Set up a server GTM container and deploy it on SGTM.space

The tagging server should live on a subdomain of the site you measure, for example k7q2x.example.com for www.example.com. Requests to your own subdomain are first-party, so the server can set HTTP cookies that most browsers keep longer than cookies set by JavaScript, and fewer blockers match them. Safari and iOS browsers still cap them at 7 days when the subdomain is a CNAME to another host, which is how SGTM.space works.

• Use a few random characters, such as k7q2x. Filter lists have rules for gtm, sgtm, ssgtm, ss, sst, tagging, analytics and track subdomains on any site. Names like tag, metrics, stats, data, tracking, collect or measure have no such general rule, but lists add them one site at a time.
• Use the same registrable domain as the website. k7q2x.example.com works for shop.example.com too.
• Do not reuse a subdomain that already points somewhere else.

Server containers are usually created in the same GTM account as your web container, but as a separate container with the Server target platform.

1. 1 Open tagmanager.google.com. On the Accounts page click the ⋮ menu next to your account name and choose Create container.
2. 2 Name it after the site (for example example.com - server) and choose Server as the target platform.
3. 3 In the setup dialog choose Manually provision tagging server.
4. 4
   Copy the Container Config string. It is a long base64 value that starts with aWQ9R1RN.

   Copy

   aWQ9R1RNLVhYWFhYWFgmZW52PTEmYXV0aD1hYmNkZWZnaGlqa2xtbm9w

Sign up at SGTM.space and verify your email with the 6-digit code. Then open Containers and click New container. Creating a container takes three steps.

Step 1, your website. Enter the address of the site you measure and click Read my site. In a few seconds SGTM.space reads the page and suggests the settings for your container. If the site cannot be read, or you prefer to type everything yourself, click Skip and fill in by hand.

Step 2, your container. The form shows what the scan found, and you can change every field:

1. 1 Subdomain: a few random characters on your site's domain are proposed, for example k7q2x.example.com. Keep them or enter the subdomain you chose.
2. 2 Region: Europe is preselected. Pick the one closest to most of your visitors (Europe, US East or Asia).
3. 3 Web GTM container ID (optional): the GTM-XXXXXXX found on your site is filled in. If the site runs several, pick the one that will send data to this server. With an ID, Turn on Better Loader for GTM-XXXXXXX is ticked by default. Google Tag Manager loads from your own subdomain once the loader's DNS record is verified and your site uses the Better Loader snippet instead of the GTM snippet.
4. 4 Name (optional): your site's address is proposed. Only your team sees it.

Step 3, server-side GTM (optional). Choose whether you connect the server container now or later, then click Create container.

Open the DNS tab of the new container. It lists the exact record to add. For the main domain it is a single CNAME that points your subdomain at the endpoint of the region you chose.

Type

CNAME

Name

k7q2x

Value

eu.sgtm.space

Proxy

DNS only

Most records resolve within a few minutes, some providers take up to an hour. Once the record is in place, SGTM.space issues the HTTPS certificate for the subdomain automatically, usually within minutes. It also re-checks the record every few minutes, so you do not have to keep clicking Check DNS.

Once the container status is Ready, the tagging server answers on your subdomain. The quickest check is the health endpoint, which should return 200 with the body ok.

curl -i https://k7q2x.example.com/healthy

Then open the server container in GTM, go to Admin and Container Settings, enter https://k7q2x.example.com as the Server container URL and click Save. Now click Preview: a Tag Assistant tab opens on your subdomain. It stays empty until data arrives, which is what the next lesson sets up.

• The container status in SGTM.space is Ready.
• The DNS record shows Ready.
• https://k7q2x.example.com/healthy returns 200.
• GTM Preview for the server container opens without an error.
• The Server container URL in the server container's Container Settings is https://k7q2x.example.com.