Sure, let’s delve deeper into each step, turning it into a comprehensive tutorial:
1. Sign in or Sign up:
- Navigate to the Google Tag Manager website (tagmanager.google.com) and log in with your existing Google account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create it by clicking on the “Create account” link and following the prompts to set up a new Google account.
2. Create an Account:
- Once logged in, you’ll be directed to the Google Tag Manager dashboard. To create a new account, click on the “Create Account” button. Here, you’ll need to provide an Account Name, which typically represents your company or organization. For example, if your company is named “ABC Corp,” you might name your account “ABC Corp – Tag Manager.”
3. Set up Container:
- After creating the account, you’ll be prompted to set up a container. A container is essentially a placeholder for all the tags, triggers, and variables you’ll be using to track events on your website or mobile app. Click on “Create Container” and fill in the required details:
- Container Name: Give your container a descriptive name. For example, if you’re setting up tracking for your company’s website, you might name it “ABC Corp Website – GTM.”
- Target Platform: Select whether you’re setting up tracking for a website (Web) or a mobile app (iOS or Android).
- Once you’ve entered the details, click on the “Create” button to proceed.
4. Accept Terms of Service:
Before you can proceed, you’ll need to review and accept Google Tag Manager’s Terms of Service. Take a moment to read through the terms, then check the box to indicate your acceptance.
5. Install Container:
After accepting the Terms of Service, you’ll be presented with the GTM snippet. This snippet of code needs to be added to every page of your website or app that you want to track. Follow these steps to install the container snippet on your website:
- Copy the Snippet: Click on the snippet box to copy the entire snippet to your clipboard.
- Paste the Snippet: Paste the snippet just after the opening
<body>tag on every page of your website. You can do this by accessing the HTML source code of your website and pasting the snippet directly before the closing</head>tag.
6. Verify Installation:
Once you’ve installed the GTM snippet on your website, you’ll need to verify that it’s working correctly. You can do this using Google Tag Assistant or by enabling Preview mode within Google Tag Manager:
- Google Tag Assistant: Install the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension and navigate to your website. The extension will detect if Google Tag Manager is installed correctly.
- Preview Mode: In the Google Tag Manager interface, click on the “Preview” button in the top right corner. This will open a new window where you can test your tags before publishing them live.
7. Add Tags:
- With your container set up and installed, you can start adding tags to track various actions and events on your website. Common tags include Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and AdWords Conversion Tracking. To add a tag, click on “Tags” in the left sidebar of the GTM interface, then click on the “New” button to create a new tag.
8. Publish Container:
- Once you’ve configured your tags, triggers, and variables, and you’re satisfied with how they’re working in Preview mode, it’s time to publish your container to make the changes live on your website. To do this, click on the “Submit” button in the top right corner of the GTM interface. Enter a version name and description for your changes, then click “Publish.”
Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up a Google Tag Manager account and container, and you’re ready to start tracking events on your website. Remember to test thoroughly before publishing changes to ensure accurate tracking.