5 Aspects of GTM Implementation You Need to Validate

To Govern your Google Tag Manager implementation, you need to be properly in command of many technical and operational aspects. Here are 5 tips to go through to ensure a successful and error free GTM implementation.

Tag Firing

The first thing to check is whether your tags are firing correctly on your website. A tag is a snippet of code that sends data to a third-party tool, such as Google Analytics. To validate tag firing, you can use the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension, which will show you which Google Analytics tags are firing on each page of your website. You should be sure to verify all your website pages, and especially those that your customers are expected to go through for their conversion journey.

Data Layer

The data layer is a JavaScript object that stores information about a user’s behavior on your website, such as clicks and pageviews. While you’re GTM implementation configuration might be done correctly, data populated through the data layer might not be. To validate your data layer, you can use the preview mode in GTM, which will show you which variables are being passed correctly to your tags. If your data layer is not set up correctly, your tags may not be capturing the correct data.

Read more in details about common data layer issues and troubleshooting.

Cross-domain Tracking

If you have multiple domains, it’s important to set up cross-domain tracking in GTM to capture user behavior across domains. Cross-domain tracking allows you to see how users move between domains and how they interact with your website as a whole. To set up cross-domain tracking in Google Analytics 4, you will need to configure your analytics console settings appropriately. However, an essential step for the functioning of cross domain tracking, is the presence of the GTM container tracking code on all the domain names that are intended to be tracked as part of the same customer journey.

Testing and Debugging

Before launching your GTM implementation, it’s important to test it on different browsers and devices to ensure that it works correctly. GTM has a built-in debugging feature that allows you to test your tags and triggers and troubleshoot any issues. You can also use the Google Tag Manager preview mode to check which tags are being triggered and if any triggers are not firing as expected. This might not be exhaustive to cover the firing parameters, console errors, and code conflicts, but it is surely a good start before deploying new configurations made on the container.

TAGLAB is a comprehensive and automated tag monitoring software that can help you with all the heavy weight lifting through your testing and debugging for quality assurance purposes.

Security and Permissions

GTM allows you to set up user permissions to ensure that only authorized users have access to your account. You can also set up version control to track changes to your tags and triggers and revert to previous versions if needed. It’s important to ensure that your GTM account is secure and that permissions are set up correctly to prevent any unauthorized changes to your tags and triggers.

Read more about Google Tag Manager basic event tracking implementation.