Reason for GTM Server: Helps control marketing data better by sending it server-side, improving data quality and website speed.
Purpose: Overview of setting up a GTM (Google Tag Manager) server.
Signing Up
Tag Manager Sign-Up: Go to tagmanager.google.com. Sign up with Google account if not already done.
Creating a New Container
Server Account: Create a server account and a new container.
Target Platform: Choose 'server' as the target platform.
Naming: Name the container (can be anything, e.g., your website's name).
Creation: Click 'Create' to proceed.
Provisioning a Tagging Server
Google Cloud: Choose to provision the server on Google Cloud (GCP).
Billing Account: Select or create a billing account (requires credit card details, free tier available for first-time users).
Provisioning Process: Google Cloud sets up the server, installs GTM server software.
Server Configuration: After setup, obtain server configuration and Google Cloud project ID.
Automatic Provisioning: Creates a Cloud Run instance (US Central region by default). For other regions, manual setup is needed.
GTM Server URL
Default URL: The URL that the server listens to for tracking requests.
Preview Mode: Use preview mode to see tracking requests coming in.
Client-Side to Server-Side Implementation
Client-Side Tag: Go to Google Tag Manager client-side, edit the tag (e.g., for GA4), add a new configuration parameter 'transport URL' with the server URL.
Preview & Testing: Use preview mode to test if requests are being sent to the server-side.
Creating a Client and Tags
Client: Create a GA4 client if not automatically created.
Tagging Setup: Configure the server to claim requests and send out tags (choose triggers, etc.).
Testing: Use preview mode to ensure tags are correctly sent to GA4.
Key Considerations
Region Limitation: Automatic provisioning only in US Central; manual setup needed for other regions.
Custom Domain: For production, set up a custom domain to ensure first-party context tracking.
Server Maintenance: Requires administration and maintenance (budgeting, cost management, scaling).
Technical Complexity: May require technical expertise.
Service Offering
Managed Services: Dedicated service offerings available for setting up and managing the GTM server.
Conclusion
Recap: Successfully setting up a GTM server and next steps.
Contact Info: For further help, check out the service offerings.