Tag Management Systems Smart Insights

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Tag Management Systems Guide

A practical guide to selection and implementation

focusing on Google Tag Manager

Author: Hugh Gage

Published: Autumn 2013



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© Smart Insights (Marketing Intelligence) Limited. Please go to www.smartinsights.com to feedback or access our other guides.

Selecting and Implementing Tag Management Systems including Google Tag Manager

Tag Management Systems

Contents

3 ONE: Introduction

5 TWO: Why use a tag management system?

8 THREE: Selecting the best solution

11 FOUR: Key steps for implementation

13 FIVE: Introducing tag management in Google Tag Manager

15 SIX: Installing the GTM container code and a tag

24 SEVEN: Common pitfalls / issues to watch out for in GTM



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ONEIntroduction

With the increasing number and variety of digital marketing tools now available to the online

marketer it’s possible to learn more than ever before about how visitors to a desktop site,

mobile site or app are interacting with the content they nd. There are also a large number of

web based tools that can be used to actually effect change, to make a commercial difference.

Most of these tools and services that can be bolted on to a site using javascript tags as the

principal to collect data and / or run the application. In the past the “best practice” location

for these tags to be placed was at the foot of the page just before the </body> tag, this was

to mitigate the possibility that the tag might slow down the page load time thereby negatively

impacting the user experience. But with the advent of the asynchronous tag in Google

Analytics, which loads alongside the page, the positioning has moved to the top.

In spite of all this, as the number of tags on any one page has increased, in some extreme

cases into double-digits, the need for a more effective way to manage them has emerged…

Enter the Tag Management System as a method of replacing a multitude of tags with a single

tag that effectively acts as a beacon for all.

What is it? Tag Management System

A service to enable the addition and modication of digital analytics tags and other types

across multiple websites pages using a single “container tag” which includes multiple tags

from other services.

This chart visually explains the benets of Tag Management Systems1. At the top, you can

see how a site without such a system can quickly accumulate different types of tags for

different types of purposes on different pages. In the second case, all of these tags are

managed through Google Tag Manager which adds the other tags to the page automatically

through its container tag which includes the others which are setup through an interface to

manage them.

1 Source: ClickInsight

http://www.clickinsight.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/before-after-google-tag-manager.jpg%20

http://www.clickinsight.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/before-after-google-tag-manager.jpg%20



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This example from Smart Insights shows how we use Google’s Tag Manager to add

Universal Analytics to our site by dening a tag for this. The rule ensures it is triggered on all

pages. More details on setting up Tag Manager are available in section 5 and 6.t

The use of tag management systems also brings other benets such as the ability to resolve

some attribution issues, a reduced dependence on the IT department, greater control for the

digital marketer and quicker turn around times; these are things that will be outlined in more

detail later in this paper.

This guide will focus on four main areas marketers need to know to make the most of TagManagement Systems:

1. Reasons to implement a Tag Management System

2. Vendor selection

3. Implementation

4. Pitfalls / issues to watch out for / troubleshooting



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TWOWhy use a Tag Management System?

These benets of a Tag Management System are listed in no particular order of importance.

Each organization will have a different set of pressure points. In fact the identication process

of those pressure points is a key part of the implementation process that will be discussed

later in this document.

Keep in mind that while you may have a specic objective in mind such as attribution, it could

be an easier internal sell to pitch your objectives in terms of reducing pressure and workload

on the IT department.

Speed

The issue of speed can be split in two:

þ 1. Page load speed

þ 2. Speed of implementation

Page load speed

As already alluded to in the introduction, page load speed can be an issue in cases where

many tags are implemented on a page. As far back as April 2010 Google issued a notice

outlining that page load speed would become a signal in its ranking algorithm effectively

meaning that a slow loading page could result in a potentially lower ranking in Google’s

Search Results Page.

Individually Javascript tags may only have a minimal impact on page load time but when

there are many of them on a single page the cumulative weight may start to make a

difference. By using a tag management tool, the presence of a single “container” tag on a

page will reduce of the overall le size of the page and so help make it quicker to load.

Speed of implementation

An often-cited gripe of adding tags to a page is the length of time it takes to implement, this

is frequently due to the availability of developer resource needed to implement the tag, in

addition the procedural framework in some organizations may require formal documentation

in advance of submitting a request for developer time to implement the tag and that in

itself can take up time. For a large, complex site, perhaps targeting multiple countries,

implementation of tags can take months.

