, UTM conventions, iOS ATT attribution windows, and the pre-launch verification checklist. Trigger on 'tracking setup', 'pixel setup', 'conversions API', 'CAPI', 'GA4 setup', 'server-side tracking', 'consent mode', 'UTM convention', or 'conversion tracking not working'."
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
  category: performance
license: MIT
triggers:
  - "tracking setup"
  - "pixel setup"
  - "conversions API"
  - "CAPI"
  - "GA4 setup"
  - "server-side tracking"
  - "consent mode"
  - "UTM convention"
  - "conversion tracking not working"
output: "File .md — tracking setup checklist per platform, consent plan, UTM template, event mapping, CRM/offline conversion plan, pre-launch verification checklist, and a troubleshooting table"
related:
  - product-marketing-context-global
  - 52-account-structure-global
  - 54-media-plan-global
  - 21-ads-audit-global
  - 12-landing-page-brief-global
  - 13-data-analysis-global

Tracking Setup (Global)

Ads without verified tracking is driving blind. **Hard rule: do not launch ads until tracking verifies green.** Every dollar spent before verification is unmeasurable. Set it up correctly the first time — changing events mid-campaign destroys historical comparability.

> Full per-platform install steps and the consent mode parameter reference: read `references/platform-tracking-setup.md`.

Information gathering

Ask up to 4 questions:

1. **Which ad platforms and objective?** Meta / Google / TikTok / LinkedIn / YouTube — lead (form or message) / purchase / traffic? 2. **What runs the website or landing page?** Shopify / WordPress / Webflow / Framer / custom — and is there access to edit the head tag or install GTM? 3. **Which markets receive traffic?** This decides the consent requirements: EU/UK means GDPR and ePrivacy, California means CCPA/CPRA, other US states have their own opt-out laws. 4. **Where does the sale actually close?** On site (pixel-measurable) or offline via sales calls, demos, or DMs (needs CRM/offline conversion import)?

Principles

1. **No green, no launch.** Verification comes before spend, every time. 2. **Consent is part of tracking, not a legal afterthought.** In the EU/UK, tags must not fire before consent. Getting this wrong risks fines and, on Google, loss of remarketing audiences. 3. **One installation method only.** GTM plus hardcoded tags equals duplicate events and doubled phantom conversions. 4. **Client-side plus server-side, deduplicated.** Browser-only tracking loses a large share of events to ad blockers, ITP, and iOS ATT. Send the same event from both sides with a shared event ID. 5. **Consistent UTMs.** Define the convention once, before anyone builds a link. GA4 cannot repair inconsistent casing or naming after the fact. 6. **Measure to revenue, not to lead.** If 1,000 leads produce 10 sales, you must be able to tell whether the failure is in ads or in sales. That requires CRM or offline conversion import. 7. **Expect platform numbers to disagree.** Ads managers use different attribution windows and modeled conversions. Pick one source of truth for decisions and use the others as directional.

Workflow

1. Choose the measurement architecture

| Layer | Purpose | Minimum | |-------|---------|---------| | Client-side pixel/tag | Fast setup, on-page events | Meta Pixel, Google tag, TikTok Pixel | | Server-side API | Recovers events lost to blockers and ITP | Meta Conversions API, TikTok Events API, Google Enhanced Conversions | | Analytics | Cross-channel truth, funnel analysis | GA4 with key events configured | | Consent layer | Legal gate in front of everything above | CMP plus Google consent mode v2 | | CRM / offline | Connects leads to actual revenue | CRM with source fields, offline conversion import |

Server-side GTM is the recommended container for anything beyond a simple store: it centralizes event forwarding, improves data quality, and keeps first-party cookie lifetimes usable under ITP.

2. Consent management (do this before any tag fires)

This is a first-class requirement, not an optional extra.

**EU / UK — GDPR and ePrivacy:**

• Install a certified consent management platform. Meta requires a CMP for EU traffic; Google requires a Google-certified CMP for EEA/UK traffic to keep personalized advertising and audience features.
• Implement **Google consent mode v2**. The four signals are `ad_storage`, `analytics_storage`, `ad_user_data`, `ad_personalization`. Default them to `denied` for EEA/UK before the banner is answered, then update on consent.
• Non-essential tags must not fire before consent is granted. Consent must be as easy to refuse as to accept, and withdrawable.
• Keep a consent log — which user, which choice, when, which policy version.

**California — CCPA/CPRA (and comparable US state laws):**

• Provide a visible opt-out of sale/sharing of personal information.
• Honor the Global Privacy Control browser signal as a valid opt-out.
• On Meta, apply **Limited Data Use** for California traffic.

**Email and SMS:** CAN-SPAM in the US and GDPR in the EU require documented opt-in for marketing sends and a working unsubscribe. Any list uploaded as a Custom Audience or Customer Match list must have that consent on record — see `14-email-marketing-global`.

Record the decision in the output file: which CMP, which regions gated, who verified.

3. Install per platform

Full step-by-step checklists live in `references/platform-tracking-setup.md`. Summary of what must exist:

| Platform | Client-side | Server-side | Verification tool | |----------|-------------|-------------|-------------------| | Meta | Pixel with standard events (PageView, ViewContent, AddToCart, Lead, Purchase)