Google Tag vs Google Analytics

Understanding the difference between Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, the pros and cons of both, why you might choose one over the other, and why you should care anyway.

Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Google Analytics (GA) are both Google tools that can help you track and optimize your website performance. However, they are not the same thing and they serve different purposes.

Google Analytics is an analytics tool that helps you measure and analyze how users interact with your website and app. It can show you things like:

• How many visitors come to your website and where they come from
• How long they stay on your website and what pages they view
• How many conversions or goals they complete on your website
• What kind of devices and browsers they use to access your website
• And much more

Google Analytics works by using a tracking code (also known as a GA Javascript code snippet) that you need to place on every page of your website. This code collects and sends data to Google Analytics servers whenever a user visits or performs an action on your website.

Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that makes it easy for you to add, edit, and manage tags (tracking codes) on your website without having to modify the source code. Tags are snippets of code that can collect and send data from your website to various marketing or analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, etc.

Google Tag Manager works by using a container code (also known as a GTM Javascript code snippet) that you need to place on every page of your website. This code acts as a placeholder for all the tags that you want to use on your website. You can then use the GTM interface to create and manage your tags without touching the source code.

The main difference between Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager is that Google Analytics is an analytics tool that provides reports, while Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that has no reporting features. It only sends data from your website to other marketing or analytics tools (including GA).

The main benefit of using Google Tag Manager is that it gives you more control and flexibility over your tags. You can:

• Add or remove tags without relying on developers or waiting for code changes
• Test and debug your tags before publishing them live
• Use built-in templates or custom tags for various tracking purposes
• Use triggers and variables to specify when and how your tags should fire
• Use version control and workspaces to manage changes and collaborate with others
• Use tag firing priority and sequencing to control the order of tag execution

The main drawback of using Google Tag Manager is that it has a learning curve and requires some technical knowledge. You need to:

• Understand how tags, triggers, variables, containers, workspaces, versions, etc. work in GTM
• Know how to configure your tags correctly for different tracking scenarios
• Know how to troubleshoot and fix any issues that may arise with your tags
• Know how to use the GTM preview mode, console, network tab, etc. to test and debug your tags

The main benefit of using Google Analytics is that it gives you insights and reports on your website performance. You can:

• See how users find, engage, and convert on your website
• Segment your users by various dimensions and metrics
• Create custom reports and dashboards to visualize your data
• Set up goals and funnels to measure your conversions
• Use attribution models to understand the impact of different channels on your conversions
• Use advanced features like enhanced ecommerce, remarketing audiences, custom dimensions and metrics, etc.

The main drawback of using Google Analytics is that it has limitations and challenges with data accuracy. You may encounter:

• Sampling issues when dealing with large data sets or complex queries
• Data discrepancies when comparing different reports or sources
• Data loss or corruption due to ad blockers, browser settings, cookie consent, etc.
• Data privacy and compliance issues due to GDPR, CCPA, etc.
• Data gaps or errors due to missing or incorrect tracking codes

You might choose one over the other depending on your needs and goals. For example:

• If you only want to track basic information like page views, sessions, users, etc., you may only need Google Analytics.
• If you want to track more advanced or custom information like events, conversions, ecommerce transactions, etc., you may need both Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
• If you want to use other marketing or analytics tools besides Google Analytics, you may need Google Tag Manager to integrate them with your website.

You should care about both tools because they can help you improve your website performance and optimize your marketing campaigns. By using Google Tag Manager, you can implement various tracking codes on your website more easily and efficiently. By using Google Analytics, you can analyze the data collected by those tracking codes more effectively and intelligently.