Google Tag Manager basic setup

Introduction

Google Tag Manager (GTM) lets you add different code snippets to a website freely. It has reduced the time marketers spend communicating with IT staff. In the past, to run different tracking codes, we had to go into the website’s back end or ask IT staff to paste in each code one by one. With Google Tag Manager, administrators can manage all their tags in one place. This post introduces how Google Tag Manager works.

Components of Google Tag Manager

1. Account: the top level in Google Tag Manager. One account can manage multiple containers; usually one container is one e-commerce website.
2. Container: holds, manages and publishes all the tags for that website.
3. Tag: a piece of code that sends data to a tool such as Google Analytics or an ad platform. Visitor behaviours such as page views, form submissions and page scrolling are picked up by triggers, which tell each tag when to run.
4. Trigger: the trigger defines the conditions under which a tag runs. A trigger is made up of:
   1. Variables: divided into built-in variables and user-defined variables. Common built-in variables include Page Path, Page URL and Click ID. The system defines these common cases for users, so they can be used without writing extra code. User-defined variables are set up by users for specific reasons, such as tracking order data.
   2. Operators: an operator defines the relationship between a variable and a value. Whether the result is true or false determines whether the tag runs. Common operators are “contains”, “equals” and “does not equal”.
   3. Value: a number or a piece of text used to decide whether the condition is true.

Setting up a Google Tag Manager account

1. Enter your account and website details.
2. Accept the terms.
3. Get the tracking code and place it in the right locations as instructed.
4. Go to the Google Tag Manager workspace, where you can start adding tags, triggers and variables.

If you have any data or advertising needs, get in touch.