If you have a business online then Google Tag Manager is your lifeline!
For the uninitiated, Google Tag Manager or GTM is a tag management system that allows you to install scripts, tags, and other important snippets of codes directly to your website without the need of developers. Additionally, GTM allows you to implement custom tags and events.
Previously, event tracking involved adding code snippets to a website to get user-related activities such as video interactions, form submissions or button clicks. All this would be implemented by website developers. GTM is a powerful tool for marketers and allows for real-time tracking updates.
How to optimize your website using Google Tag Manager and track users?
In addition to the basic report system within Google Analytics, GTM offers you the tools to track and capture user interactions on your website or app. As Google Analytics only captures data (unless instructed otherwise) whenever a page is loaded, it can be difficult to understand user interactions without the use of custom events.
User interaction with your site or app will help you make informed business decisions and optimize your website. Understanding how users are interacting is more important if you are creating a new website or app. Remember, it is important to understand what works for your users and not what benefits your company’s goals.
Make sure to optimize your website and online marketing efforts to keep your ROI high and maximize their effectiveness.
Most websites see a conversion rate of around 1-4% when it comes to transactions and often focus on the minority that completes the form or transaction. So what about the remaining 96%? Did they convert? Where did they go?
When you track user interactions through your customer journeys, you get the ability to measure how successful each stage of the conversion journey truly is. The insights you gain from tracking engagement will show you if users are engaging with your blog content or if they are using and spending resources on something that is not benefitting your company.
What can you track in GTM?
Events such as PDF downloads, link clicks, add to cart click, remove from cart click
Scroll tracking
Form abandonment
Shopping cart abandonment
Video views tracking
All exit link clicks
Google Tag Manager audit you should do
Out of stock item: How often are your items out of stock? How often does this happen? If you are facing such a situation, you can consider increasing the levels of your stock.
Zero search results: Are your users searching for products that do yield any results? This may happen if there is a gap between your product offerings or content.
Downloads: What type of files are your users downloading? Are they showing a lot of interest in your downloads? You can help it easier for your users to find your downloads and see if it increases the number of downloads.
404 Pages: Does your website have dead pages? How are your users navigating such pages? Error/dead pages indicate broken areas in your site map.
Videos: Are your users watching your videos? Is it improving your conversion rate?This will help you determine if you should create more video content or not.
Tracking Form Errors: In which field are the errors most common? Can you modify the forms to make it easier for your users to complete? This will help you understand the roadblocks your consumers are facing in their path-to-purchase.
User Buckets: Is a particular user a high-value customer? Should you think of investing more into remarketing for such customers?
Conclusion
The best way to increase conversion is to first understand your data. Google Tag Manager helps you understand exactly how your users are engaging with your platforms without involving site developers.
Use the above tips and checklist to develop insight into how optimizations can be made to your site or app. By continuously tracking qualitative data and implementing them on your websites and apps, you can increase your ROI and also make it easier for your users to purchase your products and improve the time spent on your page.