The manual implementation process in most cases will also involve a staging server and a

test version of the site to ensure the update / addition / amend does not have any adverse

affects on the site or break the page(s) in any way. Because of this extra time is involved in

the testing process, time that can be saved by using a tag management system.

Note

Keep in mind that the time savings afforded by a Tag Management System do not extend

to the initial set up. During this stage developer time is needed for the implementation of

the ‘container’ tag as well as the data layer if one is used. This process in itself can be quite

lengthy so it is well worth giving this careful consideration.

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/using-site-speed-in-web-search-ranking.html

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/using-site-speed-in-web-search-ranking.html



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Reduce reliance on IT support

The process for any tag implementation usually takes several steps which could include but

not be limited to:

1. A need is identied – either involving the addition of a new tracking tool entirely, or to

modify the code of an existing tool

2. A change request is put into the development team, this might or might not include awritten request via email or a process management application.

3. The code is added or updated on the development test server.

4. The code is set live on the main site.

5. New applications requiring tags are identied and new tags need to be added or

existing ones added.

Once a tag management tool is in place, steps 2-5 can be taken care of by the marketer

without any need to bother (or be bothered by) the development team.

NOTE: Although a tag management solution should help ease pressure on the IT department

its new end users in the marketing department should ideally have some aptitude for

understanding basic DOM elements and other jQueries as this will help ease the learning

curve. In this respect using tag management solutions isn’t necessarily as simple for the non-

technically minded as the solution providers would like to have their customer think.

Convenience

Implementing a tag management tool also reduces the reliance on the IT department in the

longer term. Reduced reliance on the IT department is mirrored by increased independence

for the digital marketing professional. That greater independence means that the digital

marketer is master of his / her own time management and so is freely available to add and

amend tagging at will.

It also means that at times when the site is in development lock down, for example coming

into the Christmas trading period, tagging which often gets relegated in favor of other more

pressing tasks, no longer runs the risk of being completely forgotten.

On the basis that speed and efciency are paramount, the added convenience of being able

to add and update tags at will is a help.

NOTE: There is still a steep learning curve for the digital marketer in learning how to use the

interface of a tag management tool. If tagging requirements are likely to be minimal over time

then it may not always make sense to implement a tag management tool.

Control

Most solutions that require some form of tag management will likely fall within the jurisdiction

of the marketing department. By decoupling the tag management process from the IT

department greater control is handed to the specically to the (digital) marketer which is

logically where is should be in relation to this process.

Implementation of local privacy compliance

Given the various different online privacy laws in countries around the world, not least in

the EU, the challenge of managing cookie deployment in the context of those privacy laws

is no small task. Tag management solutions can help with this thanks to geo-based privacy.



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systems although not all tools offer these so be sure to check when researching suppliers if

this is important to you.

Applying section or page-specic rules to track marketing outcomes

Most Tag Management Systems use rules which enable marketers to easily track marketing

events such as particular page types being loaded, specic audiences taking action or

specic sections of a page being clicked on.

Rules can be applied on specic pages or sections in Google Tag Manager as described

later.



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THREESelecting the best solution and

making the business case

What are the main tools?

This guide is not a buyer’s guide to tag management which compares solutions, instead it’s

more focused on the management of selection and implementation with additional guidance

on Google Tag Manager which is the tool our members are most likely to use.

However, this guide can help to make you aware of the services available for you to review.

þ Adobe Tag Management - an obvious solution for users of Adobe Site Catalyst

þ BrightTag (Bright Tag acquired Site Tagger in August 2012)

þ DC Storm - a UK-based solution, helpful for those looking for UK support

þ Ensighten

þ Google Tag Manager - Google’s free tool on which we focus

þ Impact Radius

þ QuBit - another UK-based solution, this time focusing on retailers

þ SuperTag

þ Tag Commander

þ Tagman - originally a UK-based system, now supported worldwide

þ Tealium

þ UberTags

Some of these tools like to differentiate themselves by positioning their offerings beyond the

standard tag aggregator solution, for example Tagman promotes its credentials in attribution,

currently a hot topic in online marketing.

In reality, most solutions should competently cover the main areas but by rst taking the

time to think about what is most important in terms of your requirements you will be better

positioned to examine whether or not a particular vendor stands out.

What should you consider when selecting a tag managementsolution?

