Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a platform by Google to help marketers and webmasters reach more people, increase sales, and track the success of their website. It is a valuable tool for marketing professionals and developers alike, as it enables the easy implementation of marketing tools on a website or mobile application. The platform simplifies the collection and integration of data from multiple sources and simplifies the setup of tracking tools.
To get started with GTM, you will need a Google account, as this is the platform that GTM runs on. Once you have access to your account, you can create your ‘container tag’ – this is a piece of code that you add to your website or mobile app, and it will be used for all the tags (marketing tools) that you wish to add to your website or mobile app.
When creating a container tag, you will need to decide on the purpose of your container tag. Are you looking to track website activity, analyse your customers, or just set up some advertising tools? Whatever your goal, GTM allows you to customise the tags according to your specific needs.
After you have chosen the tags that you require, GTM will provide you with a set of instructions to help you get started with their implementation. These instructions will include the coding required, plus optional tools and settings to fine-tune the setup. Following these instructions will help you to fine-tune the setup and target the right customers.
Once your container tag is in place, GTM will collect data from the tags in your container tag and push that data to your website or mobile app. This data can then be used for advertising purposes or as analytics data. You can also set up triggers so that whenever a certain event occurs, such as a button click or a purchase, GTM can send the data to the appropriate place, such as a Google Analytics report or a remarketing campaign.
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To ensure that your GTM setup is working correctly and capturing all the data you need, it is important that you use the preview mode. This mode allows you to see the tags in action and test that they are working as intended.
Beyond the basic setup of tracking, GTM also provides additional features, such as custom events and custom dimensions, to track even more in-depth information. Of course, you can also make use of pre-defined tags, such as Google Ads or DoubleClick, to help you set up your advertising campaigns or remarketing.
In order to remain compliant with data privacy regulations, it is important to ensure that you only collect the necessary data for your marketing and analytics activities. This is where consent settings come into play. GTM allows you to set up conditional triggers based on consent, so that data collection only takes place when a user has given permission.
When it comes to best practices, it is important to make sure that you keep your GTM setup up-to-date. As the platforms and tools used in GTM evolve, new tags may need to be added or settings tweaked. It is best to undertake periodic reviews of your GTM setup to ensure it is working as intended and capturing all the data you require.