Full Answer

The question assumes server-side tracking needs to beat Safari's cookie restrictions. The more accurate framing is that server-side tracking makes cookie restrictions largely irrelevant.

Client-side tracking depends on cookies for two functions: identifying the visitor across sessions and attributing conversions to traffic sources. Safari's seven-day cap breaks both functions for any customer journey longer than a week. Server-side tracking replaces both functions with mechanisms that do not involve browser cookies.

For visitor identification, a first-party server sets cookies through HTTP headers rather than JavaScript. Safari distinguishes between cookies set by the server hosting the page and cookies set by scripts executing in the browser. Server-set cookies from a genuine first-party domain — where the subdomain resolves to infrastructure the site owner controls — receive full lifespan without ITP restrictions. This extends the identification window from seven days to the server-configured duration, typically 90 to 400 days.

For conversion attribution, the server captures click identifiers like gclid and fbclid at the moment of first visit and stores them server-side — in the WooCommerce session, a database record, or a first-party cookie set via HTTP header. When the customer converts days or weeks later, the server retrieves the stored click identifier and includes it in the conversion event sent to Google Ads Enhanced Conversions or Meta CAPI. The attribution survives regardless of whether Safari has deleted any browser-side cookies in the interim.

The combined effect eliminates both cookie-dependent failure modes. Visitor journeys remain stitched across sessions for accurate path analysis, and ad-click attribution persists through the full customer consideration period instead of expiring after seven days or 24 hours.