Become great at Google Tag Manager

Master the fundamentals of Google Tag Manager with newly updated lessons that include Google Analytics 4.

Online course:
GTM for beginners

By Chris Mercer,

Measurement Marketer @ MeasurementMarketing.io

Course length: 8h 43min

Sign up to All-Access: $289 / month Buy just this program for $299

English subtitles Certificate included

This training will give you

  • A knowledge of how to use Google Tag Manager to deploy third-party tracking scripts.
  • The power to set up tracking without having to rely on a developer.
  • A system you can immediately use to make sure all of your tags (HotJar, Optimizely, Mixpanel, etc.) stay organized.
  • How to Use Google Tag manager with GA4

Introduction video

Google Tag Manager is an essential skill of any technical digital marketer or analyst

Google Tag Manager probably isn’t something that keeps you up at night, wondering where you’re falling short skillwise. But if you’re in digital marketing, maybe it should be.

Google Tag Manager is a control center for your online data

What is a tag manager, anyway?

It’s like a control center for your data. If you’re operating without a control center, you’re not getting all the value out of your data measurement and analysis.

Maybe you’ve even installed Google Tag Manager and started to play around with it, but you realized it wasn’t as intuitive as you first thought. This is common. Thing is, while some of the basics are easy to get down (setting up tags, for instance), the power of Google Tag Manager goes far beyond these things. But even with some preliminary skills, you can do some awesome things with GTM.

Skills you will master

GTM variablesGTM data layerGTM organizationGTM scriptsGTM SetupGTM taggingGTM tracking

Allison Sturtevant

Deep learning in a reasonable amount of time.

Carlos Alberto Reyes Ramos

Due to this course, I was hired in my first project as an optimizer where I used every concept learned. Also, Chris Mercer was an amazing instructor. He was able to make Google Tag Manager very digestible and simple to understand. The course was full of insight, practical from day one.

Kyneret Azizo

CXL professors are simply unparalleled. To my knowledge, no one teaches analytics as well as they do. They have a way of simplifying the most complex details so they are fully digestible.

Google Tag Manager opens up new worlds for you with analytics and optimization

Wouldn’t it be nice to simplify cross-domain tracking so your data is actually useful? To set up custom events and variables to track on page activity with greater granularity? To allow your marketing team to deploy tags without calling over a developer to help out?

Google Tag Manager solves so many of the most common problem marketers have with analytics.

Playing around by yourself can be valuable, but it’s so much more efficient to watch over an expert’s shoulder as they show you the ins and outs, the most important and powerful use cases, of Google Tag Manager.

“I’d go so far as to say that a [Tag Management System] is practically a prerequisite to managing analytics efficiently, and ultimately to deriving serious value from analytics at all.”

Nick Iyengar in MarTechToday, 2016

Tag management is relatively new in the grand scheme of the digital marketing world. It’s only going to become more and more important to know and master in the years to come, especially if you’re in digital marketing.

Take the time and invest in yourself; your future in marketing may depend on it.

This course is right for you if…

  • You’re a digital marketer who wants to increase the value you provide to the company (and get paid more).
  • You’re an analyst who wants to derive more value from their data and open up your analytics insights to your organization, even those without technical skills.
  • You want to accomplish things like cross-domain tracking, custom tracking, enhanced ecommerce tracking, and tag deployment – with ease.
  • You’re tired of having to rely on developers to set up tracking for you.
  • You want to supercharge the analytics skills you already have, and get more out of the data you’re currently working with.

This course is probably not for you if…

  • You consider yourself an advanced Google Tag Manager user.
  • You’re bored by this analytics and “tracking” stuff, and just want to be creative

Chris Mercer

Measurement Marketer @ MeasurementMarketing.io

Mercer (as he’s known) is the co-founder of MeasurementMarketing.io and has been helping marketers, marketing teams, and agencies implement and unlock the power of Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager since 2013. He has spoken at conferences around the globe, including Traffic & Conversion, Digital Elite Camp, Performance Marketing Summit, Digital Growth Unleashed, and Social Media Marketing World.

8-class intensive
training course on Google Tag Manager

CXL Institute brings you an in-depth online training course led by analytics and tag management expert, Chris Mercer, of MeasureMarketing.io.

This course will make you effective at using Google Tag Manager to increase your analytics powers at your company.

If you’re on a small team, you’ll be a hero. If you’re a marketer or an analyst at a larger organization, the value you bring to your role will drastically increase.

