Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are both Google tools used for tracking website data, but they serve different purposes. Google Tag Manager is used to manage website tags, while Google Analytics is used to track website traffic and user behavior.
Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool that allows you to deploy tags on a website easily and effectively. It provides a single interface to add and manage scripts from a variety of sources including Google, third-party ad networks, and other tag managers. Tag Manager also makes it easy to deploy new tags and updates as they become available.
In contrast, Google Analytics tracks and reports website traffic. It provides information about the number of visitors to a website, their demographics, how they found the website, what pages they visited, and how long they stayed on the site. Google Analytics also tracks conversions or actions taken by website visitors such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.
Difference between Google Analytics and Tag Manager
The key difference between the two is that GTM helps you manage and deploy marketing tags (such as conversion tracking tags) on your website. Google Analytics, on the other hand, is a tool that helps you measure and analyze your website traffic and how those tags are performing.
GTM is not a data source, unlike analytics
Google Analytics is designed to collect data about website visitors, while Tag Manager is designed to manage tags (such as tracking codes) on your website. This means that Google Analytics can give you more detailed information about your website visitors, while Tag Manager can make it easier to manage and deploy tracking codes on your website.
Analytics provides detailed information about users
Google Analytics provides a wealth of information about how users interact with your website. You can see what pages they visit, how long they spend on each page, what links they click, and more. This information can be used to improve your website and make it more user-friendly.
Tag Manager, on the other hand, doesn't provide as much detailed information about users. However, it can be used to manage website tags, which can be helpful in tracking website traffic and understanding how users interact with your site.
Analytics process and store data for the website
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps us to get an idea of how our website is performing. The data in Google Analytics allows us to get insights into how the website is performing. Marketers can use this data to make changes and improvements as well as track conversion and performance. While Google Analytics processes data, Tag Manager does not. Instead, it simply helps to manage the tags on your website, and this can be helpful in keeping your website code organized.
Third-Party integration
While it is possible to integrate Google Analytics with other tools for reporting, such as BigQuery and Google Data Studio, it is not possible to integrate Google Tag Manager with third-party tools.
There are many benefits to integrating Google Analytics with third-party tools. Doing so can give you a more complete picture of your website's traffic and how users are interacting with your site. It can also help you to better understand which marketing campaigns are most effective and which areas of your site need improvement.
On the other hand, it is not possible to integrate Google Tag Manager with a third-party tool. GTM only helps manage website tagging, and cannot be integrated with a CRM or data tool. It is a standalone tool that is not compatible with any other software.
Conclusion
It is evident that Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are two different platforms used for different purposes. While GTM is used to manage tags on a website, analytics on the other hand provides insights into the data and conversion of a website. Though they share some similarities, the two platforms are ultimately different. While both tools are free to use, Google Tag Manager has a more user-friendly interface and is easier to learn than Google Analytics.