Server-side event
A conversion reported from your own server rather than from the visitor's browser, so it does not depend on scripts loading.
Updated August 14, 2026
A server-side event is a conversion sent by your backend instead of by a script on a thank-you page. Your server already knows the order was paid, so it posts the click identifier, the goal, the order reference and the amount directly to the tracking API with an authenticated key.
The reason to prefer it is reliability. Browser reporting disappears whenever a script is blocked, a tab closes before it fires or a connection drops on the redirect back from a payment provider — and those losses are not random, they concentrate in particular audiences and quietly bias every comparison built on them. A server call has none of those failure modes, and it can carry the true final amount after refunds, discounts and taxes.
The cost is that the click identifier has to reach your order record: read it from the address or the first-party cookie at checkout and store it with the order. Send an idempotency key and a stable order reference, and running browser and server reporting together stays safe — the pair deduplicates instead of counting twice.