AdLintBack to Check Reference
GTM·Google Tag Manager·warning

Overlapping Trigger Conditions

This container has multiple triggers configured with the same type and identical filter conditions. For example, two Custom Event triggers both filtering on `event equals purchase`. The duplicates do not cause direct measurement problems by themselves, but they multiply tag fires when a tag is wired to both of them.

CL
By Christopher LandaverdeCreator of AdLint · ad-tech tracking specialistUpdated

Why It Matters

Identical-condition triggers usually appear when two engineers solved the same problem independently and neither cleaned up the other's work. The triggers are functionally identical at runtime. When one matches, the other does too. The damage depends on which tags reference them. A tag wired to only one is unaffected. A tag wired to both fires twice for every match, which is the most common cause of doubled GA4 events and Google Ads conversion duplication in audits like this one. The check is strict: it flags identical-filter pairs because a human review can usually decide quickly which is canonical, but it does not auto-detect "near-identical" overlaps where one trigger has an additional restriction. Those need a manual review of the trigger logic.

Tag ManagerGTM-AB12CDE · Workspace: Default
BeforeTriggers
  • CE - Purchase (legacy)
    Identical conditions to "CE - purchase event"
    Type: Custom Event
    Fires: event equals "purchase"
  • CE - purchase event
    Identical conditions to "CE - Purchase (legacy)"
    Type: Custom Event
    Fires: event equals "purchase"
  • Page View - Thank You
    Type: Page View
    Fires: Page Path contains "/thank-you"
Two Custom Event triggers with identical filter conditions. Any tag wired to both fires twice on every match.

Coloured rows show the configuration AdLint flags.

How To Fix It

  1. AdLint's details list each pair of overlapping triggers and the matching tag type.
  2. For each pair, pick the canonical trigger. Usually the one with the clearer name or the more recent creation date.
  3. Update every tag that references the duplicate trigger to reference the canonical one instead.
  4. Archive (do not delete) the duplicate trigger.
  5. In Preview mode, fire the underlying event and confirm only one trigger matches and only the expected number of tags fire. Publish.

Example

Configuration
Overlap:
  Trigger A: Custom Event, filter: event equals "purchase"
  Trigger B: Custom Event, filter: event equals "purchase"
Tags wired to both: Google Ads - Purchase, GA4 - Purchase
Fix: rewire Tag → Trigger A, archive Trigger B.
For Your Client Report

Pairs of GTM triggers configured with the same type and identical filter conditions. Google's Tag Manager trigger documentation, identical-condition triggers cause any tag wired to both to fire multiple times on each match, producing duplicated measurement events. Fix: identify the canonical trigger for each duplicate pair, rewire dependent tags to reference only the canonical trigger, and archive the duplicates. Source: support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6106961.

Drop this paragraph into your client deliverable. Sources back to the canonical platform documentation linked below.

References

  1. [1]Google Tag Manager. About triggers

Audit your own files for this check

AdLint runs this check (and 177 others) against your GTM, Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter/X, and Snapchat exports. Everything stays in your browser. No uploads, no accounts.

Run a free audit