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Master Tag Manager with Google’s Analytics Academy

Web Analytics remains a core component of a Digital Strategy by allowing marketers to connect the dots and understand their website performance. We use Google Analytics daily to measure website and marketing campaign effectiveness. Google Analytics provides the digital marketer with an essential tool set of data and reporting.

 

A website tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (ex: digital image, file) that allows for an item to be described and found again by browsing or using a search engine. Tags are a crucial facet of an ideally optimized website as Tag Strategy can impact one’s SEO score and conversion rates, and measure ecommerce, analytics and advertising efforts.

 

Tag Manager, a free online Google service, provides “fast and flexible” digital marketing within reach. This reliable application allows marketers to instantly add and update website tags, putting marketing managers in the driver’s seat without having to wait for items such as monthly code updates. With the use of streamlined Google technology on Tag Manager, marketers will have access to a multitude of meaningful information across a wide variety of domains, allowing marketers to take charge of their campaigns and make smart, strong decisions.

Tag Manager image

Mastering Tag Manager boosts a digital marketer to another level, but how other than trial and error does one learn to excel in it?

 

Earlier this summer, Google announced Analytics Academy, a free online service for those looking to improve their skill level and working knowledge of Google Analytics products. One of the  five of the courses offered, Google Tag Manager Fundamentals, seeks to accomplish just this. Google Tag Manager Fundamentals provides students with a strong foundation for tag implementation.

 

A valuable aspect of this course is that it teaches students how to use and integrate tools like Google Analytics or Google AdWords with their websites. Integrating your website directly with Google products streamlines the data collection process and the development of a digital advertising strategy. It is important to find a happy medium with the number of tags on a website: too many tags can slow down or break a website, yet too few tags limits the ability to fully understand campaign performance.

 

Balance

 

Additionally, the Google Tag Manager Fundamentals course walks students through the development of a Tag Measurement plan and development of a Tag strategy. Through the progression of the course, the following skills will be discussed:


  • How to create website tags
  • How to manage firing triggers
  • How to enhance your implementation of Google Analytics
  • Introduction to Data Layer (the means to pass information from your site to Google) and how this data can be valuable
  • How to configure AdWords Conversion Tracking
  • How to configure Dynamic Remarketing
  • How to improve website performance and stability
  • How to update and deploy tags quickly and efficiently
  • How to manage marketing and remarketing efforts

 

While these skills are examined in the desktop format, the concepts may be applied to mobile as well.

 

Google on smartphone screen


This course is ideal for marketers, analysts and developers who want to learn more about tags, and simplify the “tag implementation and management process.” This simplification process increases ten-fold when a website is integrated with Google products–streamlining the Data Layer means of data collection from the site directly into your Analytics and/or AdWords account.

 

Additionally, courses in Mobile App Analytics Fundamentals, Ecommerce Analytics: From Data to Decisions, Google Analytics Platform Principles, Digital Analytics Fundamentals are offered. All courses may be taken at each individual student’s pace through self-study. The courses, taught by Google digital analytics experts, employ lesson plans and hypothetical situations, asking students to react as though it were their campaign and develop a strong Digital Strategy as a result. Students are evaluated through the completion of short quizzes and practice exercises.

 

Once the course is completed, certification exams can be taken. If passed, certification is awarded. Individuals then may engage other industry leaders in online forums on Google+.

 

web analytics


In addition to Tag Management, a foundational component of analyzing web data is insight into digital campaign performance, including SEM, SEO, Social Media Marketing and Email Marketing.  We also gain insights into user engagement, content performance, event tracking, conversions and ecommerce and much more.  By selecting different date ranges and comparing timeframes, we can identify trends and patterns including seasonality and geographic behavior.

 

To learn more about Analytics Academy courses, visit their official website here.

 

Contact us to learn more about what Google Paid Search and Digital Strategy can do for your business today. To learn more about how to capitalize on the growing mobile market, visit our Digital Marketing Blog here.