Overview

Guides:

Platform Overview

Understanding Google Tag Manager:

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tag management system that allows marketers, developers, and analysts to manage and deploy tracking codes, known as tags, on their website or app without directly editing code. By centralizing tag management in one interface, GTM makes it easier to install, test, and update analytics or marketing tools like Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, and TikTok.

GTM uses three core building blocks, tags, triggers, and variables, to determine what tracking to execute, when to execute it, and which data to include. Once a single GTM container snippet is placed on your site, all future tag configurations can be handled directly in the GTM dashboard, dramatically reducing the need for ongoing developer involvement.

How Google Tag Manager Works:

GTM serves as a middle layer between your website and your analytics or marketing tools. Instead of adding multiple tracking codes to your site, you place a single container snippet once in your site’s code. From there, you can deploy and control all of your tags through the GTM interface. When a visitor interacts with your website, such as viewing a product, submitting a form, or completing a purchase, GTM determines whether a tag should “fire” based on the triggers and variables you’ve defined.

This system provides a scalable, efficient, and secure way to manage analytics implementations, conversion tracking, remarketing pixels, and more.

Core Components

Tags:

Tags are snippets of code (often JavaScript) used to send data to external platforms such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta (Facebook), LinkedIn, or TikTok. In GTM, tags can be built using pre-configured templates or custom code blocks.

Common examples include:

Google Analytics event tracking
Google Ads remarketing tags
Meta (Facebook) Pixel tracking
Custom HTML or script tags

Triggers:

Triggers define when a tag should fire. Each trigger listens for a specific user interaction or condition and activates the associated tag once that condition is met.

Examples of triggers include:

Page View: Fires when a specific page loads
Click: Fires when a button, link, or image is clicked
Form Submission: Fires when a user submits a form
Timer: Fires after a specific time delay, often used for performance optimization (e.g., delaying chat widget scripts by 3 seconds)

Variables"

Variables store dynamic data that tags and triggers use to collect or evaluate information. They can include built-in variables (like Page URL, Click Text, Referrer) or custom variables pulled from your site’s data layer, a structured JavaScript object that exposes key page and product information (like Product ID, Price, Customer ID, etc.).

Example: A trigger may use the variable Page URL to only fire a purchase tag when the URL contains /thank-you.

Version Control and Testing:

GTM includes built-in version control and debugging tools to ensure accuracy and safety when publishing updates.

Preview Mode: Allows you to test tags and verify that they fire correctly before changes go live.
Versions: Every time you publish, GTM saves a new version of your container. If issues occur, you can roll back to a previous version instantly.
Workspaces: Allow multiple users to work on different sets of changes simultaneously without overwriting each other’s work.

Advanced Capabilities

Data Layer Integration:

The data layer acts as the foundation for robust GTM setups, storing structured data like product details, order information, and customer identifiers. Elevar provides a prebuilt data layer for Shopify that feeds data into GTM, enabling accurate and consistent event tracking across your store.

Behavioral Event Tracking:

Beyond standard page views, GTM enables tracking of user behavior such as clicks, scroll depth, or interactions with embedded content, helping marketers understand engagement beyond conversions.

Site Speed Optimization:

By controlling when and how scripts load, GTM can improve site speed. For example, non-essential scripts (like chat widgets) can be set to fire after a delay or on user interaction, reducing initial load time.

Privacy and Template Management:

With GTM’s tag templates and consent integration, teams can wrap privacy safeguards around scripts, helping maintain GDPR and CCPA compliance while still running effective marketing tags.