What is Google Tag Manager and Why Use it? (All About GTM Hub)
How important is GTM hub? Given how competitive the market is today, your company has every reason to be on top of its digital marketing game. This is how you, as a business owner, reach a wide range of potential customers. You can meet and even exceed your business objectives if you take the right approach.
What is Google Tag Manager?
Google Tag Manager is a free tag management system that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags (code snippets or tracking pixels) on your website (or mobile app) without modifying the code.
Here’s a simple demonstration of how Google Tag Manager works. Through Google Tag Manager, information from one data source (your website) is shared with another data source (Google Analytics).
Because they store all the codes in one place, GTM comes in handy when you have a lot of tags to manage.
Google Tag Manager vs. Google Analytics
Google Analytics, like GTM, is a free analytics tool for analyzing your company’s website and app presence. It is a comprehensive platform for measuring digital and marketing campaigns in depth.
While Google Analytics serves as a central hub for analyzing website data, Google Tag Manager serves as a tool for transmitting data points. GTM essentially controls what data they send to Google Analytics for analysis.
GTM is a platform for deploying and storing tags, but it lacks the ability to examine analyzed reports, so they send the data to Google Analytics.
What are the Benefits of Using Google Tag Manager?
Because Google Tag Manager is an easy-to-use and comprehensive website and digital marketing tool, it provides many benefits to your company and team.
The four main advantages of using Google Tag Manager are listed below.
1. GTM Doesn’t Need Coding Knowledge
Google Tag Manager enables users, such as marketers, to implement tags without requiring extensive coding knowledge.
The user-friendly interface allows users to edit, remove, or add GTM tracking code without the assistance of web developers, though some background in the field is preferred.
This enables small businesses with limited technical support, for example, to maximize their online tracking.
2. It Fosters Flexibility and Experimentation
Because GTM does not cause the use of a web developer, it allows marketers to experiment with different strategies or ideas.
It allows you to quickly implement experiments and improve strategies that align with new digital marketing trends without relying on outside help.
3. It Supports Faster Page Loading
They configure Google Tag Manager to fire tags asynchronously rather than synchronously. This means that instead of waiting for each tag to load before firing, someone deploy as soon as it loads.
This eliminates the possibility of a single tag with a slow loading speed preventing the rest from deploying.
4. It Manages Everything in One Shot
Because they control all the GTM tracking codes in one location rather than having them created and managed on multiple platforms, GTM simplifies and improves the entire tag-using process.
The ability to create and view all deployed tags from a single simple interface eliminates repetition and potential errors, vastly improving efficiency.
6 Crucial Components of Google Tag Manager
Several components are required for a Google Tag Manager tool to function properly.
Understanding each will help you improve your experience by allowing you to tailor the tool to your specific requirements. Let’s look at the six main components:
- Tags
- Triggers
- Variables
- Operators
- Values
- Container Snippet
1. Tags
It’s a good idea to learn a little about tags before diving into GTM. They commonly used tags on social media, but they are not the same tool.
Simply put, tags, for social media serve as keywords that label your content, whereas tags for GTM serve as tools that track user interactions and perform actions because of these interactions.
Both types of tags can help you understand your customers, but they should view tags in GTM as data collection tools.
Types of Tags
There are many tags available, but here is one example: A company that wants to target customers who have asked about its brand could use Google Ads to tag its website.
This type of tag, also known as remarketing code, maintains a list of site visitors, allowing the company to target future Google Ads campaigns at these visitors.
Tags can also assist you in improving your website. You can track visitor mouse movement, scroll depth (how far visitors scroll down a page), and clicks by implementing a heatmap tracking code.
Here are a few common tags and what they do:
➤ Facebook Pixel
This tag will track how people interact with your content after they click on your Facebook ad and visit your website (e.g. clicking on certain tabs).
This tag can assist you in determining the effectiveness of your Facebook ads.
➤ AdWords Conversion Tracking Code
This tag functions similarly to a Facebook pixel, except it is linked to Google Ads rather than Facebook.
AdWords Conversion Tracking code, like a Facebook pixel, tracks what visitors do after clicking on one of your Google Ads.
➤ CookieBot
When you visit a website, you may be asked if you agree to certain tracking features, also known as cookies.
Using Cookiebot via GTM, you can add a similar request for end-user consent. Cookiebot will allow or deny certain tags based on the user’s input.
➤ Conversion Linker
They used this tag with the Adwords Conversion Tracking code to improve tracking accuracy.
It’s usually a good idea to include the Conversion Linker tag if you’re using the Google Ads conversion tracking tag or the Google Ads remarketing tag.
➤ Standard E-Commerce Tracking
An e-commerce tracking tag allows you to analyze transaction data such as average order value, the time it takes website visitors to make a purchase, and other factors.
How Tags Function
The function of a tag is determined by the type of data it tracks and the platforms to which it is linked (eg. Google Ads). Tags operate in three stages.
➤ The Tag is Triggered
User interactions that cause your tags to fire are referred to as “triggers.” Page views, link clicks, and content submissions are all common triggers (such as the visitor providing their email to a mailing list).
Custom events can also trigger tags, which is especially useful if you’re tracking very specific data points.
➤ The Tag Performs its Function
The function depends on the tag you’re using, but once triggered, all tags will perform their function.
Logging visitor data (as with remarketing tags), information on which parts of your site users interact with (as with a heatmap), and much more are all functions.
➤ The Tag Stores Your Data
Tags do not store the data they collect, but they do connect with analytics platforms so you can review it when you’re ready. We’ll go over analyzing data from GTM tags later.
Tag Sequencing
If you have multiple tags running, you can configure GTM so that certain tags fire in a specific order. For example, if one tag depends on another for proper operation, you can require tag X to fire before tag Y.
This also works in the opposite direction. For example, if you only want to collect scroll depth data after a visitor makes a purchase, you can prevent a heatmap tag from firing until an e-commerce tracking tag records the transaction.
2. Triggers
As the name implies, they notify Google Tag Manager when to “trigger” data collection using tags. Triggers will instruct GTM on when tags should collect and send data. As a result, they specify when and how a tag should be fired.
A trigger is made up of three components: variables, operators, and values. To achieve the best results, it is best to create multiple triggers for a single tag.
It is critical to test one’s triggers and tags. Why? This ensures that the function works properly. This ensures that only relevant data is collected for analysis.
3. Variables
Variables serve as value holders, informing the trigger when to fire. This is where your tags will come in handy. They make certain that the variable’s value is correct.
In short, the variable ensures the Google Tag Manager tool only collects data that is relevant.
They classify variables into two types. Integrated or user-defined Built-in variables typically follow a predefined page path, whereas user-defined variables can be customized.
4. Values
Values are the actual data that is entered into the variables. Your tags validate this information to ensure accurate data collection.
A value is typically assigned to a variable. You may need to set the variable to the value in order for the trigger to fire.
5. Operators
Operators define the relationship between a variable and a value. This determines when the trigger is activated and has an important impact on the type of data you receive.
I understand that this sounds technical, but bear with us. It is critical to use the correct operator to ensure that GTM only returns the data you require. They must test ahead of all operators’ time.
6. Container Snippet
They house tags and triggers in a container snippet. It allows you to automatically update them when necessary. This is extremely important.
You are not required to perform any manual updates. Instead, all you have to do is change the container snippet. It will then propagate the changes throughout your entire site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Google Tag Manager is quickly becoming the tool of choice for app and website developers today. Using GTM in your apps or websites can mean the difference between success and failure.
Do you want to incorporate Google Tag Manager SEO and its other features into your marketing funnel? Going it alone may not be the best approach if you lack the skill and knowledge to manage the tool.