![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/what-is-google-tag-manager-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nIf you\u2019ve never heard about Google Tag Manager (GTM), you are probably wondering what it is and why you should use it. Let\u2019s dig around and find out how to utilize this amazing and free system.<\/p>\n
Google Tag Manager is a free tag management system that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags (snippets of code or tracking pixels) on your website (or mobile app) without having to modify the code.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a very simple example of how Google Tag Manager works. Information from one data source (your website) is shared with another data source (Google Analytics) through Google Tag Manager. GTM becomes very handy when you have lots of tags to manage because all of the code is stored in one place.<\/p>\n
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A huge benefit of Tag Manager is that you, the marketer, can manage the code on your own.\u00a0\u201cNo more developers needed. Whoo hoo!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Sounds easy right? Unfortunately, it\u2019s not that simple.<\/p>\n According to Google,<\/p>\n \u201cGoogle Tag Manager helps make tag management\u00a0simple<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0easy<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0v\u00e0\u00a0reliable<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0by allowing marketers and webmasters to deploy website tags all in one place.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n They say it\u2019s a \u201csimple\u201d tool that any marketer can use without needing a web developer.<\/p>\n I may get run over in the comments section for saying this, but I\u2019m standing my ground.\u00a0Google Tag Manager is not \u201ceasy\u201d to use without some technical knowledge or training (courses or self-taught).<\/strong><\/p>\n You have to have\u00a0some<\/em>\u00a0technical knowledge to understand how to set up tags, triggers and variables. If you\u2019re dropping in Facebook pixels, you\u2019ll need\u00a0some<\/em>\u00a0understanding of how Facebook tracking pixels work.<\/p>\n If you want to set up event tracking in Google Tag Manager, you\u2019ll need\u00a0some<\/em>\u00a0knowledge about what \u201cevents\u201d are, how Google Analytics works, what data you can track with events, what the reports look like in Google Analytics and how to name your categories, actions and labels.<\/p>\n Although it is \u201ceasy\u201d to manage multiple tags in GTM, there is a learning curve. Once you\u2019re over the hump, GTM is pretty slick about what you can track.<\/p>\n There are three main parts to Google Tag Manager:<\/p>\n Tags are snippets of code or tracking pixels from third-party tools. These tags tell Google Tag Manager\u00a0what<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to do.<\/p>\n Examples of common tags within Google Tag Manager are:<\/p>\n Triggers are a way to fire the tag that you set up. They tell Tag Manager\u00a0when, where or how<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to do what you want it to do. Want to fire tags on a page view, link click or is it custom?<\/p>\n Examples of common triggers within Google Tag Manager are:<\/p>\n Variables are additional information that GTM\u00a0may<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0need for your tag and trigger to work. Here are some examples of different variables.<\/p>\n The most basic type of variable that you can create in GTM is the Google Analytics UA number (the tracking ID number).<\/p>\n Those are the very basic elements of GTM that you will need to know to start managing tags on your own.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re bored reading this right now, you won\u2019t have any issues managing your tags. If you are completely lost, you are going to need help from someone more technical.<\/p>\n Google Tag Manager is a completely different tool used only for storing and managing third-party code. There are no reports or any way to do analysis in GTM.<\/p>\n Google Analytics is used for actual reporting and analysis. All conversion tracking goals or filters are managed through Analytics.<\/p>\n All reporting (conversion reports, custom segments, ecommerce sales, time on page, engagement reports, etc\u2026) are done in Google Analytics.<\/p>\n Once you get over the learning curve, what you can do in Google Tag Manager is pretty amazing. You can customize the data that is sent to Analytics.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say we want to\u00a0track all outbound links on the website<\/a>. In GTM, choose the category name, action and label. We chose offsite link, click and click URL.<\/p>\n In Google Analytics go to Behavior > Events > Top Events > Offsite link.<\/p>\n Now select either event action or label to get the full reports. The data that we set up in Google Tag Manager is now appearing in the Analytics reports. Nifty!<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Other perks:<\/p>\n 1. You must have some technical knowledge<\/strong>, even for the basic setup.<\/p>\n Check out the\u00a0documentation from Google<\/a>\u00a0on how to setup Google Tag Manager. Once you get past the \u201cQuick Start Guide,\u201d it takes you to a developer guide. Not a marketer\u2019s guide. If you are a first time user, this will read like gibberish.<\/p>\n 2. It\u2019s a time investment.<\/strong><\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re a seasoned developer, you will need to carve out a chunk of research and testing time. Even if it\u2019s reading a few blog posts or taking an online class.<\/p>\n 3. Make time for troubleshooting issues.<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a lot of troubleshooting that takes place when setting up tags, triggers and variables. Especially if you are not in Tag Manager regularly, it\u2019s very easy to forget what you just learned. For more complex tags, you will likely need a developer with knowledge of how the website was built.<\/p>\n We are just scratching the surface of what you can do in Google Tag Manager. The possibilities seem almost endless. But, as\u00a0Himanshu Sharma points out<\/a>, the more tags and data sources you have the harder they are to manage.<\/p>\n I took a live course through Conversion XL with Chris Mercer. It was one of the best online classes I\u2019ve taken. You can\u00a0purchase the recordings<\/a>\u00a0if you are interested.<\/p>\n Other go-to resources are:<\/p>\n Google Tag Manager can definitely make your life easier if you are willing to learn how it works. Make sure that you are actually using the data that you are setting up in GTM. Otherwise, what\u2019s the point?<\/p>\n I\u2019m curious to hear your experience with Google Tag Manager. Has it been easy or hard? How are you using it in your marketing?<\/p>\n Article by Amanda Gant of Orbit Media<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019ve never heard about Google Tag Manager (GTM), you are probably wondering what it is and why you should use it. Let\u2019s dig around and find out how to utilize this amazing and free system. What is Google Tag Manager (GTM)? Google Tag Manager is a free tag management system that allows you to […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-strategy","category-seo-content-marketing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3203"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5197,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203\/revisions\/5197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is Google Tag Manager easy to use?<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s go over how Google Tag Manager works\u2026<\/h2>\n
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What are tags?<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/what-is-google-tag-manager-2.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nWhat are triggers?<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/what-is-google-tag-manager-3.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nWhat are variables?<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/a>How is Google Tag Manager different from Google Analytics?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhat are the benefits of Google Tag Manager?<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bluecoral.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/what-is-google-tag-manager-12.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nWhat are the drawbacks?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/a>What can you track in Google Tag Manager (GTM)?<\/h2>\n
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Where can I learn more about Google Tag Manager?<\/h2>\n
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Your turn. What do you think of Google Tag Manager?<\/h2>\n