What Makes Web3 Tracking Different
The advantages and limitations of onchain tracking versus cookies
“For sending all conversions, the web evolved. This used to be as simple as throwing up a pixel on the conversion landing page, after which the third party would use that cookie data to track conversions. This system was always flawed, but good enough.”— Alex Schultz, Click Here(source)Today, cookie deprecation is widespread, and traditional tracking can no longer be relied on by default. As a result, teams are required to implement conversion APIs, consent flows, and increasingly complex technical setups that change frequently in response to regulation and platform policy.
- Hiring a strong technical agency to manage tracking implementation
- Ensuring close coordination between that agency and internal teams
- Hiring marketers who are experienced in this area, allowing them to ask the right questions and validate that the implementation is done well
- Revisiting implementations regularly as requirements change
Web3 changes the nature of the problem — but does not eliminate it. Onchain tracking is transparent, immutable, and doesn't require cookie consent or complex API integrations. Every transaction, every interaction is recorded publicly. While implementation details matter, the blockchain provides a verifiable record of actions, making certain outcomes observable in a way that web2 tracking increasingly struggles to support.
- Verifiable actions: Onchain events provide a shared, auditable source of truth
- No cookie dependence: Tracking does not rely on browser storage or consent banners
- Event-level certainty: Conversions, once recorded, cannot be altered or lost
- Reduced personal data exposure: Measurement can occur without collecting PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
- Composability: Track user journeys across multiple protocols and contracts
- Can't see the middle: You see the ad impression and the onchain conversion, but not always what happened in between (unlike cookies that track every page view across third parties)
- Requires wallet connection: Can't attribute users who browse but don't connect
- Sybil complexity: Multiple wallets can belong to the same user, complicating analysis
The tradeoff is not simplicity versus complexity, but visibility versus certainty.
Web3 tracking sacrifices parts of the middle of the journey, while providing more reliable confirmation that specific actions actually occurred.
How different pricing models shape incentives — and why paying for activity, clicks, or outcomes leads to very different results in web3.