Macro Magic with Google Tag Manager

If you’re familiar with computing, you might already know what macros are. Usually, they are simple methods designed to routinize complex operations. Think keyboard shortcuts.

In Google Tag Manager, macros are the Miracle Makers, the Facilitators, the Dynamizers (yep, I made that word up). They are the difference between a chaotic, overly complex, depression-inducing tag setup, and a sleek, dynamic, lean implementation.

How so? Simple. With macros you can populate a tag with variable values at runtime, meaning that you don’t need to create a different tag for each possible combination of values the tag might have.

This not only makes your tags look sleek and dynamic, it also makes it easier to preview, test, debug, and document your setup.

In this MeasureCamp session, I will quickly skim through the basics of macros, before jumping into some cool (might I even say, “magical”) examples of effective tag use. Some of these examples fall under the category Why That’s So Simple, How Didn’t I Think Of That Before, some of them are simply Mind-Blowing, and some of them will make you rethink your whole outlook on life in general.

I intend to make the session both educational and revelatory, with something for tag management beginners, and something for all you advanced TMS superstars out there.

I also hope that we’ll get a good discussion going on. If you have examples of Macro Magic of your own, be prepared to share your wisdom!

Simo Ahava, NetBooster Finland