What is an Event? Examples of Events in Analytics

Event

A discrete user interaction tracked in analytics, like clicks or form submissions, essential for granular insights.

Definition and Purpose

• Event vs. pageview

  While a pageview records when a page is loaded or refreshed, an event captures a specific interaction on that page, such as clicking a button or downloading a file.

  • Granularity

    Events offer more granular data by pinpointing exact user actions, enabling deeper behavioral analysis.

  • Use cases

    Pageviews gauge content consumption at a high level, whereas events measure engagement points like video plays or form submissions.

• Why events matter

  Events help you understand user intent, identify drop-offs, and optimize conversion funnels by tracking interactions that indicate engagement or friction.

  • Engagement metrics

    Track how often users interact with key features to gauge feature adoption and user satisfaction.

  • Conversion tracking

    Use events to define and measure micro and macro conversions, such as sign-ups or purchases.

Types of Events

• Automatic events

  Predefined events that certain platforms, like GA4, capture without additional configuration.

  • Page_view

    Recorded automatically in GA4 each time a page loads.

  • Session_start

    Marks the beginning of a user session in GA4.

• Custom events

  Events you define manually to capture interactions specific to your application or business goals.

  • Naming conventions

    Use clear, consistent names like ‘video_play’ or ‘add_to_cart’ to ensure readability and analysis.

  • Parameter usage

    Attach additional parameters (e.g., product_id, value) to enrich event data.

Implementing Event Tracking

• GA4 implementation

  Use the global site tag (gtag.js) or Google Tag Manager to send event data to GA4.

  • Example code (gtag.js)

    <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=GA_MEASUREMENT_ID"></script>
    <script>
      window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
      function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
      gtag('js', new Date());
      gtag('config', 'GA_MEASUREMENT_ID');
      gtag('event', 'purchase', { 'transaction_id': '1234', 'value': 99.99 });
    </script>
    

• PlainSignal implementation

  Integrate with PlainSignal using a simple, cookie-free script to track events.

  • Example tracking code

    <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>
    

Analyzing Event Data

• GA4 events report

  Navigate to the ‘Events’ section in GA4 to see aggregated counts, user engagement metrics, and funnel analyses.

• PlainSignal dashboard

  Use PlainSignal’s interface to view event summaries, realtime activity, and conversion goals without relying on cookies.

Best Practices

• Consistent naming

  Define a naming schema for events (e.g., snake_case) and stick to it across platforms.

• Limit excessive tracking

  Focus on meaningful events that align with KPIs to avoid data overload and performance issues.

Related terms