  • Be competent in one of the most useful tools out there for a digital marketer.
  • Confidently know that your tracking isn’t broken
  • Use Google Tag Manager to deploy third party tracking scripts
  • Set up tracking without having to rely on a developer
  • Get more insights from your data with advanced tracking.
  • Build a system you can use immediately to make sure your tags stay organized

When you complete this course, you’ll be able to

GTM expert Chris Mercer will pull back the curtain and let you watch over his shoulder as he shows you:

  • How to use tags, triggers, and variables to customize your tracking and get more value from your data
  • How to do simple cross-domain tracking
  • How to use GTM to send multiple sources of data to Google Analytics
  • How to create automatic tracking events
  • How to set up retargeting and tracking pixels for customer acquisition campaigns
  • How to use the GTM “dataLayer” feature
  • How to add users and manage workflow, turning your company into a culture that values and uses data to make better decisions

All in all, this course is going to make you a lot of money.

Your course curriculum

Google Tag Manager for Beginners

1 Welcome to Google Tag Manager Basics

Welcome to Google Tag Manager for Beginners where you will be guided through Google Tag Managers from beginning to end.

2 Your Introduction to Google Tag Manager for Beginners

We begin with a solid understanding of what Google Tag Manager is and what it is not.

3 Get to Know GTM: Tags

Get to know Tags, what they are, how to use them, and some real world examples.

4 Get to Know GTM: Triggers

Get to know triggers, what they are, when and how to use them.

5 Get to Know GTM: Variables

Explore variables in GTM and learn what they are, and how they work.

6 Get to Know GTM: Data Layer

Explore how the data layer works in Google Tag Manager

7 Get to Know GTM: Organization

Learn how to use folders, user management basics, and naming conventions.

8 Get to Know GTM: Preview Mode

Discover the power of “Previewing: your GTM implementation.

9 Get to Know GTM: Workflow

Learn how to use workspaces from plan, to build, to preview, to publish, and review.

10 Getting Started: Creating Your First Tag

It’s time to set up your first GTM tag! We’ll start with Google Analytics

11 Getting Started: Scripts and Pixels

Move beyond the Google “built-in” tags and explore the power of scripts and templates

12 Tracking Engagement: Clicks and Times

Start with the easiest engagement to measure…

13 Tracking Engagement: Scroll

While platforms like GA4 can automatically capture Scroll, GTM does a MUCH better job

14 Tracking Engagement: YouTube Videos

Using YouTube on your site? You’ll love this feature…

15 Data Layer 101: Storing Details

It’s time to revisit the Data Layer and actually start using it!

16 Data Layer 101: Reading Details

With the information we need in the Data Layer, it’s time to get it back out…

17 Tracking Ecommerce – The Basics

How to deal with ecommerce in Google Tag Manager

18 Deep Dive: Cross-Domain Measurement

Measuring as users cross through different domains in a customer journey

19 Deep Dive: Tag Sequencing

Here’s a little known technique that’ll come in handy from time to time

20 Deep Dive: Formatting Variables

Want cleaner data? Variable formatting can help…

21 Wrap Up and Resources

A recap and review of everything you’ve learned so far

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Learn Google Tag Manager: FAQ

Who is this course for?

This course is right for you if…

  • You’re a digital marketer who wants to increase the value you provide to the company (and get paid more).
  • You’re an analyst who wants to derive more value from their data and open up your analytics insights to your organization, even those without technical skills.
  • You want to accomplish things like cross-domain tracking, custom tracking, enhanced ecommerce tracking, and tag deployment – with ease.
  • You’re tired of having to rely on developers to set up tracking for you.
  • You want to supercharge the analytics skills you already have, and get more out of the data you’re currently working with.

Some careers that will especially benefit from this course are data analyst, digital analytics specialist, marketing analyst, web developer, SEO specialist and digital marketing manager.

What will you learn?

After taking this course, you will:

  • How to use tags, triggers, and variables to customize your tracking and get more value from your data
  • How to do simple cross-domain tracking
  • How to use GTM to send multiple sources of data to Google Analytics
  • How to create automatic tracking events
  • How to set up retargeting and tracking pixels for customer acquisition campaigns
  • How to use the GTM “dataLayer” feature
  • How to add users and manage workflow, turning your company into a culture that values and uses data to make better decisions

What does the course include?

Our Google Tag Manager training includes 22 lessons, 40 downloadable resources, 8h 43min of video material, several assignments, and a final exam.

Are subtitles available for the lessons?

Lessons have English subtitles and transcriptions available.

Will I receive a certificate of completion?

After taking this course, you will receive the Google Tag Manager Certification from CXL, with credentials that you can add to your LinkedIn profile.

What is the refund policy?

All plans come with a 7-day refund period .

How long will it take for me to finish it?

This is entirely up to you – it’s how many study hours per week you can put in. This course is 8h 43min long.