GOOGLE TAG MANAGER TUTORIAL 2020
Author: Ad Hacks February 18 | Blog
A Google Tag Manager (Tag Assistant) tutorial for Facebook Ad Marketers. Learn how GTM works with Facebook Pixel Events and Google Analytics.
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Every marketer knows the frustrating feeling of running a campaign on Facebook and/or Google and having their ad funnel or website convert poorly.
What’s worse is trying to figure out the insights behind the data feeding into Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel Events and knowing exactly how individuals interact with their campaign(s).
Building a well-run tracking and data insights machine when you aren’t as confident in website coding and development can be a challenge.
This is where Google Tag Manager (GTM / Tag Assistant) comes in for the win….
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WHETHER YOU HAVE A TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OR NOT…
Getting started with Google Tag Manager (GTM, tag manager) is easier than you think.
In this quick 2020 guide, Google Tag Manager expert, Chris “Mercer” Mercer will teach you:
- How to answer the questions about your website visitor
- What Google Tag Manager, GTM, Tag Assistant is
- What you can use Google Tag Manager for
- How Google Tag Manager can become in control of the data feeding into Facebook pixel, Facebook Analytics, Google Analytics and other platforms such as LinkedIn Ads, Pinterest Ads.
- The three most important parts and pieces of Google Tag Manager (Tags, Triggers and Variables)
LET’S GET INTO GTM
Google Analytics is a platform that helps you collect, store and package general information (like page views and traffic) into a reportable story about your website.
To break it down…
You collect an Apple (Page View).
Then you store multiple apples into a tray (Multiple Page Views).
Next, you package those apples (package multiple Page Views by metrics such as ‘Source/Medium’ to make it easier to read and report on).
But what if you want to dive a little deeper into how your consumer is behaving on your page or app.
HAVE YOU BEEN ASKING THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF YOUR WEBSITE VISITOR WHO INTERACT?
- Did the user hover over a button?
- Did the user click on that button?
- Did the user stay on the redirected page for more than 20 seconds?
INTRODUCING GOOGLE TAG MANAGER
Google Tag Manager is a platform that helps you collect a bucket of information, measure specific behaviors and feed that data into the likes of Google Analytics and a Facebook funnel.
So instead of using Google Analytics to collect one apple at a time like this…
GTM superpowers your ability to not only collect more apples but to collect the entire fruit & veg market while making sense of it all.
The fruit & veg market in this case is a collection of behaviors (scrolls, clicks, etc.) happening on your site as GTM is more than just page views.
Once GTM has a collection of behaviors, it’s able to send details on to other digital platforms like Facebook, Google Analytics, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
“One of the benefits of Google Tag Manager is that you’ve got all these different platforms that are getting the same information, at the same time, in the same way, from the same source.” – Mercer
WITH GOOGLE TAG MANAGER, YOU CAN:
- Set up Facebook tracking within minutes… no more waiting for clients to install pixels!
- Create “Smart” triggers that only fire conversions when an actual conversion happens… no more over-reporting!
- Measure the entire customer journey so you know exactly how your ads are working and where users drop off
- Get granular control by being able to hyper-target custom audiences so you can send the right message at the right time.
THE THREE PARTS & PIECES OF GOOGLE TAG MANAGER TO FOCUS ON:
In his exclusive training, Mercer breaks down the three main parts & pieces of GTM plus walks you through how to use and integrate them with one another.
- TAGS
Tags are WHAT you want Google Tag Manager to do. Examples of tags:
- Tag: [Let Google Analytics know when someone views a page]
- Tag: [Let Facebook know when someone becomes a lead]
- Tag: [Let Facebook know when someone saw the offer]
- TRIGGERS
Set up triggers for WHEN you want Google Tag Manager to do the thing you want it to. Building on the examples above, here are a few examples of triggers:
- Tag: [Let Google Analytics know when someone views a page] + Trigger: [Do this WHENEVER someone lands on my page]
- Tag: [Let Facebook know when someone becomes a lead] + Trigger: [Do this whenever someone lands on my thank you page]
- Tag: [Let Facebook know when someone saw the offer] + Trigger: [Do this whenever someone watches 17 minutes of my video]
- VARIABLES
Variables is the equivalent of the INFORMATION Google Tag Manager needs to get the job done. Sounds complicated but it’s very simple. Follow these examples:
- Tag: [Let Google Analytics know when someone views a page] + Trigger: [Do this WHENEVER someone lands on my page] + Variable: [The property ID of my page is XYZ]
- Tag: [Let Facebook Pixel tracking know when someone becomes a lead] + Trigger: [Do this whenever someone lands on my thank you page] + Variable: [The name of the Facebook lead funnel is XYZ]
- Tag: [Let Facebook know when someone saw the offer] + Trigger: [Do this whenever someone watches 17 minutes of my video] + Variable: [The name of the video the person watched is XYZ]
If you focus on these three parts and view them as “telling a story” it all becomes a lot easier to understand and implement.
Despite the fact that we used Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel Tracking in the examples above, Google Tag Manager can be integrated with LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and more as the platform supports all kinds of data tracking technologies.
In this 10 min video tutorial…
WATCH MERCER SET UP FACEBOOK TRACKING WITH GTM
WHO IS CHRIS “MERCER” MERCER?
Mercer, co-founder of MeasurementMarketing.io & February’s Digital Distillery Pro FATC Guest Coach, is a sought after measurement marketing expert who provided FATC students with exclusive, in-depth training on Google Tag Manager. Check out Mercer’s ultimate quick guide to getting started.
WANNA DIVE IN DEEPER TO GTM AND FIND OUT MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR FACEBOOK PIXEL TRACKING?
Hit this link to sign-up to the Digital Distillery Pro (formerly known as FATC) membership and watch Mercer’s FULL talk.
If you’re already a member you’ll find the replay of the talk in the Guest Coaches section of the portal.