Forrester: Understanding tag management Dec 2012

FOR: Customer Understanding Tag Management Tools
Intelligence
Professionals And Technology
by Joe stanhope, August 15, 2012

key TakeaWays

Marketers struggle With Complex digital Marketing and analytics
environments
Customer intelligence and interactive marketing professionals look to tag
management systems to help them execute and analyze digital marketing activities
in a challenging environment that continuously changes, requires a diverse array of
site instrumentation, and lacks rigorous internal processes.

Tag Management systems deliver on The promise of efficiency
Users expect a wide variety of benefits from tag management systems, but
ultimately, TMS systems deliver the greatest gains to process efficiencies, reducing
the effort, resources, and time required to add, edit, and remove tags from sites.

The early-stage TMs Market offers Many Vendor options
The young TMS market comprises a broad vendor landscape, giving buyers a wide
spectrum of price points, feature sets, and technical options to choose from and
match to their own requirements.

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For Customer Intelligence Professionals August 15, 2012

Understanding Tag Management Tools And
Technology
Users Benefit From A Rapidly Maturing Market And Proven Gains
by Joe Stanhope
with Dave Frankland and Michelle Dickson

Why Read This Report
Maintaining accurate and complete JavaScript tagging on websites is critical for ensuring the efficacy of
marketing and analytics efforts. But the highly dynamic pace and volume of tag management requirements
frequently overwhelm organizations’ resources and processes. To address this long-standing challenge,
customer intelligence professionals are looking to a new class of applications called tag management
systems (TMSes) to efficiently add, edit, and remove tags from websites. This report identifies the
benefits derived by TMS practitioners, the landscape of vendors in this young market, and key factors for
evaluating and differentiating solution options.

Table Of Contents Notes & Resources
2 Digital Complexity Drives Interest In Tag Forrester surveyed 76 tag management
Management Systems system users and interviewed 15 vendor
companies.
Tag Management Systems Deliver Process
Efficiencies First And Foremost
Related Research Documents
11 The Accelerating TMS Market Gives Buyers
Many Options Welcome To The Era Of Digital Intelligence
February 10, 2012
15 Look Beyond Basic Features And Hype To
Differentiate Vendors How Tag Management Improves Web
Intelligence
Technical Foundation December 22, 2010
Application Features

Extensibility

recommendations
18 Offset Tag Management Immaturity With A
Holistic Approach
19 Supplemental Material

© 2012, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available
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For Customer Intelligence Professionals
Understanding Tag Management Tools And Technology 2

Digital complexity drives Interest in tag management systems
Interest in tag management systems has skyrocketed in the past year, and it’s easy to see why.1
Organizations are facing unrelenting pressure to keep pace as digital channels become the
centerpiece of customer experiences. But implementing and maintaining the data collection
instrumentation for modern analytics and marketing execution is time consuming and resource
intensive. TMS offerings promise to close the gap by consolidating tag execution and maintenance
to a single management application. Forrester recently surveyed 76 tag management system users
to learn about TMS adoption and practices. Adoption is soaring — fully 50% of survey respondents
have used their tag management solutions for a year or less (see Figure 1). Users are attracted to the
efficiency, flexibility, and page-load performance benefits of tag management systems to help them
cope with complex web environments that:

■ Continuously change. Managing tags is a constant task as an organization’s digital
presence evolves over time. Seventy-three percent of users edit existing tags, and 59% of
users add new tags at least once a month (see Figure 2). Tag management activities take
many forms as firms add or change vendors, add new sites and pages, and revise channel
and campaign tracking requirements.

■ Leverage tags for many purposes. Tag management needs are not limited to web analytics
applications. Tagging is the deployment method of choice for a wide variety of marketing,
analytics, and tracking systems (see Figure 3). The ubiquity of JavaScript tags imposes costs on
firms in terms of the skills and resources required to develop and maintain tags, in addition to
increased page weight that affects page-load performance.

■ Lack rigorous processes. Few firms adhere to fully formalized tag management processes.
Only 7% of users report that their firms’ tag management efforts follow highly formalized
processes (see Figure 4). Ad hoc processes reduce organizations’ ability to keep pace with
large numbers of tags that require regular additions and maintenance, putting marketing and
analytics efficacy at risk.

