Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool that allows website owners to easily manage tracking and marketing tags on their website without needing to modify the website’s code. In this article, we’ll explore what GTM is, how it works, and its benefits for website owners.
What is Google Tag Manager?
Google Tag Manager is a web-based platform that simplifies the process of implementing and managing website tracking and marketing tags. These tags are small snippets of code that collect information about website visitors and send that data to various analytics and marketing platforms such as Google Analytics, Facebook, and AdWords.
Before GTM, website owners would need to modify their website’s code to add tracking and marketing tags. This process was time-consuming, complex, and could lead to errors that could affect the accuracy of the data collected. GTM simplifies this process by allowing website owners to manage tags through a web-based interface, without needing to modify the website’s code.
How Does Google Tag Manager Work?
Google Tag Manager works by injecting a container code into a website’s HTML code. This container code holds all of the tracking and marketing tags that are managed through the GTM interface. When a visitor navigates to a website that has a GTM container code, the container code triggers the tags that have been added to it.
For example, let’s say that a website owner wants to track how many visitors click on a specific button on their website. With GTM, the website owner would add a click tracking tag to the GTM container code. When a visitor clicks on the button, the tag is triggered, and the information is sent to Google Analytics or another analytics platform.
Benefits of Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager offers numerous benefits to website owners, including:
Simplified Tag Management
As we’ve already mentioned, GTM simplifies the process of managing tracking and marketing tags. Website owners can easily add, remove, or modify tags without needing to modify their website’s code.
Faster Tag Implementation
With GTM, website owners can implement tags faster than traditional methods. This means that they can start collecting data and analyzing it more quickly.
Improved Data Accuracy
By managing tags through GTM, website owners can reduce the risk of errors that could affect the accuracy of the data collected. This is because GTM provides a user-friendly interface that makes it easier to manage tags and ensure that they are set up correctly.
Better Website Performance
Adding multiple tracking and marketing tags to a website can slow down its performance. GTM helps to prevent this by loading tags asynchronously, which means that they don’t affect the website’s performance.
Integration with Other Google Products
GTM is part of the Google Marketing Platform, which means that it integrates seamlessly with other Google products such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Data Studio. This makes it easier to manage all aspects of a website’s marketing and analytics in one place.
How to Set Up Google Tag Manager
Setting up Google Tag Manager is a simple process that involves the following steps:
Create a Google Tag Manager Account
The first step is to create a Google Tag Manager account. This can be done by visiting the Google Tag Manager website and signing up for a free account.
Set Up a Container
Once you’ve created an account, the next step is to set up a container. This is the container code that will be injected into your website’s HTML code. To set up a container, click on the ‘Create Account’ button, then select ‘Web’ as the platform and provide a name for your container.
Add Tags
Once you’ve set up a container, you can start adding tags. To add a tag, click on the ‘Tags’ option.