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How to Check if Google Tag Manager is Working

Introduction

Google Tag Manager (GTM) serves as a pivotal tool for marketers and website administrators to manage and deploy various tracking codes without the need for manual code implementation. However, it’s crucial to verify that GTM is correctly set up and functioning to ensure accurate data collection. In this detailed guide, we’ll take you through the step-by-step process of checking if Google Tag Manager is working seamlessly on your website.

How to Check if Google Tag Manager is Working? (By GTM’s Preview and Debug Mode)

To check if Google Tag Manager (GTM) is working using GTM’s Preview Mode, follow these steps:

STEP 1: Log in to Google Tag Manager

  1. Go to Google Tag Manager.

  2. Log in with your credentials to access your GTM account.

Once logged in, you will be directed to your GTM dashboard, where you can manage your tags, triggers, and variables.

STEP 2: Select Your Container

  1. In the GTM dashboard, you’ll see a list of containers you’ve set up.

  2. Select the “container” that you want to check. Containers are where your tags, triggers, and variables are stored for a specific website or app.

Now that you’ve selected your container, you can begin testing whether your tags are firing correctly.

STEP 3: Click on “Preview”

  1. In the top-right corner of your GTM interface, you’ll see the “Preview” button.

  2. Click on it to enter Preview Mode. This will open a dialog asking for the URL of your website.

Once you click Preview, GTM will activate a debug mode that allows you to test the tags on your website in real time.

STEP 4: Enter the Website URL

  1. Enter the URL of the website that you want to test in the dialog box.

  2. After entering the URL, click “Start”.

  3. GTM will automatically open your website in a new tab, but this time with Preview Mode enabled. This allows you to see tag firing behavior live as you interact with the page.

STEP 5: Use the Preview Mode Interface

Once Preview Mode is enabled, you will notice a debug console appear at the bottom of your website page. This panel will display helpful information to help you verify that GTM is working as expected:

  1. Tag Assistant: Shows a summary of which tags have fired and if there are any errors or warnings.

  2. Summary: Provides an overview of tags that fired or didn’t fire.

  3. Events: Displays a timeline of the different events (such as page loads, clicks, and form submissions) on your site and helps you see when specific tags were triggered.

  4. Variables: Lets you check the values of variables being used by GTM to control when tags fire.

  5. Tags: A detailed list of which tags fired or didn’t fire during your session.

This panel gives you complete visibility into what GTM is doing behind the scenes while you interact with your website.

STEP 6: Test the Tags

Now that you have the debug console visible, you can begin interacting with your website to check if the tags are working:

  1. Page View Tag: Try navigating to different pages and see if the Page View tag fires as expected. You can check this in the Tags section of the Preview Mode.
  2. Event Tags: Test any event tags, such as button clicks, form submissions, or custom events. Perform the action and verify that the related tag fires in the Tags section of the Preview Mode.

By checking these actions in real time, you can confirm whether GTM is working properly and whether your tags are firing as they should.

STEP 7: Review Tag Details

After performing your tests, go back to the Tags section of the Preview Mode:

  1. If a tag fired, you will see it listed here, along with the triggers and conditions that caused it to fire.

  2. If a tag did not fire, you can click on the tag to get more information. You may need to review the trigger associated with that tag to ensure it’s set up correctly.

This review helps identify any misconfigurations or errors in your tag setup, ensuring your tags only fire under the correct conditions.

STEP 8: Exit Preview Mode

Once you’re done testing, it’s time to exit Preview Mode:

  1. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where the Preview Mode debug console is displayed.

  2. Click the “Exit Preview” button to turn off Preview Mode and return to your normal website view.

By exiting Preview Mode, you stop the debugging process, and your site will return to its regular behavior.

How to Check if Google Tag Manager is Working? (By Google’s Tag Assistant)

To check if

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is working using Google’s Tag Assistant (a Chrome extension), follow these steps:

STEP 1: Install Google Tag Assistant Extension

  1. Open Google Chrome and go to the Chrome Web Store.

  2. Search for “Tag Assistant” or visit this link.

  3. Click Add to Chrome to install the extension.

  4. Once installed, you’ll see the Tag Assistant icon (a small blue tag) in the top-right corner of your Chrome browser.

STEP 2: Open Your Website

  1. After installing the Tag Assistant extension, open a new tab in Chrome.

  2. Navigate to the website where you have implemented Google Tag Manager (GTM) tags.

STEP 3: Activate Tag Assistant

  1. Click on the Tag Assistant icon in the top-right corner of your browser.

  2. When the dropdown opens, click on “Enable” to activate the extension for the current website.

STEP 4: Reload the Page

  1. After enabling Tag Assistant, reload the page on which GTM is set up to run.

This will allow Tag Assistant to analyze the tags present on the page and determine if they are firing correctly.

