Google Tag Manager is an incredibly powerful tool and one you're likely not using to its full potential. In my talk from MozCon 2016, I delivered 29 rapid-fire tips intended to empower marketers to overcome the insurmountable odds and circumnavigate road blocks using this incredibly powerful marketing tool.

1. U p B u i l d @ m i k e _ a r n e s e n
2 9 A d v a n c e d G o o g l e T a g M a n a g e r
T i p s E v e r y M a r k e t e r S h o u l d K n o w

2. We’ll Be Covering A Lot!
Write up, tools, resources — upbuild.io/gtm

3. What am I
going to do?

4. Show 29 ways to
level up your GTM usage.

5. Prove that GTM is
the best tool for your money.

6. Give you resources to
deepen your expertise.

7. Open your mind to
new possibilities.

8. What am I
NOT going to do?

9. Review installation
or basic mechanics.

10. Give you the click-by-click
(at least, not today).

11. Teach you JavaScript.

12. and one last thing…

13. Who are we?

14. One-Person
Marketing Army

15. Savvy Enterprise
Marketer

16. Efficient
Idealist

17. Under-The-Radar
Innovator

18. C:mozcon> ld gtm tips_

19. Anatomy of a GTM Tip x 2
x 3
x 1
Details about the tip.
upbuild.io/gtm#0

20. upbuild.io/gtm#0
Anatomy of a GTM Tip x 2
x 3
x 1
Details about the tip.
Tags
Variables
Triggers
The What & Why
The How

22. Crawl for GTM
Practice good housekeeping.
x __
x __
x __
upbuild.io/gtm#1

24. Check for jQuery.
If not found, then add jQuery.
Inject jQuery x 1
x 0
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#2

25. Check for jQuery.
If not found, then add jQuery.
Pretty hacky.
Inject jQuery x 1
x 0
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#2

26. Add jQuery Do nothing
NO YES
jQuery Loaded?
Page Load on All Pages

28. Harvest Clickstream Data
Track all the click data you want,
without bugging the dev team.
x 2
x 3
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#3

29. All Your Click-Tracking with 2 Tags
1st tag — click handling
On click, push to dataLayer
2nd tag — receive/send data

30. “Catch” the data and send to GA.
For each element
attach click handler & function to
push data to the dataLayer.
1st Tag — HTML
2nd Tag - Universal Analytics

31. 1st Tag — HTML

32. Define GA Event Values
.click() .submit()
.hover() .change()
Use jQuery
Unique Selector
category/action/
label
Build jQuery Selectors
Choose a Handler
Build Your Own Harvester

34. Test & Release
Build & QA your whole
container locally.
x __
x __
x __
upbuild.io/gtm#4

35. Get Tag Manager Injector
Debug your own container, anywhere.

37. Leverage Environments
Manage environments for even
better Enterprise-grade testing.
x _
x _
x _
upbuild.io/gtm#5

38. Leverage Environments
Manage environments for even
better Enterprise-grade testing.
x _
x _
x _
Now with
Workspaces!
upbuild.io/gtm#5

41. Make Permanent Changes
Hypothesize.
Experiment.
Implement.
Move on.
x 1
x 0
x 1
SEMI-
upbuild.io/gtm#6

42. Move From Results to Implementation
Copy. Paste. Done.

44. Track File Downloads
PDFs, MP3s, and other assets.
x 1
x 1
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#7

45. Activate Built-In Variable
Add File Extensions to Track
…And a Tag Sends the Data into GA

47. Track (Offsite) Downloads
Emailed assets
and sales materials.
x 2
x 2
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#8

48. GTM Tags Send Data to GA
& Execute the Redirect
moz.com/download/?asset=specs&org=upbuild
Create a Download page
Sales Sends Links to Leads w/ Asset & Org
GTM Variables Grab Info

50. Track Outbound Clicks
Track & segment clicks
in meaningful ways
for better intelligence.
x 1
x 1
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#9

51. Configure an Auto Event Variable to
Grab Hostname of Clicked Link
If a link is clicked and that
Variable != your site, send to GA
Group offsite
clicks by domain!