■ Resist external support. Managing tags relies heavily on internal resources: input from
multiple internal stakeholders; specific knowledge about tag and application deployments; and
access to core infrastructure such as the web content management system. Accordingly, 66%
of firms regard tag management as an internal job, assigning ownership to tagging’s greatest
beneficiaries: the marketing and web analytics teams (see Figure 5 and see Figure 6). Without
third-party services or outsourcing, firms often struggle to make internal capabilities suffice.

© 2012, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 15, 2012


Figure 1 Most Users Have Recently Adopted Their Tag Management Solutions

“How long have you had your current tag management solution?”

Less than six months 22%

Six months to less than one year 28%

One year to less than two years 29%

Two years to less than three years 13%

Three years to less than four years 1%

Four years to less than five years 1%

Five years or longer 0%

Don’t know 5%

Base: 76 tag management end users
(percentages do not total 100 because of rounding)
Source: Q2 2012 Global Tag Management User Online Survey
74123 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.



Figure 2 Users Add And Edit Tags Frequently

“On average, how often do you do the following activities using your tag management system?”

1%
Several times per day 0%
0%

3%
Daily 4%
4%

Less than daily but multiple 12%
5% Edit existing tags
times per week 1% Add new tags
Deactivate or remove tags
13%
Weekly 8%
7%

Less than weekly but 20%
20%
multiple times per month 5%

24%
Monthly 22%
18%

Less than monthly but multiple 9%
12%
times per quarter
21%

4%
Quarterly 12%
18%

9%
Less than quarterly 12%
14%

1%
Other 3%
4%

3%
Don’t know 4%
7%



Figure 3 Firms Deploy Tags To Support Many Marketing And Analytics Capabilities

“What types of tags do you deploy via your tag management system?”

Web analytics 88%

Search marketing 64%

Ad serving 62%

Affiliate marketing 59%

Behavioral targeting 50%

Testing 47%

Audience measurement 42%

Social media 38%

Voice of the customer 26%
(surveys and feedback)

Recommendations 14%

Other 5%

(multiple responses accepted)



Figure 4 Few Firms Have Fully Formalized Processes For Tag Management

“To what degree does your firm adhere to a structured process
when adding, revising, or removing tags?”
(Select one)

Managing tags follows formalized processes 38%
for some tasks but is mostly ad hoc
Managing tags follows formalized processes for 28%
most tasks, but some tasks are ad hoc

Managing tags is predominantly an ad hoc process 26%

Managing tags follows a highly formalized process 7%

Other 1%


Figure 5 Firms Prefer To Support Tag Management In-House

“What is your preferred method of supporting tag management?”
(Select one)

Manage entirely in-house 66%

Work with an external agency 20%
or consultancy
Work with our vendor’s professional 11%
services group

Allow vendor to manage the entire process 1%

Allow external agency or consultancy to 1%
manage the entire process

Other 1%





Figure 6 Marketing And Analytics Own Tag Management

“What department in your firm is responsible for tag management?”

Marketing 38%

Web analytics group 28%

IT 13%

eCommerce 11%

Business intelligence or corporate 4%
analytics group

Other 7%


Tag Management Systems Deliver Process Efficiencies First And Foremost
TMS users have high expectations for tag management systems, seeking improvements in several
areas, including condensed cycle times for tag additions and changes, faster page-load performance,
and reducing the technical skills required to manage tags (see Figure 7). Reflecting the value of tag
management systems, users report a variety of gains, concentrated heavily on process efficiencies
(see Figure 8). The top three benefits reported by users ultimately yield reductions in the time
required to manage tags. And the results are dramatic — the capability to implement new or revised
tags within a single day leaps from 18% to 80% after users deploy a TMS (see Figure 9).



Figure 7 Users Look To Tag Management To Resolve A Variety of Challenges

“Which topics represent the three greatest challenges that you seek to resolve with your
tag management system?”
(Select up to three)

Duration of the process to implement new 45%
or revised tags

Website development and code release cycles 42%

Page-load performance 36%

The technical skills required to manage tags 32%

The manual nature of managing tags 22%

Flexibility to evaluate and adopt new vendors 20%

Cost of managing tags 17%

Data quality 13%

Amount of time spent managing tags by staff 13%

Ensuring consistency across pages and sites 12%

Number of staff and departments involved 11%
in managing tags

Maintaining tags on a long-term basis 8%

Removing old and/or decommissioned tags 7%
from websites

Enforcing standards and policies, such as privacy 4%

Other 7%





Figure 8 Process Efficiencies Dominate TMS Benefits

“What are the top three benefits your company has realized through tag management?”
(Select up to three)

