Google Tag Manager has an extensive collection of built-in tag templates, with over 80 options at the time of this article. But sometimes you need to set up a tag for a platform that hasn’t yet made the cut for a built-in template.
Now, of course you’ve always been able to use a Custom HTML tag, but custom templates take the ease of setup one step further. Last year, Google rolled out an option for custom templates, including a user-generated Community Template Gallery. This gallery has expanded rapidly to fill in the gaps for platforms to make their tag setup easier.
Accessing the Community Template Gallery
You can access the gallery for free and browse through several pages of options. Some popular platforms you’ll find represented here include CallRail, Facebook, HubSpot, Outbrain, Reddit, Salesforce, Snapchat, and Taboola.
You’ll also find some handy templates to help tighten up your overall tracking setup, such as this Google Tag Manager Monitor tag by Simo Ahava, which monitors for issues with tag firing within your GTM setup. The Value Hasher template can hash values with PII (personally identifiable information) to ensure it doesn’t get sent to Google Analytics.
Adding a Template to Your Account
When you select a template, look at the links along the side for documentation on setup. You’ll likely want to read any instructions the creator has provided.
Confusingly, there’s a link to “Add to workspace” from the Gallery, but clicking that link just gives you further instructions to go into your GTM account and add from within the appropriate workspace. So you’ll need to first navigate to the proper GTM account and workspace you want to use.
Once within your desired workspace, select “Templates” from the left sidebar and go to “Search Gallery” from either Tag or Variable templates.
From the sidebar that appears, search for the template you want and select “Add to Workspace.”
Now, you’ll see the template you selected when you go to add a new Tag or Variable (depending on the type of template you chose). After choosing it, you can then adjust the fields for the specific template based on the instructions.
As always, don’t forget to publish your changes live, and use the Preview mode if you desire to test.
Start Testing Templates!
When you need to install a new tag for an ad platform, analytics software, or CRM, don’t just default to a custom HTML tag if you don’t see the option listed in the default tags. Take the time to check the Template Gallery, as you just might find your platform represented!
Have you tested any GTM templates? What ones are you excited about? Share in the comments below!
