Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tag management system (TMS) from Google that enables website operators and marketers to easily manage tracking codes (so-called tags) and implement them on a website or in a mobile app. Instead of placing tracking codes directly in the source code of the website, they are stored centrally in the GTM and delivered via a single code base, the GTM container code. This container code is integrated once into the header of each page.
How the Google Tag Manager works
The Google Tag Manager acts as a kind of intermediary between your website and the various analysis tools or marketing platforms. It uses three central components:
- Tags: These are code snippets, usually JavaScript, that send data to third-party systems. Examples include Google Analytics 4, Google Ads Conversion Tracking, heatmap tools or Facebook Pixel.
- Trigger: Triggers define when and under what conditions a tag should be triggered. This can be a page view, a click on a specific button, the submission of a form or reaching a certain scroll depth.
- Variables: Variables are placeholders for values that can be used dynamically in tags or triggers. These include predefined variables such as the URL of the current page or the click ID, but also user-defined variables that read data from the data layer, for example.
These components are implemented via a user-friendly web interface that requires no programming knowledge to set up standard tags.
