How to Track Conversions Using Google Tag Manager

Tag manager is a great tool for those who want to track the actions users make on their website! But many people are not sure about how they can get the maximum of it. Now, if you are curious about ways of tracking conversions and other users’ actions you came to the right place!

If you want to run a successful business, you need to grow and improve your marketing strategies. Today, it isn’t as simple as it was twenty, or even maybe fifteen years ago. Back then, it was enough to start a business, hand out flyers, send newsletters, etc. If your service or products were attractive enough this would be the only thing you need to get on the road to success. Things are very different these days. 

First of all, you need to ensure online presence, a majority of people worldwide use the internet almost nonstop. Then, you have to have strategies that will allow you to be up to date with your user’s needs, desires, complaints, etc. Hence, if you are running marketing strategies on your website and you want users to complete some actions, you need to be able to track their effectiveness. 

But then the question is how to install the Tag manager? How to begin tracking?  If you are wondering about it, this is your lucky day! In today’s post, we are going to talk about tag setup, conversions, and many other things you may find useful.  You will find this information helpful regardless of whether you want to get more information on the real money guide or something else. 

What Is a Conversion? 

It is quite possible that some of the people reading this don’t know what exactly conversions are!  If you are new to this topic we are going to explain it now! If you already know everything about conversions and are more curious about Tag configuration and other aspects of Tag manager, feel free to skip this part. 

So, conversions are important actions between your website and a visitor that you want the visor to complete. Technically, we can say that there are micro and macro conversions.  In the first case, the conversion happens when someone who was visiting your website, decides to subscribe to a newsletter, etc.  Nonetheless, most people are interested in macro conversions, i. e, in readers becoming customers/clients. 

Tracking conversions, i.e., seeing how many readers subscribe to your website, etc., or become your customers, allows you to understand what works for your business and what doesn’t.  For example, you can follow what are your buyers’ interests, what are they doing, and so on.  Additionally, your conversions serve you to understand which parts of your marketing campaigns are effective and which need improvement. 

Installing Google Tag Manager 

Before you start tracking conversions you need to install Tag manager. The first step is to create a GTM account. Then add a name – generally speaking, it should be your business name or a name that people can link to your business.  Once you are done with that, create more containers within your account. Keep in mind that they need to be connected to a specific domain or subdomain Put your website URL as a container name.  After that, choose Web for standard setup and click Create. A box with a code that you need to add to your site will pop up.  Then you will see the option to add the URL you want to add. Do it and click to start Tag assistant. 

Getting the Tracking Code 

This part depends on the vendor you use.  Hence to get the ID you have to check for specific rules. Once you do get the ID, you have to create New tag, For example, if you are using Google AdSense,  you need to go to Tags/ New/ Google Ads Conversion tracking, paste the tag ID and save it  Each time you want to replace the Old tag, you will have to repeat this process.

Set the Conversion Tag to Activate 

Many people find this part a bit more challenging. Generally speaking, it depends on the way the website is coded. With that in mind, it is essential to point out that you might need professional support to complete this part.  The main thing here is to understand what should activate the conversion. Should it be activated when someone makes a purchase? Or when a user submits a form or clicks on something?  The list of actions that are important for your business may vary, and thus the configuration will vary too. 

Additional Data 

When you are using some platforms, such as Google Ads, it sort of makes sense to use additional conversion data. For example, you may want to know what was the order total?  This kind of data enables you to have a clear picture of how much you invested in campaigns and the revenue they brought. Keep in mind, however, that you will need developers’ input in this case.

That is because there isn’t order confirmation data on most websites. Hence the developer needs to make it in another program.  We know that all this sounds super confusing! Generally, it takes time to get a full hold on how GTM tag functions, so the best is to stick with the basics for some time and slowly progress. 

GTM Conversion Tracking Examples

So far we just talked about the theory behind the Google analytics tag. So, one can say that it is not a surprise that it is confusing. Now let’s try to clarify things using some practical examples. 

Google Ads Conversion Tracking 

So first you need to go to your account at ads.google.com. Once you are logged, go to Tools &Settings  > Conversions>Create a New Conversion>get Conversion Label and Conversion ID. After that, go to the GTM interface to create Google Ads Conversion Tag and paste the IDs.

In the end, you will also need to create a Google Conversion Linker tag so your setup is as accurate as it gets. 

Facebook Conversion Tracking 

If you want to send conversions to Facebook you need to follow several steps. Here is how to do it. 

• Install Facebook Pixel tag template and add it to Google Tag Manager container.
• Get the Pixels ID from the Facebook business manager. 
• Paste the ID in the pixel tag. 
• Activate the tag whenever there is a conversion
• You can send other data, such as products that people purchased, etc. 

If you want to get even more accurate tracking of conversions, you can use Facebook event tracking with server-side GTM containers and Facebook API. 

Microsoft Ads Conversion Tracking 

So basically when you track Bing Ads aka Microsoft Ads you need to create a UET tag (Universal Event Tracking tag) in your Microsoft Ads account and get the ID. After that, you need to create the tag in the GTM and paste the ID. Apart from that, you can also send the conversion value. 

Generally, if the conversion occurs based on visits then you can do practically the entire setup in your Microsoft Ads account. 

Tracking Conversions on Twitter 

In the of many, Twitter is becoming more and more popular and as such can be used for marketing campaigns too. So, this is what you need to do if you are tracking conversions on Twitter. 

• First, create a Twitter Ads account and get the pixel ID.
• Create a Universal Website tag and paste the ID. 
• If you want you can send additional data. 

So, we came to the end of our text about was to track conversion in Tag manager.  Does it still sound perplexing?  Generally, the best way to understand how it all functions is to start using it.  The dry theory that we talked about here, serves just to give you some ideas on how to start. Have you used Google tag manager before? What are your experiences? 

Author’s Bio:

Arthur Rowley is an avid writer specializing mostly in technology and marketing. Having spent years finessing his craft, he now can ensure you that Arthur has much acclaim for these areas and dedication to providing high-quality blogging content.