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What is a Tag Management System (TMS)?

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, managing tons of data points from user interactions can be incredibly overwhelming. Marketers are constantly searching for ways to simplify and streamline how they track performance across websites and apps. What if there was a way to handle this process more efficiently, without drowning in code or complex integrations?

So what is a tag management system? A Tag Management System (TMS) is a tool used by advertisers and chief marketing officers (CMOs) to manage and organize the various tags and tracking codes that are used on their websites or digital platforms. Tag management systems essentially simplify the process of managing and deploying tags on your website or app. They provide greater control, flexibility, and transparency in tracking user behavior and analyzing your digital marketing performance. In simple terms, a tag is a piece of code that is inserted into a webpage to track user behavior and provide data for analytics and advertising purposes.

With the rise of digital marketing, the number of tags used by advertisers has grown significantly. Each tag may come from a different vendor, and each vendor may have a different way of tracking user data. This can create a complex and fragmented ecosystem that is difficult to manage and optimize.

How does a tag management system work?

Tag management systems (TMS) are used to manage the tags and pixels that track user behavior on a website or app. Here’s a breakdown of how they really work:

Implement the TMS Code: The first step is to implement the TMS code on your website or app. This is typically done by adding a code snippet to the header or footer of the website or app.
Create and Manage Tags: Once the TMS code is in place, you can create and manage tags using the TMS interface. Tags are pieces of code that track user behavior on your website or app. They can be used to track clicks, form submissions, video plays, and other user interactions.
Publish and Deploy Tags: After creating and testing tags, you can publish and deploy them to your website or app using the TMS interface. This ensures that the tags are live and tracking user behavior in real time.
Manage Tag Firing Rules: Tag management systems allow you to set rules for when tags should fire. This helps prevent unnecessary tag firing and improves website or app performance. For example, you can set a rule to fire a tag only when a specific page is loaded or when a user takes a specific action.
Monitor and Analyze Tag Performance: Finally, TMS allows you to monitor and analyze tag performance. You can track how many times a tag fires, where it’s firing, and what data it’s collecting. This helps you optimize your tags and improve your overall digital marketing performance.

Tag management systems act as containers for all of the tags on a website, allowing advertisers and CMOs to easily add, remove, or modify tags without the need for manual coding.

What is a tag management system example?

Here are a few examples of tag management systems that are widely used in todays digital landscape by advertisers and CMO’s:

Google Tag Manager: Google Tag Manager is a free tag management system that allows website owners to add and manage tags, as well as track events, such as form submissions, button clicks, and page views. It integrates with Google Analytics and other Google marketing tools, making it a popular choice for businesses that use these tools.
Tealium: Tealium is a comprehensive tag management system that allows users to deploy, manage, and optimize tags and data across multiple channels, including websites, mobile apps, and connected devices. It offers a wide range of features, including data governance, privacy controls, and real-time data processing.
Adobe Experience Platform Launch: Adobe Experience Platform Launch is a tag management system that allows users to deploy and manage Adobe and third-party tags on their websites and mobile apps. It integrates with Adobe Analytics and other Adobe marketing tools, providing a comprehensive solution for managing marketing tags and data.
Segment: Segment is a customer data platform that allows users to collect, clean, and control customer data from multiple sources, including websites, mobile apps, and connected devices. It also offers a tag management system that allows users to deploy and manage marketing tags without the need for IT resources.
Ensighten: Ensighten is a tag management system that allows users to manage and deploy tags across multiple channels, including websites, mobile apps, and connected devices. It offers a range of features, including real-time tag monitoring, data privacy controls, and tag testing and validation.

What is a tag management system doing to benefit advertisers/CMO’s?

You may be wondering, what is a tag management system used for? What’s the point? There are several unique benefits to using a tag management system that every advertiser and CMO should know. A tag management system:

Simplifies tag management and saves time.
Improves website performance by reducing the amount of code that needs to be loaded on a webpage.
Reduces the risk of page errors or crashes.
Improves data accuracy and consistency.
Improves decision-making and digital campaign optimization.
Improves data privacy and compliance. With new data privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, it has become increasingly important for advertisers to ensure that they are collecting data in a compliant manner. A TMS can help to ensure that all tags are compliant with relevant regulations and that user data is being collected and stored in a secure and transparent manner.

How do Businesses Leverage TMS for Success

There are several ways businesses have cleverly leveraged a tag management system to drive success in the past. One way is through e-commerce optimization. Online retailers will use a Tag Management System (TMS) to track user behavior, from product views to checkout. Monitoring customer journeys in real-time helps them quickly test and implement retargeting ads, optimize checkout processes, and personalize offers based on user activity—all without slowing down their website.

Digital advertisers additionally rely on TMS for advanced ad campaign targeting. It can be used to track specific user interactions like button clicks or video views to refine their audience targeting. By deploying and adjusting tags on the fly, they can test different campaign strategies and reach the most engaged users, boosting conversion rates.

Lastly, many organizations use TMS to ensure their tags collect data in compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy laws and regulations. Through customizable consent management features, businesses can easily update their privacy settings and ensure all tracking is both secure and transparent, safeguarding customer trust.

Let’s recap: what is a Tag Management System (TMS)? It’s is an important tool for advertisers and chief marketing officers (CMOs) looking to manage and optimize their digital marketing efforts. By providing a centralized location for all tags and tracking codes, a tag management system can help to simplify the process of tag management, improve website performance, and ensure data accuracy and compliance. As digital marketing continues to grow in complexity, it will become increasingly important for advertisers to leverage tools like TMS to stay competitive and achieve their marketing goals.