✅ GTM Audit Checklist

1. Tag Hygiene & Structure

• Tags with no triggers assigned
• Tags firing on all pages (overbroad triggers)
• Duplicate tags (same config or tracking ID)
• Disabled or legacy tags still in container
• Custom HTML tags identified for review
• Tag sequencing not used where needed
• Tags missing Consent Mode scoping
• Hardcoded config values (e.g. UA-ID or Pixel ID inside tag code)

2. Trigger Logic

• "Page Path contains" used instead of exact match or regex
• Triggers reused across unrelated tags (conflicts)
• Missing exclusion triggers (e.g. avoid firing twice)
• Consent-based triggers not properly scoped

3. Variable Configuration

• Unused variables still present in workspace
• Undefined or broken custom variables
• JavaScript-based variables flagged for review
• Important built-in variables (Page Path, Referrer, etc.) not enabled

4. Folder & Naming Conventions

• Tags, Triggers, and Variables ungrouped (in “Unfiled”)
• Inconsistent naming conventions (missing prefixes like GA4 –, FB –)
• No folder organisation for easier collaboration

5. Consent Mode Setup

• Consent Initialization tag missing
• Consent Default tag not present or misconfigured
• Tags not respecting ad_storage, analytics_storage scopes
• No clear fallback logic for consent denied states

6. Built-In Tag Coverage

• GA4 Config tag missing or duplicated
• GA4 Event tags not linked to a Config tag
• Google Ads tags missing the Conversion Linker
• Google Tag (gtag.js) missing or misconfigured
• No fallback tags when Consent denied

7. Performance Considerations

• Too many tags firing on page load
• Tags firing synchronously (no sequencing or async loading)
• Excessive use of Custom HTML impacting speed or security

8. Debugging & QA

• Debug/Preview mode not tested recently
• Console errors present during GTM Preview
• console.log() or alert statements found in tags
• GTM preview doesn't load due to browser or adblock conflicts

9. Workspace & Version Control

• Multiple open workspaces (risk of overwrites)
• Workspaces not clearly named
• Container versions not annotated or described
• No publish in the last 30 days (indicates stale container)

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