What is Google Tag Manager and How Does it Work? – With the help of the free Google Tag Manager tool, website owners and marketers can quickly manage and implement marketing tags on their sites. A tag is a piece of code used to track user behaviour and gather information for analysis.
Without having to manually edit the website’s code, users of Google Tag Manager can add and update tags on their websites using a user-friendly web interface. This makes managing tags easy and effective, especially for those who may not have coding experience.
How Does Google Tag Manager Work?
A container code, which is a section of JavaScript code that loads all the tags specified in the Tag Manager account, is added to a website to enable Google Tag Manager to function. The container code is activated when a user accesses the website, and depending on their behaviour, it loads the appropriate tags.
By creating a Tag Manager account and a new tag, tags can be added to the container code. In order to specify when and where the tag should fire on the website, the user can then select from a variety of pre-built tags or build their own custom tags.
Benefits of Using Google Tag Manager
Using Google Tag Manager has a number of advantages, such as:
- Tags can be added, updated, or removed as needed with ease thanks to Google Tag Manager’s ability to manage them all in one location.
- Reduction in the need for web developers: Google Tag Manager enables users to add and manage tags without the assistance of web developers or the need to manually modify the website’s code.
- Improved website performance: Google Tag Manager can assist in enhancing website performance and lowering page load times by reducing the number of tags on a website and optimising the loading of tags.
- Better data accuracy: By ensuring that tags are firing properly and gathering accurate data, Google Tag Manager lowers the possibility of data discrepancies or errors.
Pros of Google Tag Manager
- Tag management is made easier thanks to Google Tag Manager, which offers a centralised platform for doing so. This eliminates the need to edit the website’s source code in order to add, modify, or remove tags.
- Efficiency gains: Google Tag Manager can make marketers and website owners more effective and efficient by lowering the time and effort needed to manage tags.
- Enhances website performance: Google Tag Manager can accelerate page loads and enhance website performance by reducing the number of tags on a website and optimising their loading.
- Improves data accuracy: By ensuring that tags are firing properly and gathering accurate data, Google Tag Manager lowers the possibility of data discrepancies or errors.
- Customizable: A wide range of customization options, such as templates and custom tags, are offered by Google Tag Manager, enabling users to adjust their tag management to meet their unique requirements.
Cons of Google Tag Manager
- Technical knowledge necessary: Even though Google Tag Manager is made to be user-friendly, it still needs some technical know-how and understanding of web development to be used properly.
- Risk of data inaccuracies: Although Google Tag Manager can improve data accuracy, if tags are not set up properly or regularly checked, there is still a risk of errors or discrepancies.
- Google Tag Manager depends on third-party tools and integrations, some of which may not always work properly or provide accurate data.
- Tag overload possibility: Despite Google Tag Manager’s ability to reduce the number of tags on a website, it is still possible for too many tags to be added, which may have a negative effect on website performance and user experience.
- Although Google Tag Manager gives users the option to control when and where tags fire, there may be restrictions to this control that could affect data collection and accuracy.
Conclusion
With the help of Google Tag Manager, website owners and marketers can easily manage and implement marketing tags on their websites. Google Tag Manager can enhance website performance, data accuracy, and marketing effectiveness by making it easier to add and update tags.
