Ask an SMXpert – Google Tag Manager

The Ask an SMXpert series continues the questions and answer (Q&A) segment held during sessions at SMX London.

Today’s Q&A is from the Google Tag Manager Can do WHAT session with Stephanie Wallace and Tom Bennet.

Tom Bennet

Question:  What are the top five key benefits of using Google Tag Manager (GTM)?

Tom:  Here are my top five:

1. Reduced dependency on dev resource. Deploying your marketing tags and pixels with GTM typically means that far fewer on-page code changes are required to iterate on your tracking and reporting setup. Once the container snippet is present on every page of your website, you can use the GTM interface to programmatically load the appropriate tags on a page-by-page basis without waiting on dev resource.
2. Access to the changelog. GTM’s version control system means that marketers and developers have access to a documented and auditable history of all changes to tags. For isolating the cause of unexpected or missing data, this ability to audit past container versions can be invaluable.
3. Powerful debugging and testing tools. Combined with preview mode, version control also provides developers with the means to test and debug proposed changes before they are rolled out to the production site.
4. New enterprise features. Many of GTM’s newer features make it a powerful tool for enterprise businesses.  For example, using workspaces means that multiple teams can create and test their own container drafts before they are merged back into the primary branch. This is not dissimilar to a git repository and is great for collaborative working.
5. Ability to adopt a data layer-led approach. Deploying tags and pixels with GTM makes it easier to adopt a data layer-led approach to tracking. Used correctly, the data layer can provide your organization with a robust, sustainable and platform-agnostic model of your site’s attributes and interactions for the purposes of reporting.

Question: What are the most common mistakes webmasters make with GTM and how do you fix them? (List three or more)

Tom: …

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Debra Mastaler

Debra Mastaler is an internationally recognized authority on link building and is an OMCP Certified Link Building Trainer. Based in Washington DC, Debra is also a columnist for Search Engine Land, has written for or been featured in numerous tech publications and is active on the search marketing conference circuit as a speaker and trainer. Debra serves as a judge for the Landy Awards and is the President of Alliance-Link.com. Connect with Debra on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay in touch.