Trustworthy Tracking with Google Tag Manager

What's inside

1. Level 1: Why Tag Managers Exist and Why Numbers Go WrongFree
   Learn why tag managers replaced hard-coded tracking snippets and the usual reasons analytics and ad numbers stop matching reality: duplicate tags, missing tags, consent gaps, ad blockers and attribution differences.
2. Level 2: Accounts, Containers, Workspaces and VersionsFree
   Set up a GTM account and web container for a test site, install the container snippet, and learn how workspaces, versions and publishing let you make changes safely and roll them back.
3. Level 3: Tags, Triggers and Built-in Variables
   Learn the core GTM model: a tag is what runs, a trigger is when it runs, and a variable supplies a value. Build a first tag using built-in variables and check it in Tag Assistant preview.
4. Level 4: Custom Variables: Lookup Tables, Regex and Constants
   Go beyond built-in variables with user-defined ones such as constants, lookup and regex tables, URL, DOM element, cookie and JavaScript variables, and learn when each is reliable and when it breaks.
5. Level 5: The Data Layer and Working With Developers
   Understand how the dataLayer array and dataLayer.push() feed GTM, write a data layer specification developers can build to, and read pushed values using Data Layer Variables and Custom Event triggers.
6. Level 6: The Google Tag and GA4 Configuration
   Deploy the Google tag for a GA4 property through GTM, understand how configuration settings, shared settings and the October 2026 destination-tag change relate to each other, and check the first data in GA4 DebugView.
7. Level 7: GA4 Event Tags, Parameters and Key Events
   Send custom GA4 events with well-named parameters, register custom dimensions so they appear in reports, and choose which events to mark as key events without inflating counts.
8. Level 8: Tracking Forms, Clicks and File Downloads
   Track form submissions, link and button clicks, outbound links and file downloads reliably, and learn when GA4 enhanced measurement already covers an action and you should not tag it again.
9. Level 9: Tracking Scrolls, Video and Engagement
   Measure scroll depth, YouTube video engagement and element visibility with GTM's built-in triggers, and decide which engagement signals are worth collecting at all.
10. Level 10: GA4 Ecommerce Events
    Put in place the GA4 ecommerce funnel from view_item to purchase using a developer-built data layer with an items array, and protect revenue figures from duplicate or malformed purchase events.
11. Level 11: Google Ads Conversion Tracking
    Create Google Ads conversion actions, fire the conversion tag with a Conversion Linker, pass value and transaction ID, and understand how this differs from importing GA4 key events.
12. Level 12: Enhanced Conversions for Google Ads
    Set up enhanced conversions for web so hashed first-party customer data improves conversion measurement, and understand the consent, terms and data-quality requirements that come with it.
13. Level 13: Meta Pixel and Conversions API in Outline
    Install the Meta pixel through GTM for standard events, understand in outline how the Conversions API sends the same events from a server, and deduplicate the two using event IDs.
14. Level 14: UK GDPR, PECR and Cookie Banners
    Apply UK GDPR and PECR to tracking, including the Data (Use and Access) Act 2026 changes and the ICO's April 2026 storage and access technologies guidance, and judge whether a cookie banner is compliant.
15. Level 15: Consent Mode v2 in GTM
    Set up Google consent mode v2 with a consent management platform, including default and update states, the four consent signals, and the difference between basic and advanced mode.
16. Level 16: Cross-Domain Tracking
    Keep a single user journey across several domains or a third-party checkout using GA4 cross-domain settings and the Conversion Linker, and fix self-referrals that split sessions.
17. Level 17: Server-Side Tagging and Google Tag Gateway in Outline
    Understand in outline what server-side GTM containers and Google tag gateway for advertisers do, what they cost and what they do not do, with current availability and launch status checked against Google's documentation.
18. Level 18: Systematic Preview and Debugging
    Use a repeatable debugging method across Tag Assistant, GA4 DebugView, browser developer tools and ad platform diagnostics to find out why a tag did or did not fire and whether its data arrived.
19. Level 19: Governance, Naming, Access and Container Audits
    Bring a messy container under control with naming conventions, documentation, folders, user permissions and approval workflows, then audit it for the mistakes that inflate or lose conversions.
20. Level 20: Final Challenge: Make the Numbers Trustworthy Exam
    Bring the whole course together by planning, building, checking and documenting a complete, consent-aware tracking setup for a test site across GA4, Google Ads and Meta.

Access

The first 2 levels are free with a free account. Every level, the podcast edition and the AI tutor come with All Access at £4.99/month or any Creator plan — see pricing.

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