Read about ZappyPeople’s approach to conducting a Google Tag Manager/GTM tracking audit. We use this guide while consulting to ensure a useful and compliant GTM setup. Use this to conduct an audit yourself, or to manage outsourced resources.
Many organizations have deployed Google Tag Manager to support optimization of marketing efforts. A well-configured GTM setup provides the business with accurate, consented data. And, Google Tag Manager handles digital data distribution between marketing technologies.
Our audit process is designed to maximize the efficiency, accuracy, and performance of your GTM setup.
Google Tag Manager/GTM Tracking Audit Checklist Download (Excel / Sheets)
To keep track of your next GTM audit, we offer a free project management dashboard and task list.
This tool will help you organize and track each step of your audit efficiently over time.
Download the Google Tag Manager tracking audit checklist for free.
Here is a breakdown of the audit process our consulting team goes through for Google Tag Manager:
GTM tracking audit: Initial Assessment
First, we evaluate the current setup and structure of your Google Tag Manager account. This foundational step is crucial for identifying any immediate issues and setting the stage for a more detailed analysis.
Account Structure Review
Here, we are assessing the overall structure of your GTM account for logical organization and manageability. We especially focus in these areas:
- Logical Structure & Manageability: Verifying that the setup supports efficient management
- Environment Separation: Ensuring appropriate separation for different environments (e.g., development, staging, production)
- Naming Conventions: Reviewing the use of consistent and clear naming conventions across the account
- Folders for Organization: Evaluate use of folders to organize tags, triggers, and variables
GTM Tracking Audit: Operational Analysis
Performance and Additional Considerations
We focus on performance and reporting mechanisms, including:
- Page Load Impact: Check whether the GTM setup affects page load performance. Seek to minimize delays
- Reporting on Issues/Errors: Adapt clear reporting methods for monitoring and troubleshooting
- Documentation: Documentation should aid in maintainability and smooth transitions between admins
Consent Management
We review your integration with consent management platforms, or the approach deployed on your website. Here, our focus is on:
- Integration with Consent Management Platforms: Verifying that user consent is respected, including opt-out abilities and data access requests.
- Consent Mode Configuration: Ensuring the GTM setup respects user preferences.
- Consent Flows: Auditing tag behavior to ensure it aligns with user consent choices.
Container Snippet Validation
We confirm that the GTM container snippet is correctly installed and optimized for performance:
- Snippet Installation: Validate that the container snippet is installed on all website pages, including subdomains and web apps
- Asynchronous Loading: Verify snippets load asynchronously for page speed / performance
- Duplicate Snippets: Duplicate snippets result in performance and tracking issues
GTM tracking audit: Functional Testing
Cross-Domain Tracking
For a multi-domain tracking environment, we review the cross-domain tracking setup.
- Linker Parameters: Verifying that linker parameters are configured to track users across domains.
- Testing: Conducting tests to ensure cross-domain tracking is working as expected.
Data Layer Assessment
The data layer passes information to tags/back-end systems. For a strong data layer, we check:
- Data Layer Implementation: Confirming the data layer is correctly implemented on relevant pages
- Event Pushing: Verifying that important interactions push relevant events to the data layer
- Consistent Structure: Ensuring the data layer has a consistent and understandable structure
- Validation: Checking the accuracy of the data passed through the data layer
- No Redundancies: Identifying and removing conflicting or redundant data pushes
Marketing Integrations
Integration with external platforms like Google Analytics and Facebook is essential for effective tracking.
We check:
- Platform Integration: Ensuring the correct setup for integrations with external platforms.
- Ongoing Monitoring: Reviewing the process for ongoing monitoring and alerting of tag health and data flow.
Server-Side Tagging
For advanced setups, we assess server-side tagging to ensure better privacy compliance and performance:
- Server-Side Container Setup: Validating the setup of the server-side container and its connection to client-side tags.
- Configuration: Checking the configuration of server-side tags for accuracy.
- Performance Optimization: Ensuring the server-side tagging is optimized for privacy and page performance.
GTM Tracking Audit: Tag & Trigger Validation
Audit Tags
We conduct a full inventory and check for:
- Correct Tag Types: Ensuring the correct types of tags are used for tracking purposes.
- Configuration: Verifying tracking IDs, conversion values, and other key parameters.
- Firing Conditions: Ensuring tags fire on the correct triggers.
- Tag Efficiency: Identifying and removing duplicate or unused tags.
- Tag Sequencing: Checking the tag firing sequence to minimize impact on page load performance.
Triggers
Triggers control when tags fire, and we validate:
- Trigger Conditions: Ensuring trigger conditions are specific and correct for the intended actions.
- Trigger Exceptions: Checking the appropriate use of exceptions to prevent unwanted tag firing.
- Efficiency: Removing unused or redundant triggers.
Variables
Variables simplify tag management. We review:
- Built-In Variables: Verifying the appropriate use of built-in variables.
- Custom Variables: Ensuring custom variables are configured correctly and used effectively.
- Data Layer Variables: Checking the use of variables that interact with the data layer.
- Removing Duplicates: Identifying and removing duplicate or unused variables.
GTM Tracking Audit: Final Steps
User Permissions & Security
Protecting your GTM account from unauthorized changes is crucial. We review:
- Permissions: Checking user permissions to ensure only authorized users have access.
- Data Integrity: Ensuring permissions are set up to maintain data security and integrity.
Version Control & Workspaces
Version control is key to maintaining a stable GTM setup. We assess:
- Version Testing: Ensuring proper testing of new versions before publishing.
- Clear Descriptions: Checking for detailed version descriptions to maintain clarity.
- Workspace Management: Reviewing the use of workspaces to manage concurrent development and prevent disruption to live environments.
- Workspace Cleanup: Identifying and cleaning up unused workspaces.
GTM Tracking Audit: Recommendations and Implementation
Reporting & Recommendations
At the end of our audit, we provide a detailed report that includes:
- Audit Summary: An overview of key findings and performance issues.
- Actionable Recommendations: A prioritized list of steps to improve your GTM setup.
Google Tag Manager Implementation Support
Our team is available to help implement these recommendations, ensuring that your GTM setup is optimized for accuracy, performance, and compliance.
GTM Tracking Audit from ZappyPeople
Our GTM Tracking Audit dives deep into your Google Tag Manager setup to ensure it’s running at peak performance. Whether you’re looking to fine-tune your existing setup or address specific issues, our audit provides a clear, actionable roadmap to improve and maintain your GTM configuration.
In addition to our in-depth Google Tag Manager Audit, ZappyPeople offers Speed Audits with Action Plan across 20+ categories, giving you quick, actionable insights into key areas of your Martech stack.
Each Speed Audit is priced at $195 and can be combined for more comprehensive coverage, ensuring your systems run smoothly and efficiently.
Contact us today to schedule your GTM Tracking Audit or book a free alignment call to discuss your challenges and get valuable insights on optimizing your Martech stack.
