Digital Plumbing Checklist

Task Library

Stand up tracking so ads, analytics, and the website agree. Accounts first, then Google Tag Manager, then pixels and GA4, then verify. This is the umbrella checklist. The long guide stays at Digital Plumbing Checklist. What the system is: What is Digital Plumbing?.

Category: Digital Plumbing

Inputs

  • Google account (Analytics, Ads, Tag Manager)
  • Meta Business account (Page + ad account + Events Manager)
  • Access to the website so GTM or the theme header can be edited
  • The conversion you actually care about (form, call, checkout) named in one sentence

Steps

  1. Create or confirm the four accounts: Meta Business Manager, GA4, Google Ads, Google Tag Manager. One container per site.
  2. Install the GTM snippet on the site (or confirm it is already there). Publish an empty container before you add tags so the install is testable.
  3. Add tags inside GTM: GA4 configuration, Meta Pixel, Google Ads tag if you run Google ads. Do not paste three snippets into the theme if GTM is the house.
  4. Fire one real conversion event you can name (Lead, Purchase, or a custom form submit). If you cannot name it, stop and write it down first.
  5. Verify with Meta Pixel Helper and Google Tag Assistant on the live page. Then watch GA4 DebugView and Meta Test Events for the same click.
  6. Filter internal traffic in GA4 so the team does not count as customers. That how-to is a named gap: how to configure GA4 with internal traffic filtering.
  7. Write the receipt: which IDs went live, which event fired, who verified. No pixels, no keys, no account numbers on a public page.

Definition of done (QA checklist)

  • GTM container published on the live site
  • GA4 and Meta Pixel fire on a real page view
  • One named conversion event fires in both DebugView and Test Events
  • Internal traffic is filtered or the gap is flagged
  • Receipt filed with IDs named, values not pasted

Example(s)

Worked example from this week: a fleet WordPress login recovery on theninetriangles.com stayed up while plumbing stayed untouched. Plumbing is a different door from login recovery. Login method: IT Support desk.

Index: Task Library. Article guidelines: Article guidelines.

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