Google Tag Manager Vs Google Analytics

What Is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that offers basic analytical tools and statistics used for search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing. The performance of a website and information about its visitors are monitored and analyzed using Google Analytics. 

In addition to identifying the most popular sources of user activity, it can provide valuable information about the effectiveness of a company's marketing initiatives and campaigns, keep tabs on how customers complete tasks (such as making purchases or adding items to their shopping carts), identify trends and patterns in customer behavior and gather demographic data.

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Difference Between Google Tag Manager And Google Analytics

Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are two distinct tools with distinct functions. In other words, these technologies are not designed to be utilized in isolation, but rather in conjunction with one another in order to optimize your actionable web insights. Here are the significant differences in detail.

1. Reports On Website Traffic

Google Analytics enables you to ascertain the following:

• How much money did your website make in the previous 30 days?
• What were the most popular sections of your site?
• In the previous seven days, which goods were most popular?
• Which marketing channel generated the most leads for your website?
• What are the best-selling items at your store?
• How many people abandoned their shopping carts?

Google Tag Manager, being a tag management tool, is unable to give such knowledge. A tag management solution enables you to add, update, enable, deactivate, or delete tags from the website or app. Google Analytics generates reports on website traffic. However, Google Tag Manager does not.

2. Data Source

Google Tag Manager is a data management tool that enables the transfer of data across data sources. However, it is not a source of data in its own right. It is devoid of data storage.

Google Analytics, on the other hand, is a data source and uses dimensions and metrics to gather numerous types of information about a website, its visitors, activities, and devices. Data is stored on the company's servers, and you may access it for the purpose of reporting. Google Tag Manager does not serve as a data source. However, Google Analytics does.

3. Container Tags

It is possible to utilize a container tag to store one or more promotional and analytics tags, as well as their associated variables. Google Analytics may be installed on a website using a container tag. Facebook pixel tracking may also be implemented on a website using a container tag. When used in conjunction with Google Tag Manager, the container tag offers all of the functionality required to execute and install tags on your site. While Google Analytics does not use container tags, Google Tag Manager does.

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4. Storage Or Analysis Of Data

Google Tag Manager is not the same as a database. It does not collect or keep any analytical or promotional information. Google Analytics, on the other hand, is more of a database. 

Google Analytics processes the acquired data in accordance with your configuration options (such as dimension scope filters and so on) and then reports on the data that was processed. Google Tag Manager, on the other hand, is unable to analyze or reflect on the data acquired. 

5. Query Data

You may query data in Google Analytics either through the reporting window or through the API. Google Tag Manager, on the other hand, does not allow for data querying.

6. Independency

It is possible to utilize Google Tag Manager without having to use Google Analytics. The same is true for Google Analytics, which may be used without the need for Google Tag Manager.

7. Usefulness

Google Tag Manager is used to handle one or more tags. This software does not have the ability to store, analyze, or report online traffic data. As a result, it cannot be used in place of Google Analytics as a reporting tool. 

Google Analytics is often used to collect, evaluate, and reflect on website visitors' data, but it is not capable of managing one or more tags. As a result, Google Analytics cannot be utilized in place of Google Tag Manager.

Why Do Marketers Confuse Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager?

Google Analytics serves as the tracking technology, whereas Google Tag Manager serves as the interface between the tracking tool and your website. Or, to put it another way, Google Analytics is a data-gathering tool, whereas data from your website is sent to Google Analytics using Tags, which are managed by Google Tag Manager. 

So, where does all of the confusion originate from? To begin, both are Google products, and both are free! However, the true source of confusion is in the deployment of Google Analytics. Even though many marketers use Google Tag Manager to set up Google Analytics, you may also deploy it directly on your website.

Installing the code straight into your website makes perfect sense when Google Analytics is the sole monitoring service you employ. There is just one interface that you need to deal with, and the setting is straightforward. However, if you wish to utilize additional tracking technologies or employ more elaborate monitoring events, you may also install Google Tag Manager on your website and then link it to your Google Analytics account. The set-up is a bit more difficult, but you get more tracking choices and a wider range of tools with it.

Therefore, you could potentially install both Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics. In reality, any method is acceptable; it all depends on your specific tracking strategy. If you intend to utilize additional Tags like Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, or Microsoft Advertising in the future, then Tag Manager is the best option for your business.

In addition, using Google Tag Manager makes perfect sense if you need more complicated tracking, such as scroll or button tracking. The direct adoption of Google Analytics would make this very difficult (but not impossible) to accomplish.

Alternatives To Google Analytics And Google Tag Manager

There are several; however, not all of them are free or prominent. It will be more challenging to train your whole workforce on new technologies. Using Hotjar in conjunction with Google Analytics is recommended when attempting to get a descriptive statistical perspective of your data.

When it comes to event-driven analytics, Mixpanel is a fantastic tool, and it is especially useful for mobile applications, web applications, and SAAS enterprises. In terms of real-time statistics and thorough segmentation, Adobe Analytics is the best tool available.

Finally, Kissmetrics gives a comprehensive picture of user activity on your website and gathers extensive data on every visitor, which may be valuable for certain firms. 

FAQs:

1. Is it possible to use Google Analytics without Google Tag Manager?

Without Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics may be used. Without Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager may be used. To use both in conjunction, each must be configured independently. Both are implemented similarly on your website, utilizing javascript code snippets.

2. What is Google Tag Manager for dummies?

Google Tag Manager is a critical component of every webmaster's or website owner's toolkit. The system is crucial for handling the tags on any website. It streamlines and simplifies tag management for many of us who are not professional developers.

3. Can Google Analytics track social media?

Google Analytics is an amazing tool for determining which social media channels provide the most focused traffic to your website. Additionally, you can determine how these social media users connect with your website.

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