In this post we will learn how to track IP address with Google Tag Manager and how to set that as a custom dimension. There are a few reasons you may want to access your visitorsâ IP addresses using Google Tag Manager (GTM): to block internal traffic, set rules for firing tags, pre-fill form fields, etc. Tracking IP address with Google Analytics is also possible through this method, but not advisable as it may violate Googleâs policies regarding personally identifiable information.
This post will show how to collect IP address into a GTM variable, using a script that you can copy and paste.
STEP 1: COLLECT VISITOR IP ADDRESS
For the first step, you will need to pull in the visitorâs IP address. There are many ways to do this, but Iâll describe how to do it using JavaScript since itâs a universal method that will work for nearly any setup.
In GTM, navigate to Tags > New > Custom HTML and paste in the following:
The tag will look like this:
The above JS snippet pulls each userâs IP address via https://www.ipify.org/, which is a free IP address API, and then pushes it into the data layer for GTM to read.
You can see how it returns the IP address for your own device by clicking this link: https://api.ipify.org?format=jsonp&callback=getIP.
 As mentioned, this method uses JavaScript. An alternate method is to pull IP address using a server-side language like PHP, which is faster and avoids having to depend on an external resource like Ipify. For example, if you were using WordPress, you could paste the following into your header.php file above the GTM script, and then proceed with steps 3 & 4 the same way:
STEP 2: SET TRIGGER
The simplest trigger is to set this script to fire on All Pages.
However, to avoid querying the ipify API repeatedly and potentially racking up a lot of hits, you could alternately set this script to fire on just the landing page (the first page a visitor sees) of your site. This way it will only collect IP address once, which works for most cases since IP address rarely changes during a session.
To do this, navigate to Triggers > New > Page View and choose the radio button âThis trigger fires on Some Page Viewsâ.
STEP 3: PUSH IP ADDRESS INTO A GTM VARIABLE
Navigate to Variables > User-Defined Variables > New > Data Layer Variable.
Fill in Data Layer Variable Name = ipAddress. Note that this is the same name that was pushed to the data layer in step 1; here we are collecting that value so we can use it in other tags later.
STEP 4: CREATE A TRIGGER ON THE NEW EVENT
Navigate to Triggers > New > Custom Event.
Fill in Event Name = ipEvent. This is the event name that was pushed to the data layer in step 1. By connecting the GTM data layer event to a trigger, you can use it to trigger other tags.
Following the implementation of the above steps, you will now have a new GTM Trigger (ipEvent) and Variable (IP Address), which you can access in other tags or use to set triggers. This is a screenshot of the output in Preview mode.
Itâs a grey area whether IP addresses are considered personal information. Please be aware of your siteâs privacy policy, any relevant local laws, and Googleâs policies regarding personally identifiable information. The new GDPR rules DO consider IP addresses to be personal data, as described here: https://eugdprcompliant.com/personal-data/.
How to record IP address in a custom dimension
STEP 1: SET UP A SESSION-SCOPED CUSTOM DIMENSION IN GA
In the Google Analytics interface, navigate to Admin > Property > Custom Definitions > Custom Dimensions
Click + NEW CUSTOM DIMENSION and create a new session-scoped custom dimension called IP Address. Save it.
STEP 2: RECORD THE INDEX NUMBER
After hitting Save, youâll see your custom dimension summary screen. Note the index number that was assigned by Google Analytics. Youâll need this in a minute.
STEP 3: CREATE A UNIVERSAL ANALYTICS EVENT TAG
In Google Tag Manager, click Tags > New > Universal Analytics, and choose Track Type = Event. Fill it out with the following settings:
Category = IP, Action = Sent. These names arenât important, so you can choose different names if you prefer.
Non-Interaction Hit = True. This is to prevent the hit from affecting bounce rate.
Enable overriding settings in this tag  = checked (or, alternately, you can add the index and dimension value into your Google Analytics Settings Variable instead).
Index = index number from step 2 above
Dimension Value = {{IP Address}}
Trigger = ipEvent
The completed tag should look like this:
CONCLUSION
This post shows how to record IP address via GTM and extends that to show how to pass that IP address into a custom dimension in Google Analytics. Because custom dimensions need to be attached to another hit like a pageview or event, the above method sends the IP address along with a dummy event. Once you complete the above directions, you will be able to access your usersâ IP addresses as a Secondary Dimension in any standard report, or as a Primary Dimension in a custom report. You can also use these custom dimensions to target specific audiences for remarketing.
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