How do you use Google Tag Manager to track video interactions on your website? A Step by Step Guide

Tracking video interactions on your website is important for understanding user engagement with your content. Google Tag Manager (GTM) can help you track these interactions for various video players, such as YouTube and Vimeo. In this guide, we’ll cover YouTube video tracking.

Step-by-step guide for tracking YouTube video interactions using GTM:

1. Log in to Google Tag Manager: Sign in to your GTM account at https://tagmanager.google.com/ and select the container associated with your website.
2. Enable built-in video variables: Click “Variables” in the left-hand menu, then scroll down to “Built-In Variables” and click “Configure.” Enable all the built-in video variables (e.g., “Video Provider,” “Video Status,” “Video URL,” “Video Title,” etc.) by checking the boxes next to them.
3. Create a new trigger: Click “Triggers” in the left-hand menu, then click the “New” button. Give your trigger a descriptive name, such as “YouTube Video Trigger.”
4. Configure the trigger: Click on “Trigger Configuration” and select the “YouTube Video” trigger type. Choose the video interactions you want to track (e.g., “Start,” “Complete,” “Pause,” “Seeking,” etc.). You can also configure additional options, such as “Capture Progress” or “Add JavaScript API support.”
5. Save the trigger: Click “Save” to finish creating your YouTube video trigger.
6. Create a new tag: Click “Tags” in the left-hand menu, then click the “New” button. Give your tag a descriptive name, such as “Google Analytics – YouTube Video Interaction.”
7. Choose a tag type: Click on “Tag Configuration” and choose the tag type that corresponds to your Google Analytics setup. For Universal Analytics, select “Universal Analytics.” For GA4 (Google Analytics 4), select “Google Analytics: GA4 Event.”
8. Configure the tag:

   a. For Universal Analytics: Enter your Google Analytics Tracking ID, select “Event” as the track type, and set the event category, action, and label using the built-in video variables:

   • Category: “YouTube Video”
   • Action: “{{Video Status}}”
   • Label: “{{Video Title}}”

   b. For GA4: Enter your Measurement ID, set the event name (e.g., “video_interaction”), and configure the event parameters using the built-in video variables:

   • Parameter Name: “video_status” Parameter Value: “{{Video Status}}”
   • Parameter Name: “video_title” Parameter Value: “{{Video Title}}”
9. Choose the trigger: Click on “Triggering” and select the “YouTube Video Trigger” you created in step 5.
10. Save your tag: Click “Save” to finish creating your video interaction tag.
11. Test your setup: Before publishing your changes, use the “Preview” mode in GTM to test your video interaction tracking on your website. Make sure the tag fires correctly for the video interactions you’ve chosen to track.
12. Publish your changes: If your video interaction tracking works correctly in Preview mode, click “Submit” in the top right corner of the GTM interface to publish your changes and make your tracking live on your website.

By following these steps, you can use Google Tag Manager to track YouTube video interactions on your website and gain valuable insights into user engagement with your video content. This information can help you optimize your video strategy and improve the overall user experience.