Ability to manage tags outside of website 49%
development and code release cycles
Reduction in the duration of the process to 42%
implement new or revised tags

Managing tags requires less time by staff 33%

Improved flexibility to evaluate and 28%
adopt new vendors
Ability to manage tags without coding or 26%
advanced technical skills

Improved page-load performance 22%

Reduced cost associated with managing tags 17%

Improved tag consistency across pages and sites 16%

Tags are more accurate, resulting in improved data 13%
quality, measurement, and marketing attribution

Managing tags requires fewer staff 11%

Ability to manage tags through 9%
automated processes
Tags have complete coverage, resulting in improved 4%
data quality, measurement, and marketing attribution
Ability to remove old and/or decommissioned tags 3%
from websites
Ability to enforce standards and policies, 0%
such as privacy

Other 1%

No benefits 4%




Figure 9 Users See A Major Reduction In Tag Management Cycle Times

“How long does it take on average to implement a new or revised tag?”

8%
An hour or less
53%

7%
Several hours
14%

3%
A day
13%

17%
Several days
9%

13%
A week
3%

22%
Several weeks
4%

12%
One to two months
0%

9%
Two to three months Prior to using a tag
0%
management system
3% Using a tag
Three to six months management system
0%

3%
Longer than six months
1%

4%
Don’t know
3%





The Accelerating TMS Market Gives Buyers Many options
Historically, tag management system options have been very limited — users were consigned
to developing home-grown solutions or working with niche vendors. Why is the market for tag
management accelerating today? The combination of widely available commercial-grade TMS
offerings and pent-up user demand creates a symbiotic relationship aimed at resolving long-standing,
day-to-day pain points. Specialist and enterprise vendors are piling into the market to meet user
demand, encouraging adoption with ever-improving solutions, and creating a healthy — or slightly
overweight — dose of marketing and evangelization (see Figure 10). Although the TMS market is still
in the early stages of development, vendors are already coalescing into several categories:

■ Digital intelligence vendors. At first blush, TMS promises of flexibility and control make
analytics vendors’ interest in tag management counterintuitive.2 But vendors such as Adobe
and IBM have more to gain from effective tag management than most. TMS capabilities
expand their product footprints, manage data collection for their own product suites, and
improve the overall manageability and cohesiveness of solutions delivered to clients. These
vendors are well established and will appeal to firms that are heavily committed to their
respective product lines, but their TMS offerings lack independence and focus heavily on
managing their own data collection, often at the expense of third parties.

■ TMS pure plays. Most of the startups in the TMS market are pure plays. They are typically
founded by former marketers, analysts, and consultants — many of whom have personally
lived through the pain of tag management. Vendors such as BrightTag, Ensighten, Search
Discovery, and Tealium are highly focused on tackling tag management head-on with the goal
of delivering the most functional and easy-to-use TMS capabilities. These vendors are highly
innovative and will appeal to analytics-led organizations, but as young companies, they are still
developing their support infrastructures and credibility. These vendors are likely acquisition
targets as the segment inevitably matures and consolidates.

■ TMS marketing platforms. TMS marketing platform vendors focus on developing tag
management to support marketing capabilities. In addition to standalone TMS features,
vendors such as DC Storm, Krux Digital, and TagMan see tag management as a foundational
technology for attribution analysis, conversion tracking, and data management platforms.
These vendors offer a broad marketing-oriented perspective that appeals to advertisers and
publishers, but their marketing capabilities beyond core tag management are limited to specific
use cases such as attribution analysis and data management platforms.



Figure 10 The Tag Management Systems Vendor Landscape

Tag
Head- Management
quarters product Pricing
Vendor name Website URL location Product name available since model
Adobe adobe.com San Jose, Adobe TagManager 2011 Free to Adobe Digital
Calif. Marketing Suite
customers, or CPM uplift
to Adobe SiteCatalyst
customers
BrightTag brighttag.com Chicago BrightTag ONE 2010 Volume based on
page views

Cara Europe tagUNITE.com Munich, tagUNITE 2011 Free up to 20,000 page
Germany views per month, then
volume based on page
views
Datalicious supertag. Sydney, Supertag 2012 Volume based on
datalicious.com Australia page views
DC Storm dc-storm.com Brighton, Storm Container Tag 2009 Flat monthly fee
UK per site

