What is Google Tag Manager and why should it be in your name?

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is like the fuse box of your website. From there, the codes that measure what happens on it are installed and switched on: Google Analytics, Google Ads conversions, the Meta pixel… All without touching the website’s code every time.

Having GTM set up properly is what lets you know which campaigns bring you customers and which ones just burn budget. If it fails, your reports lie and your campaigns optimize blind.

That’s why this guide is based on three ideas:

Understand what you’re creating and what each permission means.
Spot the most common mistakes before they cost you money.
Decide with good judgment how much power you give your agency or consultant.

The golden rule, just like with Analytics:

You create the Google Tag Manager account yourself, in your company’s name. Then you give your agency access. Never the other way around.

📖 If you haven’t done it yet, start with How to create your Google Analytics 4 account (and give your agency access) without losing control of your data.

Part 1: Getting into Tag Manager and preparing your account

Step 1Go to Google Tag Manager

Open your browser and go to:

👉 https://tagmanager.google.com

Step 2Use your business’s Google account

Sign in with the same Google account (Gmail or Google Workspace) that you use for your business’s Google Analytics or Google Ads.

🔍 If you don’t know which one it is, think of the account you usually sign in with on the company’s other Google tools. Using a different account is the most common mistake: you end up creating a new, empty Tag Manager account while the real one stays somewhere else.

✅ Just like with Analytics, the ideal is a generic company email address (for example, marketing@yourcompany.com) and not an employee’s personal Gmail. If that person leaves, the account stays.

Step 3Do you already have a Tag Manager account?

When you sign in you’ll see one of these two situations:

A) You already have an account and a container. You’ll see a screen with your website’s name or something similar. Click your container name (usually your website’s name, for example mydomain.com) and jump to Step 4.

B) You don’t have an account, or it’s empty. You’ll see the option “Create Account” (in Spanish, “Crear cuenta”). Click there.

Fill in the form like this:

Account name: your company or business name.
Country: select your country.
Container name: your website’s domain (for example, yourdomain.com).
Target platform: select “Web”.
Click “Create” and and accept the terms of service.

After that, a code will appear. You don’t have to do anything with it for now: close that window and continue to the next step.

💡 The account is your company and the container is your website. A company with two websites would have one account and two containers.

🔍 That code is what connects Tag Manager to your website. Until someone installs it, Tag Manager doesn’t measure anything. Usually your agency, consultant or whoever runs your website installs it. When they do, ask them to confirm that it’s working.

Part 2: Giving access to your agency or consultant

Step 4Go into “Admin”

Inside your website’s container (where you see “Workspace”), look in the top menu for the option “Admin” and click it.

Step 5Go into “User Management”

Inside “Admin”, find the account block and click “User Management” (in Spanish, “Gestión de usuarios”).

💡 This screen is the “key box” of your Tag Manager: here you see who has access and with what permissions.

🔍 If you see emails you don’t recognize (old agencies, former employees, personal emails), note them down. It’s a good time for a cleanup.

Step 6Click the blue (+) button

Click the blue button with the “+” sign, at the top right, to add a new user.

Step 7Enter your agency’s or consultant’s email

In the field “Email addresses”, type the email your agency or consultant gave you (for example, empresa@empresa.com).

🔍 Check that you copied it exactly the same. One extra letter and you’ll be giving access to someone else.

Step 8Set the permissions

Here you decide how much your agency can do:

Account permissions: select “User”.
Container permissions: click your container and select “Publish”. Click “Done”.

💡 With “User” on the account, your agency cannot add or remove other people or delete your account. With “Publish” on the container they can create, test and publish your website’s measurement, which is what they need to work.

✅ You stay as Administrator of the account. “Publish” gives a lot of leeway, so ask your agency to name and describe every version they publish. If something breaks, you can go back to a previous version in one click, from “Versions”.

Step 9Click “Invite”

Click the blue button “Invite”, at the top right.

Done! Your agency or consultant will receive the invitation by email and can start working in your Tag Manager.

Download the PDF guide

What to ask your agency from now on

“Which tags are you going to install, and what for?” Ask for a simple list: Analytics, Google Ads conversions, Meta pixel…
“How do I know the code is installed correctly?” They need to confirm it to you, ideally with a screenshot of Tag Manager’s preview working.
“Will you name every version you publish?” That way you’ll know what was changed and when, and it can be undone if something fails.
“Do I remain Administrator of everything?” Tag Manager, Analytics, Google Ads and Search Console: in your name, with access for them.

If your agency needs you to give them your Google password to work, something is wrong. With this guide that’s not needed: everyone signs in with their own account.

Frequently asked questions

Is Google Tag Manager free? Yes. The standard version of Google Tag Manager is free.

What’s the difference between Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics? Analytics is where you see the data. Tag Manager is where you install and manage the codes that collect that data. They complement each other.

What do I do with the code that appears when I create the account? Nothing for now. Your agency, consultant or whoever runs your website will install it. If you close it, you can look it up again at any time from Tag Manager.

Can I remove my agency’s access later? Yes. Go to Admin → User Management, find their email and remove it.

Why “User” on the account and not “Administrator”? Because your agency doesn’t need to manage who gets into your account to do their job. Fewer permissions than needed slow the work down, and more than needed are a risk.