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 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 do tag management systems work?

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

TMS acts as a container 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.

Tag management systems examples include:

1. 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 pageviews. It integrates with Google Analytics and other Google marketing tools, making it a popular choice for businesses that use these tools.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

TMS Benefits advertisers and CMOs should know

• Simplify tag management and save time
• Improve website performance by reducing the amount of code that needs to be loaded on a webpage
• Reduce the risk of page errors or crashes.
• Improve data accuracy and consistency
• Improve decision-making and digital campaign optimization
• Improve 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.

In conclusion, a Tag Management System (TMS) 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 TMS 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.