Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Google Tag Manager VS Segment

Compare Google Tag Manager VS Segment and see what are their differences

Google Tag Manager logo Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager helps make tag management simple, easy and reliable by allowing marketers and webmasters to deploy website tags all in one place.

Segment logo Segment

We make customer data simple.
  • Google Tag Manager Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-29
  • Segment Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-08

Segment

Release Date
2011 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Calvin French-Owen
Employees
500 - 999

Google Tag Manager features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Google Tag Manager allows users to add and update website tags without needing to modify the site code, streamlining the process for marketing teams and reducing dependency on developers.
  • Centralized Management
    Offers a centralized platform to manage all the tags on your website, making it easier to maintain and organize marketing and analytics integrations.
  • Version Control
    Version control features allow users to track changes, roll back to previous versions if issues arise, and maintain a history of tag modifications.
  • Debugging Tools
    Built-in debugging and preview mode helps users test tags before they go live, ensuring accurate implementation and functionality.
  • Templates and Customization
    Provides a variety of pre-built tag templates for popular analytics and marketing services, and supports custom HTML tags for more complex needs.
  • Event Tracking
    Facilitates event tracking without the need for manual coding, allowing for more detailed data collection on user interactions.
  • Integration with Google Products
    Seamlessly integrates with other Google products like Google Analytics, enhancing the utility and efficiency of analytics workflows.
  • User Permissions
    Allows for granular user permissions and roles, providing better control and security over who can manage and update tags.

Possible disadvantages of Google Tag Manager

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, there is still a learning curve for those unfamiliar with how tags and triggers work, which can be challenging for beginners.
  • Complexity in Advanced Scenarios
    While it's suitable for many common uses, advanced scenarios or custom tagging requirements can become complex and might require technical expertise.
  • Limited to Web and App
    Google Tag Manager primarily supports web and mobile app environments, which may not meet the needs of businesses working with other platforms or requiring more specialized environments.
  • Dependency on JavaScript
    The tool heavily relies on JavaScript, which means that users need to have a basic understanding of JavaScript to fully leverage custom tags and functionalities.
  • Page Load Impact
    Incorrect implementation of multiple or large tags can negatively impact page load times, affecting user experience and potentially SEO.
  • Potential for Misconfiguration
    As with any powerful tool, there is a risk of misconfiguration, which can lead to inaccurate data collection or even site errors if not handled properly.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Managing user data and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR requires extra steps, which can complicate tag implementation and data handling.

Segment features and specs

  • Data Integration
    Segment allows you to integrate data from multiple sources such as websites, mobile apps, servers, cloud services, etc., enabling a comprehensive data ecosystem.
  • Ease of Use
    Segment provides a user-friendly interface and documentation, making it easy for technical and non-technical users to set up and manage data pipelines.
  • Real-time Data
    Segment offers real-time data processing, ensuring that your analytics and other data-driven operations are as up-to-date as possible.
  • Scalability
    Segment is designed to scale with your business needs, accommodating increasing data volumes and new data sources without extensive reconfiguration.
  • Security and Compliance
    Segment provides robust security features and compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA, ensuring your data is protected and handled responsibly.
  • Extensive Integrations
    Segment supports a wide range of integrations with popular tools and platforms like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, AWS, and more, making it versatile for different business needs.

Possible disadvantages of Segment

  • Cost
    Segment can be expensive, particularly for small businesses or startups, as its pricing scales with the volume of data and number of integrations.
  • Complexity in Advanced Use
    For more advanced functionalities, there may be a steep learning curve. Advanced configurations and custom integrations can be complex to implement and manage.
  • Dependency on Third-party Integrations
    Segment's functionality relies heavily on third-party integrations. If any of these integrations face issues, it can disrupt your data flow.
  • Setup Time
    Initial setup and configuration of Segment can be time-consuming, particularly for businesses with complex data pipelines and numerous data sources.
  • Limited Customization
    While Segment offers a wide range of integrations, the ability to customize these integrations may be limited compared to building custom solutions in-house.

Analysis of Google Tag Manager

Overall verdict

  • Google Tag Manager is considered a valuable tool for anyone who is looking to efficiently manage marketing tags and improve website operations. Its versatility and ease of use make it a popular choice among digital marketers, web developers, and analysts.

Why this product is good

  • Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a robust tool that allows marketers and website owners to manage and deploy marketing tags and tracking codes on their websites without having to modify the underlying code. It offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of tag management, improves website load times, and enhances data accuracy by reducing errors associated with manual tagging. It also integrates seamlessly with other Google products such as Google Analytics and Google Ads, providing a cohesive ecosystem for digital marketing efforts.

Recommended for

  • Digital marketers looking to streamline their tracking and analytics setup.
  • Website owners who want to reduce dependence on developers for tag management.
  • Businesses using multiple marketing platforms that require coordination and integration.
  • Data analysts seeking accurate and comprehensive data collection for insight generation.

