What Is EdgeTag? First-Party Tracking for Shopify Explained (and How Upstack Compares)

If you've been researching server-side tracking for your Shopify store, you've probably come across the term "EdgeTag." It's a product by Blotout — and it represents one approach to solving the post-iOS 14 tracking problem.

But EdgeTag is a product name, not a category. The underlying technology — first-party edge proxying — is available from multiple providers, including Upstack. Understanding what EdgeTag actually does, how it works, and where it stops will help you make a more informed decision about which tool is right for your brand.

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What Is EdgeTag?

EdgeTag is Blotout's branded server-side tracking product. At its core, it does three things:

1. Routes tracking requests through your domain. Instead of sending events from the browser directly to Meta or Google (which can be blocked by ad blockers and iOS restrictions), EdgeTag sends them through a subdomain you control — making them "first-party" in the browser's eyes.

2. Sets first-party cookies. Because the tracking requests come from your domain, EdgeTag can set cookies that survive the browser restrictions that kill third-party cookies within 24-72 hours.

3. Forwards events server-side. Your conversion events (page views, add-to-carts, purchases) are sent from Blotout's servers to ad platforms via the Meta Conversion API (CAPI), Google Ads, TikTok, and others.

This is solid infrastructure. It solves a real problem — the steady degradation of client-side pixel tracking that has made Meta's event data less accurate since iOS 14.5.

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How First-Party Edge Proxying Actually Works

The term "EdgeTag" is Blotout's brand name, but the technology itself — first-party edge proxying — follows a standard pattern:

The Technical Flow

1. DNS configuration. You create a CNAME record pointing a subdomain (e.g., data.yourbrand.com) to the tracking provider's infrastructure.
2. First-party context. When the tracking script runs in a visitor's browser, it sends data to data.yourbrand.com — which the browser treats as first-party (your domain) rather than third-party.
3. Cookie persistence. Because the request is first-party, cookies can be set with longer expiration times. Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) limits third-party cookies to 24 hours — but first-party cookies can persist for days or weeks.
4. Server-side forwarding. The edge proxy receives the event data and forwards it to Meta, Google, TikTok, Klaviyo, and other platforms via their server-side APIs (like Meta's Conversion API).

What This Solves

• Ad blockers can't block requests to your own domain
• iOS restrictions are bypassed because events flow server-to-server
• Cookie expiration is extended because cookies are set in a first-party context
• Event delivery is more reliable because it doesn't depend on the browser

What This Does NOT Solve

This is where the distinction matters. First-party edge proxying improves event delivery — getting more events to Meta and other platforms. But it doesn't solve identity resolution — connecting those events to the right person.

A customer who clicks your Meta ad on their phone, browses on their tablet, and buys on their laptop three days later generates three separate sessions. Edge proxying captures all three. But without identity resolution, Meta still sees three strangers — not one buyer.

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Does Upstack Have EdgeTag Technology?

Yes. Upstack includes the same first-party edge proxy infrastructure in every plan.

The implementation details are similar: tracking requests route through your domain, first-party cookies are set, and events are forwarded server-side via CAPI. You don't need to think about it as a separate product — it's part of the stack.

The difference is what happens after the data is captured.

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Where the Two Approaches Diverge

Blotout's Approach: Infrastructure First

Blotout positions as "first-party data infrastructure." EdgeTag captures events, routes them through your domain, filters bots, and forwards clean signals to 55+ platforms. It's a broad, horizontal infrastructure play designed to work with any ecommerce platform and any ad channel.

Strengths of this approach:

• Wide platform support (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud)
• 55+ native integrations
• HIPAA compliance and self-hosting options for enterprise
• Cloudflare WAF-powered bot protection

What it doesn't include:

• Attribution reporting (which campaigns drive revenue)
• Klaviyo-specific flow enrichment (beyond standard integration)
• New customer CPA reporting in Meta
• A unified analytics dashboard

For attribution, Blotout users typically add Triple Whale or Northbeam — a second vendor, a second bill, a second set of numbers.

