If you are a website manager/owner, surely you use Google Analytics as a tool to help monitor the performance of your website. However, have you used Google Tag Manager for the website that you manage?
Google can help you find business information, increase business website traffic, or determine business strategies. One feature that helps business needs is Google Analytics. However, apart from Google Analytics, there is another feature that can help you, namely Google Tag Manager.
What is Google Tag Manager and what does it do? Please see the full discussion below.
What Is Google Tag Manager?
Google Tag Manager is a free tool from Google that allows you to install various types of code into the sites you manage. Examples of tags that can be used are Google Analytics tracking code, Google Analytics activity code, Adwords conversion code and other codes. There is a lot of code that we can add to our website using Google tag manager.
You could say this google tag manager is like a toolbox where you store all the tools such as Google Analytics (ruler), Google Adwords (hammer) and others. This is just a parable.
Google Tag Manager also allows you to test tags and make sure they run when you load a page or click a certain button. Another great benefit is that we can change the tags and how they work without actually changing your website's source code.
Tags that are compatible with Google Tag Manager are not only Google Analytics but there are many other compatible codes. Some of them are:
- Facebook Pixel codes. See also how to install the Facebook pixel on the website in the following article.
- Crazyegg tracking code.
- Google Adwords tags.
- InspectLet tracking code.
- HTML code or other custom code.
What are the Functions of Google Tag Manager?
Generally, Google Tag Manager is a tool for us to add various kinds of code to the website without having to understand the code thoroughly. The details of the functions of Google Tag Manager are as follows:
1. Faster Code Deployment
Before we explain about the first function, let's step back for a moment and recall the old ways of how we used tracking code to websites:
- A website maintainer (analyst, webmaster or whoever) decides to start using a new platform to track user behavior.
- Then, we will get the tracking code and send it to the website developer because the developer knows the ins and outs of the website script.
- Website developers ask you to wait before they install it, even for weeks.
- Meanwhile, you should install the tracking code as soon as possible.
However, now you can implement your own tracking code. Of course, with the help of Google Tag Manager, you no longer need to wait for a website developer to work on it. Each tracking code is generally referred to as a tag and we can manage these tracking codes ourselves through the Google Tag Manager interface.
Google tag manager works to speed up the tracking code installation process. New tracking codes (tags) can be added faster and more and there is no need to change the website script. These tools are very useful for you as a website manager because these tools can really speed up website development time by testing each change yourself and implementing it when it's ready.
2. Manage Code In 1 Dashboard
When the management of all the tracking code is directly installed on the website/application source code and small pieces of each tracking code that are installed are scattered in various website files. So, when we are going to make changes, what we usually have to do is:
- Find all those tracking codes
- Then update it
But now with the free tools provided by Google, this process is easier and all tags can be controlled in one place. We liken Google Tag Manager to a toolbox containing Hammer (Google Adwords), Nail (Google Analytics), and other tools.
3. Testing Tool
Google tag manager also serves as a testing tool that can help webmasters troubleshoot and correct tag errors through Google Tag Manager preview and debug mode thereby showing which tags are enabled on a page and which are not.
Google tag manager offers a GTM debugging solution, where you can ensure that the tags you use are working properly before you publish them directly to your website. Apart from that, don't forget to also use browser extension tools like Tag Assistant to help with your work.
4. Export Tags in One File
Another great function that you can use is that it allows you to export all the tags including the variables inside into one file (which can later be imported again).
This functionality is especially useful if you are a service advertiser who has to track every standard Google Analytics activity on a recurring basis, for example tracking buttons, clicks, and tracking page views.
5. Simplify Tracking
Website activity tracking code is usually in the form of a special JavaScript code that you must add to your website for tracking every activity of website visitors such as clicks, downloads, and so on. Now, Google Tag Manager is here to simplify and streamline the tracking process with a feature called automatic activity tracking.
After you activate Google Tag Manager, the code that is activated in GTM will automatically record each specific interaction that occurs on a website page.
There is still some preparation required, but it is relatively easy to do. You can use each of those specific interactions to activate tracking code such as activity tags in Google Analytics. The basic activities that you can track by default in Google Tag Manager include:
- Click.
- Click on the link.
- Form submission.
- Time spent on web pages, etc.
But, that's not all. Due to the ever-growing user community of Google Tag Manager, the number of auto-tracking functions is constantly increasing and growing. You can also add special features such as the latest comments and many others.
Then from the event data we get we can use it to create new goals more specific to your business needs in Google Analytics.
What is Google Tags Manager Good for?
1. Easier to Manage Tags
One of the things that can slow down your business is that you need other hands to be fast. Therefore, with this feature, when you manage tags you don't need a web developer. You can arrange it yourself. You only need to add or manage existing tags.
