Google Tag Manager Community Templates

Introduction

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a tool that allows marketers to manage and deploy marketing tags on a website without modifying the code. Ingenious Technologies offers multiple GTM tag templates to simplify the tracking implementation process. These templates are more user-friendly than traditional coding methods and come with advanced features like defaults and fallbacks for enhanced accuracy.

What are GTM Community Templates?

Community templates are pre-made configurations in GTM that can be easily imported and used, saving time and ensuring best practices are followed. They are especially beneficial for those who might not have deep technical knowledge.

Getting Started

1. Before You Start

First, determine which events you'd like to track, such as leads or sales. Ensure your advertiser setup is complete, including setting up conversion targets and other configurations.

Information needed later in the process:

Advertiser id
Tracking domain

These can be found in your advertiser’s configuration settings or under Trail > Tracking Tags.

Example:

2. Basics: Good to Know

A typical tracking implementation involves two tags:

Onpage Tag: Should be on every public page and registers incoming clicks.
Conversion Tag: Should be on the thank-you page (or after a conversion event) and registers conversions.

Ingenious Technologies offers GTM tags that can replace both these tags, suitable for client-side and server-side implementations.

3. Downloading the Template

While our GTM community templates are under review and not yet in the Google Template Gallery, they can be accessed and downloaded from our public Github repository.

Download Instructions:

Right-click and save the template files on your computer.
All files are named temlate.tpl (as required by GTM).

4. Importing the Template into GTM

Go to “Templates” in GTM and click “New”.
Navigate to the Menu and select “Import”. Choose your template.tpl file to import.
Once imported, configure your tags as you would with any other GTM template.

Configuration & Setup

Once you've imported the templates, configuring your tags is similar to any other GTM template. Here's a breakdown of how the tags process data to create tracking calls:

Data Sources for Tag Configuration:

Variables: These are directly from the tag configuration.
First Party Cookies: Cookies stored on the user's browser related to your website.
DataLayer/Event Data: Information passed to GTM through the DataLayer or specific events triggered on the site.

Additionally, some variables have default values stored within the tag, ensuring there's always a value to fall back on.

Configuring your tags is similar to any other GTM template. Basically, just use your available placeholders.

Setting Up Variables

Configuring a variable in GTM is a seamless process:

Pre-defined Value: If you've specified a value in the tag settings, that value is prioritized.
DataLayer Check: In the absence of a pre-defined value, the tag checks the DataLayer for relevant information.
Default Value: If no value is found in the above steps, the tag reverts to its default value.

This flexible system ensures accurate tracking, even in complex setups, and facilitates easier testing of specific features.

Onpage Tracking Tag

This tag replaces the Onpage tag. It stores click-in data with a clickId parameter in a cookie. Additionally, tsc and tsv cookies are written and used in tracking requests.

Fields	Description	Default
Tracking Domain	The tracking domain can be a Third-Party Ingenious Tracking Domain, a First-Party Ingenious Tracking Domain or a GTM Serverside Domain. You can find it on the platform under "Partnerships -> Advertiser -> Settings".
Advertiser Id	You can find the advertiser ID on the platform under "Partnerships -> Advertiser -> Settings". Do not use the internal ID (mid).
Redirect Mode	Overwrites the corresponding partner-specific default setting. It controls the way in which forwardings are set up.	0
Customer Id	This specifies the internal customer ID from your system.
User Value 1	These fields are for free additional information. All formats are accepted.
User Value 2	These fields are for free additional information. All formats are accepted.
Site Id	A short description of the page.
Product Id	The unique identifier of the product. Use this, if this is a page that displays a specific product.
Timestamp	Usage for cache invalidation.	A timestamp is generated when the tag is executed.
Session Id	A session Id. The data type is string.
HTTP Referrer	The complete Browser-URL on which the user comes from.	The referrer header is used.
HTTP Location	The complete Browser-URL on which the tag was fired.	The current full URL is used.
Gdpr	Activates the general data protection regulation according to TCFv2.0
Gdpr Consent	The actual tcfv2.0 string

ECommerce Conversion Tracking Tag

This tag replaces the Ecommerce Conversion tag.

Fields	Description	Default
Tracking Domain	The tracking domain can be a Third-Party Ingenious Tracking Domain, a First-Party Ingenious Tracking Domain or a GTM Serverside Domain. You can find it on the platform under "Partnerships -> Advertiser -> Settings".	proxy.ingenious.cloud
Advertiser Id	You can find the advertiser ID on the platform under "Partnerships -> Advertiser -> Settings". Do not use the internal ID (mid).
Conversion Id	Unique conversion identifier from your system	gtmss_{currentTimestampMillis}
Conversion Target	Defines an event and its type, for example Sale, Appinstall, Newslettersignup.	sale
Tracking Currency	Determines the currency for all amounts.
Unique Id	The unique ID is used to identify conversions during the validation process.
Discount Value	This is the total net discount value. '0.00' is allowed.
Discount Code	This is the applied discount code.
Basket	The contents of the shopping cart consist of items containing the following values in JSON format
Session Id	A session Id. The data type is string.
Click Ids	A comma-separated list of click IDs.	uses _iclid Cookie
Gdpr	Activates the general data protection regulation according to TCFv2.0
Gdpr Consent	The actual tcfv2.0 string
Site Id	A short description of the conversion page.
Timestamp	Usage for cache invalidation.	Current Timestamp in Millis
HTTP Location	The complete Browser-URL on which the tag was fired.
Customer Id	This specifies the internal customer ID from your system.
Customer New	This specifies a new or existing customer. Use value 'true' for new customer or 'false' for existing customer.
Pay Method	Customer payment method, for example 'credit card' or 'paypal'.
User Value 1	These fields are for free additional information. All formats are accepted.
User Value 2	These fields are for free additional information. All formats are accepted.

