integrating Slack with Google tag Manager (GTM)

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and analytics, effective communication is paramount. Picture a scenario where updates from your Google Tag Manager (GTM) implementations seamlessly integrate with your team’s Slack channels, ensuring everyone stays informed in real time. This is the power of connecting Slack to GTM. In this article, we’ll delve into the process of linking these two powerful platforms, enhancing teamwork and efficiency in your analytics endeavours.

Why do we integrate Slack with Google Tag Manager?

So, first of all, why it is important to connect Slack to your GTM,
Integrating Slack with Google Tag Manager can revolutionize communication and real-time updates for your e-commerce business or website. By connecting these two powerful platforms, you enable notifications to be sent to your team and clients in your Slack channels whenever important events occur, such as purchases, contact form submissions, or errors on specific pages. These notifications can include valuable variables like page paths, purchased items, or any custom data you want to track. This means that your team and clients can stay notified and responsive to critical activities happening on your website, improving efficiency and collaboration.

Benefits of Integrating Slack with Google Tag Manager:

1. Real-Time Updates: Receive instant notifications in Slack when important events like purchases or form submissions occur, keeping everyone in the loop.
2. Enhanced Collaboration: Your team can discuss and address issues or successes right within the Slack channel, improving collaboration and decision-making.
3. Customized Notifications: Tailor notifications with specific variables like page paths or product details, providing detailed insights at a glance.
4. Improved Responsiveness: With immediate notifications, your team can quickly react to errors or issues on the website, ensuring a seamless user experience.
5. Client Transparency: Keep clients informed about website activities, demonstrating transparency and building trust in your services.
6. Efficient Troubleshooting: Quickly identify and address issues with specific page errors or conversion events, reducing downtime and optimizing performance.
7. Streamlined Communication: Eliminate the need for separate email updates or manual reporting by having all important updates delivered directly to Slack.

Before we start

To set up this tracking, firstly you need to set a few things-

• Setting up Google Analytics on your website
• Base Google Analytics 4 tag needs to be installed on your website
• Setup and install Google Tag Manager need to be installed on your website
• and install all the [[Important]] plugins on your website for analytics

How to connect Slack with Google Tag Manager

For this you need to first create any event on your website;

In Google Tag Manager

Today we will take an example of a 404 error.

The 404 error event will send data of any error link event to your analytics with the page path

In Slack

Now you need to get the Slack Webhook URL from Slack.

You can get it from your Slack app

• Go to Settings and Admin

• Go to Manage Apps

• Now Click on Build (right side of the screen)
• Now click on “Create your new app”
• Now give the app any name you want to or put the same name as the event name

• Click on Create App
• Now inside the app, click on  Incoming Webhooks.
• And Activate/turn on the webhook
• Scroll to the bottom and Create new webhooks
• Now add the webhook to your channel (#team)
• And click on Allow

Now in the same incoming webhook, you need to scroll down you will find your webhook URL

In Google Tag Manager

Creating Tag

Now Create a new Tag

• Now choose the Tag Configuration
• Click on the Discover More tag type in the community template Gallery
• Search for the template “Slack Webhook by measure school”

• And add it to your Workspace

Copy and paste the URL from the Slack webhook into your Google Tag manager

And give the message

You need to see the variable name and give it a proper variable name( the variable menu does not work in the message section)

Creating Trigger

Now give the same 404 trigger to the tag

 and click on save

For a more stylish build or Slack message,e you can use the Slack block builder

Demo

Now whenever the 404 error gets triggered in your website, the tag will also get fired and send data to your slack teams and get notified with the page path.

Demo 1:

Demo 2:

Preview And Publish

After configuring the GA4 tag, use the “Preview” mode in GTM to test its functionality.

• Browse your website and confirm that the GA4 tag is firing correctly in the GTM preview mode.
• Once satisfied with the test results, hit “Submit” in GTM to publish the container changes.

Slack API builder

If you have any further inquiries about the webhook, I would recommend visiting Slack’s Block Kit website. It’s a comprehensive resource that provides detailed information about building and managing webhooks. You can find guides, tutorials, and examples that can help you understand and use webhooks more effectively.

In addition to this, the website also offers a builder tool that allows you to design and preview messages before sending them. This can be particularly useful if you’re looking to customize your webhook messages.

Moreover, the website provides documentation on various block types that you can use in your messages, such as section blocks, divider blocks, image blocks, and more. Understanding these block types can help you create more structured and visually appealing messages.

Link here

Conclusion

In conclusion, the integration of Slack with Google Tag Manager presents a wealth of opportunities for improved collaboration and communication within your team. With instant notifications about tag modifications, errors, or successful deployments delivered directly to Slack channels, your team can remain informed and responsive. Whether you’re a seasoned analyst or a newcomer to the world of analytics, connecting Slack to GTM is a straightforward yet impactful step toward a more synchronized and efficient analytics workflow. So, why not embrace this integration and elevate your team’s collaboration today?