What is Google Tag Manager?

Google Tag Manager is a free, easy-to-use tool that enables you to gather marketing data easily by setting up tags (snippets of code) that track events without having to change the code on your website every time.

After setting up event tracking in Google Tag Manager, it can then be connected to Google Analytics. The events you have set up in GTM can be used to create and track goals and allows you more control over tracking every possible conversion you might want to collect data on.

What are events and event tracking in Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics?

An event is any user interaction on your website other than a regular pageview (for example a click or scroll).

Event tracking is used to gather detailed data on your website or mobile app that isn’t usually provided by using the standard methods. It pairs user interaction (like button click) to a specific element on your webpage.

Why is it important to track events with Google Tag Manager?

By gathering event tracking data, you will get information and insights that will help you understand user behavior. You can then use these insights to optimize your website and conversion rates and generate even more conversions and leads.

GTM can be used to set up very specific event tracking. Instead of tracking clicks on all the contact form buttons on a page or website, you can track conversions on a specific button and for example test if a contact form is used more on the home page or on the contact page.

What can you track by using Google Tag Manager?

You can basically track any user interaction on your website. Which tags you will set up depends, however, purely on which data you deem the most valuable for improving your digital marketing efforts.

Here are some of the essential events to track using GTM:

• Scroll behavior (scroll depth and direction or percent of page seen)
• Pdf downloads
• Button clicks (various CTAs like “add to basket”, “buy”, “contact us”, “subscribe”, “sign up”)
• Link clicks (track clicks on any link on your website – navigation, affiliate links etc.)
• Contact link clicks (clicks on telephone number and email)
• Contact form submission
• Element being opened (like a modal contact form)
• Video views

What are the benefits of Google Tag Manager?

• No need to change code on your website: You implement one script just like you do with Google Analytics and from there on you can set the tags up in the GTM interface.

• Doesn’t slow down the website: If you were to set up each tag in the backend of your website, they would all load when the page loads and slow down your website. Also, if they didn’t manage to all load properly, you might risk that a conversion was completed before the tags were loaded. GTM ensures the tags load independently of each other, so data cannot be lost because of website speed.

• Enables you to set up event-based goals in Google Analytics
• Makes it easier for marketeers to set up experiments: Since you do not need to wait for outside help (i.e. you do not need the help of a web developer), it makes it faster and easier to set up different tags and goals to track and collect data on

• The collected marketing data and insights are crucial for improving your conversion rates and tracking leads

Google Tag Manager can seem very intimidating when you start, but it is very much worth your time and effort. What are you waiting for?