Analytics

One of the big mysteries in browser-based data collection platforms like Google Analytics is what happens when the visitor is not being tracked. This is most obvious in cases where the user explicitly opts out of tracking, when the user does not have JavaScript active in their browser, in bounced sessions, and on exit pages. Opt-outing means that the user explicitly prohibits a website from tracking them. In some cases, it’s possible that opt-out is the default, and the user must explicitly opt-in to allow GA to record their visits. Read More…

(UPDATE 3 Apr 2017: There is a newer version of GTM Tools out, so please ignore this article and read this one instead.) So, the time has come to update my GTM Tools. I released the first toolset in October 2014, and it performed its duties just well enough. Sure, the UI was ugly as hell, and there were bugs along the way, but for cloning containers, macros, and rules, and for visualizing containers, it was just good enough. Read More…

Google has a myriad of ways to make the search engine results page (SERP) livelier. When you input a search query, the engine’s mission is to provide you with the most relevant information with as few clicks as possible. Often, this means that you’ll see the answer to your query directly in the SERP: See also Dr. Pete’s excellent description of variation in the SERP (note that this post is from 2013, and not all the data types are relevant today). Read More…

(Updated 21 February 2019) The current version of Google Tag Manager was released in October 2014. With the release, we saw a brand-spanking new UI, a lot of new functionalities (revamped auto-event tracking, for example), plus a new terminology to cope with. We moved away from the programming-centric concepts of Macros and Rules to the more tactile variables and triggers. It’s difficult to rank the changes. The new Auto-Event Tracking is perhaps most impactful, but the improvements done to triggers and variables, when compared to the previous version of GTM, require attention as well. Read More…

My fingers have been tingling to write this article. Ever since I implemented Enhanced Ecommerce on my blog a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been getting such an impressive amount of useful data that it’s mind-boggling. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps I went to implement the solution, along with examples of the data I can now access through Google Analytics’ reporting interface. As you might have guessed, if you’ve read my articles before, I implemented Enhanced Ecommerce with Google Tag Manager. Read More…

Updated 27 March 2019 In the new version of Google Tag Manager, one of the most visible and profound changes to the previous version is how tags are fired (and blocked). First of all, there’s the obvious terminological distinction: we talk about triggers now, not rules. Second, triggers have become an integral part of the tag creation workflow, and as such have far more significance in the user interface than before. Read More…

One of the recurring problems in migrating to Google Tag Manager is how to make the transition as smooth as possible. Usually it requires that we agree with the developers on a time when the old code is removed, and at that moment we need to make sure the GTM tags point to the right UA code. This is, of course, only one use case for migrations, as some people do the entire migration in a staging environment, and some just don’t care if they lose a little bit of data along the way. Read More…

When our good friends in the Google Tag Manager developer team first introduced the Lookup Table Macro, we were excited. For many of us, it soon became the weapon of choice especially when used as a management and optimization tool for the container itself. However, the macro wasn’t considered perfect. In fact, the most frequently heard request had to do with the core functionality of the feature itself: the macro should support operations, that is, predicate logic. Read More…

If you use Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, or any JavaScript-based data collection or analytics platform, have you ever stopped to wonder how they actually work? I mean, you obviously care about getting the data in, but are you taking the machinations of these tools for granted? This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long while, because I’m not so sure that many who work with these platforms actually understand how the browser and the web page interact. Read More…

In the new version of Google Tag Manager, auto-event tracking has received a considerable usability upgrade. It might seem quirky at first, especially if you’re used to the old auto-event tracking method, but the logic behind the new setup is brilliant. The most important distinction is that auto-event tracking isn’t something you control with separate tags anymore. Rather, it’s now entirely trigger-driven, meaning you activate and specify the auto-event tracking of your choice using tag triggers (triggers are what ye olde folk used to call rules). Read More…