Tag Management Systems, or "tag management systems," are now widely regarded as an essential element of analytics best practices.
If Google Tag Manager is one of the industry's heavyweights, many alternatives existed long before, and others have also emerged more recently: whether you want to adopt a TMS or are considering switching solutions, you're in the right place.
If you're already familiar with the concept of tag management, you can skip ahead to the presentation of tools that are alternatives to Google Tag Manager. For those of you discovering the term, we'll start with a few explanations of what TMS are.
What is a Tag Management System?
As its name indicates, a tag management system is software used to manage tags. Tags of what? Well, tracking tags, used primarily in digital marketing.
A tag is a short snippet of code added to a URL to collect data intended for statistical analysis and marketing toolsTo manage these tags, which can be numerous, marketing and analytics professionals use management software that allows them to deploy and manage tags on a site without relying on IT.
Tags are special headers on websites, or tracking pixels, used for advertising purposes and within content: once data is collected, they make it possible to analyze the result or effectiveness of an element and then possibly decide to optimize it.
Benefits of using a tag management system
TMS are, for example, used by marketing specialists to manage tags coming from various advertising servicesThey help simplify and speed up changes to existing advertising services as well as between services. The systems can manage tags for web pages, videos and applications. Real-time advertising is made easier by TMS.
TMS also allow faster page loading and less complicated changes, with fewer risks of site crashes. These tools can modify tags (for example to test a new service) by simply adding a snippet of code to the manager and then defining rules: within a few minutes, and without IT intervention, the changes are implemented!
In addition to speeding up the loading of web pages, a TMS allows the relevant employees to instantly update tags without requesting IT support.
Able to easily track a large number of tags (hundreds if necessary!), these tools help you comply with data privacy laws and can run quick tests of different marketing tactics.
Now let's look at what solutions are offered if you don't want to use Google'sGoogle tool.
1. Launch
Adobe Experience Platform Launch (or Launch for short) replaced “Dynamic Tag Management” a few years ago. Adobe emphasized during the Launch presentation that its open-API architecture would make it easier for both vendors and users to extend the platform’s capabilities. Launch works well with Adobe products but also with others, mainly thanks to the large extensions library powered by its API. Of course the solution is still tightly integrated with the Adobe Experience Cloud suite, so unless you plan to use Adobe’s product suite, you will probably not choose Launch.
If the Adobe suite is part of your environment, you'll be won over by its simple interface and catalog of extensions that let you deploy new tags through a fast, user-friendly process. You can of course create marketing rules to determine when to trigger tags and which data to capture.
Launch is free for Adobe Experience Cloud customers.
2. Tealium iQ Tag Management
Tealium It is a heavyweight in the TMS world: there was a time when this tag management solution powered 25% of the top 100 websites! Today, Tealium remains an excellent alternative to GTM, worth considering for organizations with complex requirements or managing multiple high-traffic sites, for example.
Tealium iQ Tag Management makes it easy to deploy and manage web tags while giving marketers the ability to try new technologies and take control of their marketing technology stack.
In addition to the large number of “plug-and-play” integrations with major ecommerce platforms and content management systems, the software has robust privacy features, including built-in consent management.
Advanced management of variables and loading rules (via a data layer integrated into the platform) is also among the reasons users favor Tealium.
3. Signal Tag Management
Like any TMS, Signal Tag Management helps marketers improve visitor experience by speeding up website load times. Signal’s main target is enterprises, which is likely why the software is heavily focused on advertising tags.
Free for Signal Fuse customers, Signal is able to follow a schedule for activating and deactivating tags.
A privacy policy feature allows users to easily opt out.
If you need help, expert support is available to assist you.
4. Ensighten Manage
Ensighten Manage is particularly well suited to collaborative, security- and process-focused environments where marketing managers need the flexibility to meet configuration and deployment requirements for a wide variety of web tags. Ensighten emphasizes privacy, which has become increasingly important for analysts and marketing specialists given the expanding regulatory environment in recent years.
User roles and access can be defined in detail.
The omnichannel data collection tool can track user engagement across mobile apps.
On its blog, Ensighten offers an overview of best practices in tag management.
Ensighten is considered one of the market leaders.
5. TagCommander
Based in Europe, the company “Commanders Act” provides a suite of marketing and privacy protection solutions designed to bridge the gap between consent and tracking: Named TagCommander, its tag management system integrates with hundreds of analytics and marketing solutions.
TagCommander allows users to set up tracking on web and mobile platforms. Real-time conversion de-duplication and simplified compliance with data privacy legislation are just two of TagCommander’s many advantages, which is why it is part of a comprehensive suite of analytics and marketing tools.
With more than 800 turnkey templates available, no technical knowledge is required—the interface is even guided by a wizard.
6. Piwik PRO
Piwik PRO can be used as an on-premises solution or run in the cloud. For on-premises use, Piwik PRO can be downloaded and installed on your own servers, but medium to large companies will gain the most benefits from the cloud solution's powerful capabilities.
Piwik PRO It pays a lot of attention to security and privacy, which can be a good alternative to GTM where the issue of data security is a bit murkier…
To simplify your implementation process, ready-to-use templates for major analytics platforms are provided in a large library of tags and variables.
Integration with the most popular CMS platforms is standard, and the tool also supports running tag tests in a staging environment.
7. Yottaa
Although Yottaa Although it is not classified among tag management platforms, it performs the same function as most TMSs. Yottaa's target audience is composed of online retail companies, and one of its main objectives is to provide a single control point for third-party technologies in order to improve page load times.
Yottaa enables automated (and accelerated) rendering of dynamic and static content and manages the order and execution of whatever you entrust to it.
The tool can also optimize properties based on their location, device type, network connection, etc.
8. Qubit
Qubit is a platform aimed at online retail that covers everything: from cart abandonment recovery to the customer experience, facilitated by artificial intelligence.
In 2011, Qubit unveiled an open-source tag management system called Opentag. Built for marketers but customizable for developers, it is one of the few open-source platforms available on GitHub.
If you are among those who get excited about open-source platforms (because of the active community, transparency, or cost), note that at the time of writing the Opentag repository has not been updated for several years… Moreover, Qubit no longer promotes its TMS on its website…
However, if you are looking for an open-source solution that allows flexible user management, the implementation of A/B testing, and asynchronous tag loading, Qubit it might be for you!
Conclusion
This selection will help you find the ideal Tag Management System if you want to avoid the market leader.
If you encounter difficulties configuring your tags on these different tools, you can post an ad on Codeur.com. Web developers and TMS experts will be able to help you integrate and create your custom tags for improved tracking of your sites.
