Google Tag Manager Shopify Installation Guide
If you are into ecommerce, chances are, you have heard of ‘Shopify’. It is one of the most popular, ready-made shopping cart solutions in the world. Hundreds of thousands of websites use ‘Shopify’.
Shopify directly integrates with Google Analytics. The set up is pretty simple. But when it comes to Google Tag Manager, there is no direct integration.
Follow the steps below to set up Google Tag Manager Shopify tracking:
Step-1: Create a new Google Tag Manager account. If you already have the GTM account then login.
Step-2: Click on the ‘Admin’ link and then click on ‘Install Google Tag Manager’:
Step-3: Copy the first part of the GTM installation code:
Step-4: Login to your Shopify store with Admin/full access.
Get the E-book (100 Pages)
Step-5: Click on ‘Themes’ under the ‘Online Store’ drop-down menu:
Step-6: Click on the ‘Actions’ drop-down menu and then select ‘Edit HTML / CSS’:
Step-7: Find and click on the ‘theme.liquid’ file:
Step-8: Paste the first part of the GTM container code as high as possible, in the head section of the HTML code of theme.liquid file:
Note: Needless to say but take a backup of your theme file before making any code changes.
Step-9: Navigate back to your Google Tag Manager and now copy the second part of your GTM installation code:
Step-10: Navigate back to your Shopify Admin and then paste the second part of your GTM installation code immediately after the opening body tag (<body>) in the same ‘theme.liquid’ file:
Step-11: Click on the ‘Save’ button.
Step-12: Open Google Chrome browser and then Install Google tag assistant extension from here.
Step-13: Navigate to the home page of your Shopify store and then click on the ‘Google Tag Assistant’ icon on the top right-hand side, next to the browser address bar:
You should be able to see the ‘Google Tag Manager’ tag under the ‘Result of Tag Analysis’ column (with blue/green icon next to the identified tags). This shows that Google tag manager is now installed on your Shopify store.
Note: The red, yellow, blue and green icons next to identified tags, have all got special meaning:
So if you see a yellow or red icon next to identified tags then something is wrong with your GTM installation.
To learn more about Google Tag Assistant, read this article: Complete Guide to Google Tag Assistant
Caveats about using Google Tag Manager on a Shopify Store
#1 Do not use GTM to deploy the Google Analytics tag on your Shopify store. If you do that then the cross-domain tracking between your website and Shopify won’t work.
#2 Do not use GTM to install enhanced ecommerce tracking on your Shopify store. Enhanced ecommerce tracking is already built-in Shopify. Even if you install enhanced ecommerce via GTM, it won’t work. Shopify won’t read your data layers. So don’t do that.
#3 Use GTM to deploy tags other than Google Analytics and Enhanced Ecommerce like ‘Hotjar’, ‘Google Adwords conversion tracking’ etc.
Other Article you will find useful: Learn to correctly set up Google Analytics for Shopify Store while using Google Tag Manager
Register for the FREE TRAINING...
"How to use Digital Analytics to generate floods of new Sales and Customers without spending years figuring everything out on your own."
Here’s what we’re going to cover in this training…
#1 Why digital analytics is the key to online business success.
#2 The number 1 reason why most marketers are not able to scale their advertising and maximize sales.
#3 Why Google and Facebook ads don’t work for most businesses & how to make them work.
#4 Why you won’t get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing Google Analytics.
#5 The number 1 reason why conversion optimization is not working for your business.
#6 How to advertise on any marketing platform for FREE with an unlimited budget.
#7 How to learn and master digital analytics and conversion optimization in record time.
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
About the Author
Himanshu Sharma
If you are into ecommerce, chances are, you have heard of ‘Shopify’. It is one of the most popular, ready-made shopping cart solutions in the world. Hundreds of thousands of websites use ‘Shopify’.
Shopify directly integrates with Google Analytics. The set up is pretty simple. But when it comes to Google Tag Manager, there is no direct integration.
Follow the steps below to set up Google Tag Manager Shopify tracking:
Step-1: Create a new Google Tag Manager account. If you already have the GTM account then login.
Step-2: Click on the ‘Admin’ link and then click on ‘Install Google Tag Manager’:
Step-3: Copy the first part of the GTM installation code:
Step-4: Login to your Shopify store with Admin/full access.
Get the E-book (100 Pages)
Step-5: Click on ‘Themes’ under the ‘Online Store’ drop-down menu:
Step-6: Click on the ‘Actions’ drop-down menu and then select ‘Edit HTML / CSS’:
Step-7: Find and click on the ‘theme.liquid’ file:
Step-8: Paste the first part of the GTM container code as high as possible, in the head section of the HTML code of theme.liquid file:
Note: Needless to say but take a backup of your theme file before making any code changes.
Step-9: Navigate back to your Google Tag Manager and now copy the second part of your GTM installation code:
Step-10: Navigate back to your Shopify Admin and then paste the second part of your GTM installation code immediately after the opening body tag (<body>) in the same ‘theme.liquid’ file:
Step-11: Click on the ‘Save’ button.
Step-12: Open Google Chrome browser and then Install Google tag assistant extension from here.
Step-13: Navigate to the home page of your Shopify store and then click on the ‘Google Tag Assistant’ icon on the top right-hand side, next to the browser address bar:
You should be able to see the ‘Google Tag Manager’ tag under the ‘Result of Tag Analysis’ column (with blue/green icon next to the identified tags). This shows that Google tag manager is now installed on your Shopify store.
Note: The red, yellow, blue and green icons next to identified tags, have all got special meaning:
So if you see a yellow or red icon next to identified tags then something is wrong with your GTM installation.
To learn more about Google Tag Assistant, read this article: Complete Guide to Google Tag Assistant
Caveats about using Google Tag Manager on a Shopify Store
#1 Do not use GTM to deploy the Google Analytics tag on your Shopify store. If you do that then the cross-domain tracking between your website and Shopify won’t work.
#2 Do not use GTM to install enhanced ecommerce tracking on your Shopify store. Enhanced ecommerce tracking is already built-in Shopify. Even if you install enhanced ecommerce via GTM, it won’t work. Shopify won’t read your data layers. So don’t do that.
#3 Use GTM to deploy tags other than Google Analytics and Enhanced Ecommerce like ‘Hotjar’, ‘Google Adwords conversion tracking’ etc.
Other Article you will find useful: Learn to correctly set up Google Analytics for Shopify Store while using Google Tag Manager
Register for the FREE TRAINING...
"How to use Digital Analytics to generate floods of new Sales and Customers without spending years figuring everything out on your own."
Here’s what we’re going to cover in this training…
#1 Why digital analytics is the key to online business success.
#2 The number 1 reason why most marketers are not able to scale their advertising and maximize sales.
#3 Why Google and Facebook ads don’t work for most businesses & how to make them work.
#4 Why you won’t get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing Google Analytics.
#5 The number 1 reason why conversion optimization is not working for your business.
#6 How to advertise on any marketing platform for FREE with an unlimited budget.
#7 How to learn and master digital analytics and conversion optimization in record time.
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
About the Author
Himanshu Sharma