How To Set Up Google Tag Manager

Learn about all you need to create your very own Google Tag Manager account

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So, you’ve heard about Google Tag Manager? Great! Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a fantastic tool to help you do all sorts of stuff on your website without needing to be a pro-coder, like tracking specific actions or events on your site and quickly uploading important snippets of code for other measuring tools like Google Analytics.

Before you can get to any of that, though, you need to get yourself set up. For starters, let’s run through how to make a GTM account.

How To Create A Google Tag Manager Account

Google has very kindly designed the process of creating a GTM account in a way that makes it as straightforward as possible.

Navigate to https://tagmanager.google.com/
Click on the blue Create Account button
On the new screen, add the name you want to give your account and select the country you are based in
Add the Container Name, which is specific to your website and sits in your Google Tag Manager account, and select the platform you will be using GTM for (website, iOS, Android, AMP, or Server)
Click Create
You’re sorted!

How To Add Google Tag Manager To Your Website

As I’m sure you were expecting, there isn’t one simple universal way to upload GTM onto your website. The way you get this great tool onto your site depends on the type of content management system (CMS) you are using – WordPress, Shopify, or Wix, for example – as there are slightly different options available out there.

Regardless of which method you use to upload GTM to your website, you will need one of two things; the container ID or the <header> and <body> codes.

The container ID, which is small code found in the top right of your GTM container and is formatted as GTM-XXXXXXX.

The <header> and <body> codes are two separate snippets of code that can be copied and added into the respective <header> and <body> sections of your site in order to upload GTM. These codes can be found by either clicking on the blue container ID in the top section of your GTM container, or by navigating to Install Google Tag Manager in the Admin section of your container.

Find A CMS Guide

Your best bet to start with when researching how to install GTM onto your website is to seek out a CMS specific guide online. These guides will be tailored to your specific platform, so with any luck they will be straightforward and easy to follow.

Some website platforms will have a built-in function that allows you to simply add either the GTM container ID or <header> and <body> codes in and away you go; so, it is well worth checking whether your CMS has its own step-by-step guide to installing GTM.

Get A Hand From A Plugin

Plugins are perhaps one of the quickest and simplest methods available when getting GTM onto your site. Basically, a plugin is a little piece of downloadable software that allows you to expand the functionality of your site, which can only be a good thing. This method is especially popular for WordPress websites, which can be largely dependent on plugins.

If you are using a WordPress CMS, there are a few plugin options available; but two popular free choices that are often used are Google Tag Manager for WordPress or Insert Headers and Footers. We’d recommend doing a bit of research yourself to see what option best suits you, though.

How To Check Google Tag Manager Is Loaded On Properly

The best way to see whether GTM has been properly loaded onto your website is by using Google’s clever little extension, Tag Assistant. The Google Tag Assistant extension quickly tells you, in the form of colourful happy and sad faces, whether any Google related tools – including Google Analytics – have been correctly loaded onto your website.

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