Use GTM Data Layer to integrate Convert with GA

Convert Experiments fired on pages are pushed into the Google Tag Manager default dataLayer object for further processing inside GTM. Below are the 4 keys of the Convert object pushed to GTM dataLayer: 

• "event" - has as value "convert-trigger-experiment-{experiment_id}" where experiment_id is the ID of the fired experiment inside Convert Experiences app;
• "experiment_id" - has as value the experiment id of the fired experiment inside Convert Experiences app;
• "variation_name" - has the value variation name of the selected variation, as found inside Convert Experiences app
• "gadimension" - if the Google Analytics integration has been enabled and a dimension chosen then it has the value for the dimension set in the google analytics integration. 

Example: 

dataLayer.push({ "event":"convert-trigger-experiment-1234", "experiment_id":"1234", "variation_name":"test variation", "gadimension":"1" });

If you use Google Chrome console and you have activated the Convert Debugger extension, this is how it looks like when Convert pushes data to GTM data layer:

Inside Google Tag Manager, this data can be used and sent forward to other services that are supported.

Use GTM Data Layer to send Convert data to GA4

Let's analyze how we would send the variation triggered to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) through a custom event and event parameters.

Each time that you create an experiment you will have to assign it a Custom Dimension in GA4.

Create the Custom Dimension in GA4

Go to Admin → Custom Definitions. 

Create a new Custom Dimension and register the event parameter that will hold your variation information (for example exp_variant_string).

Save the Custom Dimension.

Enable the GA integration 

Go to your specific experience summary page and from the Add/Edit integrations enable the GA integration:

Create the Experiment ID Data Layer variable in GTM

The Experiment ID Data layer Variable will store the Convert experiment_id values and we will use it every time we need to call this value.

Open Google Tag Manager and go to variables:

Create a new User Defined variable:

Give it a descriptive name, assign the type Data Layer Variable and fill in experiment_id in the Data Layer Variable name: 

Create the Dimension Data Layer variable in GTM

The Dimension Data layer Variable will store the Convert gadimension values and we will use it every time we need to call this value.

Go to variables and create a new User Defined variable:

Give it a descriptive name and assign as type the Data Layer Variable. Specify its Data Layer Variable name and hit Save:

Create the Variation Name Data Layer variable in GTM

The Variation Name Data layer Variable will store the Convert variation_name values and we will use it every time we need to call this value.

Go to variables and create a new User Defined variable:

Give it a descriptive name and assign as type the Data Layer Variable. Specify its Data Layer Variable name and hit Save:

Create a new GTM Tag

Go to tags and create a new tag:

Give it a descriptive name and select Tag Type: Google Analytics: GA4 Event. Select your GA4 Configuration Tag and configure the event parameters as required.

Map the Experiment ID, Variation Name and/or exp_variant_string parameters using the GTM variables created above.
Select the triggering rule to fire the tag. Create a new trigger, give it a descriptive name, select Custom Event and fill in relevant fields as it is shown below:

Please note that this rule will fire the tag every time an experiment will be fired. 

View Data in GA4 Reports

You can analyze experiment data in GA4 using Reports, Explorations, Audiences, and Custom Definitions built from the event parameters sent through GTM or the direct Convert integration.

 

If you are using the direct integration, you may not need the GTM implementation described in this article.