If you've ever fumbled around in the dark, then you have some sense as to what it's like trying to run a business without analytics. If you don't have visibility into how your customers are interacting with your online properties and products, then you're essentially working blindfolded. Data analysis through Google Tag Manager basics allows you to discern trends, analyze behavior and develop new strategies backed by data. To do it well, however, you need the right set of tools. Google Tag Manager basicsGoogle Analytics is one of the most popular tools that businesses use to understand how customers interact with their websites. By tracking and reporting traffic and other data, businesses can evaluate the performance of their marketing initiatives and reach new audiences. While Google Analytics is powerful, it's not a comprehensive solution. To get the most from your data analysis, it's important to use a variety of tools -- including Google Tag Manager. By pairing Google Analytics with Google Tag Manager, businesses can increase the amount of data that's collected. Tags (which are short pieces of code) can be added to a website to collect data. As digital marketing agency, we know that some of the most common purposes for tags include:

• Identifying the source of inbound traffic

• Determining which files are downloaded or links clicked

• Monitoring activities such as the addition or removal of items from a shopping cart

• Monitoring the submission of forms

As you probably imagine, the wide range of uses for tags means that they see heavy usage. Managing all of the code involved is often a time-consuming task -- and one that may also be quite frustrating if you're not confident enough to alter your site's source code. The benefits of Google Tag Manager Tag Manager makes the process of adding, changing and removing tags much easier to coordinate. It's easy to use, has an intuitive interface, works with non-Google third party tags and doesn't require alteration of source code. It's also fairly universal, as it works with standard websites (including AMP sites) and mobile content. According to one case study, Google Tag Manager allowed Airbnb to reduce the usual amount of time needed to deploy a tag from two or three days to as little as one hour. Airbnb was also able to make significant improvements to the precision of its conversion counts, collecting vendor data for 90% of its conversions. While Google Tag Manager can allow business owners or marketers to use tags (freeing up technical staff for more high-value work), the software does require some technical understanding, at least in the beginning. After a walkthrough (or two) with a developer, however, most non-technical people should be able to manage tags with little difficulty. The takeaway Implementing Google Tag Manager is a smart way to jumpstart your data analytics and get more from your marketing efforts. If you have any questions about this technology or how it can be used to improve your digital marketing, we urge you to contact BIGEYE today.