The rst question to ask when investigating a tag management solution is, do you really need

one?

If you rarely update your tags, or if you have very few tags on your site or if when you do

update your tags you can usually get it done in a matter of hours with comparatively minimal

hassle then the answer may be no. It is a mistake to think that just because these tools

are available, and in some cases free, that they are must-haves that will make life betterregardless. Just as with most analytics packages, they take (by degrees depending on the

user) some time to learn how to use so the cost / time “saving” may not be as clear-cut as

http://www.adobe.com/uk/solutions/digital-marketing/dynamic-tag-management.html

http://www.brighttag.com/

http://www2.sitetagger.co.uk/

http://tagmanager.dc-storm.com/

http://ensighten.com/

http://www.google.com/tagmanager/

http://www.impactradius.co.uk/tag-management

http://www.qubitproducts.com/tag-management

http://supertag.datalicious.com/

http://www.tagcommander.com/en/

http://www.tagman.com/eu/

http://tealium.com/products/tag-management-suite/

http://ubertags.com/

http://ubertags.com/

http://tealium.com/products/tag-management-suite/

http://www.tagman.com/eu/

http://www.tagcommander.com/en/

http://supertag.datalicious.com/

http://www.qubitproducts.com/tag-management

http://www.impactradius.co.uk/tag-management

http://www.google.com/tagmanager/

http://ensighten.com/

http://tagmanager.dc-storm.com/

http://www2.sitetagger.co.uk/

http://www.brighttag.com/

http://www.adobe.com/uk/solutions/digital-marketing/dynamic-tag-management.html



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one might think. With that said… they will help you meet these objectives...

Objectives

There are different reasons for adopting a tag management solution and they will depend on

each set of circumstances, but they will include issues such as:

þ

Tag centralization þ Privacy management - control over cookie deployment

þ Limited IT resource

þ Improving page load speed

þ Attribution de-duplication

þ Reducing tag implementation time lines

First you must make a list of all objectives that you hope to meet by implementing a tag

management solution. Evaluate each of these in the context of:

r Your current situation – is it really a problem?

r How much difference will a TMS make - will it really solve the problem?

r Is the cost worth it? Consider both cost of using the tool and the estimated cost in time for

setting up, training and using it.

Resource

This is a double-edged sword, if you have limited developer resource then you may be

looking to implement a tag management solution specically to alleviate the pressure on that

resource, but the initial set up will in fact require some developer resource to help install the

container tag, not really a big deal, and also set up a data layer, a slightly bigger deal. The

data layer will be discussed in more detail later in this document.

You should also nd out:

1. How much assistance is available from the vendor to help with the initial set up

process as this could help reduce internal set up costs in terms of time resource

2. What support levels are covered under the SLA, in case of emergencies.

Cost (savings)

Most solutions are paid for but may also offer a “freemium” version. Google have done what

they usually do and come to market with a totally free version that delivers a decent level of

functionality in a reliable package with a claimed up time of 99.9%.

Because these can be complicated tools to the uninitiated and because they are designed

to reduce dependence on the IT department, cost and savings calculations need to be

considered beyond just monthly fee. Other areas to think about:

r What kind of SLA does the vendor offer?

r Will the time you spend using the TMS really be that much more than the time spent by

your developers in the course of manually implementing and amending tags?

r How many people will have access to the TMS, what will they do and how much training

will they need?

r How much time and cost in man-hours will it take to set the TMS up?



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Competency

As briey mentioned above, in order to differentiate themselves, tag management solutions

espouse competencies that they think set them apart from their competition. While most tools

offer broadly the same range of services, it’s worth investigating which have unique features

that could help you. This is why it is so important to rst understand your requirements,

by doing so it will be easier to cherry pick the tag management solutions that will most

effectively meet your needs. Be wary though and make sure that if it is a particular specialtythat interests you, check the solutions you are investigating actually deliver.

Managing pitches from alternative Tag Management Systems providers

If you’re not simply selecting Google Tag Manager, but looking for a more sophisticated

system, then you may nd the Tag Management System Evaluation worksheet useful. This is

provided in the Zip le with this document. It contains:

þ Assessment. Create a simple score to compare 5 solutions against different criteria.

þ Features review. More detailed criteria for free-form text entry.

þ Gantt. A simple timeline for implementing a TMS.



