This week I’ve been elbow-deep in Facebook pixels with three different clients. Not the most glamorous work, but absolutely necessary if you want your ads to actually work in 2025.
Here’s what I discovered: most people are still using the default client-side tracking setup. This means your pixel is tracking activity in the browser, which is about as reliable as using a paper towel as an umbrella.
Why? Browser-based tracking is getting blocked more and more. Between iOS updates, ad blockers, and privacy plugins, your pixel is probably missing a lot of conversions.
The solution? Server-side tracking.
I know what you’re thinking: “Johannes, I don’t want to share MORE data with Facebook!”
As a regular human being, I get that completely. But wearing my marketer hat, I want Facebook to have ALL THE DATA so it can find me more customers like the ones already buying.
Yes, setting up server-side tracking is annoying and technical. But once it’s done, your ads will perform dramatically better—especially for e-commerce, lead gen, and local businesses.
Think of it this way: would you rather spend $1,000 on ads with incomplete data or $1,000 on ads where Facebook knows exactly which customers are converting?
The difference isn’t small. One client who made the switch saw their ROAS improve by 27% in just two weeks – same budget, just better data.
If you’ve been putting this off (I don’t blame you), now might be the time to bite the bullet. Your ad performance depends on it.
Have an absolutely fantastic day,
Johannes Klupfel
