Google Tag Manager is one of the fundamental tools for those involved in web marketing, performance optimization and SEO. Indeed, thanks to this free tool from Mountain View, you can add and edit strings of code to implement an infinite number of useful monitoring functions.
Clearly, those who are content with a website without many evolutions can ignore this utility. But those with certain requirements in terms of implementation cannot gloss over the usefulness of Tag Manager.
A platform that, today, is definitely one of the best solutions even for those who work in teams and need to assign different roles to professional figures that revolve around a web project. Here is a basic tutorial to get you started with this easy-to-use, performant and comprehensive tag manager.
What is Google Tag Manager, definition
GTM is a Google tool for easily inserting and editing tracking codes, tags, to websites and mobile apps. Without burdening the project and halving development time.
Google Tag Manager, in fact, allows you to interact with the website servers to add and activate tags thanks to an interface that allows you to edit or pause monitoring. Together with Google Analytics and Search Console, Tag Manager is an indispensable tool for managing the advanced development of a website devoted to continuous evolution.
Must-read: what is and how to use Google’s Lighthouse
How to install and start using GTM?
To activate Google Tag Manager on your website you must, first, create an account at tagmanager.google.com with your Gmail. After creating the new container on GTM you can and go on to add tags and activators useful for your project.
However, to install Google Tag Manager on your website you must copy the two script codes shown on GTM containing the container ID. One in the section of the HTML, and the other at the opening of the . This is the only code operation you need to perform.
If you use WordPress, you can alternatively use a plugin. Installing the extension allows you to enable tag management through the GTM-managed container on your blog, website or e-commerce.
Through the use of a plugin, to install this tool on your website, you can implement HTML and javascript code snippets that allow you to extract certain information in minimal time, without human error and with the greatest propensity for teamwork.
What can you do with Google Tag Manager?
You have created and installed the application on your website. Now you can start entering the tags you need to find useful information about monitoring and optimizing your website. Examples? With the Tag Manager you can put in the Google Analytics tracking code and outline the Facebook Pixel. How?
- Go into your dashboard.
- Click on add tags.
- Give a title and configure.
Configuration is clear with the ability to choose the type of tags to put in from the different services from both the Google universe and third parties. For example, you can put codes from many useful tools for those who track audience behavior such as Mouseflow, Crazyegg, Hotjar and more.
The interesting aspect: you can customize everything, for example if you use Tag Manager to set your Google Analytics code you can define any dedicated features, goals and events.
Just one click to save. Not to mention that you maintain excellent management of tags that can also be sequentially activated or paused. If a particular string is not functional for your website, or you want to prevent it from clashing with other codes, you don’t have to delete it: you pause it. So if you need it, you can reactivate it with a simple option from the dashboard.
You can learn more about the full potential of this tool on Tag Manager UK.
How to take advantage of Google Tag Manager
You can well imagine that within the GTM universe you can set up hundreds of features. The ones preferred by those who deal full-time with data analysis, web performance, SEO and user experience concerns the ability to easily manage the tracking of various elements of a web page.
Precisely because “without data you’re just another person with an opinion” (quoting Deming) your goal is to figure out how and where to change because of the tracking you set up with this tool. For example, with Google Tag Manager you can set tracking for an element that has always been the focus of web marketers’ attention: call-to-action buttons. Is it better red or green? Do I use direct copy?
Let’s use an input to activate a tracking tag: go to the dashboard, then to activators and configuration. It must be on all clicks, then add a class or ID related to that button to give precise instructions. You can track anything the same way, such as internal or external links. Maybe scrolling or clicks on images without links. Reason?
Simple, you can figure out if people move by following habits that you don’t know and don’t imagine: with this method you can figure out if individuals expect certain features from your content, so you can also avoid any rage clicks (fast repeated activity with mouse).
How to visualize GTM data?
There is an interesting solution for those who want to have it clearly under control. The same goes for web marketers who use Google Tag Manager on client sites to extrapolate numbers. I’m talking about Data Studio, a Mountain View platform designed to integrate, accommodate and present data through specific, interactive and curated dashboards.
You can take a look at the platform by visiting datastudio.google.com: here you will find useful templates for flowing data that update automatically, so it is easy to create monthly reports.
What happens to load times?
Okay, Google Tag Manager is simple, easy to implement but also useful for those who often work with tracking codes of various tools to do web marketing. Does it have any downsides?
There is talk of slowing down web pages but Mountain View reassures: there is asynchronous loading of tags, so it does not burden upload times. This is because in the asynchronous process the scripts are loaded along with the page content without blocking the flow.
This might suggest freedom of code entry, in reality the risk of slowing it down exists because even if they do not block the upload, asynchronous scripts require resources that are taken away from the execution of the main website files. Does this mean not using the Google Tag Manager?
Absolutely not, this is not the approach. Mountain View’s tool is essential to better manage more or less complex projects. But you have to use it when needed, in the right way and to manage specific scripts.
Otherwise, you risk burdening the upload especially on unstable and weak connections, as also demonstrated by this post from analyticsmania.com that made the comparison between 0 and 8 tags uploaded.