Gathering Requirements with the Tag Specifications Spreadsheet

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The tag specifications spreadsheet is a tool for gathering your tagging requirements for the deployment of Tealium iQ Tag Management. The filled out spreadsheet will be used by your technical deployment team to create a comprehensive data layer recommendation and to guide the configuration of your tags within iQ Tag Management to match your existing tag installation. This article provides an overview of the spreadsheet and guidance on filling it out properly.

In this article:

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Overview

The tag specification spreadsheet is a requirements gathering document used during the deployment of iQ Tag Management. Think of it as a full inventory of your tag vendors. You will fill it out and return it to your deployment team for review.

Download the tag specifications spreadsheet attachment at the bottom of this article.

The spreadsheet is organized into sheets/tabs for the following types of information:

• Tags / Tracking Pixels 
  An inventory of the tags (tracking pixels) you would like to implement via the iQ Tag Management system. Common examples of tags include Google Analytics, Quantcast, DoubleClick, and Google Adwords.
• Events 
  A listing of your event tracking requirements. Events are any non-page view activity that you track. Common examples include custom click tracking, newsletter signups, video interactions, and shopping cart activity to name a few.
• Page Types 
  A list of the primary page types of your website. These usually correspond to main templates used in your web framework. Common examples of page types include the homepage, a category page, an article page, or a shopping cart page.

Tags / Tracking Pixels

The tags and tracking pixels sheet is used to gather the name, code snippet, and special instructions for each tag that you use. This inventory is important for several reasons, some of which may not be immediately obvious.

The purpose of gathering tag requirements is to:

• Verify tag vendor names
  We have experience with a lot of tags, but we can't always determine the exact vendor just by looking at the code.  Also, many vendors change their names or get acquired by other companies, so the more information you can provide the better.
• Check for different tag versions
  Vendors are always releasing newer versions of their tags, so it's important that we understand the version you are currently using so we can advise about any changes that might occur during the implementation.

  It is always a good idea to work with your vendors as you are filling out the tag specifications spreadsheet to ensure you have the latest version of the vendors' tag. 

• Check for custom code
  Most tags are implemented using the standard configuration provided by the vendor, but if you have custom configuration options in your code we need to know about them so we can migrate the tag properly into iQ Tag Management.

The following information is needed for each of your tags:

• Tag Vendor - Indicates the name of the tag vendor. Common tag vendors are Google Analytics, Quantcast, DoubleClick, and Google Adwords.
• Tag Title - Establishes the title that Tealium will apply within the iQ Tag Management interface. The title established here helps keep similar tags separate.
• Domain - Designates which domain(s) you will be implementing your tag vendors on. 

  If there is more than one domain, we recommend that you fill out a different tag specification spreadsheet for each domain.

• Code Block - Defines the JavaScript, tracking pixels, web beacons, HTML, or other tag code to execute on the page.
• Custom Tag Code - Indicates any custom code that needs to be applied to the tag, such as advanced configurations or any non-standard code from the vendor.
• Load on Page Type(s) - Specifies the name of the page(s) the tag loads on. 
• Special Load Conditions - Establishes any special conditions that apply to the tag. For example, the tag / tracking pixel should ONLY load when the page is a mobile page or there is a specific language that needs to be accounted for. 
• Example URLs - A URL where the tag is currently loading or is intended to load. 
• Notes - Add any optional notes here. 

The below table is an example of the tag specification tab. To view the below document in full resolution click here. 

Events

Events track information about your visitors' interactions within a page. Examples of these interactions are: form field selections, file downloads, expanding menus, and video plays to name a few.  By providing a list of your tracked events the deployment team can factor them into their data layer recommendation and solution proposal.

Learn more about event tracking.

Tealium requires the following information for each tracked event:

• Event Name/Description - The name and description of the event to be tracked. For example, common events that many of our clients track are shopping cart activity or newsletter signups.
• Steps to Reproduce - Defines a detailed description of the steps needed to trigger the event i.e., the pages to navigate and which elements to click.

  The more detailed the step descriptions are the faster we can implement them.

• URL - Specifies the URL relevant to the event.
• Tag Vendors - Indicates a list of tag vendors currently tracking this event.
• Event Data - Establishes a list of the data collected as part of the event (specific to each vendor). This should include variable names and example values.
• Event Code - Indicates any relevant code snippets currently associated with the event.

The below table is an example of the events specification tab. To view the below document in full resolution click here.

Page Types

Page types define the types of pages on your site. Common examples include homepage, category pages, and search pages. By providing a list of your page types your deployment team can create a well defined set of variables to add to your data layer. 

Tealium requires the following information for each page type:

• Type -  A brief, one word definition of the page.
• URL - A URL example of the page type. 
• Description - A full length description of the page type. 

The below table is an example of the page type specification tab. To view the below document in full resolution click here. 

Download the tag specifications spreadsheet attachment below.