All You Need To Know About Google Tag Manager

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Having good data isn’t just a perk that lets you run your business better – it’s literal power. Good data can make all the difference in succeeding and failing, but how do you get that data? Furthermore, how can you ensure you continuously get good data that you can use to help you every step of your brand’s journey? Every digital marketing agency in Windsor will likely each give you a completely different answer because quite frankly there’s more than one answer to the problem, but here at Web Geeks we’re going to use Google Tag Manager so you can integrate your good data into Google Analytics, AdWords, or another third-party like Twitter or even Bing Ads.

Disclaimer: Users without prior technical knowledge of tagging may find these concepts confusing. If you want to take advantage of tagging but need assistance, please contact us.

What is it?

It’s a tag management system that gives you the power to create tags in a simplified manner. In the past, creating tags consisted of actually going into the site’s source code every time you needed to create, edit, or delete a tag; in short, it was a tedious process. Google Tag Manager not only makes creating tags easier via a user-friendly user interface, but you never have to touch your site’s source code again (in our opinion, this makes Google Tag Manager worth recommending alone). Create tags easier and get good data faster and more consistently – what’s not to love?

Depending on your brand’s needs, you may only need a few tags or a couple hundred. Whatever your needs, Google Tag Manager makes it simple to keep tabs on every tag you’ve ever created.

Make as many as you want, as few, or fall somewhere in-between – our Windsor digital marketing company is here to tell you that, “it doesn’t matter!”

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So what are tags – and why should I care?

Think of tags as a recipe that tells Google Tag Manager what to do. A batch of code (much like a recipe) that’s ready to spring into action the moment they are triggered, tags are designed to collection information from a website and send them to a third-party service such as Google Analytics, AdWords, Twitter, etc. The beauty of this method of data collecting lies in how versatile creating tags can actually be. Create a tag, and you can embed the tag onto a page of your business’ website to measure an abundance of different analytics. Once a tag has been activated (called triggering – more on that in a moment), the data collected can be imported into a number of third-party accounts, including Analytics and AdWords to give you a more accurate, overall picture of your brand.

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Triggers and variables

Triggers tell a tag when it’s time to do what the tag wants to do. For example, if you want to know how many people experience a JavaScript Error on your new website that just launched, the trigger would tell the appropriate tag when to collect that data (in this case, when a JavaScript Error displayed). If you want to know when someone clicks on a particular link in a newsletter, the same thing applies: once the link has been clicked, the trigger would inform the appropriate tag of the click and pass along the data to the pre-determined service. It’s simply a matter of cause and effect.

Just as tags depend on triggers, so too do triggers depend on variables. Variables inform your trigger if it’s time to tell your tag if it’s time to execute its command. This occurs when the tag compares a variable’s value to the value in the trigger; if the variable meets the demands of the trigger, the tag will execute.

Test until you’re ready

An amazing feature of Google Tag Manager is the fact that you can preview your tags and make sure they are working properly before they go live. Google Tag Manager can be confusing, so it’s great to know that you can fine-tune the relationships between your tags and their triggers and variables. You can also be sure that you’re getting the best data right from the get-go.

How does Google Tag Manager help?

When you need to get down to the nitty-gritty and know everything that’s happening on your website – from in-depth promotional tracking to the download breakdown link-by-link, country-by-country and beyond – Google Tag Manager can get you there. Moreover, Google Tag Manager can help to improve an abundance of different areas of your business – and the sky is literally the limit. You can fine-tune the data you want if you are willing to put the time into it!

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What to know before I begin?

It’s going to take a lot of time to learn. This isn’t an easy tool to master – especially if you’ve never dealt with tags and basic coding. You’re also going to run into a lot of troubleshooting issues often.

The keyword here is patience: if you don’t have a lot of it, you may want to consider reaching out to our SEO services company. Windsor entrepreneurs know that in order to stay ahead you need to have impeccable data that Google Tag Manager can provide – but if you don’t have the time or the patience to learn how to utilize it, Web Geeks is your ticket to getting all the best data your business needs. Call our experts today, and let’s set up a free evaluation to figure out the best approach to getting your business the data is needs to succeed!