What is the recommended strategy for managing tag dependencies when multiple tags rely on the same data layer variables or events, preventing conflicts and ensuring correct firing order?
The recommended strategy for managing tag dependencies when multiple tags rely on the same data layer variables or events involves utilizing tag sequencing and trigger exceptions in Google Tag Manager (GTM). Tag sequencing allows you to define the order in which tags fire. Specifically, you can specify a 'setup tag' that must fire *beforea primary tag, ensuring that the necessary data layer variables or events are available before the primary tag attempts to access them. If Tag A needs to fire before Tag B, then Tag A would be setup as the setup tag. Trigger exceptions, also called blocking triggers, prevent tags from firing under certain conditions. This is useful when a tag should not fire on a specific page or when a particular data layer variable has a certain value. For example, you might use a trigger exception to prevent a tag from firing on an error page. To implement tag sequencing, configure the primary tag to fire *afterthe setup tag. The setup tag typically pushes a new event to the data layer or sets a cookie, and the primary tag is then triggered by this new event or cookie. If multiple tags depend on the same setup tag, they can all be triggered by the same event or cookie. If multiple tags rely on the same data layer variable, use trigger exceptions to prevent tags from firing until the variable is populated with the correct value. This can be achieved by creating a trigger that checks if the variable exists and has the expected value, and then using this trigger as an exception for the other tags. By using tag sequencing and trigger exceptions in combination, you can effectively manage tag dependencies, prevent conflicts, and ensure that tags fire in the correct order, leading to accurate and reliable data collection.