Google today launched Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps. The new software means developers can publish their app a single time; from then on, they can change configurations, add analytics, remarketing, and conversion tracking without updating it.
Just like the Web version, Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps is free. Developers can add tags to their native Android and iOS apps and measure key events in what Google says is three easy steps:
- Include the new Google Analytics Services SDK (Android, iOS) in your app. This new unified SDK includes both Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics functionality while sharing a common framework.
- Push interesting and important events to the Data Layer. Once events are registered on the data layer, they can be used to trigger Google Tag Manager Tags and Macros.
- Use Google Tag Manager’s web-based interface to write Rules and determine when various Tags should fire.
Google says existing Tag Manager users will find the Web-based interface very familiar and the same style Tag Templates, Rules, and Macros are available for the new Mobile App Container Type. Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps natively supports the following: AdWords Conversion Tracking, AdWords Remarketing, Google Analytics for Mobile Apps (Universal Analytics) tags, custom and third-party tracking events using the custom tag.
Google first previewed Google Tag Manager for Mobile Apps at its I/O 2013 developer conference. The biggest talking point was that developers can create server-side configurations and use them to build configurable apps.
In short, Google is trying to address the following problem for marketers and developers:
On the Web, you can iterate on content and features in near-real-time and deploy conversion tracking, remarketing, analytics and other tags to measure the effects on your users. Apps, on the other hand, are effectively frozen at the point of user install. Making even the slightest change means waiting until your next update makes its way through the various app stores and even then, you can’t be sure that all of your users will update quickly, if at all.
In addition to moving further into the mobile space with this release, Google is also ensuring developers continue to use its own services for their mobile projects. That can’t hurt.
See also – Google Tag Manager lets you simplify and manage your site’s tracking and marketing tags
Top Image Credit: Johannes Eisele/Getty Images
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