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FOURKey steps for implementation

In this section we will highlight typical steps when implementing any Tag Management

System and then, in the next section, review how to implement Tag Management within

Google Tag Manager.

1. Identify your objectives

þ These are the needs that must be met by the implementation of a tag management solution.

þ Once you’ve identied your objectives you will need to triage them.

2. Requirements scoping

þ These are the items that need to be covered off in order to meet each of your objectives.

þ The table below matches some of the more important and most likely business objectives

for a TMS against some suggested corresponding requirements.

Objective Requirement

Centralise tagging Identify tags to be included? (can all tags

be handled by your TMS, which ones are

automatically supported and which aren’t?)

Help with privacy management Ensure that the TMS has geo-based privacysettings

Limited IT resource Ensure that your TMS provides access

controls. This will allow more people access

to the TMS but limit control depending on

the level of involvement. It will also help keep

IT nerves calm.

Improving page load speed Ensure the TMS can report on page / tag

load speed and / or can send alerts on poor

performing tags.

Attribution Ensure your proposed TMS offersattribution modeling and check what it

involves i.e. simple tag de-duplication or a

comprehensive built in attribution reporting.

Tracking on-page actions Ensure your TMS supports event tracking in

some form or other.

3. Run a site audit

This is a very important phase in the implementation process. It is part of the effort to future

proof the TMS implementation and it is especially relevant in the context of tagging for youranalytics tool via a tag management system.



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You will need to look at your entire site although if you have even an averagely large site it

may be better to do this by page type such as category, search results or product.

In relation to web analytics, you need to look at the elements on each page type and decide

what needs tracking and what doesn’t e.g. video, exit links, java script buttons or drop down

menus, navigation menus, lters and other options.

All of these items and any others that you see should be identied in your data layer so that

later on you can set up macros and rules to allow you to track them page by page.

After running your site audit you should also create naming conventions for any items that

that appear on multiple pages or that may have variations either now or in the future such as

ltered navigation check boxes. By doing this you will make it easier to manage the input of

data.



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FIVEIntroducing tag management in Google Tag

Manager

There are four essential elements to Google Tag Manager, these are:

þ The container

þ The tags

þ Rules

þ Macros

Each of these is now explained in more details as follows:

The container This is, much as it sounds, a digital container in which all activity occurs in relation to tags,

rules, macros, permissions etc.

The Tags

These are the various tracking tags that are already on a site and awaiting transfer to a

tag management tool or which will be placed on the site for the rst time using the tag

management tool.

Most tools including Google Tag Manager will support some tags out of the box. For those

that aren’t supported adding a tag is a straightforward process that, in the case of GTM,

requires you to select the ‘Custom HTML’ tag option. There are some tag types that GTM

does not support, see here.

For more information on tag type options supported in Google Tag Manager, click here.

Rules

Rules must be applied to all tags to control the conditions under which they are red. A tag

must have at least one rule attached to it in order for it to re.

Rules can also be used to block a tag from ring and in instances where a tag has both a

‘ring’ and a ‘blocking’ rule attached to it, the blocking rule will prevail.

For more information on rules in Google Tag Manager click here.

Macros

Macros are used to identify within GTM, signals, objects or functions across the site. When

a macro has been created it is then commonly used to dene rules under which the tags re.

For example macros can be used in conjunction with the data layer to re events that relateto the analytics tracking tag.

https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/2787990

https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/2574372?hl=en




https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/2787990



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Macros were used extensively to tag for event tracking but in a recent GTM update event

tracking was automated via the Auto Event Tracking function. Justin Cutroni writes a very

good post on it here.

For more information on macros in Google Tag Manager click here.

http://cutroni.com/blog/2013/10/07/auto-event-tracking-with-google-tag-manager/



http://cutroni.com/blog/2013/10/07/auto-event-tracking-with-google-tag-manager/



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SIXInstalling the GTM container code and a tag

First you will need to set up your Google Tag Manager account. If you already have a Google

Analytics account the simplest thing to do is log into Google Tag Manager using the same

primary1 set of login details that you use for the GA account.

Upon logging into GTM for the rst time you will need to set up the account by creating an

account name, a container and applying the container code to all pages on your site.

The rst screen you see will be this:

Once you have added the GTM container code to your site, your next step is to add a tag.

