5 Less-known GTM and Google Analytics Chrome Extensions + Bonus

Less than 6 months ago, I have published a list of Top Google Tag Manager Chrome Extensions and it received really positive feedback. Actually, I am not surprised because a good extension is always useful. It saves time, therefore, it saves money. #CaptainObvious

So after the success of the aforementioned blog post, I decided to start gathering a new list. I already had one or two items but the list was a bit too short for another article, so I started digging, asking questions in forums, googling what are the less known GTM and Google Analytics Chrome Extensions.

The term “less known” represents my point of view. The extension might be one of the most popular plugins EVER but it still can make this list if I haven’t tried it before.

Although my draft list contained 10+ extensions, I ditched those which were “meh” and narrowed it down to 5. So without further ado, here’s the list of less-known Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics Chrome Extensions. Let me know in the comments if I missed some of your favorites.

#1. GTM Variable Builder

This useful plugin enables you to easily create Custom JavaScript variables which retrieve values of particular website elements. If you’re not familiar with DOM variable, feel free to use this extension.

How does it work? Open JavaScript console in Chrome, highlight any element on a website and click extension’s icon. What you’ll get is the JavaScript function that should be used in a GTM Custom JavaScript variable.

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#2. GTM Variable Inserter

Update: this plugin has become irrelevant on February 2018 because GTM developers have released a feature which shows a list of all variables once you type double curly brackets {{ in the editor of Custom HTML tag).

Julian from Measureschool published his first Chrome Extension and it’s pretty awesome. If you’re working a lot with Custom HTML tag and try to insert GTM variables, you already understand the hassle of constantly switching between tabs/views, trying to copy and paste the exact variable name (otherwise it just won’t work).

The GTM Variable Inserter lets you easily access your existing Variables in a Custom HTML tag. Simply right-click to see the available Variables and choose to insert the {{Variable}} in that place. A small but helpful GTM improvement.

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#3. Data Layer Checker

Another extension to help you easier debug what’s happening in the Data Layer. But unlike Data Slayer or Data Layer Inspector, this plugin enables you to check the Data Layer without having to use the browser console.

Which one is better, you ask? Well, it’s up to you. Try all 3 and see which one fits your needs the best. My personal favorite is Data Layer Inspector because it also offers a bunch of other features, like injecting GTM container (which replaces Tag Manager Injector plugin).

But if you don’t need the Swiss army knife and just want to debug the Data Layer, maybe Data Layer Checker could be your choice.

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#4. Copy CSS Selector

If you’re regularly working with Matches CSS Selector operator in Google Tag Manager, then this extension is for you. Why is it useful? If you struggle with CSS Selectors or just want to save time, Copy CSS Selector will do the work for you. Just right-click the website element you wish to track, hit Copy CSS Selector, and paste the selector in your Google Tag Manager Trigger.

If you don’t know what CSS Selectors are, read this Simo Ahava’s guide. They are especially useful (but not limited to) when you want to track clicks of a particular website element which has no ID and shares the same CSS Class as several other elements.

Learning some basics of CSS Selectors opened new possibilities for me, so you should definitely dig in too.

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#5. PII Viewer

Sending personally identifiable information (PII) to Google Analytics is strictly prohibited, but sending a unique user ID isn’t. This extension allows you to map the user ID stored in Google Analytics to locally stored PII such as name and email address.

Rather than building your own custom integration to map this data together, you can simply reference a locally stored CSV file and let this Chrome extension do the hard work. This means that you fully comply with the Google Analytics privacy policy, but get to understand your visitor data.

Julian from Measureschool has mentioned this extension in one of his videos.

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Bonus – UTM Builder by Effin Amazing

Although this extension is not directly related to Google Analytics, it simplifies marketer’s and web analyst’s work. Not only does it enable you to create links with UTM parameters (without leaving the browser tab), but it also allows you to save link presets for future use. Simply great!

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Conclusion

That’s it! In this really quick blog post, I’ve shared 5 less known Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics Chrome extensions which are an easy way to make you more productive and efficient.

By the way, if you haven’t already, go ahead and check the list of 12 Top Google Tag Manager Chrome Extensions (I bet you’ll learn something new there).

What are your favorite GTM or Google Analytics Chrome Extensions? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.