5 useful chrome extensions for Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager
In our daily work for Google Analytics 4 implementations and Google Tag Manager setup, we use 5 handy chrome extensions that make our work at least more efficient and easier. These extensions for GA4 and GTM are free for anyone to install.
5 Useful Chrome Extensions for Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager
- EditThisCookie
- Google Tag Assistant
- GTM Variable Builder
- Google Analytics Debugger
- CSS selector
In this long-read, I show the added value that each Chrome extension can bring to your work in Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager
EditThisCookie
link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/editthiscookie/fngmhnnpilhplaeedifhccceomclgfbg?hl=nl
We use this extension very often to see what cookies are set on the website and by which tool. This is particularly useful if you want to include cookies as variables in Google Tag Manager or as event parameters in Google Analytics 4. 1 of the user cases is to use this tool to read out the name and output of the user’s cookie consent, for example, to make it visible at user level as a parameter, or for a trigger for activating or not activating marketing cookies for a user. Also, you can clear cookies at the session level for just this website, which also allows you to recall consent or see which cookies are already loaded in advance on a page reload. Just a little more manageable than via the Google Chrome Dev tools, but that’s true of all these extensions.
Google Tag Assistant
Old school legacy extension for Google Tag Manager, which has actually been completely replaced for Preview Mode in Google Tag Manager. Surely, we often use this extension to see what tags are loaded from Google and to find out what is already set up in Google Tag Manager. In fact, you can easily find this out by clicking on the notification in the case of a GTM code and then following the www.googletagmanager.com url for this container. Then in a new tab, the entire Google Tag Manager content of that website will open up and you can at least see what is already set up. Especially useful if you want to do a scan for a prospect where you have thus not yet been given access!
GTM Variable Builder
This is really a top-notch tool to use. We regularly use them to create certain variables, in which we just don’t know ourselves what to select from a website’s css style, for example, or how to use Javascript to read a certain variable in Google Tag Manager in order to use it again as a variable in our Event Parameters, for example. In addition, you can also test the selected value directly in the Console of Google Dev Tools. Super handy when in doubt about whether you’ve chosen the right one. Highly recommended!
Google Analytics Debugger
An old school extension once again, but still very useful to have. Once you activate this extension on the website you’re researching, you’ll see a debugger returned immediately in the console that listens back to everything Google Tag Manager Tags are triggered and how they are returned to Google Analytics. Works for both the old and new versions. Particularly useful if you want to recognize whether certain values are already uber available and how the information is passed on to Google Analytics. I must say that since we use a lot of Server Side Tagging for our clients, we often look into the debugger of the Server container.
CSS Chooser
Another top extension that we use when we want to read a particular click element, and we are not quite sure what the right trigger for this is. Often there is no Class or ID available to use and so we depend on all elements within the click. To make this search work easier, we use this extension. With this, we can create exactly the right selector on each element and use it directly in Google Tag Manager. Also, if you want to create a Visibility trigger, for example, to show certain elements that come up only after an error message, for example, when a contact form is incomplete, you can use this very quickly to find out the trigger for this and set it as a selector in Google Tag Manager. So you can actually quite conveniently set up extensive form tracking for uncompleted web forms on your website!
link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/css-selector/dobcgekgcmhjmfahepgbpmiaejlpaalc?hl=nl
Surely these 5 top extensions should make your job as a Google Analytics Specialist a lot easier. If you don’t quite get there, you can of course request support. Happy #GA4
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