Ensighten ensighten.com Cupertino, Ensighten Manage 2009 Volume based on
Calif. page views
IBM ibm.com/ Armonk, IBM Coremetrics 2011 Free to IBM
marketing- N.Y. Digital Data Coremetrics
solutions Exchange customers
Krux krux.com San Krux SuperTag 2010 Volume based on
Digital Francisco page views

QuBit opentag.qubit London OpenTag 2011 Volume based on
products.com page views
Search search Atlanta Satellite 2010 Per product module
Discovery discovery.com per site

SiteTagger sitetagger.co.uk Cardiff, SiteTagger On 2009 Volume based on
UK Demand and page views, do-
SiteTagger Enterprise mains, and activity
Tag tag Paris TagCommander 2010 Volume based on
Commander commander.com page views

TagMan tagman.com New York TagMan 2007 Volume based on page
views per product
module
Tealium tealium.com Del Mar, Tealium IQ 2010 Volume based on
Calif. visits
New York Volume based on
UberTags ubertags.com UberTags 2010
page views



Figure 10 The Tag Management Systems Vendor Landscape (Cont.)

Number of tag Number of
management enterprise tag
clients in live management Additional
Vendor name production clients Marquee clients platform offerings
Adobe 167 125 Dominion Enterprises, Harrah’s Web analytics, site
Resorts, Scripps Networks optimization, data
Interactive, Vodafone management platform

BrightTag 100 60 Crate and Barrel, Gap, Privacy management,
JetBlueAirways, application tagging
1-800-Flowers.com
Cara Europe 350 5 Allianz, Premium Bettwasche, None
Sixt Rent a Car, Star Kauf

Datalicious 30 3 Amaysim, Aussie, Bupa, Cross domain tracking,
Unicef data collection
DC Storm 100 40 EDF Energy, Low Cost Attribution management,
Holidays, Play.com, uSwitch data integration,
marketing reporting
Ensighten 60 47 Dell, Microsoft Stores, Sony Privacy management,
Electronics, United Air Lines application tagging
IBM 0 0 None Web analytics, campaign
management, interaction
analysis
Krux 14 3 BrainyQuote, NBCUniversal, Data management
Digital YouBeauty, Wikia platform, web data
protection
QuBit 1,000 12 BBC, Financial Times, Office, Privacy management,
Research In Motion attribution management
Search 39 6 Assurant, Chick-fil-A, Privacy management
Discovery J.P.Morgan, Ticketmaster

SiteTagger 74 5 ASDA, AXA Bank, British Gas, Privacy management
DSGi

Tag 70 12 Bouygues Telecom, Privacy management, data
Commander La Redoute, Levi’s, Meetic management, attribution
management, conversion
deduplication, application
tagging
TagMan 252 153 J. Crew, Kellogg’s, Marriott, Privacy management,
Travelocity attribution management

Tealium 102 35 News International, NHL, Privacy management,
Nokia, Volvo application tagging
UberTags 100 25 LexisNexis, Meredith, Sony Privacy management
Electronics, The Limited



Figure 10 The Tag Management Systems Vendor Landscape (Cont.)

Native API
Implementation Deployment TMS Availability and Prebuilt Tag
Vendor name Method Options Reporting functionality Integrations
Adobe Browser side On demand No No Adobe products

BrightTag Browser and On demand Yes Yes 300 tag templates
server side tag management,
data export
Cara Europe Browser and On demand Yes Yes None
server side tag management,
tag delivery

Datalicious Browser side On demand, No No 10 tag templates
hybrid
DC Storm Browser side On demand, Yes Yes 100 tag templates
hybrid reporting

Ensighten Browser side On demand, Yes Yes 75 tag templates
hybrid, on premises tag management
IBM Browser and On demand Yes Yes IBM Coremetrics
server side tag management, products and four tag
reporting templates
Krux Browser side On demand, Yes Yes 15 tag templates
Digital Hybrid tag management,
reporting
QuBit Browser side On demand Yes Yes 50 tag templates
tag management
Search Browser side On demand, Yes Yes Two tag templates
Discovery hybrid tag management,
data export
SiteTagger Browser side On demand, Yes No 300 tag templates
On premises

Tag Browser side and On demand, Yes No 100 tag templates
Commander server side hybrid

TagMan Browser side On demand Yes Yes 275 tag templates
data export

Tealium Browser side On demand, Yes Yes 300 tag templates
On premises administration
UberTags Browser and On demand, Yes No None
server side On premises