With the presence of this feature on Google, implementation is 6x faster in managing tags. Of course this will make your business easier.
2. Containers make it more practical
When you are given the convenience of providing tags, the worry is that a lot of code will appear. So, what happened was a coding error.
Therefore, the presence of containers makes it easier to manage tags. Containers also make the website more practical and will not make it a burden.
3. Preview Mode
When you want to upload a tag, what you need to pay attention to is the preview mode. This is important for a website. So that the settings match and no errors occur.
Apart from that, you can take advantage of Google's existence (if you use Chrome), namely Tag Assistant. This is important because when you want to browse there will be a notification if an error occurs.
4. Hassle-Free Template
Another benefit is the presence of various template options. You can adapt it to your business website. Apart from that, it can help you track effectively and quickly. This is supported by the many platform integrations by Google Tag Manager.
5. Free Cost
It's the most fun when you take advantage of this feature. You are absolutely free of charge. This helps you to save expenses so that cash flow can be used for other things.
6. Security Guarantee
For those of you who work in a team, one thing you need to worry about is security. Is it completely guaranteed?
Therefore, to avoid things that cause errors, you can go to the admin menu then user management. Adjust it well so that your business website is safe.
How Safe is Google Tag Manager?
Google itself automatically scans any tracking code its users add with a special HTML tag in the Google tag manager account and pauses it if malware is found. In addition, you can control who has access to your Google tag manager account and you can revoke that access at any time.
You can also set up a whitelist or blacklist by adding a few commands to your data layer on a website. So even if GTM is compromised, you will have the say in whether or not a custom tracking script is allowed to run on your website.
Why is Google Tag Manager important?
1. Real Time Changes (Debug Option)
Before seeing changes in real time on your business website, make sure the embedded tags work first before they appear on the website. This way of using Google Tag Manager allows you to test and debug every update in your browser and business website.
The debug feature can be very helpful in seeing changes in real time to the website without having to worry about visitors seeing the differences made.
2. Customizing Built-In Tags
As a tool from Google that has many built-in tags, this reason is important for new business people who want to know how to use Google Tag Manager for business. You can easily change, create, and customize built-in tags with important information without having to understand any form of code.
3. Makes tag creation easy
When in a marketing team—usually a digital marketing agency that has several people working on the same project. There is a workspace and display to make it easier for the marketing team to divide the space to test tag creations to make them more effective on your business website. That way, you can easily separate tags that are still in the tagging process from tags that are ready to be published.
4. Easy to Use (Flexible)
You don't need to be an IT expert or learn a programming language to use Google Tag Manager tools. You just need to create most of the tags without writing a single line of code, it's very easy to use, isn't it. You can also create this flexibility yourself without having to pay a professional marketer to improve your business website.
5. Has a High Level of Security
In programming language, tools have problems that occur when maintaining websites such as security levels. But you don't need to worry about this, the Google Tag Manager function will not damage the website during future maintenance.
You can also control who can maintain access to your Google Tag Manager account. Or you can create a standard template to use frequently used tags, thereby reducing the potential for errors in writing your business website script.
6. Speed up the Tag Installation process
The most important reason how to use Google Tag Manager for business is the fast process of changing the code for your website. This is very good, apart from speeding up time by testing each code that is activated (used) yourself to get the most out of it.
Why not to use Google Tag Manager?
The reason why it is important to know Google Tag Manager for business requires that you have experience in the IT field or the most appropriate creative agency to improve your business website by using Google Tag Manager.
Reporting from Orbit Media, Google Tag Manager is a free tool that makes it easy for users to maximize tags on websites.
Because Google Tag Manager is a tool that makes the tag placement process more organized. The way to use Google Tag Manager is just to put the code on your business website, then every time you want to create a tag, Google Tag Manager for business will always create a code and put the code on the website you want.
Google Tag Manager is a tool launched by Google so that users can manage all tags on the website. Meanwhile, the tag itself is a form of code or script contained in the head section of the HTML structure.
Therefore, Google Tag Manager for business allows users to create and monitor tags, without having to type new code every time you create a tag. Everything is clear and easy, you just need to put the Google Tag Manager code for business on each website page. So you no longer need to code manually, this marketing process is also considered more efficient and targeted.
Closing
We hope this article helps you decide whether to start using Google tag manager or convince your colleagues to use it. In our opinion, getting started with Google Tag Manager is easy. This is a relatively easy-to-use solution for controlling tracking code in one place.
Of course, if you want to track down something more complex, you'll definitely need to invest some time in learning and the fastest way to learn is to read through practice.