From 70% to 95%+ Accuracy:
How NDistribution Fixed Broken Tracking and Boosted Attribution by 30%
Sector
Beauty
Our role
- Data and Analytics,
NDistribution
NDistribution is a multi-channel online retailer that owns and operates e-commerce websites, primarily in the health and beauty sector. Their most notable brand is FalseEyelashes.co.uk.
Challenge
Despite extensive efforts including client-side, server-side, third-party apps, and Shopify Custom Pixels the business has struggled with accurate tracking.
Previous server-side setups caused event duplication and inflated ROAS, while client-side methods missed key customer journey data. Although Google Ads tracking was recently stabilised, GA4 data remains unreliable.
To enable reliable reporting and informed decision-making, the business urgently needs a scalable, standardised hybrid tracking solution combining client-side and server-side methods to achieve over 95% accuracy.
Solution
We began with a full tracking audit, identifying misconfigurations and limitations in the Google & YouTube Channel App that led to inflated and unreliable data.
Next, we standardised the Consent Management Platform (CMP) across brands and ensured it properly integrated with Shopify’s Privacy API creating a compliant, consistent foundation for data collection.
We then deployed a custom pixel and GTM setup via the client’s first-party domain, dynamically responding to user consent to fire only the appropriate tags enhancing both compliance and data quality.
To improve resilience, we implemented a Server-Side GTM instance that sends data directly to ad platforms, bypassing browser restrictions and enabling more accurate cross-device tracking.
We also built a custom GA4 dashboard in Looker Studio, offering a clearer, business-focused view of key metrics. This tailored view outperforms GA4’s built-in reporting by surfacing the metrics most valuable to the business in a format that is intuitive, accessible, and easy to explore.
Finally, we resolved persistent Bing Ads tracking issues and collaborated with the PPC agency to validate all paid media tags, significantly boosting tracking accuracy across both Google and Bing.
Together, these enhancements have delivered a scalable, privacy-compliant hybrid tracking framework with over 95% accuracy, enabling the business to confidently measure performance and make data-driven decisions.
"Accurately tracking conversions and even traffic sources has become much more difficult over the last few years, and my team and I were becoming increasingly frustrated as nothing seemed to work to provide us with an accurate picture. Velstar’s team took the challenges presented to them within their stride and provided a robust service and solution to ensure our tracking is now as good as it’s ever been, while ensuring we’re completely compliant with all relevant guidelines and regulations around cookies and tracking. Nothing was too much trouble, and full explanation and commentary has been provided by their great team post-project on any points we raised as queries."
Nick Whitmore
Managing Director
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