Adobe Tags — data elements and rules

Adobe Tags — data elements and rules

Adobe Tags (formerly DTM) is a tag manager that deploys Web SDK and other tools without code changes.

What is a tag manager?

A tag manager is code that runs on your website and can deploy other code (tags) based on rules you define.

Example: "If page name is 'Checkout', deploy the payment provider's code"

You define rules in a UI, publish them, and they take effect on your site. No developer needed.

Data elements

A data element is a reference to a value on your site.

Example data elements:

• Page Name → reads document.title
• Campaign → reads URL parameter ?campaign=...
• User ID → reads from window.userId
• Form Status → reads from data layer adobeDataLayer.form.status

Once defined, you use data elements in rules.

Rules

A rule is an if-then statement:

If: [condition met] Then: [fire action]

Example rule:

• If: Page Name equals "Checkout"
• Then: Send Web SDK event with eventType: "checkout"

Rules execute on page load or on specific events (click, scroll, timer, etc.).

Setting up Tags for Web SDK

1. Install Web SDK extension

- In Tags, go to Extensions - Search for "Web SDK" - Install the official Adobe extension

1. Configure Web SDK

- Set datastream ID - Set org ID - Configure any options (consent, debug, etc.)

1. Create data elements

- Define Page Name → from data layer - Define User ID → from data layer - Define Form Type → from URL parameter

1. Create rules

- Rule: All pages load - Action: Send page view event to Web SDK - Mapping: page name, user ID, etc.

- Rule: Form submission - Trigger: Form submit detected - Action: Send form event to Web SDK

1. Publish

- Create library - Build to development - Test - Move to staging, then production

Example rule: track form submission

Name: Track Contact Form Submission

Trigger:

• Event type: click
• Element: form submit button

Conditions:

• Page name contains "contact-form"

Action:

• Extension: Web SDK
• Action type: Send Event
• Event data:

``json { "xdm": { "eventType": "form.submission", "web": { "webPageDetails": { "name": "Contact Form" } } } } ``

Benefits of Tags

• No code: Deploy analytics without touching your site
• Non-technical: Marketing/product team can create rules
• Versioning: Test in dev → staging → production
• Rollback: If a tag breaks, revert to previous version
• Audit: History of all changes

When to use Tags vs direct Web SDK

Use Tags if:

• Multiple properties (site, app, etc.)
• Non-technical people need to deploy
• Frequent changes needed
• Want versioning/audit trail

Use direct Web SDK if:

• Single property
• Developers maintain tracking
• Performance critical (Tags adds overhead)

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