53. Configure Cross-Domain
& Subdomain Tracking
There’s a difference
and a right way to do both.
x 1
x 1
x 0
upbuild.io/gtm#10

54. dev.moz.com
Subdomain Tracking
Left to its own devices,
GTM’s default behavior is troublesome.
www.moz.com

55. Subdomain Tracking
www.moz.com dev.moz.com

56. Cross-Domain Tracking
Multiple sites?
All part of the same user journey?
Use cross-domain tracking.
upbuild.io/gtm#10

57. Allow Linker = TRUE
Auto Link Domains w/ Variable
Referral Exclusion List
(in GA)
+
+

59. See Full Hostnames
View page paths with
subdomains
or other TLDs.
x 0
x 2
x 0
upbuild.io/gtm#11

60. Overwrite “page” with hostname
& path variables.

62. Strip Out PII
Remove personally identifiable
information before it’s passed
to Google Analytics.
x 1
x 1
x 0
upbuild.io/gtm#12

63. Disclaimer
Not a Lawyer
upbuild.io/gtm#12

64. What’s the Risk?
Your entire GA profile. Wiped.
GA Filters aren’t sufficient.
GTM can intercept PII before it’s sent.
PII sent to Google servers = ToS Violation

65. Overwrite the Page field in your GA Tag
Create a JavaScript Variable
Search for Emails or CC #s
Leave all other Params, but
Replace PII with a Notification

66. Based on a post from Simo Ahava, “Remove Email Addresses From URL Parameters”
http://www.simoahava.com/analytics/remove-email-addresses-from-url-parameters/

68. Use Nested Variables
We heard you liked variables…
x __
x ∞
x __
upbuild.io/gtm#13

69. Lookup Table with…
1
2
3
…other variables!

71. Merge GA & CRM Data
Find a unique key.
Push it into the CRM.
Add CRM data to GA w/ key.
x 1
x 1
x 0
upbuild.io/gtm#14

72. Cookie Variable grabs UID
Send UID to Custom Dimension
Import CRM data using UID as a Key

74. Leverage a dataLayer
Bridge the gap between
application and experience.
x 0
x ∞
x 0
upbuild.io/gtm#15

75. Experience Layer
Application Layer
Data Layer

77. Measure Scroll Depth
Capture scroll data at
pre-defined points.
x 1
x 3
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#16

78. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel!
Leverage this amazing contribution to web analytics from
Rob Flaherty of Parsnip.io — http://scrolldepth.parsnip.io/
Baseline
25%
50%
75%
100%

80. Observe Dwell Time
Understand which visits
are sticky and
which visits aren’t.
x 1
x 2
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#17

81. Calculate Appropriate Dwell Time
Use setTimeout to fire an Event
(Words on Page)/15 * 1000

83. Monitor Pogosticking
Measure.
Improve.
Earn the long click.
x 1
x 3
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#18

84. This is
100% Simo.
Learn more:
simoahava.com/analytics/measure-serp-bounce-time-with-gtm/
Log new browser history entry

85. Learn more:
simoahava.com/analytics/measure-serp-bounce-time-with-gtm/
Pause, push data to GA,
and send them on their way.
If “Back” detected…
wow
such hack

87. Include Outsiders Only
Filter out your team’s traffic
without relying on IPs.
x 1
x 1
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#19

88. upbuild.io/?internal=true
Designate a team parameter
Unfiltered
Filtered
Google Analytics
Tagged as Team

90. Update Metadata
Change or apply metadata
without touching your code.
x ∞
x 0
x 1+
upbuild.io/gtm#20

92. Implement Structured Data
Dynamic JSON-LD
for Rich Cards & more.
x 1+
x ∞
x ∞
upbuild.io/gtm#21

95. Hack Site Search Tracking
No query strings?
No problem!
x 1
x 1
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#22

