What Google Tag Manager Can Do for You

Marketing Advice - Published on Updated on

Any marketer worth their salt will tell you that marketing online is all about cost vs return. The results of any ventures should be carefully measured to determine their success or shortcomings. 

In the past, tracking user activity and conversions has been quite a technically difficult feat to accomplish with a high level of accuracy, but Google Tag Manager (GTM) has simplified the way this can be done. What’s more, the tool is free of charge!

Getting Started with Google Tag Manager

Getting set up on GTM is relatively simple, the tech-savvy among you may not even require the help of a web developer, but we’ll look at that in greater detail another day.

Once Tag Manager is up and running you can set up custom triggers for a range of different user actions and events, so the first step is to decide the information you need. Have a look through your site/app and decide on what you want to be tracked. Want to get the number of clicks on an embedded video or if people are downloading your brochure? GTM allows you to create an event for each of these actions.

What Can I Track?

Here are a few basic things that it allows you to track:

  • Clicks - phone, email, logo and even download clicks

  • Form Submits - Newsletter signups, contact forms

  • YouTube Video Plays on your website

When Should You Use Google Tag Manager?

You should implement Google Tag Manager as soon as you set up your new website, even if you don’t intend to use it just yet. It will run hand in hand with Google Analytics. So if ever you decide to start a marketing campaign, whether it’s PPC, email etc you will have Google Tag Manager ready to go.

The Importance of Tracking

Setting up triggers not only allows you to track what users are doing, but also what they are not doing. This information allows you to determine where you currently stand in terms of various performance indicators e.g. Newsletter Signups per 100 visitors.

You can understand your strengths and weakness, identify the areas that need work, and most importantly, see how effective your marketing efforts are. This is especially important if you are running a PPC campaign and are finding it difficult to determine whether or not it is worth your investment.

Google Tag Manager - FAQs

  • Q - I’ve already set up my site, is it too late to set up tag manager?

  • A - Nope! GTM can be set up at any time on a website.

  • Q - I have Google Analytics setup, is that the same thing?

  • A - While Tag Manager is recommended to be used alongside Analytics, it is a separate entity and also has to be set up.

  • Q - Will I be able to see what content my users are reading?

  • A - Unfortunately, Google Tag Manager is only able to track things like clicks. However, you can see this information in your Google Analytics report.

  • Q - Will Google Tag Manager slow down my site?

  • A - Thankfully, no - since tags fire asynchronously which means that page load speed is unaffected


Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of what Google Tag Manager is and what it can do. It might be a bit confusing at the start but take your time with it and test out all the different functions it offers.

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