June 8, 2021
Ultimate list of 90+ Google Tag Manager Resources
Updated: June 8th, 2021
Lately, I was checking my Evernote account and remembered I had bookmarked a lot of various Google Tag Manager resources – including my favorite blog posts, people to follow, recipes, etc. That folder is constantly updated and becomes really useful when I forget how something should be implemented. Today I am sharing that entire folder with you (+ a few additional updates).
These resources (and people behind them) helped me a lot with their awesome content. Learning Google Tag Manager today is much easier for a non-developer (like me), compared to 2013 (Current UI is better than v1; in 2013 there was too little information/tutorials). Currently, there are tons of Google Tag Manager resources that beginners can use to achieve their success. And that amount is growing exponentially (which is awesome)!
So I compiled everything that was useful for me, categorized and sorted those resources. This blog post is designed for beginners (with a few advanced tips and resources). I hope you’ll find this useful!
What is Google Tag Manager and why should you use?
Let’s start at the very beginning. If you don’t know what GTM is and whether you need it (the default answer is of course, you do!), check out the links below.
#1. 11 reasons to start using Google Tag Manager
#2. Google Tag Manager tutorial for beginners (+ Free Ebook)
#3. Google Support – Google Tag Manager by Google
#4. Google Tag Manager tutorial (video)
Are you now convinced that GTM should be included in your stack of Digital Analytics tools? I bet you are. Let’s continue.
Main concepts, naming conventions, installing Google Tag Manager
Disclaimer – on September 28, 2016, Google announced that official recommendation for placement of Google Tag Manager’s Container snippet has changed. Previously it was recommended (by Google) to place the entire code right after the <body> tag. Now that opinion has shifted: a part of the code should be placed in <head> and the noscript part should be placed in <body>. The following two blog posts discuss the impact of placing the code in <head>. Nonetheless, if you inject the code right after <body> tag, Google Tag Manager will still work.
#5. How To Install Google Tag Manager
#6. Google Tag Manager Structure
#7. Naming conventions and setup tips
#8. Google Tag Manager Naming Strategies to Organize Your Container
#9. Google Tag Manager Best Practices
#10. Tag Manager Workspaces
#11. Google Tag Manager Updates: Workspaces and User Interface
Tags, Triggers and Variables
#12. Tags, Triggers, Variables
VARIABLES
#13. Use constant string user-defined variables
#14. Variables
#15. Variable Guide For Google Tag Manager
#16. JavaScript Variable
#17. 7 Must-Have Google Tag Manager Custom Variables
#18. Auto-event variable
TRIGGERS
#19. Trigger guide for Google Tag Manager
#20. Trigger groups in GTM
TAGS
#21. Tag Setup Guides
#22. Tags, Triggers, Variables
#23. What to do if tags are not working?
Measurement plan, tag plan
#24. Measurement plan
Do you want to test your current Google Tag Manager knowledge (+ learn a bit more with practical tasks)? Then check out #25. Google Tag Manager Fundamentals course.
Thriving for more knowledge? Continue reading.
Data Layer
#26. What is dataLayer in Google Tag Manager?
#27. Custom event trigger
#28. Data Layer Variable
#29. 3 Ways To Pull Data from Data Layer with Google Tag Manager
#30. The Google Tag Manager dataLayer explained
Google Tag Manager + Google Analytics
#31. Google Tag Manager Tutorial for Beginners + Free E-book
#32. Google Analytics vs Google Tag Manager: What’s the Difference?
#33. Google Analytics 4 tutorial + GTM
#34. Cross-Domain Tracking with Google Tag Manager
#35. How to track events with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics
#36. Advanced – Google Tag Manager event tracking using data attribute elements
#37. Advanced – Setting Google Analytics Fields In GTM
Google Tag Manager + Google Ads
#38. Setting Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads
#39. Install Google Ads Remarketing Tag
#40. Advanced – Setting up Dynamic Remarketing via Google Tag Manager
#41. Google Ads Call Conversion Tracking with Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager plays well with others too
#42. Pinterest Pixel + Google Tag Manager: Complete Guide
#43. Install and configure Facebook Pixel via Google Tag Manager
#44. Install and configure Hotjar with Google Tag Manager
#45. Supported Tag Templates by Google
#46. Community gallery of Google Tag Manager templates
Still hungry for more Google Tag Manager Resources? If yes, continue reading. If no – I suggest bookmarking this list for the future.