Upstack's Approach: Identity First

Upstack positions as an identity resolution platform for Shopify brands running Meta and Klaviyo. The first-party edge proxy is included, but it's not the product — it's the foundation. The product is what happens after:

1. Upstack ID — a persistent identifier that survives cookie deletion, device switching, and session breaks. When a customer returns on a different device, Upstack recognizes them.

2. Identity-resolved CAPI events — Upstack doesn't just forward events to Meta. It resolves who the event belongs to first, then sends enriched data (hashed email, phone, click ID) that Meta can match to a real profile. This is why EMQ scores jump from ~50% to 85%+.

3. Klaviyo flow enrichment — Upstack feeds identity data directly into Klaviyo, so abandonment and browse flows fire for customers who would otherwise be invisible. Brands typically see 30-40% more people entering their existing flows.

4. Built-in attribution — Multi-touch attribution, new customer CPA (nCPA), creative analytics, contribution margin tracking, and LTV cohort analysis — all in one dashboard. No second tool required.

What it doesn't include:

• Magento or Salesforce Commerce Cloud support
• HIPAA compliance
• Self-hosting option
• 55+ integrations (Upstack supports 17, with deeper integration on each)

The EMQ Question

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Many brands install a server-side tracking tool — whether EdgeTag, Elevar, or a basic Shopify CAPI setup — and expect their Meta Event Match Quality (EMQ) to improve dramatically. Sometimes it does. Often, the improvement is marginal.

Why? Because EMQ isn't about event delivery. It's about event matching.

Meta's EMQ score measures how well the events you send can be matched to real user profiles on Meta's platform. If you send a purchase event but Meta can't figure out who purchased, it doesn't matter that the event was delivered reliably. It's still unmatched.

Server-side tracking improves delivery. Identity resolution improves matching. Both matter, but if your EMQ is stuck despite having server-side tracking, the bottleneck is almost certainly identity — not delivery.

This is the core architectural difference between Blotout and Upstack: Blotout optimizes delivery. Upstack optimizes matching.

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Side-by-Side: EdgeTag vs Upstack

Capability	Blotout EdgeTag	Upstack
First-party edge proxy	Yes (branded as EdgeTag)	Yes (included in every plan)
Server-side CAPI	Yes	Yes
Cross-device identity resolution	Persistent ID Graph	Upstack ID (lifetime identifier)
Klaviyo flow recovery	Standard integration	Deep integration (30-40% more flow entries)
Attribution reporting	Not included	Multi-touch attribution in every plan
nCPA / nROAS in Meta	Not available	Included
EMQ improvement approach	Better event delivery	Better event delivery + identity matching
Pricing model	Per event (variable)	Per order (predictable)
Contract	Annual (Growth+ plans)	Month-to-month, cancel anytime
Free trial	30 days on annual plans	21 days, full features, no credit card
Platform focus	55+ integrations (broad)	17 integrations, Shopify-focused (deep)
DNS setup required	Yes	No

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Who Should Use Which?

Blotout EdgeTag is a good fit if:

• You're on WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, or Salesforce Commerce Cloud (not just Shopify)
• You need HIPAA compliance or self-hosting
• You already have a separate attribution tool you're happy with
• You want the broadest possible integration coverage
• Your primary goal is compliance and event delivery, not attribution or Klaviyo optimization

Upstack is a good fit if:

• You're a Shopify brand running Meta ads and Klaviyo
• Your EMQ is low despite having server-side tracking
• Your Klaviyo abandonment flows aren't reaching everyone they should
• You want tracking and attribution in one platform (no Triple Whale needed)
• You want month-to-month pricing with a money-back guarantee
• You need results in the first week, not the first quarter

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The Bottom Line

"EdgeTag" is a good product name for a real technology. First-party edge proxying matters — and both Blotout and Upstack include it.

But the technology is table stakes. What matters is what happens after the events are captured. If your EMQ is still low, your Klaviyo flows are still missing people, or you can't tell which campaigns actually drive revenue — the problem isn't event delivery. It's identity.

Upstack solves that.

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Want to see what identity resolution does for your brand? Start a 21-day free trial — full features, no credit card, no annual contract.