Generating the 'basket' Variable Using a GTM Variable Template

The ECommerce Conversion Tracking Tag is crucial for capturing details about a purchase. One of the essential components of this tag is the basket variable, which holds the product details of a purchase.

The 'basket' in Ingenious Conversion Tracking

The 'basket' in Ingenious Conversion Tracking represents a collection of product details for items a user intends to purchase. Here's a basic breakdown:

pid: Product ID.
prn: Product name.
brn: Brand name.
prc: Product category.
pri: Price.
qty: Quantity.
trc: Tracking category.

Translating Shop Data to Ingenious Format

Most online shops have their own GTM variables for shopping details. To integrate with Ingenious, this data needs to be mapped to the Ingenious basket format. Essentially, it's about matching your shop's GTM variable fields to the corresponding fields in the Ingenious format for seamless integration and accurate tracking.

Working in GTM we recommend the strategy to work with a dedicated basket variable. There also is a template for this, to easily configure the basket:

1. Download the Variable Template:

Download the appropriate basket variable template here. Save it as file with the ending .tpl

2. Import the Variable Template into GTM:

Navigate to "Templates" from the left sidebar.
Click on the "New" button in the variable template section, go to the three dots and then select "Import."
Browse and select the downloaded variable template file.
Follow the on-screen instructions to successfully import the template.

3. Create the 'basket' Variable Using the Imported Template:

Once the template is imported, go to "Variables" from the left sidebar.
Click on the "New" button to create a new variable.
Name this variable "basket" or something descriptive.
For the variable type, select the imported template from the list of available templates.

4. Mapping Data in the Variable:

To start, fill in the variable that contains your basket information in the fields your basket:

Now you can proceed and provide the name of the variables, that represent the needed basket values. Only mandatory ones need to be filled in. In case not variable is available, just leave it empty.

Within the variable configuration, you'll see fields that correspond to the product details (e.g., Product ID, Product Name, Price, etc.). Fill in the name of your variable.

Example:

Fields	Description	Requirement
basket	Represents your basket variable in GTM with your own basket format and product information	Mandatory
position_order_number	optional: In case you want to have your own order number (1, 2, 3…)	Optional
position_uuid	Every position has a UUID in the Ingenious basket format. It usually is created by the Ingenious system. Only provide it, in case needed (e.g. for automated validation process) or if available anyways	Optional
product_id	Id of the product in your system	Recommended
name	Name of the product	Recommended
stock_keeping_unit	SKU	Optional
brand_name	brand	Optional
product_price	Price of the product. This price can be used for commissioning later. It should be without taxes, (unless tax must be included due to legal reasons). Price of one product (per piece), will be multiplied by quantity in the system later on.	Mandatory
quantity	quantity: How many products were purchased?!	Mandatory
tracking_category	alias of the tracking category (defined in the Ingenious system). You may leave this field empty. If left empty, `default` will be applied (works well in most cases)	Optional
discount_value	discount applied (of the whole position)	Optional
shipping_costs	Shipping costs (of the whole position)	Optional
tax	amount of tax (of the whole position)	Optional
product_category	Name of your product category or hierarchy in the shop.	Optional

More details and a description of each parameter can be found here: https://ingenioustechnologies.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/1440809027/Configuring+and+implementing+tracking+tags#Basket-tracking

Ensure that each field is correctly mapped to capture the desired product information.

5. Use the 'basket' Variable in the ECommerce Conversion Tracking Tag:

Navigate to "Tags" from the left sidebar.
Either create a new tag or edit an existing ECommerce Conversion Tracking Tag.
In the tag configuration, look in the section eCommerce settings for the field to select the basket variable. This will ensure that the tag captures the product details from the basket variable during a purchase event.
Save and test the tag to ensure it's capturing the product details correctly.

6. Publish Changes:

Don't forget to submit your changes to make them live.

By following this method, you can efficiently generate the basket variable in GTM using the new variable template and ensure accurate capture of product details during purchase events.

Example for server side implementation (sGTM)

In the provided illustration, we demonstrate a typical setup using Ingenious Tags:

Client-Side Installation: Both the Onpage Tag and the ECommerce Conversion Tag are set up on the client side.
Tracking Requests: These tags are tailored to direct their tracking requests to a server-side GTM container. This container is reachable through a first-party subdomain.
Server-Side Processing: Upon receiving these tracking requests, the server-side Ingenious client interprets them and transforms the requests into specific events.
Third-Party Integration: These Ingenious events can then activate third-party tags, allowing for a more integrated tracking system.
Server-Side Firing: Notably, while the Ecommerce Conversion Tag initiates from the server side, the Onpage Tag also triggers server-side, channeling the requests further into the Ingenious infrastructure.