Tracking FAQ's : Google Tag Manager (GTM)
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This article will review:
- Troubleshooting Google Tag Manager (GTM) technical issues
- FAQ's
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Index
Overview
This guide will outline the troubleshooting steps a brand can use to help identify Google Tag Manager (GTM) technical issues. This guide will also list the most common FAQ's for GTM integrations.
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Troubleshooting
This section will cover the necessary steps to take if you need to troubleshoot any problems that may occur during the GTM integration.
Below are the most common issues experienced when implementing the GTM templates and the steps to resolve.
- Ensure you have published any changes
- Check which template is being used
- Check Campaign ID
- Check template trigger
- GTM Debugging & Testing
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❗NOTE: If you are not using an Ecommerce datalayer and is unable to use the Standard or Enhanced GTM templates, please refer to our GTM Integration guide here: https://phg.zendesk.com/knowledge/articles/360017934778/en-us?brand_id=2283976
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Step 1 - Ensure you have published any changes
When making any changes within GTM, you must make sure that you publish the latest changes.
You may have made changes to the configuration within GTM without publishing them. The GTM overview page should allow you to Preview/Submit the latest changes in the top right corner.
The Workspace changes notification in the top right corner should show as 0 if the changes are up to date.
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Step 2 - Check which template is being used
When using the Partnerize GTM integration, there are 3 templates which can be used.
One of the most common reasons why tracking may not work as expected is due to the wrong GTM template being used. Below are the available GTM templates:
- Enhanced eCommerce - To only be used when you have an e-commerce data layer
- Standard eCommerce
- Custom Tracking Tag - If you don't have an e-commerce dataLayer or a completely custom set-up
More details found on our GTM Integration guide here - https://help.phgsupport.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017934778-Tracking-Partnerize-Google-Tag-Manager-Integration
To determine which template you are using, click on the "Tags" option from the left hand Menu within GTM. You should then be able to see which template is in place.
These templates require the dataLayer to be in a specific format. Once you have determined which template you are using, you will need to confirm if the dataLayer in place on the event page (to trigger our tracking) matches up to the required format.
Here are some examples from the official Google Docs:
- Enhanced eCommerce → https://github.com/webmasterjunkie/partnerize-gtm-enhanced-ecommerce
- Standard eCommerce → https://github.com/webmasterjunkie/partnerize-gtm-standard-ecommerce
The examples provided shows the different formats. You can check the dataLayer in your browser by using the developer console. Each browser has its own way to access the developer console:
- Chrome (https://developer.chrome.com/docs/devtools/)
- Safari (https://developer.apple.com/safari/tools/)
- Firefox (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools)
- Edge (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/devtools-guide-chromium/)
A large portion of the tag management systems also provide logging on the events they track. In the "console" section of the developer tools, just type in dataLayer and it will output the current content. If the format does not match
❗NOTE: Since this tag is based on the usage of Google Tag Manager’s “dataLayer” the tag should not fire until this “dataLayer” is ready and populated. This may not be when the page first loads.
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Step 3 - Check Campaign ID
Within GTM, select the Tags option from the left hand side and then double click on the template you have in place.
Your Campaign ID must be added to the "Campaign ID" section.
❗NOTE: The campaign id is case sensitive and will include a lowercase L.
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Step 4 - Check Template Trigger
On the Same page as step 3, you need to ensure the following:
1. There is a trigger present
2. That the trigger in place is the correct trigger to use.
The PZ Tag tag will not fire automatically. There must be a trigger set up in GTM to tell it when to fire the Partnerize tag. There is no restriction on what this trigger needs to be and can be different for each and every setup.
This will require some knowledge of the checkout process as a whole. Whether or not the tag fires off of a GTM event, page load, window load, etc.
Make sure this trigger is set up and accurate. The event triggers will apply to all tags. Each tag, custom or not, requires a trigger to fire it. For the Click Reference Capture tag, the event will likely be a page load. For any conversion event, this will likely be based on a custom event created by the client.
For more information on custom events, you can check the Google guide here:
https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/7679219?hl=en
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Step 5 - GTM Debugging and testing
If all settings look correct and are set up as expected the next step is to do an end to end test in GTM debugging mode.
To run a test in preview mode, this is the optimal path. This will allow you to see the GTM debugger which shows a vast amount of information,
To do this you need to hit Preview in the top right corner of any of the GTM screens. Then you will get the connect option:
For testing purposes, feel free to add in your test publisher tracking link. You can retrieve your test publisher link from the publisher section of the PZ dashboard. You can also deeplink your test link by adding /destination: followed by your test environment URL.
Once your website appears, perform a full user end to end transaction.
Once you have completed a test sale, go to GTM and on the left-hand side it should include every event which has been triggered during the test.
Please refer to the triggering page, which in the below example shows as "standardCheckout".
Selecting the relevant option on the left hand side will expand the configuration options and outputs with reasons as to why the tracking may not have triggered.
Expected Outcome
- Transactions are recorded in the Partnerize dashboard
- All parameters are populated correctly, and the conversion call is correctly formatted.
- The following parameters should be checked:
- Value - Ensure that this is populated with the NET item value for each item
- Currency - Ensure that this is populated with the correct currency used at the point of sale
- Clickref - Check that the most recent clickref has been passed into the parameter
- Check that the tracking solution has been triggered from the live confirmation page
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FAQ's
This section will cover the most commonly asked questions regarding GTM.
Q 1- Test has been performed but nothing has triggered.
A - This could be due to a number of reasons, which have been highlighted within the troubleshooting section of this article.
- Is the Campaign ID correct?
- Is the Trigger event correct?
- Are you using the correct template for your dataLayer?
Q 2- The conversion tag has fired but is truncated and is missing a number of parameters
A - The most common reason for this is due to the GTM template not reading the dataLayer, or perhaps it differs from the Google Standard dataLayer which is resulting in the parameters not populating correctly.
The template must be reviewed to ensure the dataLayer configuration is correct.
If there are still issues with the template/dataLayer then you may need to explore the GTM Custom Template option as this will allow you to map your own variables manually.
Q 3- Can I use any of the Templates?
A - You will need to refer to the relevant template which suites the specific needs of your website. For example, if your website is an e-commerce website then you need to use the provided e-commerce GTM templates.
Q 4- How do I access my dataLayer?
A - When in GTM debugging mode, highlight the event and then in the middle section there is a heading called dataLayer.
Alternatively, you can check this by using the Dev Tools within your Internet Browser. Simply type “dataLayer” into the console section and then click the down arrow next to the dataLayer array. This should list the different objects within.
Q5 - How do I know if the tag has fired from GTM?
A - When performing a test transaction, make sure you stay on the confirmation page where you expect the tag to trigger.
Bring up your Internet Browser Development tools as previously advised and select:
Network Tab > type prf.hn > This should give you 1 result.
❗NOTE: You must have performed an END to END test with the Dev tools open to see the firing of the pixel