Click Tracking – Default auto-event listeners
#47. Tracking outbound links with GTM
#48. Track buttons with Google Tag Manager
#49. Track accordion clicks
#50. Matches CSS selector Operator in Triggers
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
In my opinion, basic knowledge of Regular Expressions (Regex or Regexp) is a must-have skill when working with Google Tag Manager (i.e. setting up triggers) or Google Analytics (i.e. settings up custom filters). Make sure you check out the next 4 resources.
#51. Beginner’s Guide to Regular Expression (Regex)
#52. RegEx guide for Google Analytics and Tag Manager
#53. An Introduction to regular expressions and the ABCs. It’s an interactive guide with practical tasks.
#54. Regular expressions 101. I use this web-based app to test and validate my regular expressions. Extremely useful.
Form Tracking
#55. Track Form Submissions With Google Tag Manager
#56. Form Field Tracking with Google Tag Manager and an Auto Event Trigger
#57. Track form submission timing
History, Errors, Timer, Scroll – Default Auto-event Listeners
#58. Track URL Fragments As Pageviews
#59. Tracking single page web apps with Google Tag Manager and Analytics
#60. Track errors with Google Tag Manager
#61. Combine multiple triggers with Trigger groups
#62. The Timer Trigger
#63. Track Scroll Depth with GTM and GA4
Custom Auto-event Listeners (Twitter, AJAX, etc.)
#64. Google Tag Manager Form Tracking: 7 Ways To Reach Your Goal
#65. Video tracking (beyond Youtube)
#66. Solved: Youtube tracking isn’t working with Google Tag Manager. I faced a problem when Cardinal Path’s or Lunametrics’ Youtube tracking solutions didn’t work for me. This blog post describes an alternative solution that might help you.
#67. Hover Tracking in Google Tag Manager
#68. Free AJAX Event Listener for Google Tag Manager
#69. Track page translations
P.S. You can find more Custom Auto-Event Listeners in the library of Free GTM Recipes.
Versions, Deployment, Testing, QA
#70. How to Publish a Single Tag (and not others) in Google Tag Manager
#71. Better QA With Google Tag Manager Environments
#72. Deploying Google Tag Manager on Multiple Website Environments
#73. Process Control: Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager in Development and Live Environments
Tools
#74. Google Tag Manager Extensions for Google Chrome
#75. GTM debugging tips
#76. GTM DataLayer Sifter: Find The Data You Want Easily
#77. Facebook Pixel Helper
#78. A Guide to Google Tag Manager Preview and Debug Mode
Google Tag Manager + SEO
#79. Verify your site in Search Console (ex. Webmaster Tools) by Google. Not working? Try this
#80. Using Google Tag Manager to Dynamically Generate Schema/JSON-LD Tags
#81. Dynamically Added Meta Data Indexed By Google Crawlers
#82. Error Tracking with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics
Server-side tagging
#83. A friendly introduction to server-side tagging in GTM
#84. Custom loader of the GTM container
#85. Facebook Conversions API + GA4 client
#86. Write data from GTM directly to Google BigQuery
Recipes
#87. The Ultimate Library of Google Tag Manager Recipes (ready-made containers with tags and triggers). Just download them and import them to your container.
If you know any other collections of GTM recipes, hit me up! I’ll add it here.
Communities
Join these communities if you want to be the first to hear the GTM news, solve your problems or get some new ideas.
#88. Google Tag Manager Community on Facebook (Recommended)
#89. Official Google Tag Manager Forum
#90. GTM Reddit
#91. Measure Slack
Google Tag Manager Resources: Final words
Ok, so what’s next?
- If you haven’t already, check out at least a few entries on this list.
- Bookmark this list for the future.
- Join GTM communities and start following GTM people/blog of your choice.
- Continue learning.
- Profit.
1 COMMENT
This is beyond awesome man. Thank you so much.