Google Tag Manager, like many of its competitors, supports a variety of tags by default. Many

of these are specic to the Google advertising measurement ecosystem such as AdWords

Remarketing, Doubleclick tags, Google Analytics and Universal Analytics - an advantage if

you’re already using these. These tags are all listed for you as follows.

1 Note: By primary login details, we mean the original set of login details used to set up the Google Analytics

Account with, not any third party login details which may have subsequently been added to the account.



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Select the tag you want to add to your site either from Google’s list of template tags or by

selecting ‘Custom HTML tag’ if your tag is not in the list.

Depending on the tag you select you will also have a variety of additional elds which you will

be asked to complete. For example if you select the Google Analytics tag you will be asked for:

þ The web property ID

þ ‘Track Type’ e.g. page view, event, cross domain, transaction etc

þ Rules (which, as already mentioned, govern the ring of the tag and must be added)

Note: Unlike the traditional hard coded version of the Google Analytics tag where one tag

is placed on each page and then modications are made to that tag to incorporate cross

domain tracking, event tracking etc, GTM requires separate tags for each new tracking item.

For example if you want to incorporate Auto Event Tracking on your site using GTM you will

need the following:

þ A listener tag (there are four kinds of this tag)

þ A standard GA tag congured to track events (using the Track Type drop down menu)

þ A standard GA tag congured to track page views (using the Track Type drop down menu)



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In other words where you might originally have had one hard coded tag with some additional

lines of code inserted on the relevant items for the event tracking, in GTM you now have two

tags, one for page view tracking and one for the event tracking plus a listener tag. This is an

important change in mindset when it comes to how you think about tagging using a TMS.

Applying Rules and macrosTags cannot re without Rules and rules cannot be congured without macros. Macros, in

one form or another, underpin the fundamental workings of GTM.

Rules can be used to either re a tag or to block it from ring but if both types of rule are

present on the same tag then the blocking tag overrides.

The default rule presented for all tags uses a simple GTM URL macro template and tells the

tag to re on all pages.

Google recommends that all pages carry the basic tag but in situations where you may want

a customized version of a tag to re instead then the default tag should be blocked (using a

rule) and the customized tag red using a different rule.

Note: For most, URIs will play a pretty central role in applying rules to tags so this is another

reason to make sure that your URI structure is clearly set out and allows you to identify and

group pages by type such as category or product. If your existing URI structure does not

accommodate that then you may nd yourself needing to identify pages in other ways using

custom macros and then applying these custom macros to your rules.

The data layer

The data layer is essentially a piece of script that goes immediately below the opening

<body> tag and above the Google Tag Manager container snippet. It is essential that these

two snippets of code are inserted on the page in the correct order, if not the data layer

will not work.

The data layer snippet looks like this:



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<script>

dataLayer = [ ];

</script>

In the example above the data layer doesn’t contain anything yet. In the example immediately

below it does; a signal to identify page category by type and another to identify visitors by

type based on a pre-dened set of criteria.

<script>

dataLayer = [{

‘pageCategory’: ‘signup’,

‘visitorType’: ‘high-value’

}];

</script>

NB: When in place the data layer will look as follows:

<body>

<script>

dataLayer = [{

‘pageCategory’: ‘signup’,

‘visitorType’: ‘high-value’

}];

</script>

<noscript><iframe src=”//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-XXXX”

height=”0” width=”0” style=”display:none;visibility:hidden”></iframe></noscript>

<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({‘gtm.start’:

new Date().getTime(),event:’gtm.js’});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],

j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!=’dataLayer’?’&l=’+l:’’;j.async=true;j.src=

‘//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=’+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);

})(window,document,’script’,’dataLayer’,’GTM-XXXX’);</script>

Note: Remember that in order for the data layer to be of maximum use you will need to do

work in advance to identify what should go in it.

8. Before you go live

One of the most important parts of the tag management process is the debugging stage.

The tag management process itself is (obviously) very different to the manual process and

requires the digital marketer to think differently about the application process. An example of

this is the blocking rule; with the old process if you didn’t want a tag to re on a certain page

or collection of pages you simply didn’t code those pages. When using GTM if you don’t wanta tag to re on specic pages you have one of two options:



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1. Create a set of rules which identify only the pages on which you DO want the tag to

re

2. Apply the default ‘re on all pages” rule to the tag then apply another set of blocking

rules to prevent the tag from ring on the pages or groups of pages on which you

DON’T want it to re.

