How to Grant GTM Access, Even if You’ve Never Tried it Before

Introduction: What is Google Tag Manager and Why Share Access?

Need to quickly learn how to grant access to your Google Tag Manager account? Here are the essential steps:

1. Log In: Go to tagmanager.google.com and sign in.
2. Steer to Admin: Click the “Admin” tab in the top menu.
3. Choose User Management: Under either “Account” or “Container” (depending on the level of access you want to grant), click “User Management.”
4. Add New User: Click the blue “Add User” button (usually a + symbol) and select “Add users.”
5. Enter Details & Permissions: Type in the user’s Google email address and select the appropriate permissions (e.g., Read, Edit, Publish, Administrator).
6. Invite: Click “Invite” to send the invitation. The user will receive an email to accept access.

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a powerful, free tool that helps you manage all the “tags” or small snippets of code on your website. Think of things like Google Analytics tracking, Google Ads conversion pixels, Facebook Pixels, LinkedIn Insight Tags, or other marketing and analytics scripts. Instead of asking a developer to directly edit your website’s code every time you need to add or change a tag, GTM lets you do it all from one central, user-friendly interface.

Why would you need to grant access? The modern digital landscape requires collaboration. If you work with a digital marketing agency, a web developer, or even an internal team member, they’ll often need to implement or manage these tracking codes to measure campaign performance, understand user behavior, or add new functionality. Granting them access through GTM is the safest and most efficient way to collaborate. It lets them do their job without you having to share your website’s backend login credentials or directly modify the site’s code, which can be risky. A single misplaced character in the code can lead to a broken feature or, in the worst-case scenario, take your entire site down. GTM provides a controlled environment with version history and a debug mode, so changes can be tested before they go live. This way, agencies can implement SEO-related scripts, analytics, and conversion tracking seamlessly and safely.

But GTM’s value stretches far beyond simply “adding code.” With the shift to GA4 and Google’s AI Overviews on the horizon, businesses need granular data to feed smarter, machine-learning-driven insights. When you allow your SEO partner or in-house analyst into GTM, they can set up advanced tracking6such as scroll depth, video engagement, phone-click events, and even offline CRM importsthat powers attribution models and AI dashboards. This means you don’t just see that you got leadsyou learn which page, ad, or local search term drove them.

If you’re a local business trying to dominate the Map Pack in Fort Myers, Austin, or Seattle, GTM access can also streamline geo-specific optimizations. For example, your agency can configure location-based triggers that fire different tags depending on a visitor’s city, allowing hyper-targeted remarketing or dynamic content personalization without touching your CMS. In competitive markets like Miami or Los Angeles, that extra layer of relevance can be the deciding factor between appearing in position #3 or slipping onto page two.

Security is another major reason to accept GTM’s access controls. Every user leaves an audit trail, and you can roll back to any previous version with a couple of clicks. Accidentally published a broken tag during your busiest season? Revert. Need proof of compliance for your next GDPR audit? The version history is already time-stamped and ready.

As Danielle Birriel, the founder of D&D SEO Services, I’ve spent over 12 years helping businesses improve their online visibility, and understanding how to grant access to your Google Tag Manager account is a critical part of that process for smooth collaboration and effective tracking. It’s the first step in allowing experts to gather the data needed to make informed decisions that drive growth. Let’s dive deeper into how to manage this access securely.

 

Understanding GTM Access Levels: Account vs. Container Permissions

Alright, let’s dive a little deeper into how Google Tag Manager handles who can do what. Think of GTM like a big office building. Your GTM Account is the entire building, and each Container is like a specific office or floor within it (usually one for each of your websites or apps). This structure allows you to be incredibly precise about who gets which “keys” – whether they can access the whole building or are restricted to working in just one office.

First things first: anyone you invite to your GTM account needs a Google account. This means their email address has to be linked to a valid Google Account. It could be a regular Gmail address, an email from a Google Workspace domain (like your company email), or even another email address they’ve registered with Google. This is a security measure that ensures every user is identifiable and accountable within Google’s ecosystem. You can learn more about how Google manages users and permissions right from their help center: Managing users and permissions – Tag Manager Help.

Now, let’s explore the different levels of access you can grant.

Account Permissions: The Big Picture

Account-level access gives someone a wide view across all the containers (your websites) within that GTM account. These permissions are usually for folks who need to oversee everything or manage the overall setup, like a system administrator or the head of marketing. There are two main user roles at this level:

• User: When you give someone the User role at the account level, they can see basic account information, view the activity history, and check user settings. But here’s the catch: they won’t automatically have access to any individual containers. This role is useful for stakeholders or executives who need a high-level overview of the account’s structure and activity without having the ability to make any changes. Imagine they can see the building’s directory but can’t actually enter any of the offices without a specific key for each one.
• Administrator: This is the top-tier role, the building superintendent with the master key. An administrator can do everything a User can, plus manage all other users (adding, deleting, and changing permissions), and create new containers. Giving someone Administrator access at the account level is a significant trust decision, as they have control over the entire GTM setup. While they automatically inherit ‘Read’ access to all containers within that account, you still need to grant them specific container-level permissions (like Edit or Publish) if you want them to actively work on tags within those containers.

A friendly tip from us at D&D SEO Services: it’s a really good idea to have at least two active administrators for your GTM account. Why? Because if your only administrator’s Google account gets deleted or they leave the company unexpectedly, you could find yourself locked out of your own GTM account. It’s a simple but crucial step for business continuity, just like having a spare key to your office – always a smart move, right?

Container Permissions: Granular Control for Specific Websites

Now, Container-level access is where you get really specific. These permissions let you decide exactly what a user can do within just one GTM container – meaning, for a single website or app. This is the most common way to grant access and is perfect when you’re working with a marketing agency, a freelance developer, or a team member who only needs to manage tags for one of your specific sites. It ensures they only have access to what they need, following the security principle of least privilege.

Here’s a quick look at the different permission levels you can set for a container:

| Permission Level | Description – Read: This is the most basic level. Users with Read access can see everything inside the container—tags, triggers, and variables—but they cannot make any changes. This is perfect for stakeholders or team members who need to review the setup or pull information without any risk of them accidentally altering the configuration.

• Edit: This role allows users to create and modify tags, triggers, and variables. They can set up new tracking, adjust existing tags, and organize the container. However, they cannot publish their changes to the live website. This is an excellent permission level for team members or agency partners who are responsible for the technical implementation but require a final review before anything goes live.
• Approve: Users with Approve permission can do everything an Editor can, plus they can create new versions of the container and approve changes submitted by others. They act as a gatekeeper, ensuring that all changes are correct and tested before they are published. This role is ideal for a team lead or a senior marketing manager who oversees the technical team.
• Publish: This is the highest level of container permission. A user with Publish access can do everything an Editor and Approver can do, and they can also publish the changes, making them live on your website. This role should be reserved for trusted senior team members or the primary agency contact who has the final say on what goes live.