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Google Tag Manager GTM Setup Verification Guide

posted 4 min read

GTM Setup Verification Guide

Method 1: GTM Preview Mode (Most Comprehensive)

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Open GTM Console

  2. Enable Preview Mode

    • Click the "Preview" button in the top-right corner
    • GTM will generate a preview URL

  3. Test Your Website

    • Open the preview URL in a new tab
    • Your website will load with GTM debug panel at the bottom

  4. Verify Events

    • The debug panel shows all events being fired
    • You should see events like:
      • page_view
      • form_field_focus
      • button_click
      • scroll_depth
      • section_view

  5. Test Interactions

    • Fill out the form
    • Click buttons
    • Scroll through the page
    • Navigate between sections
    • Watch events appear in real-time

Method 2: Browser Developer Tools

Check GTM Container Loading:

  1. Open Developer Tools (F12)
  2. Go to Network Tab
  3. Refresh the page
  4. Look for GTM requests:
    • googletagmanager.com/gtm.js
    • googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-5XFLRN8P

Check dataLayer:

  1. Open Console Tab
  2. Type: window.dataLayer
  3. Press Enter
  4. You should see an array with events

Test Event Tracking:

// In browser console, test manually:
window.dataLayer.push({
    'event': 'test_event',
    'event_category': 'test',
    'event_action': 'verification'
});

Method 3: GTM Container Verification

Check Container Code:

  1. Verify Head Code (in index.html):

    <!-- Google Tag Manager -->
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-5XFLRN8P');</script>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->

  2. Verify Body Code (in index.html):

    <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->
<noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5XFLRN8P"
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->

Method 4: Event-Specific Testing

Test Each Event Type:

  1. Page View Event:

    • Open website
    • Check console for: GTM Event: page_view

  2. Form Events:

    • Click on form fields
    • Submit the form
    • Check for: form_field_focus, form_submission, form_success

  3. Button Events:

    • Click various buttons
    • Check for: button_click, cta_button_click, demo_button_click

  4. Navigation Events:

    • Click navigation links
    • Check for: navigation_click

  5. Scroll Events:

    • Scroll through the page
    • Check for: scroll_depth, section_view

Method 5: GTM Container Status Check

In GTM Console:

  1. Container Status:

    • Should show "Published" status
    • Check for any errors in container

  2. Tags Configuration:

    • Verify tags are set up to trigger on your events
    • Check tag firing rules

  3. Triggers:

    • Ensure triggers are configured for your events
    • Test trigger conditions

  4. Variables:

    • Verify data layer variables are set up
    • Check variable configurations

Method 6: Real-Time Testing

Using Google Analytics (if connected):

  1. Open Google Analytics
  2. Go to Real-Time > Events
  3. Interact with your website
  4. Watch events appear in real-time

Using GTM Real-Time:

  1. In GTM Console
  2. Go to Preview Mode
  3. Interact with website
  4. Watch events in debug panel

Common Issues & Solutions

Issue 1: GTM Not Loading

Symptoms: No GTM requests in Network tab
Solutions:

  • Check container ID is correct
  • Verify GTM code is in <head> section
  • Check for JavaScript errors

Issue 2: Events Not Firing

Symptoms: No events in dataLayer
Solutions:

  • Check JavaScript console for errors
  • Verify trackEvent function is working
  • Test with manual dataLayer.push()

Issue 3: Events Firing but Not Reaching GTM

Symptoms: Events in dataLayer but not in GTM
Solutions:

  • Check GTM container is published
  • Verify trigger configurations
  • Test in preview mode

Issue 4: Duplicate Events

Symptoms: Same event firing multiple times
Solutions:

  • Check for duplicate event listeners
  • Verify event tracking logic
  • Use event deduplication in GTM

✅ Verification Checklist

  • [ ] GTM container loads without errors
  • [ ] dataLayer is accessible in console
  • [ ] Page view event fires on load
  • [ ] Form events fire on interaction
  • [ ] Button click events fire
  • [ ] Scroll depth events fire
  • [ ] Navigation events fire
  • [ ] Events appear in GTM preview mode
  • [ ] No JavaScript errors in console
  • [ ] GTM container is published

️ Debugging Commands

Console Commands for Testing:

// Check if GTM is loaded
console.log('GTM Loaded:', typeof window.dataLayer !== 'undefined');

// Check dataLayer contents
console.log('DataLayer:', window.dataLayer);

// Manually trigger an event
window.dataLayer.push({
    'event': 'manual_test',
    'event_category': 'debug',
    'event_action': 'console_test'
});

// Check GTM container ID
console.log('GTM ID:', 'GTM-5XFLRN8P');

// Test trackEvent function
if (typeof trackEvent === 'function') {
    trackEvent('test_event', {test: true});
}

Expected Events in GTM

When testing, you should see these events:

  1. Page Load:

    • page_view

  2. Form Interactions:

    • form_field_focus
    • form_field_blur
    • form_submission
    • form_success

  3. Button Clicks:

    • button_click
    • cta_button_click
    • demo_button_click

  4. Navigation:

    • navigation_click

  5. User Engagement:

    • scroll_depth
    • section_view
    • user_engagement

  6. Carousel:

    • carousel_navigation

  7. External Links:

    • external_link_click

Next Steps After Verification

  1. Set up GTM Triggers for each event
  2. Configure Tags (Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.)
  3. Test in Production environment
  4. Monitor Real-Time Data
  5. Set up Conversion Tracking
  6. Configure Enhanced Ecommerce (if applicable)
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Clear and detailed guide, really appreciate how you broke down each verification method. Which of these methods do you find most reliable for catching hidden event tracking issues before going live?

0 votes

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