Tracking phone number clicks with Google Tag Manager (GTM) can be a powerful way to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and understand how users interact with your website. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up phone number tracking with GTM.
Prerequisites
Before we dive into the setup process, make sure you have:
- A Google Tag Manager account set up and activated on your website.
- A Google Analytics account linked to your GTM account.
- A phone number that you want to track clicks on.
1. Create a new tag in GTM
- 1. Log in to your GTM account and navigate to the “Tags” page.
- Click on the “New” button to create a new tag.
- Select “Universal Analytics” as the tag type.
- Name your tag (e.g., “Phone Number Click Tracking”).
2. Configure the trigger
1. In the trigger section, select “Custom Event” as the trigger type.
2. Set the trigger name (e.g., “Phone Number Clicked”).
3. In the “Configure Trigger” section, select “Click” as the event type.
4. In the “Trigger details” section, enter the following:
- Event category: Enter a category name (e.g., “Phone Number”).
Event action: Enter an action name (e.g., “Clicked”).
Event label: Enter a label name (e.g., “Phone Number Link”)
5. Click “Save” to save the trigger configuration.
3. Configure the variable
1. In the variable section, create a new variable by clicking on the “New” button.
2. Select “URL” as the variable type.
3. Name your variable (e.g., “PhoneNumberLink”).
4. In the “Configure Variable” section, enter the following:
- Variable type: URL
Value: The URL of the phone number link on your website (e.g., `tel:1234567890`)
5. Click “Save” to save the variable configuration.
4. Create a trigger for the variable
1. Create a new trigger by clicking on the “New” button in the trigger section.
2. Select “Custom Event” as the trigger type.
3. Set the trigger name (e.g., “PhoneNumberLinkClicked”).
4. In the “Configure Trigger” section, select “Click” as the event type.
5. In the “Trigger details” section, enter the following:
- Event category: Same as in Step 2
Event action: Same as in Step 2
Event label: Same as in Step 2
Filter: Add a filter to include only clicks on the phone number link:
+ Click on the “+” icon next to “Filter”
+ Select “Matches regex”
+ Enter `{{PhoneNumberLink}}` as the pattern
6. Click “Save” to save the trigger configuration.
5. Create a Google Analytics event
1. In your Google Analytics account, navigate to the “Behavior” tab.
2. Click on “Events” and then click on “+ New Event”.
3. Fill in the event details:
- Event Category: Same as in Step 2
Event Action: Same as in Step 2
Event Label: Same as in Step 2
4. Click “Create” to create the event.
6. Deploy and test
1. Deploy your GTM container by clicking on the “Publish” button.
2. Test your setup by clicking on the phone number link on your website while monitoring your Google Analytics events.
7. Verify tracking
1. Go to your Google Analytics account and navigate to the “Behavior” tab.
2. Click on “Events” and then click on “+ New Event”.
3. Filter by event category, action, and label to verify that your events are being tracked correctly.
Tips and Variations
- To track multiple phone numbers, repeat Steps 1-6 for each phone number and use a different variable for each one.
- To track clicks on specific pages or sections of your website, add additional filters to your triggers or variables.
- To track clicks from specific referral sources (e.g., email campaigns), add additional filters based on URL or custom dimensions in your triggers or variables.
By following these steps, you’ve successfully set up phone number click tracking with Google Tag Manager! This will allow you to measure how users interact with your website’s phone number links and gain valuable insights into their behavior.Remember to regularly monitor your Google Analytics events to ensure that your setup is working correctly and make adjustments as needed to optimize your tracking setup for future campaigns.