What is a dataLayer?

What is a dataLayer?

The data layer is the website layer where data is stored per page view (hit, user, session and product) and we can use the data layer to carry out actions that improve the performance of our website. What types of variables can we collect in our dataLayer? • Static: The way in which the data is stored is done statically, that is, the values ​​that the dataLayer collects are always fixed. Example, the versioning value of the dataLayer that will always be the same for the life of a given version of the website. • Dynamic: This is the most typical attribute type, it consists in saving the data inside the dataLayer for data attributes that are changing. For example, we could use the same dataLayer for all our products, but each attribute/variable’s value will be dynamic depending on the product we are seeing. What benefits can we perceive using the dataLayer? The information we get from the dataLayer provides us with more information about the behavior of users on our website. Therefore, we will have more possibilities to control and act on our business strategy by understanding what our user does from their first website visit with us until their conversion. Some of the benefits that we can obtain with the implementation of the dataLayer are:

• Content grouping: The use of dataLayer allows us to have a standard system to expose data, making it easier to detect changes. * In addition, conversion funnels can be configured.
• Electronic commerce: The most reliable and safe way to measure conversions is through the variables of electronic commerce (transactionId and transactionTotal). Since for example, when using the dataLayer they are less subject to errors in case the web is modified.
• Audiences: By collecting more valuable information through the dataLayer, we can make a more powerful audience list that helps improve the conversion rate of our campaigns.
• Facility for the creation of activation rules in the pixels. Since, a label can also be triggered based on the information that appears in our data layer.

What variables could be collected in the dataLayer depending on the business model? Travel sector: Some of the variables that could be collected would be: o Know the number of nights that the user has selected. o Number of people who have acquired the service. o Origin of the user from which you are going to make your trip. o Destination chosen in the conversion. o Time in advance with which they have purchased the service. Retail sector: Some of the variables that could be collected would be: o The product discount. o The number of opinions that a particular article had. o Number of photos of a product in the product file. o Whether the product was offered or not. o Know the number of previous purchases of a user. Automotive sector: Some of the variables that could be collected would be: o Vehicle engine: 135cv, 150cv … o Vehicle color: blue, red, green … o Car fuel: diesel or gasoline. o Name of the concessionaire: Getafe, Barcelona … o Type of car: new car, semi new car or used car. In short, it is very important to define a good measurement strategy to be able to extract more information from our website visitors that helps us to make decisions within a company.