How to track button clicks with Google Tag Manager

Author:

Tracking button clicks with Google Tag Manager (GTM) allows you to gather valuable insights about user interactions with your website, such as which buttons are being clicked and how often. This data can be crucial for understanding user behavior, optimizing your site’s design, and improving conversions. Here’s a step-by-step guide to tracking button clicks using GTM:

1. Set Up Google Tag Manager on Your Website

Before you start tracking button clicks, ensure that Google Tag Manager is properly installed on your website. If you haven’t done so yet, follow these steps:

  • Sign in to GTM: Go to Google Tag Manager and log in with your Google account.
  • Create a container: If you haven’t created one, follow the instructions to create a container for your website. GTM will provide two code snippets (one for the <head> and one for the <body> of your HTML).
  • Add GTM code: Insert the GTM container code into your website. This code allows GTM to manage the tags and triggers for your site.

2. Enable Built-in Click Variables

To track button clicks, you’ll need to enable some built-in variables in GTM that will capture the relevant information about the clicked elements.

  • Go to GTM: Open your GTM container.
  • Navigate to Variables: On the left-hand side of the screen, click on Variables.
  • Configure Built-in Variables: Click on Configure (located in the Built-In Variables section).
  • Select Click Variables: In the list, scroll down to the Clicks section and check the following variables:
    • Click Element
    • Click Classes
    • Click ID
    • Click Target
    • Click URL
    • Click Text

These variables will capture the attributes of the buttons users click on, such as the button’s text, ID, or class.

3. Create a Trigger for Button Clicks

Next, you need to create a trigger that tells GTM to listen for button click events.

  1. Go to Triggers: In GTM, navigate to the Triggers section in the left-hand menu.
  2. Create a New Trigger: Click New to create a new trigger.
  3. Trigger Configuration:
    • Name your trigger something descriptive, like “Button Click Trigger.”
    • Click on Trigger Configuration and select Click → All Elements (this will allow you to track clicks on all elements, but you can refine this later).
  4. Trigger Type: In the configuration screen, select Some Clicks (this allows you to specify which clicks to track).
  5. Define Conditions: Set up conditions to track only button clicks. You can use different attributes like the button’s class, ID, or text, depending on how the button is defined on your site. Common options are:
    • Click Classes contains “btn” (assuming your button class has “btn” or another consistent class name).
    • Click ID equals “submit-button” (if your button has a specific ID).
    • Click Text equals “Submit” (if the button’s text is “Submit”).
  6. Save: Once you’ve set up the conditions, click Save.

4. Create a Tag for Button Click Tracking

Now that you’ve created a trigger, you need to create a tag that will send the data to Google Analytics or another analytics tool.

For Google Analytics (GA4) Users:

  1. Create a New Tag: Go to Tags and click New.
  2. Tag Configuration: Click Tag Configuration and select Google Analytics: GA4 Event.
  3. Set Up the Tag:
    • Measurement ID: Enter your Google Analytics 4 Measurement ID (found in your Google Analytics account under Admin → Property → Data Streams).
    • Event Name: Name the event something descriptive like “button_click.”
  4. Event Parameters: Add parameters to send additional information about the button click:
    • Parameter Name: “button_text” and set the value to {{Click Text}}.
    • Parameter Name: “button_id” and set the value to {{Click ID}}.
    • Parameter Name: “button_classes” and set the value to {{Click Classes}}.
  5. Trigger: Attach the button click trigger you created earlier to this tag.
  6. Save: Save your tag.

For Google Analytics (Universal Analytics) Users:

  1. Create a New Tag: Go to Tags and click New.
  2. Tag Configuration: Select Google Analytics: Universal Analytics.
  3. Track Type: Choose Event as the track type.
  4. Event Tracking Parameters:
    • Category: “Button Click.”
    • Action: “Click.”
    • Label: Use {{Click Text}}, {{Click ID}}, or another variable to provide more information about the button.
  5. Google Analytics Settings: Add your Tracking ID.
  6. Trigger: Assign the Button Click Trigger you created.
  7. Save: Save your tag.

5. Test Your Setup

Before publishing the tag, test it to ensure it’s working correctly.

  1. Preview Mode: In GTM, click the Preview button at the top-right of the screen.
  2. Open Your Website: This will open a new tab where you can enter your website URL and connect GTM in preview mode.
  3. Test the Button Click: Click the button you want to track. The GTM Debugger window should show the click event, and under Tags Fired, you should see your button click tag.
  4. Check Variables: In the GTM preview window, check the values being sent, such as the button’s text, ID, or class, to ensure they are captured correctly.

6. Publish Your Changes

Once you’ve confirmed that your button click tag is working properly, you can publish it live.

  1. Exit preview mode.
  2. Click Submit in the GTM dashboard.
  3. Provide a name for the version (e.g., “Button Click Tracking”).
  4. Click Publish.

7. View Button Clicks in Google Analytics

Once the tag is live, you can view the button click data in Google Analytics.

For GA4:

  1. Go to Google Analytics.
  2. Navigate to Reports → Engagement → Events.
  3. Look for your custom event (e.g., “button_click”) to see how often it was triggered.

For Universal Analytics:

  1. Go to Google Analytics.
  2. Navigate to Behavior → Events → Overview.
  3. Look for your event category (e.g., “Button Click”) to see the click data.

8. Advanced Tracking Options

You can also set up more advanced configurations, such as:

  • Tracking Multiple Buttons: Use different triggers or conditions (e.g., based on button text or ID) to track multiple buttons.
  • Tracking Form Submissions: If a button is part of a form, you may want to track successful form submissions instead of just clicks.
  • Custom Event Reporting: In GA4, you can create custom reports or dashboards based on specific button interactions.

Conclusion

By following this guide, you’ll be able to track button clicks on your website using Google Tag Manager and analyze user interactions in Google Analytics. This data will help you gain insights into how users engage with your website, allowing you to optimize your design and improve conversion rates.

Categories: Digital Marketing