If you’re running marketing campaigns, you know the drill: half the time, you’re not totally sure what’s working. Maybe you set up Google Tag Manager (GTM), but the actual insight you get is underwhelming—or worse, you just drown in data. If you’re using or considering Enrow analytics to get a handle on all this, this guide’s for you. I’ll walk you through what actually works, what to skip, and how to get real value from your GTM data—without turning it into a full-time job.
Why GTM + Enrow? (And Why It’s Not Magic)
Let’s get this out of the way: GTM is just a way to drop tags and track stuff on your site without bugging your developers every day. On its own, it’s not going to answer “Did my campaign work?” That’s where analytics platforms like Enrow come in, turning all those raw events into something you can use.
But don’t expect miracles. Setting up GTM and Enrow won’t suddenly make your marketing smarter. What they do give you is the chance to see the real impact of your campaigns—if you set them up right and stay focused on what actually matters.
Step 1: Decide What You Actually Care About
Before you touch GTM or Enrow, figure out what “success” even means for your campaign. Otherwise, you’ll track everything and learn nothing.
Ask yourself:
- Do I care about leads, signups, purchases, or something else?
- What’s the actual user action that matters? (Clicking an ad? Completing checkout?)
- Is there a business metric I need to report on, or am I just tracking for tracking’s sake?
Pro tip: If you can’t explain your goal in a sentence, you’re not ready to start tracking.
Step 2: Set Up Your GTM Tags—But Only What You Need
GTM is powerful, but it’s easy to overdo it. Here’s what works best:
- Create tags for the actual conversion events. Not every button click. Not every pageview. Focus on actions tied to your campaign goals.
- Use GTM Variables to pass campaign data. For things like UTM parameters, use GTM’s built-in variables to pull this data in.
- Ignore “vanity events.” Scroll depth, random page timers, and social shares sound cool, but rarely drive meaningful insight.
What not to do: Don’t just copy/paste a GTM recipe from a blog or Reddit thread. You’ll end up with bloat and confusion.
Step 3: Connect GTM to Enrow (Without Breaking Stuff)
Enrow makes it pretty straightforward to pull in GTM data, but here’s what to double-check:
- Use Enrow’s official GTM integration. Don’t hack together your own tracking if there’s a documented method.
- Test every tag in GTM’s Preview mode first. If you break your checkout flow—or worse, fire multiple conversion events for the same action—you’re in for a mess.
- Map your events in Enrow. Make sure the events you’re sending from GTM actually show up in Enrow with names that make sense.
Watch out for: Double-counting conversions. This is the #1 rookie mistake. Always verify that your event only fires when it’s supposed to.
Step 4: Pass Campaign Data the Right Way
Campaign performance means nothing if you can’t tie results back to the actual campaigns. Here’s how to do it cleanly:
- Use UTM parameters in your campaign URLs. This is still the gold standard. Don’t reinvent the wheel.
- Capture UTM parameters on first landing. If your funnel takes more than one page, store the UTM data in a cookie or session variable (GTM can do this).
- Send UTM data along with your conversion events. In GTM, set up custom dimensions or data layer variables to include UTM source, medium, and campaign in your conversion events.
- Double-check for missing or overwritten UTMs. If you see a lot of “(not set)” in Enrow, something’s off.
What doesn’t work: Trying to infer campaign source from referrer data. It’s unreliable, especially with privacy changes and cross-device journeys.
Step 5: Build Reports That Don’t Suck (and Ignore the Rest)
Once your events are flowing into Enrow, resist the urge to slice and dice everything. Here’s a simple way to get the most out of your data:
- Start with a basic funnel: Ad click → Landing page → Key action (signup, purchase, etc.).
- Break down by campaign/source. This is where those UTMs pay off. You’ll see which campaigns actually drive results.
- Look at trends, not just snapshots. Did performance improve after you changed the creative? Are certain sources always underperforming?
- Set up simple dashboards for your team. If it takes more than 30 seconds to answer “Did this campaign work?”, your report is too complicated.
Don’t bother with: Vanity metrics like “total pageviews” or “average session duration.” Unless you’re a publisher selling ad space, these don’t matter for campaign tracking.
Step 6: Audit Regularly and Stay Skeptical
Tracking breaks. Data gets messy. Here’s how to keep things honest:
- Schedule a monthly check. Click through your own ads, complete the funnel, and make sure everything tracks as expected in Enrow.
- Compare results with other sources. If your CRM or ad platform says you got 100 leads and Enrow says 10, dig in. Attribution is never perfect, but huge gaps mean something’s wrong.
- Keep documentation. Write down what each GTM tag does, what events you’re tracking, and what each means in Enrow. This helps you when things inevitably get weird.
Pro tip: When in doubt, trust the tool that’s closest to the money (your CRM, payment processor, etc.), not just the prettiest dashboard.
What to Ignore (and What to Watch For)
There’s a lot of hype around “advanced attribution” and “AI-powered insights.” Most of it doesn’t work as advertised, especially if your data isn’t clean to begin with. Here’s what to skip:
- Ignore multi-touch attribution models unless you have tons of data and a dedicated analyst. For most teams, simple last- or first-touch models are just fine.
- Don’t obsess over click-level data. Privacy measures (think iOS, cookie consent) mean you’ll never get a full picture. Focus on trends and big wins.
- Skip the pixel soup. Too many overlapping pixels and tags will slow down your site and muddy your data.
What’s worth your time? Clean events, clean campaign data, and a dashboard you actually use.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
You don’t need to be a data scientist to get real value from GTM and Enrow. The trick is to care about the right numbers, track them cleanly, and check your work once in a while. Don’t get seduced by dashboards with a hundred KPIs. Figure out what matters, set it up right, and revisit it as your campaigns (or your business) change.
It’s not glamorous, but it works—and it’ll save you from chasing your tail every time you launch a new campaign. Start small, get it right, and build from there.