Where is your website traffic coming from? How are visitors interacting with your site? Where is your site performing well, and where could it use improvement?
To answer these questions and analyze your website performance, you need clear attribution and detailed tracking. In other words, you need tag management, which lets you reliably collect first-party data.
Google Tag Manager can help. But it can do much more than just manage Google Analytics tags.
Below, we'll cover what both of these tools do best and explore how and why to use Google Tag Manager with third-party software.
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is an analytics tool that tracks traffic and activity on your website. It provides both real-time and historical reports that offer insight into:
- Total website traffic, including sources
- Number of new and returning users
- Engagement time across the site and per page
- Events like page views, scrolls, and clicks
- Ecommerce purchases and revenue
With Google Analytics 4, you can also access limited attribution data. It reveals the sources (e.g., ads, organic search, email, organic social media) that drive organic and paid traffic, helping you understand the customer journey.
GA4 collects data using first-party cookies. Once you install a unique snippet of JavaScript tracking code on your site, GA4 records users and event-based data across each page.
While GA4 automatically tracks standard events across your site, it also allows you to configure custom events. However, it has some limitations.
Namely, the process of adding tracking tags is time-consuming and often requires a developer. As a result, many website owners and marketers rely on Google Tag Manager to handle custom tags.
What Is Google Tag Manager?
Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that lets you create tracking tags on your site. It operates based on a combination of triggers and tags.
Triggers can include anything from page views and clicks to user engagement and custom events.
Tags can connect to a long list of Google products and third-party apps. For example, they can sync with your Google Analytics account, Google Ads account, Meta pixel, and many other tools.
Google Tag Manager also uses variables to add more detail. Variables can control when tags fire, and they can also capture values (e.g., from purchases).
While Google Tag Manager might sound complex, it's ideal for marketers and website owners who are less tech-savvy yet still need accurate tracking and attribution data.
It doesn't require you to update your website code every time you need to add or update a tag. And it doesn't require a developer either.
All you have to do is install the code snippet for your Google Tag Manager container on your website. Then, you can create and configure as many tags as you need directly from the Google Tag Manager interface.
Why You Might Use Google Tag Manager but not Google Analytics
Google Tag Manager isn't a replacement for Google Analytics. However, you don't need GA4 to use this tag manager successfully. Here are a few reasons you might use Google Tag Manager without Google Analytics.
You Want to Track Custom Events
GA4 gives you a limited set of options for tracking custom events. In contrast, Google Tag Manager helps you track a wide range of triggers.
For example, Google Tag Manager supports everything from element and link clicks to form submissions to YouTube video plays. It also supports custom events, giving you almost unlimited options.
Plus, Google Tag Manager makes it easy to organize and update tracking tags. You can set up folders or create templates for more efficient event tracking.
You Need Support for Third-Party Tags
Need to track data from Google Ads, Google Merchant Center, or your Meta pixel? GA4 won't be much help.
Instead, Google Tag Manager supports these tags and many more. With this tool, you can track events from:
- Analytics tools like GoodMetrics
- Conversion rate optimization (CRO) tools like AB Tasty and Crazy Egg
- Advertising pixels from Meta, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
There's no need to manipulate the code on your website every time you want to update the tracking information for these apps. Instead, you can use Google Tag Manager to make quick, code-free changes from a trusted tool.
Because Google Tag Manager is straightforward to use, it can help you improve attribution across the board.
You Prefer Other Web Analytics Tools
If you'd rather avoid using GA4, you aren't alone. GA4 has plenty of limitations, including:
- Privacy concerns, as it relies on cookies and doesn't offer an intuitive consent mode
- Sampled data, which fills in reporting gaps but can lead to lower accuracy
- Confusing interface that makes both setup and reporting challenging
Fortunately, Google Tag Manager works with other web analytics tools—including GoodMetrics. This allows you to use your web analytics tool of choice while tapping into Google Tag Manager's tracking power.
Final Thoughts
When you want to monitor website tracking and attribution analytics, you need a reliable solution that provides the data that matters to you and works with the tech you already use.
Google Tag Manager is a powerful tool that works with the Google ecosystem as well as with any number of third-party analytics tools. Its versatility makes it a smart choice, no matter which web analytics service you use.
When you connect GoodMetrics to Google Tag Manager, you get the data you need without the limitations of Google Analytics. Join the GoodMetrics waitlist and discover our better alternative to Google Analytics.