Analysis of Segment

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Segment is considered a good tool for businesses looking to unify their customer data across various platforms.

Why this product is good

  • Data Aggregation: Segment efficiently aggregates customer data from multiple sources, providing a unified view for businesses.
  • Integrations: It offers seamless integration with hundreds of different marketing, analytics, and data warehouse tools.
  • Ease of Use: Segment is known for its user-friendly interface and robust documentation, making it accessible even for non-technical users.
  • Scalability: Whether you're a startup or an enterprise, Segment is designed to handle data at scale.

Recommended for

  • Businesses looking to unify customer data across various platforms
  • Companies needing a central hub for analytics tools
  • Marketing teams wanting better data insights
  • Developers needing an efficient way to manage customer data tracking

Google Tag Manager videos

What Is Google Tag Manager? Top 3 Reasons You Need It (Google Tag Manager Review)

More videos:

  • Review - Introduction To Google Tag Manager 2020 | Lesson 1 (GTM for Beginners)
  • Review - Why You Shouldn't Use Google Tag Manager: Google Tag Manager Introduction

Segment videos

What is Segment? How to Implement and Use It.

More videos:

  • Review - What's In My Bag: Chrome Industries MXD Segment

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Google Tag Manager and Segment)
Analytics
44 44%
56% 56
Web Analytics
52 52%
48% 48
Mobile Analytics
100 100%
0% 0
Data Integration
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Google Tag Manager and Segment

Google Tag Manager Reviews

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Segment Reviews

7 best Mixpanel alternatives to understand your users
This makes Segment particularly useful for companies with complex data ecosystems, or those who need a unified data platform for a consistent customer view across different departments. If you're more about strong data unification rather than detailed behavioral analysis, Segment might be a good tool alternative to Mixpanel.
Source: www.hotjar.com
Top 10 Fivetran Alternatives - Listing the best ETL tools
Acquired by Twilio in 2020, Segment is a Customer Data Platform (CDP) that offers real-time data connectivity and efficient data. Segment's core focus is gathering customer data through event tracking. It has unique features that allow you to segment your customers, and create personas and audiences for better targeting.
Source: weld.app
Top ETL Tools For 2021...And The Case For Saying "No" To ETL
Segment’s API has native library sources for every language, and helps record customer data from sources such as websites, mobile, apps or servers. It helps optimize analytics by piping raw customer data into data warehouses for further exploration and advanced analysis.
Source: blog.panoply.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Segment seems to be a lot more popular than Google Tag Manager. While we know about 45 links to Segment, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Google Tag Manager. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Google Tag Manager mentions (3)

  • 5 WEBSITES TIPS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH- Creative Wave Tech
    Design a change global positioning framework, for example, Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics objectives and occasions, to log transformations and client ways (you can gain proficiency with about how to do that in our post, The Top 12 Website KPIs for Small Business). Source: over 3 years ago
  • 4 Reasons Why Data Engineers Hate Google Tag Manager
    For years, Google Tag Manager (GTM) has made it easy for marketers and analysts to install and manage third-party analytics and marketing tools on their websites and apps. It provides a centralized platform allowing non-technical team members to add, edit, and disable tags without having to touch the source code. This means they don't have to bug you to add new tags or edit existing ones in the event of an update. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Graph database question?
    For C360 implementations the there’s a tool called Segment (https://segment.com/) that unifies all the customer identities used across websites/phone apps. Within Segment there is a defined matching logic for identity resolution based on different keys used across apps such as User ID, email, phone number, address, social media account. The end result is each persona will have one Segment ID where all your traits... Source: about 4 years ago

Segment mentions (45)

  • The Definitive Guide to Braze API
    Twilio Segment: Specializes in customer data collection with a more neutral stance toward destination platforms. Its API allows flexible data routing across your tech stack without being tied to specific engagement channels. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • API Analytics: A Strategic Toolkit for Optimization
    To collect these metrics effectively, you'll need specialized tools like Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Segment, or Amplitude. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Unlocking API Potential: Behavioral Analytics for Enhanced User Experience
    Segment for event collection and routing. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • My 2024 Good Links List
    Segment – Customer data platform for tracking and analytics. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Networking cant be easier than this
    And importantly the user data: like the signup, login events, message events back and forth between the user and AI, page visits etc are tracked with the help of Twilio segment. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Google Tag Manager and Segment, you can also consider the following products

Google Analytics - Improve your website to increase conversions, improve the user experience, and make more money using Google Analytics. Measure, understand and quantify engagement on your site with customized and in-depth reports.

Adobe Analytics - Adobe Analytics is an industry-leading solution that empowers you to understand your customers as people and steer your business with customer intelligence.

Matomo - Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform

Mixpanel - Mixpanel is the most advanced analytics platform in the world for mobile & web.

Heap - Analytics for web and iOS. Heap automatically captures every user action in your app and lets you measure it all. Clicks, taps, swipes, form submissions, page views, and more.

Glass Analytics - Google Analytics alternative that shows you exactly how visitors become customers.