STEP 5: Check the Tag Assistant Report

  1. After the page reloads, click on the Tag Assistant icon again.

  2. The dropdown will show a report on the tags detected on the page. You will see a list of tags like:

    • Google Tag Manager (GTM)

    • Google Analytics (if implemented via GTM)

    • Other tags (e.g., Ads, Remarketing, etc.)

STEP 6: Review Tag Status

In the Tag Assistant report, you will see the status of each tag:

  1. Green (✔️): The tag is firing correctly and functioning as expected.

  2. Yellow (⚠️): There is a warning related to the tag, but it’s still firing.

  3. Red (❌): The tag is not firing, or there is a critical error.

  4. Blue: Tags that are detected but do not have any issues.

How to Check if Google Tag Manager is Working? (By Google Analytics 4 [GA4])

To check if Google Tag Manager (GTM) is working using Google Analytics 4 (GA4), follow these steps to ensure that your tags, triggers, and data layer are configured properly. GA4 will help you verify whether your GTM setup is tracking data as expected.

STEP 1: Log in to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

  1. Go to Google Analytics 4.
  2. Log in using your credentials.
  3. Select the GA4 property where you’ve set up the GTM container to track your website data.

STEP 2: Check Real-Time Data in GA4

  1. In your GA4 property, go to the “Realtime” report on the left-side navigation menu under “Reports”.

  2. Monitor Real-Time Data:

    • Visit the website you are testing on a separate tab.

    • As you perform actions on your website (e.g., navigating between pages, clicking buttons), you should see these actions show up in the Realtime report in GA4.

If your GTM setup is correct, you should see active users and their interactions listed in the Realtime report and If you don’t see any data, then it’s an indicator that GTM may not be working as expected.

STEP 3: Check GA4 Event Tracking in Real-Time

GA4 automatically tracks several events like page views, clicks, and scrolls by default, but you can also track custom events through GTM.

  1. In the Realtime report in GA4, under the “Events” section, check if the events that you’ve set up in GTM (such as form submissions or button clicks) appear.

For Example:

If you have a form submission event set up in GTM, check if that event shows up in the Realtime section under “Events”.

If the event appears in the report, that means the tag fired correctly through GTM and data is being sent to GA4 and If it doesn’t appear, check the GTM container to ensure the tag and trigger are correctly set up.

STEP 4: Use DebugView in GA4

GA4 has a feature called DebugView, which is useful for troubleshooting and confirming that events are firing from GTM.

  1. In GA4, go to the Admin section by clicking the gear icon in the lower-left corner.

  2. Under the Property column, select “DebugView”.

  3. Once in DebugView, visit your website (with GTM’s Preview Mode enabled), and perform actions that should trigger tags, such as navigating between pages, clicking buttons, or submitting forms.

If your tags are firing correctly through GTM, you’ll see the corresponding events and parameters appear in DebugView. If nothing appears in DebugView, it means that the GTM container is either not firing the tags, or there’s an issue with the GTM setup.

STEP 5: Verify Custom Events in GA4

If you’ve set up custom events in GTM (like button clicks, video views, etc.), you should verify that these are being tracked properly in GA4:

  1. Go to Realtime > Events.

  2. Look for your custom events listed there (e.g., button_click, form_submission, etc.).

Your custom events should appearing this list if your GTM setup is correct. If they don’t appear, it could be due to incorrect triggers or missing tags in your GTM setup.

STEP 6: Check for Data in GA4 Reports

Once you’ve verified that your GTM tags are firing correctly and sending data to GA4, wait for some time and check the relevant reports in GA4.

  1. Navigate to the “Engagement” > “Events” from your left side of your GA4.

  2. Look for the events you’ve setup (e.g., page views, clicks, form submissions).

  3. If the events are appearing in the reports, GTM is working and sending data correctly to GA4.

STEP 7: Use the GA4 Debugger (Optional)

To ensure that GA4 is receiving data correctly from GTM, you can use the Google Tag Assistant or the GA4 Debugger Chrome extension to see what data is being sent to GA4 in real-time.

  1. Install the GA Debugger Chrome extension from the chrome web store.

  2. Enable the extension and then visit your website. The console will log all GA4 events being sent to your property.

  3. You can open the browser’s developer tools and check the Console tab for the GA4 event data sent by GTM.

Summary

Verifying if Google Tag Manager is working effectively ensures that your tracking and analytics efforts are accurate. By following these steps, from confirming installation to testing individual tags and conversion tracking, you can be confident in the reliability of your GTM implementation.