96. On Internal SERPS w/o Query Strings
Rewrite Page to include Query String
Custom JS Variable to Parse Query
Send to GA

98. Configure Analytics
for Web Apps
Use advanced listening
or
ask nicely for a dataLayer…
x 2
x 3
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#23

99. …or better yet!
angulartics.github.io

101. Measure Video Engagement
Leverage YouTube’s API to
fire events during the play.
x 2
x 2
x 4
upbuild.io/gtm#24

102. or just use
Wistia!
Brought to you by CardinalPath:
cardinalpath.com/youtube-video-tracking-with-google-tag-
manager-v2-and-universal-analytics-a-step-by-step-guide/
Listen for play events
Check for YouTube Videos
Send data to GA

104. Monitor Form Abandonment
Collect & send data to GA
about how far users get
into forms before leaving.
x 1
x 3
x 2
upbuild.io/gtm#25

105. Add form progress to an Array
beforeunload, send progress to GA

107. Measure AdBlocking Traffic
Populate a Custom Dimension
based on whether or not
a fake ad gets blocked.
x 2
x 0
x 1
upbuild.io/gtm#26

108. Upload ads.js
If ads.js is blocked, return TRUE
Send to GA as“Ad Blocking”
Custom Dimension
Load the file using GTM

110. Close with Personalization
Cookie users entering the funnel.
Remove it upon conversion.
Modify the site experience
for folks who are still cookied.
x 3
x 1
x 2
upbuild.io/gtm#27

111. Step 1 Step 2
Step 3
Set
“enteredFunnel”
Remove
“enteredFunnel”

112. Homepage
Business as usual
Homepage
Enticing
offer!
NO YES
“enteredFunnel” present?

114. Create Flexible Lookups
Use Google Sheets
and import functionality to
build massive and flexible
lookup tables.
x __
x ∞
x __
upbuild.io/gtm#28

115. Massive & Flexible Lookups
Use Google Sheets
and import functionality to
build massive and flexible
lookup tables.
x __
x ∞
x __
This tip brought to you by Stephen Harris at SEER
seerinteractive.com/blog/gtm-match-table-generator/

116. From this…
domain-one.com
domain-two.com
dev.domain-two.com
domain-three.com
dev.domain-three.com
domain-three.fr
domain-four.fr
UA-12345678-1
UA-12345678-1
UA-12345678-2
UA-12345678-3
UA-12345678-2
UA-12345678-4
UA-12345678-4

117. …to this!
domain-(one|two).com
^dev.
domain-three.com
.fr$
UA-12345678-1
UA-12345678-2
UA-12345678-3
UA-12345678-4

119. Export & Import Containers
upbuild.io/gtm#29

120. upbuild.io/gtm#29
Export & Import Containers
Get yours at
upbuild.io/gtm/eru

123. Attend the
Watney School of Marketing

124. Don't forget what
Google Tag Manager is.

126. Continuing Education
jQuery Unique Selector (Chrome)
Tag Manager Injector (Chrome)
Tools

127. Continuing Education
Ahava — All, simoahava.com
Goddard — Using GTM to Dynamically Generate JSON-LD
Mourad — Cross-Domain & Roll-Up Reporting
Wiegand — Connect CRM & Web Analytics Platforms
Arnesen — Site Search Tracking Without Query Strings
Cutroni — Cross-Device Measurement & User ID
Blog Posts

128. Continuing Education
Keith & Sambells — DOM Scripting: Web Design
with JavaScript and the Document Object Model
Books

129. Continuing Education
Google Analytics Academy — GTM Fundamentals (Free)
Code School — JavaScript Road Trip (Freemium)
Code Academy— Learn JavaScript (Freemium)
Courses

130. M I K E A R N E S E N
U p B u i l d @ m i k e _ a r n e s e n