BonicBD
Sign in Get Started
Documentation

Setup Guides & Resources

Everything you need to deploy BonicBD, configure tags, and get clean attribution data flowing.

What Is Server-Side GTM?

Server-side Google Tag Manager (sGTM) moves your tracking from the visitor's browser to a server you control. Instead of the browser sending events directly to Meta, Google, or TikTok, it sends them to your own subdomain — and your server forwards them to the destination platforms.

This unlocks three concrete benefits: ad-blockers can't easily block your tracking endpoint, attribution windows extend because cookies are server-set, and you can enrich events server-side before sending them.

Requirements

  • A domain you control (e.g., yourbrand.com)
  • Ability to create a DNS CNAME record on a subdomain
  • A Google Tag Manager account (free) — both Web and Server containers

1. Sign Up & Pick a Plan

Create an account at https://panel.bonicbd.com/user/signup. Pick a plan based on your monthly request volume — see pricing. The free trial is enough to validate the setup before you commit.

2. DNS Configuration (CNAME)

Pick a tracking subdomain like tracking.yourbrand.com, server.yourbrand.com, or gtm.yourbrand.com. Then add this single CNAME record at your DNS provider:

Type:   CNAME
Name:   tracking          (or server / gtm — your choice)
Value:  connect.bonicbd.com
TTL:    300               (or default — Auto on Cloudflare)
Important: No IP address is needed. Always use a CNAME pointing to connect.bonicbd.com — that way, infrastructure changes on our side never break your tracking. If you're on Cloudflare, set proxy status to DNS only (grey cloud) so SSL provisioning works.
Tip: Avoid generic names like track. or analytics. — some ad-blocker lists target them. tracking., server., gtm., ss. all work well.

3. Install the Snippets (auto-generated)

Once your CNAME is verified, the dashboard generates three ready-to-paste snippets for your container. You don't write them by hand — copy from Dashboard → Setup Guide and paste:

  1. Head code (Google Tag Manager loader) — paste at the very top of <head> on every page.
  2. Body noscript — paste right after the opening <body> tag.
  3. Integrated Tracker script — a separate first-party script that handles cookie keeping, click ID restoration, UTM capture, and event de-duplication.

The Head and Tracker scripts both load from your own tracking subdomain — that's what makes them ad-blocker resilient. The exact snippet URLs are auto-generated per container.

WordPress / Shopify / Woo: Use a header/footer plugin (Insert Headers and Footers, etc.) or your theme's custom code section. Custom sites: paste into your main layout template.

4. Web GTM & Server GTM Setup

Inside your Web GTM container add a Cookie Extender (Custom HTML on All Pages) and a 1st-Party Cookie variable for bbd_uid — both are pre-written in the dashboard. In your Server GTM container set the Server Container URL to your tracking subdomain and add the Event Data variable for external_id mapping. The Setup Guide gives you exact field values per container.

Server-set _fbp, _fbc, _ga, and click-ID cookies with a 1-year lifetime. Survives Safari ITP and most browser cookie pruning. Enabled by default — no action needed.

Click ID Restorer

Captures fbclid, gclid, ttclid, msclkid, twclid, li_fat_id, epik, scid, _kx, and obclid on first hit. Stores them in cookies, localStorage, and IndexedDB. Re-attaches them to every conversion event regardless of what other scripts strip.

Configure default consent state per region. EU traffic gets denied defaults until consent; non-EU traffic stays granted. Conversion modeling kicks in for denied-consent EU traffic. Toggle via the dashboard.

Bot Detection

We score every request and silently drop traffic from known bot user agents and headless browser fingerprints before it reaches your analytics pipeline. Reduces noise and protects your event quality.

Real-Time Dashboard

Every request that reaches your container is logged and aggregated in real time. Filter by event name, platform, country, or path. Watch your conversion ledger fill up as orders come in.

Preview Mode

Each plan includes a dedicated preview container. Connect it from GTM's Preview & Debug — you'll see every tag fire just like the production container, but isolated from your real traffic.

Troubleshooting

If events aren't reaching your destination platforms:

  1. Open your tracking subdomain in a browser — you should see the BonicBD landing page
  2. Check the dashboard's real-time view to confirm events are reaching the server
  3. Open GTM Preview & Debug to confirm tags are firing
  4. Check the platform's Event Manager (Meta) or DebugView (GA4) for incoming events
  5. If still stuck, message us on WhatsApp — we'll debug with you
Need help? Our team can do the entire setup for you, including DNS, script install, and GTM tag configuration — usually under 30 minutes. Just reach out.