GTM Event Tracking & Setup Reference

Complete reference guide to Google Tag Manager event tracking, including dataLayer fundamentals, trigger and variable types, GA4 tag configuration, debug mode, and implementation best practices.

Full docs: https://cogny.com/docs/gtm-event-tracking

Usage

/gtm-setup                              # Full GTM reference overview
/gtm-setup dataLayer                    # dataLayer fundamentals and syntax
/gtm-setup purchase                     # Show purchase event dataLayer.push()
/gtm-setup triggers                     # All trigger types explained
/gtm-setup variables                    # All variable types explained
/gtm-setup tags                         # GA4 tag configuration
/gtm-setup debug                        # Debug mode and troubleshooting
/gtm-setup best practices               # Naming conventions, organization
/gtm-setup common mistakes              # Race conditions, missing data, duplicates

Instructions

You are a Google Tag Manager expert. Use this reference to help users implement event tracking, configure tags/triggers/variables, debug GTM issues, and follow best practices.

When the user asks a question, find the relevant section below and provide precise, actionable answers with ready-to-use code snippets.

If the user provides a specific topic as an argument, focus on that area. Otherwise, provide an overview of GTM concepts and ask what they need help with.

If Cogny GTM MCP tools are available, use them to inspect the user's actual GTM container, list their tags/triggers/variables, and provide recommendations based on their real configuration.

dataLayer Fundamentals

What Is the dataLayer?

The dataLayer is a JavaScript array that acts as a message bus between your website and GTM. When you push objects onto the dataLayer, GTM reads them to fire triggers and populate variables.

Initialization

Declare the dataLayer before the GTM snippet to capture early pushes:

<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
</script>
<!-- GTM snippet follows -->

dataLayer.push() Syntax

// Push data AND fire a trigger (event key is required for trigger evaluation)
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'custom_event_name',
  'key1': 'value1',
  'key2': 'value2'
});

// Push data without firing a trigger (no 'event' key)
dataLayer.push({
  'user_type': 'premium',
  'user_id': '12345'
});

Object Persistence and Merging

Later pushes override earlier values. Nested objects use shallow merge (the entire nested object is replaced, not deep-merged):

dataLayer.push({ 'user': { 'name': 'John', 'plan': 'free' } });
dataLayer.push({ 'user': { 'plan': 'premium' } });
// Result: user = { plan: 'premium' } — user.name is GONE

Clearing Stale Data (Critical for E-Commerce)

Always push null before e-commerce events to prevent stale data contamination:

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'view_item',
  'ecommerce': {
    'items': [{ 'item_id': 'SKU-001', 'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt', 'price': 29.99 }]
  }
});

Common dataLayer Events

page_view

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'page_view',
  'page_location': window.location.href,
  'page_title': document.title,
  'page_referrer': document.referrer,
  'content_group': 'blog'
});

For SPAs (React, Next.js, Vue), fire on route change:

useEffect(() => {
  dataLayer.push({
    'event': 'page_view',
    'page_location': window.location.href,
    'page_title': document.title
  });
}, [location.pathname]);

purchase

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'purchase',
  'ecommerce': {
    'transaction_id': 'T-20250211-001',
    'value': 149.97,
    'tax': 12.50,
    'shipping': 5.99,
    'currency': 'USD',
    'coupon': 'SUMMER20',
    'items': [
      {
        'item_id': 'SKU-001',
        'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt',
        'item_brand': 'BrandName',
        'item_category': 'Apparel',
        'item_category2': 'T-Shirts',
        'item_variant': 'Blue',
        'price': 29.99,
        'quantity': 2
      },
      {
        'item_id': 'SKU-045',
        'item_name': 'Running Shoes',
        'item_brand': 'BrandName',
        'item_category': 'Footwear',
        'item_variant': 'Black/Size-10',
        'price': 89.99,
        'quantity': 1
      }
    ]
  }
});

add_to_cart

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'add_to_cart',
  'ecommerce': {
    'currency': 'USD',
    'value': 29.99,
    'items': [{
      'item_id': 'SKU-001',
      'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt',
      'item_brand': 'BrandName',
      'item_category': 'Apparel',
      'price': 29.99,
      'quantity': 1
    }]
  }
});

remove_from_cart

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'remove_from_cart',
  'ecommerce': {
    'currency': 'USD',
    'value': 29.99,
    'items': [{
      'item_id': 'SKU-001',
      'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt',
      'price': 29.99,
      'quantity': 1
    }]
  }
});

view_item

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'view_item',
  'ecommerce': {
    'currency': 'USD',
    'value': 29.99,
    'items': [{
      'item_id': 'SKU-001',
      'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt',
      'item_brand': 'BrandName',
      'item_category': 'Apparel',
      'price': 29.99
    }]
  }
});

view_item_list

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'view_item_list',
  'ecommerce': {
    'item_list_id': 'category_apparel',
    'item_list_name': 'Apparel',
    'items': [
      { 'item_id': 'SKU-001', 'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt', 'index': 0, 'price': 29.99 },
      { 'item_id': 'SKU-002', 'item_name': 'Red T-Shirt', 'index': 1, 'price': 29.99 }
    ]
  }
});

begin_checkout

dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'begin_checkout',
  'ecommerce': {
    'currency': 'USD',
    'value': 149.97,
    'coupon': 'SUMMER20',
    'items': [
      { 'item_id': 'SKU-001', 'item_name': 'Blue T-Shirt', 'price': 29.99, 'quantity': 2 },
      { 'item_id': 'SKU-045', 'item_name': 'Running Shoes', 'price': 89.99, 'quantity': 1 }
    ]
  }
});

form_submit

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'form_submit',
  'form_id': 'contact_form',
  'form_name': 'Contact Us',
  'form_destination': '/thank-you'
});

generate_lead

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'generate_lead',
  'currency': 'USD',
  'value': 50.00,
  'lead_source': 'contact_form'
});

sign_up / login

dataLayer.push({ 'event': 'sign_up', 'method': 'google' });
dataLayer.push({ 'event': 'login', 'method': 'email' });

search

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'search',
  'search_term': 'blue t-shirt',
  'search_results_count': 42
});

scroll (custom)

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'scroll',
  'percent_scrolled': 90
});

Video events

// video_start
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'video_start',
  'video_title': 'Product Demo',
  'video_url': 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc123',
  'video_provider': 'youtube',
  'video_duration': 180
});

// video_progress
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'video_progress',
  'video_title': 'Product Demo',
  'video_percent': 50,
  'video_current_time': 90,
  'video_duration': 180
});

// video_complete
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'video_complete',
  'video_title': 'Product Demo',
  'video_duration': 180
});

Trigger Types

Page View Triggers

Filter by Page Path