How to Set Up Same Origin Streaming

This article explains how to set up Same Origin Streaming with OWOX BI to improve attribution accuracy and gain clear insights into your marketing campaigns and know your audience better.

Note: As a consequence of ITP, short cookie lifespans in browsers like Safari and Chrome on iOS result in a growing share of (direct)/(none) traffic in analytics. Updating these mechanisms like “Cap cookie lifetimes to 7 days for responses from third-party IP addresses” only exacerbates the situation and makes previous solutions (e.g. subdomains) much less effective. This breaks the connection between user sessions and their original traffic sources, leading to misattributed conversions, skewed reports, and ineffective budget decisions.

Same Origin Streaming solves this problem by extending cookie lifespans and enabling accurate user tracking, giving you reliable data for better decision-making.

Getting Started Requirements

Before you begin, ensure you meet the following prerequisites:

1. Google Cloud Platform (GCP):
   • You must use GCP and have an active project.
   • Ensure you have the BigQuery Admin or BigQuery Data Owner role (how to set up GCP).
2. OWOX BI Streaming Availability: Confirm that OWOX BI Streaming is included in your plan. If not, contact your OWOX manager at bi@owox.com.
3. Access to Website Server Settings or CDN: You’ll need administrative access to configure your server or CDN.

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Step 1: Create Client-Side Streaming

Start by setting up Client-Side Streaming. For detailed instructions, follow our How to Set Up Client-Side Streaming guide.

Step 2: Switch to Server-Side Streaming

Contact the OWOX BI Support Team in chat or at bi@owox.com and request to switch your streaming type from Client-Side to Server-Side. Once confirmed, you can proceed with the next steps.

Step 3: Configure Your Server

3.1. Route Traffic to the OWOX BI Streaming Endpoint

Set up your server, CDN, or load balancer to route traffic from your website to the OWOX Streaming endpoint.

• Use the endpoint URL provided by OWOX BI: {https://streaming.bi.owox.com/ga4/...}
  
• Create a path on your domain: For example, set up www.example.com/owox to forward traffic to the OWOX endpoint.

Example Workflow: 1. The browser sends POST/GET requests to www.example.com/owox with Google Analytics 4 data.
2. Your server forwards these requests to the OWOX Streaming endpoint, ensuring headers and data remain intact.
3. OWOX BI processes the requests and sends a response.
4. Ensure your server modifies redirect URLs in the response headers (e.g., Location, Content-Location) to match your domain path (example.com/owox).

3.2. Add the Server URL in Google Tag Manager or gtag

• For Google Tag Manager (full guide):
  • In your tag configuration, add a new parameter: server_container_url.
  • Enter the server URL path (e.g., www.example.com/owox).
• For gtag (Optional, full guide):
  • Locate the gtag('config') command on your website.
  • Add the transport_url parameter with your server URL as the value.

3.3. Verify Configuration

Visit your website and confirm that events previously sent to streaming.bi.owox.com are now sent to example.com/owox.

You’re all done!

Common Implementation Challenges and Solutions

1. Routing Errors: Double-check your server paths and proxy configurations to ensure traffic is forwarded correctly.
2. Header Adjustments: The proxy server modifies the URL address in HTTP headers such as Location, Content-Location, and Refresh headers to match the original server's URL address instead of the proxy server's URL address.
3. Passing IP Information for GEO Tracking: To ensure accurate GEO data for Same Origin Streaming, including server-side GTM (ssGTM), make sure the x-forwarded-for header is correctly configured to pass the user’s IP address.
   

   IMPORTANT NOTE This header allows the system to identify the user’s geographical location accurately. Without it, GEO-based analytics and personalization might be affected.

Post-Implementation Testing and Results

After implementing Same Origin Streaming, monitor the following metrics to measure its effectiveness:

• Returning Users: Expect a significant increase in correctly identified returning users.
• Direct/None Traffic: Consider reducing direct/none sessions in your analytics.
• Transaction Attribution: Verify that more transactions are accurately attributed to their original sources.

If you have any questions during the setup process, feel free to contact the OWOX BI Support Team at bi@owox.com.