Published on 2025-06-22T02:36:07Z

What is a Custom Event? Examples of Custom Events

Custom Events are user-defined actions or interactions tracked in analytics platforms to capture specific behaviors unique to your website or app. Unlike default or automatic events provided by analytics tools, Custom Events let you tailor tracking to fit your business goals, such as clicks on non-standard elements, form submissions, video interactions, or any other bespoke action. By logging Custom Events, analysts and marketers gain deeper insights into user journeys, conversion funnels, and feature engagement. Implementing Custom Events typically involves defining an event name and associated parameters or properties, then sending this data to an analytics endpoint via JavaScript or tag manager. Common platforms like PlainSignal (a cookie-free simple analytics solution) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) both support Custom Event configurations, enabling flexible data collection and reporting.

Illustration of Custom event
Illustration of Custom event

Custom event

A Custom Event is a user-defined interaction in analytics platforms, enabling capture of behaviors beyond standard metrics.

Why Custom Events Matter

Custom Events enable tracking interactions that default metrics miss, providing tailored insights into user behavior. They help optimize marketing strategies, product development, and user experience. Without Custom Events, you may overlook key actions like button clicks, video plays, or form submissions that drive value.

  • Tailored user insights

    Custom Events let you measure specific interactions relevant to your business, such as video completions or feature usage, which default pageviews or sessions don’t capture.

  • Enhanced funnel analysis

    By defining Custom Events at critical stages, you can map precise user journeys, identify where users drop off, and optimize the conversion flow.

How Custom Events Work

Custom Events require you to define an event name and attach parameters or properties that describe the event context, such as category, label, value, or other metadata. When the user action occurs, you send this structured data to the analytics backend, which processes and stores the events for reporting. You can then segment and analyze Custom Events in reports, dashboards, or through queries.

  • Event naming conventions

    Use clear, consistent names for events (e.g., ‘signup_clicked’, ‘video_play’) to ensure reports are readable and maintainable across your team.

    • Use lowercase with underscores

      Helps maintain consistency and avoids conflicts in case-sensitive systems.

    • Prefix with category

      Optionally prefix events with a category (e.g., ‘form’ or ‘video’) to group related events.

  • Event parameters

    Attach key-value pairs to provide context for events, such as ‘button_name’, ‘page_path’, or ‘user_role’, enabling deeper segmentation and analysis.

    • String parameters

      Describe text-based context like button labels or page names.

    • Numeric parameters

      Quantify values like order totals, durations, or counts.

Implementing Custom Events in PlainSignal

PlainSignal is a privacy-friendly, cookie-free analytics platform. To track Custom Events, first include the PlainSignal script on your site, then call its tracking API with your event data. Below is an example setup and event call.

  • Setup PlainSignal script

    Add the following snippet to your HTML to load PlainSignal:

    • Html snippet

      <link rel="preconnect" href="//eu.plainsignal.com/" crossorigin />
<script defer data-do="yourwebsitedomain.com" data-id="0GQV1xmtzQQ" data-api="//eu.plainsignal.com" src="//cdn.plainsignal.com/plainsignal-min.js"></script>

  • Sending a custom event

    After the script loads, use the PlainSignal.track method to send an event:

    • Javascript example

      PlainSignal.track('newsletter_signup', {
  category: 'engagement',
  label: 'header_form'
});

Implementing Custom Events in GA4

Google Analytics 4 supports Custom Events via gtag.js or Google Tag Manager. You can load the GA4 library and send events directly with gtag('event', ...), or push events to the dataLayer in GTM.

  • Loading gtag.js

    Include the GA4 tag with your measurement ID:

    • Html snippet

      <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());
  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX');
</script>

  • Sending a custom event

    Use gtag('event', ...) to record your custom action:

    • Javascript example

      gtag('event', 'button_click', {
  event_category: 'engagement',
  event_label: 'signup_button',
  value: 1
});

  • Using google tag manager

    Push events to the dataLayer and configure a Custom Event trigger in GTM:

    • Datalayer push

      dataLayer.push({
  event: 'formSubmission',
  formId: 'contact_form'
});

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