Look Beyond Basic Features and Hype To Differentiate Vendors
Tag management systems are a relatively new class of application, and users should anticipate a
dynamic vendor landscape populated by young companies and rapidly evolving solutions. Although
the precepts of TMS are well understood, standard pricing models, semantics, and solution
configurations still need to fully coalesce.3 Vendors are in a rush to build out their core products and
establish a foothold in the market, leading to a surge in marketing activity, lookalike solutions, and
conflicting claims. Users currently look at a wide variety of factors when selecting tag management
systems, with top attributes spanning ease of use and management, pricing and cost of ownership,
vendor service and technical capabilities, and tag support (see Figure 11). To differentiate vendors
and determine the best fit for your respective TMS requirements, evaluate vendor capabilities on
three dimensions: technical foundation, application features, and extensibility.

Technical Foundation
The technical foundation consists of the underlying design, operation, and delivery of the TMS
application.

■ Infrastructure. As a predominantly on-demand solution, TMS infrastructure is critical
for ensuring performance, uptime, and security. Users must evaluate vendor service-
level agreements (SLAs) and technical factors such as data center or cloud service usage;
disaster recovery and redundancy; and the use of content delivery networks or distributed
infrastructure to support global deployments.

■ Deployment method. Users have a choice of several TMS application deployment methods.
The default option for all vendors is on-demand, but several vendors support on-premises and
hybrid deployments — where the client selects the location of the script code file. On-premises
and hybrid options may appeal to organizations from regulated industries with significant
security concerns.

■ Implementation method. TMS vendors offer a variety of implementation methodologies.
Most vendors rely on client-side tag implementation, although a few emphasize server-side tag
management. Both options require JavaScript tags, but the designation refers to where most
tags are fired, either at the browser or server level.

■ Support and services. Users require support from vendors in addition to technology. A
mature TMS offering features full technical documentation and robust technical support,
including access via multiple channels and an online knowledge base. Users should also
consider how vendors deliver professional services to support implementation, training, and
strategic advisory.



Application Features
Application features represent the key components beyond standard TMS functionality that drive
efficiency and the capacity for self-service utilization.

■ Partner ecosystem. Cutting and pasting tag code into a TMS is the most basic tag
management feature, but it’s not efficient. Advanced TMS vendors partner with key interactive
marketing and analytics vendors to prebuild common tags and offer user-friendly tag
management templates to add and edit tags without writing or accessing code.

■ Workflow and user administration. Even with an efficient TMS environment, tag management
will involve multiple stakeholders. Users should evaluate administration features to control
user access to functionality and data. TMS workflow capabilities should be consistent with an
organization’s own multistage processes for tag creation, quality assurance, and approvals.

■ Usability. An effective TMS user experience features a modern application interface based on
common and intuitive interaction principles. The user interface (UI) should reduce complexity
for nontechnical users with logical layouts and guided task flows and should support power
users with functionality for efficient, granular management of large numbers of tags, vendors,
and domains.

■ Native reporting. Many, but not all, TMS offerings feature native site and tag-level reporting
to provide visibility to the tag management environment. Advanced reporting offerings
include error reporting; attribution and conversion analysis; and page-load performance data,
acting as a secondary audit point that complements existing analytics tools.

Extensibility
Extensibility provides the ability to leverage TMS features in multiple environments, from other
applications, and alongside additional marketing and analytics functionality.

■ Environment support. Tag management users and vendors currently emphasize TMS support
for fixed Internet websites. But as digital marketing increasingly moves beyond the website,
users should consider TMS options that support instrumentation in multiple environments
such as mobile websites, applications, and media platforms such as Flash.

■ TMS platform extensions. Beyond standard tag management functionality, determine what
additional features the TMS platform can deliver to support your organization’s marketing and
analytics requirements. Most TMS vendors offer privacy management capabilities, but many
also offer additional functionality for attribution and data syndication.

■ Application programming interface. Application programming interface (API) usage in tag
management is rare today but holds significant future promise. Not all vendors currently support
APIs, but the feature is useful for bulk implementation of large numbers of tags, remote system
management, developing custom user interfaces, and exporting data for advanced analysis.


