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4 Things You Need to Know About Google Tag Manager

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Google Tag Manager is a free tool that makes it easy for marketers and IT professionals to add and update website tracking codes – including conversion tracking, site analytics, remarketing, and social media – with just a few clicks and without the need to edit your website tracking code. Google Tag Manager provides businesses with control of the tracking codes, usability for marketers and IT, the ability to share information with specific users’ permission, and integrations to measurement marketing code like Facebook. Tag Manager captures the data that can lead to better ROI, a reduction in marketing costs, and a lot of time saved for your team!

Below are 4 things you need to know about Google Tag Manager:

1. You Need a Measurement Plan

A measurement plan is a document that translates your organization’s goals and objectives into metrics so that you can keep track of your website and marketing. A measurement plan provides a framework for the configuration and implementation of digital marketing strategies on your website. Without a measurement plan, there is no structure for a tagging implementation strategy. There is no way to verify that you have the necessary information to measure your goals and objectives!

2. One Tracking Code to Measure Marketing Initiatives

With Tag Manager, you get one tracking code to measure your website and marketing initiatives. This consolidates all of your data into one location to foster better decision-making based on that data. There are tagging templates and integrations to combine tracking codes from Facebook, LinkedIn, AdWords, Google Trust Stores, and more. Just one Google Tag Manager code will increase your website speed and improve your customer’s online experience on desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.

Google Tag Manager
Image via Business 2 Community

3. Google Tag Manager works for Web & Mobile Apps

Your Google Tag Manager tracking code should be added to your existing website code. As mentioned in the previous section, this Google Tag Manager code will work on responsive websites (for desktops, tablets, and mobile phones). Specifically for mobile phones, the implementation of Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps is done with Firebase SDK. Firebase is a Google tool and infrastructure that is used to build better mobile apps and grows businesses by developers. Firebase SDK works for both Android and iOS to track behavior and actions that are specific to mobile apps and indicate success for businesses.

4. Better Measurement of ROI with Google Tag Manager

Too often, marketing and IT professionals work to get a website and mobile app live while neglecting to identify how they plan to measure success. With Google Tag Manager, both marketing and IT professionals have the ability to create and capture metrics that are needed to determine success as well as improve upon that success. The accessibility of integrations and templates make it easier to collect metrics within a single console. Overall, you get better data, better metrics, and better decision-making with Google Tag Manager. This means more money in your bucket and less time and money wasted!

Check out Google Tag Manager resources or contact DaBrian Marketing Group today!

Design Solutions for the Mobile Web

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The introduction of mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, has given people the ability to browse the web and complete additional task on the go. In January, 2014, mobile devices accounted for 55% of the internet usage in the United States with mobile apps making up 47% of the internet traffic while 8% came from mobile browsers. This was the first time in history mobile app usage eclipsed desktop usage (45%). This continual growth in mobile device usage also created several issues in the web design and web development workspace. Designers and developers now have to compensate for how web pages are being viewed on these devices as well as choose the best solution to implement.

This week, we’re going to walk you through the three most common design solutions for the mobile web.

Mobile Websites

The initial way of handling the mobile web experience was by creating an entirely separate website just for mobile. A good example of this is ESPN’s website. If you type http://espn.go.com/ into your browser window in a desktop setting you will be taken directly to their “desktop” version of their site. However, if you type that same URL into your smart phone or tablet’s browser you will notice that it will redirect you to their mobile version of the site and the URL will reflect m.espn.go.com/wireless/index instead.

This direction was effective, but it still created several issues. Mobile websites often have completely separate content and a bit less functionality in comparison to their desktop counterparts.

See other advantages and disadvantages of mobile websites here.

Websites designed for mobile devices.

Mobile Apps

Another solution for catering to the mobile web is developing a mobile app. This is not to be confused with a mobile website. Unlike mobile websites, mobile apps work independently of a browser and they don’t depend on an internet connection for general usage. Mobile apps are popular for linear processes, or processes that have a starting and an ending point. They also have the ability to utilize mobile device hardware such as credit card readers, cameras, and GPS locators.

A good example of this would be bank apps like Wells Fargo, or Bank of America that would allow you to scan your check with the use of your mobile phone or tablet which would then allow you to make a deposit into your bank account. You can browse and download other mobile apps from the Google Play Store from your mobile devices as well. The main disadvantage of developing a mobile app is that you have to create code for three platforms (namely Apple, Android, and Blackberry). The code is not universal and cannot be implemented across platforms.

See other advantages and disadvantages of mobile apps here.

Responsive Design

Responsive design is currently the best solution for mobile web development (See Google’s Mobile Guide). It is considered the best solution because it is one website, one URL, and one set of HTML code which allows the website’s content to be displayed on wide variety of mobile devices at multiple resolutions. Some good examples of responsive design are the Microsoft, Adobe, and BlueSky Interactive websites.

Responsive design can be a bit more costly to develop than your standard desktop website, but the low maintenance advantage of creating content for only one URL vs. multiple URLs saves time and money in the long run. In addition, having one URL is better suited for SEO related purposes.

Websites utilizing responsive design techniques.

Conclusion

Although all three solutions are proven ways of designing for the mobile web, in 2014 responsive design is the solution of choice. From our experience, responsive design is the simplest solution to the mobile design problem and has been the most effective for our web design projects.

Now that you are familiar with three design solutions, you are now able to make a better decision on which one is best for you and your company.

Which mobile design solution would you choose? Let us know in the comments below!