What Is Google Tag Manager and Why You Should Use It?
Looking for a free tool that enables you to install, store, and manage your marketing tags without altering your website code? That means you’re looking for the Google Tag Manager. We’ve just mentioned marketing tags, but what are they and what’s their function?
Semrush.com defines marketing tags small snippets of code that track user actions and collect data. The most common example of a marketing tag is the Google tag used to install Google Analytics and other Google products. Other common examples include Google Analytics event codes, Google Ads conversion scripts, Meta Pixel code, and remarketing tags. Google Tag Manager allows you to track almost any kind of event or user behaviour you can think of.
These are some examples of frequently tracked events:
- Link clicks
- Button clicks
- Form submissions
- Conversions
- Shopping cart abandonment
- Adding items to cart
- Removing items from cart
- File downloads
- Scroll behaviour
- Video views
- Call to action (CTA) performance
- Table of contents (TOC) clicks
- Custom events
GoogleTag Manager saves marketing professionals a lot of time and resources. It also requires technical knowledge and it’s free.
Orbitmedia.com gives us some benefits that you can experience with the Google Tag Manager:
- Reduced reliance on developers: Quickly and simply add and manage marketing tags without developer assistance.
- Testing and debugging: Preview, test, and debug changes before pushing them to a live site. This feature helps prevent errors and reduces the need for testing on a live or staging site.
- User permission control: Only authorized people can make or approve changes to your marketing setup.
- Versions: GTM creates and logs a new version of the code whenever you publish changes. This allows you to view past and present changes and revert to previous versions if necessary.
- Workspaces: GTM enables multiple workspaces for team members to work simultaneously without overwriting each other’s progress
- Easy configuration of many popular tools: Easily add tools and tracking tags to your website code using code snippets or existing templates (e.g., for Google Analytics, Pinterest, Google Ads, etc.) from the Community Template Gallery.
- Tag storage and management: Google Tag Manager consolidates marketing tags and tracking codes in one place and injects them into website code as needed. Which allows you to add, remove, and update tools and tracking codes with fewer errors.
- You can customize the data that is sent to Analytics.
- You can set up and track basic events like PDF downloads, outbound link clicks or button clicks. Or complex enhanced ecommerce product and promotion tracking.
- Want to try out a tool on a free trial basis? You can add the code to Tag Manager and test it out without needing to get your developers involved.
Other perks include:
- It may help your site load faster depending on how many tags you are using.
- It works with non-Google products.
- Flexibility to play around and test out almost anything you want.
- All third-party code is in one place.
- GTM has a preview and debug mode so you can see what’s working and what’s not before you make anything live. It shows you what tags are firing on the page. Love this feature!
One thing about Google Tag Manager is that anyone who intends to use it should go for some train and get some experience on it. GTM is injecting code directly on the site, which means while unlikely, there is a possibility it could break your website.
Google Tag Manager can also be used with Google Analytics to create content grouping. It allows one to define content groups by Rules/Macros. Google Tag Manager has definitely made life easier for marketing professionals. It can also be beneficial for you if you are willing to learn how it works.