Google Tag Manager, often abbreviated as GTM or Tag Manager, is a tag management system created by Google to manage scripts and pixels used for website tracking and analytics without modifying the code.
The main advantage of using Tag Manager is that you can easily add, remove, or modify tracking scripts on your website without needing a developer to edit the code or using plugins.
Google Tag Manager makes script deployment simple and, in most cases, has a template to use when setting up common scripts.
Some examples of these common script templates include:
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads Remarketing
- Crazy Egg
- Hotjar
You can even add a custom HTML tag, allowing for simple integration of scripts such as Facebook Pixels or other tracking pixels.
Ideally, every tracking script and pixel should be stored and deployed from this one location. That’s because when a website is built, sometimes there are multiple places in the framework where scripts can be added. Some of these places include:
- Directly in the code itself
- Plugins
- Template settings
- Header settings
- Footer settings
The list goes on.
Using multiple plugins will bloat the backend of your website with a bunch of unnecessary plugins that are just deploying scripts. It’s not uncommon to see multiple plugins for deploying GA, Facebook Pixels, Hotjar, CrazyEgg, and other scripts on a website.
Even worse, it can be difficult to find exactly where these scripts are on the backend of a website when so many different ways of deploying them exist.
This is why it’s a best practice to use Google Tag Manager. You don’t need to install and maintain multiple plugins that may have accumulated over the years, and you can always find and modify scripts as needed.
How do I grant access to a Google Tag Manager account?
To grant users access to a Google Tag Manager account, follow these directions:
Step 1. Go to https://tagmanager.google.com and, at the top right, switch to the Google account that has access to the Tag Manager account.
Step 2. Go to the Tag Manager account you wish to grant a user access to and click the three vertical dots and select User Management.
Step 3. Click New in the top right.
Step 4. Enter the email address.
Step 5. Select the account permissions (User or Admin).
Step 6. Select the container permissions (No access, Read, Edit, Approve, or Publish).
The highest possible access is Admin with Publish permissions. This is the access level your marketing team will need to manage a Tag Manager account.