Figure 11 Users Avoid Complexity When Selecting Tag Management Systems

“Which of the following are the five most important factors when selecting a tag management system?”
(Select up to five)

Ease of use 62%
Ease of implementation and
ongoing management 50%

Pricing model 39%

Vendor’s ability to service my business needs 33%

Vendor’s infrastructure and scalability 32%

Total cost of ownership 30%
Implementation method (i.e., client-side
JavaScript, server-side, etc.) 28%

Breadth of tags supported 28%
Standard features and functionality (such as rules, templates,
version management, administration and workflow, etc.) 21%
Vendor’s product support capabilities (live and online 16%
support, knowledge base, documentation, etc.)
Strength of vendor’s reference customers 14%

Vendor’s reputation (e.g., known as a leader in this field) 13%
Availability of advanced or proprietary features and functionality
(such as API, privacy management, data syndication, etc.) 12%

Professional services and training capabilities 11%
Breadth of environments supported (such as
website, mobile, applications, etc.) 9%

Vendor’s thought leadership 8%

Availability of a service-level agreement 7%

Experience in our industry 7%
The tag management application is a module within
a larger suite of analytics and/or marketing tools 5%

Vendor’s partner network 5%
Deployment model (such as on-premises,
on-demand, or hybrid models) 5%

Vendor’s geographic coverage 1%

Other 3%



R e c o m m e n d at i o n s
offset tag management immaturity with a holistic approach
Tags have never been as important and pervasive as they are today, but managing them is a
perpetual drag on resources and processes. The rapid acceleration of the TMS market over the past
couple of years from obscurity to “the new black” clearly shows users’ excitement at the possibility of
a better way to manage tags. But tag management is still immature. In a crowded, early-stage market,
customer intelligence professionals must understand their exposures to tagging issues, identify
which types of TMS vendor can support their needs, and conduct evaluations that go deeper than
basic tag management features.4 To make the right choice:

■ Ensure comprehensive digital ecosystem coverage. Users must consider tag management
solutions in the context of their own digital marketing and analytics requirements. To
ensure a good fit, a TMS should support all internal and external users; the preferred tag
management workflow; the full set of tags currently in use; and deployment to all web and
application environments where an organization operates.

■ Prepare for the implementation and ongoing usage. Selecting a TMS is only the start
of the tag management journey. Ultimately a TMS is simply an enabling technology.
Planning is the key to long-term TMS success. Users must audit their current sites; schedule
the transition of tags to the new system; conduct rigorous quality assurance to ensure
continuity; train users on the new TMS application; and update tag management processes
for effective governance.

■ Select a vendor for the long haul. TMS deployments are deeply embedded within
organizations because of the implementation investment and centralization of data collection.
Replatforming a TMS vendor is difficult, making selection of a vendor for the long term
paramount. Beyond product and support capabilities, users must evaluate corporate health;
the product mix; the management team and board of directors; funding; and the customer
base to ensure that their vendors can provide support today as well as in the future.



Supplemental MATERIAL

Methodology
Forrester fielded its Q2 2012 Global Tag Management User Online Survey to 76 individuals who are
current users of tag management systems. For quality assurance, all respondents were required to
provide contact information and answer basic questions about their firms’ revenues, location, and
type of business.

Forrester fielded the survey in May and June 2012. Respondent incentives included receiving a copy
of the published research.

Exact sample sizes are provided in this report on a question-by-question basis. This data is not
guaranteed to be representative of the population. Unless otherwise noted, statistical data is
intended to be used for descriptive and not inferential purposes. While nonrandom, the survey is
still a valuable tool for understanding where users are today and where the industry is headed.

Endnotes
1
We determine interest in this context in two ways. First, Forrester is experiencing a significant and
sustained volume of analyst inquiries on the topic of tag management. Second, data gathered during
the research process shows that the majority of vendors in this report are experiencing substantial new
customer growth.
2
A tag management system supports any number of tags from multiple applications and applies those tags
to any page. This increases the flexibility of firms to run tags on specific pages, add or remove vendors and
agencies, and run proof-of-concept projects. A big payoff: reduced switching costs and reliance on any
single supplier. See the December 22, 2010, “How Tag Management Improves Web Intelligence” report.
3
The most viable option for maintaining tags falls to an emerging class of applications called tag
management systems. These solutions replace individual on-site tags with a single master tag and aggregate
tag execution and maintenance to a consolidated management application. See the December 22, 2010,
“How Tag Management Improves Web Intelligence” report.
4
Tag management success starts with a comprehensive audit to identify how tags currently integrate with
your website. What does the website tag audit entail? CI professionals must apply a framework to assess key
website measurement, performance, and management characteristics to evaluate the common drivers of tag
management issues. See the December 22, 2010, “How Tag Management Improves Web Intelligence” report.


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Forrester: Understanding tag management Dec 2012

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