1. Introduction to Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Google Tag Manager (GTM) allows you to manage website tags without modifying the code directly. It’s a powerful tool for tracking user actions and managing tags centrally, giving you greater control over data collection and simplifying implementation.

2. Why Use GTM Over Direct Code Snippets

GTM offers centralized control of tracking tags, reducing developer dependency and maintenance. With GTM, you can easily adjust tracking, add custom parameters, and analyze user actions in granular detail.

Benefits of Using GTM for Gondola Tracking:

Your Gondola website already reports the moments that matter: clicks on booking buttons and product cards, phone taps, form submissions, and the steps of the booking checkout. The Gondola GTM container sends all of them to your Google Analytics 4 property, so you can see which pages and campaigns lead to enquiries and bookings.

3. Key Features in the Gondola GTM Container

The container sends these to your Google Analytics 4 property:

Every Gondola website event: menu, hero, footer and product card clicks, the booking button, phone taps, form submissions, and the steps and confirmations of your booking widget. Each arrives under its own name (they all start with gondola_) with its details as event parameters. The full list is in section 5.
Leads: GA4's standard generate_lead event for contact and enquiry forms, ready to mark as a key event or import into Google Ads.
E-commerce events: view_item on product pages, and the e-commerce events your booking widget sends to the page.
Conversion Linker, for Google Ads.

The events come from your Gondola website itself rather than from buttons GTM has to recognise, so they keep working when your site's design changes.

4. Setup Instructions

Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing the Gondola GTM Container

Download the Gondola GTM Container
- Download GTM Container Template
Log into Google Tag Manager
- Open Google Tag Manager
- Select your container (or create a new one if needed).
Import the Container
- Go to Admin > Import Container.
- Choose the Gondola GTM file you downloaded.
  - Your container already has other tags (Google Ads conversions, Meta Pixel, and so on): choose Merge, then Overwrite conflicting tags, triggers, and variables. Your own tags stay as they are.
  - Your container is new, or only holds an earlier Gondola template: choose Overwrite. The earlier template's click tags no longer fire on current Gondola websites, so nothing is lost.
Set your GA4 Measurement ID
- Go to Variables in GTM and open GA4 Measurement ID.
- Replace G-XXXXXXXXXX with your own Measurement ID. You'll find it in Google Analytics under Admin > Data streams, in your website's stream.
- Change the GA4 Measurement ID variable, not the ID in the Google tag. Every GA4 tag in the container reads this variable.

⚠️ Important

Until the GA4 Measurement ID variable holds your own ID, nothing reaches Google Analytics.

5. Publish the Container

Once everything is set, click Submit to publish the container.
Tip: Before publishing, open GTM’s Preview Mode, load your site and click a booking button. gondola_booking_cta should appear in the summary on the left, with GA4 - Gondola site events under Tags Fired.

5. Detailed Event Tracking Breakdown

These are the events the container sends to Google Analytics, with the details each one carries:

Event	When	Details sent
`gondola_nav_cta`	A menu link or the menu's Book Now button is clicked	`target`, `label`
`gondola_hero_cta`	The button on the home page hero is clicked	none
`gondola_footer_cta`	A footer link is clicked	`label`
`gondola_product_card_booking`	Book on a product card	`location`, `product`
`gondola_product_card_learn_more`	Learn more on a product card	`location`, `product`
`gondola_product_card_image`	The image on a product card	`location`, `product`
`gondola_booking_cta`	The booking button on a product page	none
`gondola_phone_click`	A phone number is tapped	none
`gondola_form_submitted`	A contact, enquiry or newsletter form is sent	`form` (`contact`, `enquiry` or `newsletter`), `tour` for enquiries
`generate_lead`	A contact or enquiry form is sent (not newsletter signups)	`form`, `tour`, `gondola_ref`
`gondola_booking_ref_stamped`	A visitor opens a booking flow, or a page with a booking calendar loads	`gondola_ref`, `provider`, `method`, `v`
`gondola_booking_step`	A step inside the booking widget, where your booking system reports it	`provider`, `step`, `v`
`gondola_booking_confirmed`	The booking widget reports a completed booking; sent once per booking in a visit	`gondola_ref`, `provider`, `provider_booking_id`, `id_source`, `value`, `currency`, `v`
`view_item`	A product page is viewed	`items` with the product's id and name
`blog_post_view`	A blog post is viewed	none

gondola_ref is a random reference Gondola uses to connect a booking or an enquiry back to the visit that led to it. No personal data is ever sent: no names, email addresses, phone numbers or order contents.

view_item and blog_post_view keep the names websites had before Gondola, so existing triggers, including Google Ads conversion tags, keep working.

ℹ️ Notice: Conversion Data

The container forwards e-commerce events (view_item through purchase) when your booking widget sends them to your website's pages. Whether purchases reach GA4 therefore depends on your booking system. If yours doesn't send them to the page, set up GA4 directly in your booking system with the same Measurement ID.

6. Advanced Tips and Recommendations

Optimization Tips Using GTM Data

GA4 Custom Dimensions: to use an event's details in your reports, register them once in Google Analytics: Admin > Data display > Custom definitions > Create custom dimension, scope Event, with the parameter name from the table above. Start with product, form, provider and step.
Key events: mark generate_lead as a key event in Google Analytics to count enquiries as conversions, and import it into Google Ads if you run ads.

7. Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you encounter any issues during setup, here’s a quick diagnostic guide:

Tags Not Firing: In GTM’s Preview Mode, click a booking button on your site. If gondola_booking_cta appears but no GA4 tag fired, check that the GA4 Measurement ID variable holds your own ID.
Missing Parameters: Details such as product only appear in reports once registered as custom dimensions (section 6). New dimensions can take up to 48 hours to show data.
Pageviews Counted Twice: If your site also loads a Google tag for the same property outside GTM, Google Analytics counts every pageview twice. Keep one of the two.
Fewer Events Than in Your Gondola Dashboard: Visitors in the EU, the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have to accept analytics cookies before Google Analytics receives anything from them, and ad blockers stop it on some visits. Gondola's own dashboard depends on neither.
No Booking Steps: Bokun and Peek report the steps of their checkout to your website; FareHarbor does not, so FareHarbor sites show gondola_booking_ref_stamped and no steps.
GTM Script Placement: Verify that GTM’s main script is installed site-wide (preferably in the header) to ensure tags load on all pages.

8. Download the Gondola GTM Container

Download Gondola GTM Container Template

This advanced GTM setup provides a structured way to analyze user engagement, optimize your website for conversions, and gain valuable insights to guide business decisions.

Advanced Tracking Setup: Using the Pre-configured Gondola GTM Container