This is another simple example of the complexity and change in thinking that needs to go into

the conguration of GTM or any tag management tool. Mistakes can corrupt data output with

potentially signicant consequences and because of this it is a good idea to debug the tag

before it goes live. In GTM there are three steps to this process:

1. Create a new version of your tag

2. Test in the debug mode

3. Put your new version live

Step 1:

Create a new version of your container by clicking the blue “Create Version” button

Step 2:

The screen shot immediately below shows how you use the drop down in the top right to

access the preview and debug mode, and, when you do there will be a message in the top of

the screen notifying you that you are in debug mode.

You will also see a popup appear (see below), from here click on the domain link.



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This will launch the page in debug mode. The screen will be split with the top portion

showing the page and the bottom portion showing the debug screen. You need to look for

the notice relating to the tag(s) that are supposed to have red, in this case you will see that

the analytics tag red as it was supposed to. You will also see equivalent messages in this

pane that will relate to other tags and / or tag updates that should have red such as event

tracking.



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Step 3:

Click the blue “Publish” button to put your new container live on your site.

9. Publishing

When you are satised with the debugging process you will be ready to publish the tag.

Simply exit preview and debug mode and click the blue publish button in the top right.

NOTE: When you publish the GTM tags for the rst time you MUST remember to remove the

old manual tags from the site to avoid the possibility of double counting.

10. User permissions

One of the main roadblocks in switching to a TMS relates to issues of trust. IT departments

can be wary of relinquishing control and in particular entrusting non-IT personnel withchanges to the code on a web page. For obvious reasons there is often concern over code

being added which subsequently causes errors although the GTM and tag management

solutions in general the likelihood of this is greatly reduced.

To offset concerns from the IT department and also for security reasons it is good practice to

ensure that access rights are granted to personal and reected at the relevant level.



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1. Select User setting > Users

2. Enter the email address of the user to whom you want to grant permission.

3. Select the Account permission level

a. View only

b. View, edit and manage

4. Select the Container permission level

a. View only

b. View and edit

c. View, edit, delete and publish

5. Save

If your account has more than one container then you will need to set the container level

permissions individually.

Free tools to review tag setup

Free tools to help review your account or client accounts. You can check which Google

Analytics Goals or Events are ring for example.

Google has created two Chrome Extensions we recommend which we would say are

essential tools if you’re involved with customisation. These are:

þ 1. Google Analytics Tag Assistant.

Click on the button for this extension to get details on the tagging versions used and rec-

ommendations for improvement. Download.

þ 2. Google Analytics Debugger . This debugger uses the Javascript developer console to show information sent from a

webpage when it loads or a user interacts with it. It’s useful for validating Event tracking or

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tag-assistant-by-google/kejbdjndbnbjgmefkgdddjlbokphdefk%3Fhl%3Den

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tag-assistant-by-google/kejbdjndbnbjgmefkgdddjlbokphdefk%3Fhl%3Den



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custom variables after they have rst been created. Download.

þ 3. Other extensions.

These are mainly for reviewing results via alternative interfaces in the browser. Download.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-analytics-debugger/jnkmfdileelhofjcijamephohjechhna%3Fhl%3Den%20

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search-extensions/google%2520analytics%3Fhl%3Den

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search-extensions/google%2520analytics%3Fhl%3Den

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-analytics-debugger/jnkmfdileelhofjcijamephohjechhna%3Fhl%3Den%20



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SEVENCommon pitfalls / issues to watch out for in GTM

The following is a list of common issues to be aware of when setting up a tag management

solution:

1. Always debug before setting live. This will guard against errors that could cause

page errors and cost money.

2. While all main TMS solutions have a testing environment it is a good idea when

selecting a TMS to make sure that there is a debug mode as part of the feature set.

3. When updating any element of the tracking conguration within a container always

make a new version so that you can roll back to the previous working version in the

event of unforeseen issues.

4. Always be very careful when conguring rules, this is where human error could come

in to play. There are many match type options but unlike using advanced segments,

a mistake here will have irreversible results on the data output.

5. Do as much pre-work as possible to identify what should be populated in the data

layer.

6. Make sure the data layer is placed ABOVE the container code at the top of each

page. The data layer will not interact with the container code if it comes after it.

7. Make sure you remove ALL original hard coded tags at the time you set the TMS

tag(s) live.

Documents

Tag Management Systems Smart Insights