Google Tag Manager (GTM) Ad Blockers

What is the Problem?

Typically, the default settings of ad blockers won’t hurt Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager (GTM). Ad blockers will only block ads on the page that the user visits, but since users can adjust settings for adblockers to remove any tracking scripts, GTM will not work in this case. 

We are finding that most browsers are blocking GTM, so any code installed there (pixels, etc.) gets blocked. In addition, more and more users are using adblocker plug-ins with the settings of blocking trackers/removing tracking scripts from websites visited, so they are usually not able to see the website properly specific to a GTM script.

The Recommendation

With that in mind, for our first-party AnalyticsJS (AJS), we do not recommend deploying the AJS through GTM. We instead recommend deploying the AJS directly into your website before your GTM script (see example below).