There are several ways you can verify if you have successfully installed Google Tag Manager on your website.

Install Google Tag Manager Code on the Website:

To verify ownership of the website, Google Tag Manager asks to place codes in the <head> and <body> sections of all pages of the website.

The code looks like as below:

Install Google Tag Manager Code

It is recommended to verify if the code is placed properly.

Here are some of the simple ways to check if GTM installation is done properly:

By checking the source code of the website:

  • Open the home page of the website
  • Right-click anywhere on the page and click on “View page source”
  • In the next window, you will see a complete source code of the page.
  • Press CTRL + F key and enter GTM container ID
  • (You can find the container ID under the Admin section as shown in the below screenshot)

    Check Container Id

  • Now hit enter and check if the same container ID is present in the <head> section and <body> section. If the container ID is missing on the source of the page then there is some misconfiguration in the code placement.

  • GTM Code on Website

Use Google Tag Assistance:

The easiest way to check GTM installation is via the Google Tag Assistance extension.

You can download the Tag Assistance Chrome extension by clicking on the following link:

Tag Assistant Legacy (by Google)

Once the tag assistance extension is installed follow these steps to verify if the GTM code is installed properly:

  • Open your website and click on the Tag Assistance icon in the address bar of your browser.

  • Click on Tag Assistance

  • Enable the Tag Assistance and reload the page.
  • Once the page reloads click again on Tag Assistance Icon in the address bar and make sure it shows GTM container ID. If you see a GREEN Emoticon then the TAG manager is installed correctly and it should work as expected.

  • Check GTM id

    Side Note: If you will see a blue emoticon, in most cases this is not a problem. Google Tag Assistance is still not 100% accurate, Blue Emoticon means non-standard implementation of Google Analytics.

Use Google Tag Manager Preview and Debug mode:

You can use Google Tag Manager Preview and debug mode to check if the Tag manager is installed properly.

To do so first you need to create a TAG, here we are going to create a TAG for Google Analytics Universal property.

Follow these steps to set up a Tag:

  • Login to Google Tag Manager
  • After logging in, select the account you want to check the installation
  • On the next screen click on New Tag or Tags in the sidebar as shown in the below screenshot:

  • Add New GTM Tag

  • In the next screen give a name to your Tag and under Tag Configuration click on Choose Tag Type to begin setup. Next, click on “choose the Tag Type to begin setup…” here you have to select Google Analytics: Universal Analytics.
  • Check the below screenshot for detailed steps:


    Setup New GTM Tag

  • After that under Tag Configuration select Track Type >> Page View and under Google Analytics Setting you have to create a new variable.

  • Add New Variable

    (you can find it under Google Analytics >> Admin >> Property >> Tracking Info >> Tracking Code). Keep the cookie domain as it is, give a name to the variable and click on the SAVE button.
    set GA Tracking ID

  • After creating a variable, you have to set up Trigger. To do so click on the Trigger block and under “Choose a Trigger” click on “All Pages” and click on the “SAVE” button on the right top corner.

  • Choose New Trigger

    Now you are all set to check if Google Tag Manager is installed properly.

  • Now click on the PREVIEW button as shown in the below screenshot.

  • check-preview-button

  • To start debugging you have to enter your domain name and then click on CONNECT button

  • Start Debugging Gtag

  • It will open a new window where you see a popup box, once you see the CONNECTED status click on the CONTINUE button as shown in the below screenshot:

  • Know Connected Status

  • If the GTM container code is implemented correctly, then on the next screen you will see that GA Universal Tag is fired.

  • Fired Tag in Gtag

Check Real-Time Data in Google Analytics:

The other method to check if the Google Tag Manager is installed correctly is real-time data in Google Analytics.

This method only works if you have verified Google Analytics using Google Tag Manager.

Follow these steps to verify GTM implementation:

  • Login to your Google Analytics account.
  • Select the property you want to check GTM installation.
  • Click on the REAL TIME report in GA.

  • Realtime

  • If you see real-time data here than your GTM container code is installed properly.

There are a few other ways to check if GTM is installed properly but the easiest and most convenient ways are the ones listed above.

Are struggling with Google Tag Manager setup or unable to track your website data properly through GTM? Get in touch with us and talk to our experts.