Here at Amazee Metrics our clients are increasingly curious about Google Tag Manager. What is it? Why do we need it?
What is Google Tag Manager?
Put simply, it eliminates the pain of setting up and maintaining web analytics. It allows non-programmers to change the way analytics tracking works in their websites, without a lot of technical know-how.
Before, web analytics began with tracking codes something like this:
You had to write custom Javascript (or find someone who could) and convince your IT department or webmaster to install it. Any time you wanted to change or add any tracking, you had add write some new Javascript and again ask the webmaster to make the changes.
Now with Google Tag Manager, you only have to bother the webmaster once. The webmaster installs a single snippet of code, a container, in the website. After the container is installed, you can change what it does yourself through the Google Tag Manager site, instantaneously.
What kind of things can you do with Google Tag Manager?
Once the container is installed on your site, you use the Google Tag Manager site to set up tags. Then Google Tag Manager puts those tags into your website automatically. Tags can be basic Google Analytics code or advanced tracking codes that measure user interactions on your website like:
- clicking buttons
- submitting forms
- scrolling up and down the page
- or even moving the mouse around the page.
But Google Tag Manager is not only useful for Google Analytics. It can also be used to add the necessary tracking for many advanced analytics, marketing, and digital advertising tools. It has built-in support for solutions like: comScore, ClickTale, Doubleclick, Mediaplex, AdRoll, AdWords, Marin Software, AdAdvisor, Bizo Insight, Media6Degrees, and VisualDNA.
Even though Google Tag Manager has simplified the process of getting the tags into your website, deciding what tags to use and understanding how they work can be difficult. You’ll have to be willing to learn the Google Tag Manager rules (or hire some experts, ☺).
In short, with Google Tag Manager you can make changes yourself to the analytics and marketing tools on your website through a simplified interface: no Javascript and no IT people necessary. We enthusiastically recommend Google Tag Manager.
