Setting Up the Essentials GTM Container

Created by Chris DeMichiei, Modified on Mon, 21 Sep at 1:51 PM by Chris DeMichiei

How to create a new Google Tag Manager container for a PracticeBeat customer, or update an existing one, using the official PracticeBeat Essentials template.

Before you start

Google Tag Manager has two levels. The account belongs to the customer as a whole; the containers live inside it. Most customers have a single container, though a few have two or three — so when you open an account, make sure you pick the right container before changing anything.

Existing customer
Their account and container are already in the Tag Manager list. Open the container and skip straight to Step 4. On import you will usually choose Merge rather than Overwrite.

New customer
Nothing exists yet. Start at Step 1 and create the account plus its first container, then continue through the whole guide. On import you will choose Overwrite.

1. Create the account and container (new customers only)

Step 1 — Find the customer in Tag Manager

Open Google Tag Manager and land on the All accounts screen. Use the search icon (1) to check whether the customer already exists — every account they own is listed with its containers underneath. If you find them, click the container name (3) to open it and jump to Step 4. If there is nothing there, click Create Account (2).

Google Tag Manager All accounts list, showing the search icon, the Create Account button, and a customer container link

Account vs. container. One account per customer, holding one container in most cases. If a customer already has an account, do not create a second one — add the container inside the account they have.

Step 2 — Fill in the account and container setup

Enter the customer’s business name as the Account Name (1), leave Country as United States (2), and tick Share data anonymously with Google and others (3). For Container name (4) use the site’s domain, and choose Web as the target platform (5) — that is what a PracticeBeat site needs. Click Create (6), then accept the Google Tag Manager Terms of Service and the GDPR Data Processing Terms in the dialog that follows.

Add a New Account form with account name, country, share-data checkbox, container name, Web target platform and the Create button

Step 3 — Copy the container ID into PracticeBeat

The Install Google Tag Manager dialog opens as soon as the container is created. Copy the container ID (1) — the GTM- string — using the copy button (2), and paste it into the customer’s PracticeBeat Launch Tools dashboard in the GTM field. That ID is how anything points at this specific container from now on.

Install Google Tag Manager dialog with the GTM- container ID highlighted inside the head snippet and the copy button beside it

2. Load the PracticeBeat template

Step 4 — Download the official template

The templates live in the shared Google Drive folder PracticeBeat Customer Resources → GTM Templates. Select the template that matches the customer’s package (1) — Essentials, Ads, or another — and Download it (2) to your machine. This guide uses the Essentials template.

Google Drive GTM Templates folder with the Practicebeat Essentials GTM json file selected and the Download menu item

Step 5 — Open Import Container

Back in the container, go to the Admin tab (1) and click Import Container (2) in the CONTAINER column.

Tag Manager Admin tab showing the Account and Container columns with Import Container highlighted

Step 6 — Choose the file, the workspace, and the import option

Click Choose container file (1) and pick the JSON you just downloaded. Leave the workspace on the existing Default Workspace (2). Then choose how the import lands: Overwrite (3) for a brand-new container, or Merge (4) for a customer who already has tags you want to keep.

Import Container panel with Choose container file, workspace selection, and the Overwrite and Merge import options

Overwrite replaces everything. On a new container that is what you want. On an existing customer, Overwrite wipes any custom tags, triggers, and variables already in there — pick Merge instead unless you have deliberately decided to reset the container. Which one is right depends on what you are fixing.

Step 7 — Review and add to the workspace

Tag Manager shows every tag, trigger, variable, and folder the import will add. Scroll through to confirm the PracticeBeat items are all there, then click Add to workspace (1).

Import Container preview listing the PracticeBeat tags, triggers, variables and folders to be added, with the Add to workspace button

3. Point the container at the customer

Two values in the imported template are customer-specific and must be updated before you publish: the GA4 measurement ID and the site domain.

Step 8 — Get the GA4 Measurement ID

In Google Analytics, open the customer’s GA4 property and go to Admin (1) → Data collection and modification → Data streams (2). Open the web stream and copy the Measurement ID (3) — a G- followed by ten digits.

Google Analytics Admin screen with Data streams highlighted and the web stream details showing the G- Measurement ID

Step 9 — Paste it into the Measurement ID variable

In the container, go to Variables and open the Measurement ID variable (1). Paste the ID into the Value field (2) and click Save (3).

Tag Manager Measurement ID constant variable with the G- value pasted in and the Save button

Why it is a variable. The measurement ID is what tells the tags where to send the data. The template references this one variable in roughly six places, so you set the ID once here instead of typing it into every tag.

Step 10 — Update the domain in the UTM Transfer Tag

Go to Tags and open UTM Transfer Tag (Link + Button) (1). In the Custom HTML, replace the placeholder domain inside domainsToDecorate (2) with the customer’s domain, then Save (3).

UTM Transfer Tag Custom HTML with the customer domain highlighted in the domainsToDecorate array and the Save button

Format the domain exactly. Enter it from the www through the .com and nothing else — no https:// and no trailing slash. The script matches on that string, so an extra prefix or slash silently stops UTM parameters from carrying across.

4. Test and publish

Step 11 — Preview and test the tags

Click Preview (1), enter the customer’s URL (2) and Connect (3). On the connected site, click through the tracked actions — the appointment button, a phone number link, a directions link — and confirm in the debugger that each tag fires.

Tag Manager Preview button and the Tag Assistant connect screen with the site URL and Connect button

Step 12 — Submit and publish a version

Once the testing looks right, click Submit and leave Publish and Create Version selected (1). Name the version one number up from the last one (2) — a fresh container is on Version 1, so this becomes Version 2 — and describe what you did in the Version Description (3), e.g. “Added Default PB template”. Click Publish (4).

Submit Changes screen with Publish and Create Version selected, version name and description filled in, and the Publish button

Back on the container Overview you should see the container ID, the Google tag, and the GA4 destination all linked together. The customer is now on base-level PracticeBeat tracking.

This covers Essentials only. The Essentials template is the minimum tracking we do. Ads customers, and VIP customers with additional tracking needs, go beyond this — refer to the guide for that package, or reach out to Chris, Matt, or whoever is currently handling Google Tag Manager.

Quick reference

Situation	Action
Customer is not in the Tag Manager list	Create Account — business name, United States, share data on, container named after the domain, Web platform
Customer already has an account	Open their existing container; do not create a second account
Customer has more than one container	Match the container to the site you are working on before making any changes
Brand-new empty container	Import the template with Overwrite
Existing container with work already in it	Import with Merge, unless you intend to reset it
Need the template file	Google Drive → PracticeBeat Customer Resources → GTM Templates
Need the GA4 measurement ID	GA4 → Admin → Data collection and modification → Data streams → web stream
Customer is on Ads or is a VIP with extra tracking	Use the template and guide for that package, or escalate to Chris or Matt

Known quirks

Account and container are two separate levels. A customer has one account; most have one container inside it, but some have two or three — pick carefully.
The container name is the domain, not the practice name. The account name is the practice name.
The container ID has to be pasted into the PracticeBeat Launch Tools dashboard before tracking will do anything on the live site.
The measurement ID is set once in the Measurement ID variable, not per tag — the template reuses that variable in about six places.
The domain in the UTM Transfer Tag takes no https:// and no trailing slash.
Version names are set manually, one up from the previous version. A container that has just been created sits on Version 1.
Always preview and test the appointment and phone buttons before submitting — publishing pushes straight to the live site.
The Essentials template is base-level tracking only; anything beyond that needs a different template and a different guide.