Getting Started
Setup
- Quickstart
- DNS Settings
- Website
- iOS
- Android
- Gaming
- Self-Hosted
Server-side Hosts
- Hosts
- Google
- Meta
- Tiktok
Connections
- Overview
- Google
- Meta
- Tiktok
- Adjust
- LinkedIn
- Zapier
- Firebase
- Insider
- Segmentify
- Custom API
- More
Analytics
- Basics
- Custom Events
- Custom Metrics
- Data Structure
- Analytics API
ETL/Data Governance
- Data Governance
- PII Hashing
- Looker Studio
- BigQuery
- Hex
Changelog
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Hardal analytics solution
Overview
This guide answers frequently asked questions about Hardal’s server-side analytics solution, its features, and how it compares to other analytics tools.
Hardal is an in-house web page visit tracker that collects and sends visitor data directly to a server-side Google Tag Manager (sGTM) container. It helps monitor website traffic efficiently without relying on third-party tracking services.
Hardal captures visitor interactions on your website, such as page views, and sends this data to your sGTM endpoint. From there, the data can be processed, enriched, and forwarded to various analytics tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or other custom endpoints.
No, Hardal acts as a data forwarding tool rather than a storage solution. It collects and immediately sends visit data to your sGTM setup, which then processes the data as per your configured rules.
By using server-side tracking, Hardal helps:
- Reduce the impact of ad blockers, which often block traditional client-side tracking scripts.
- Improve data security, as tracking requests are handled on your own infrastructure.
- Enable custom data enrichment, allowing you to modify and enhance the tracking payload before sending it to third-party services.
Hardal primarily operates using:
- JavaScript (or TypeScript) for client-side tracking.
- Node.js (or another backend framework) to handle incoming tracking events.
- Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, or self-hosted servers to run sGTM.
Yes, if configured properly, Hardal can track events like:
- Button clicks
- Form submissions
- Scroll depth
- Video interactions
- Custom e-commerce events (e.g., add to cart, purchase)
Unlike Google Analytics, Hardal:
- Gives you full control over data collection and processing.
- Reduces dependency on third-party analytics providers.
- Works better with privacy-focused implementations, since data stays within your controlled environment.
Yes, since Hardal forwards data to sGTM, it can integrate with tools like:
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
- Facebook Pixel (Meta Ads tracking)
- ClickHouse, BigQuery, or your own data warehouse
- Any third-party marketing or BI tools via APIs
Hardal itself does not store data, but compliance depends on how you configure sGTM and your data processing pipeline. If required, you can:
- Anonymize IP addresses.
- Collect only necessary data.
- Provide users with an opt-out mechanism.
Yes! Since it’s an in-house tool, you can modify it to fit your tracking needs, whether that means adding new event types, integrating with new platforms, or customizing data processing rules.
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