Definition:
In Web Analytics an event is an action or event that a program detects and records. These events can be user actions, such as clicking a button or pressing a key, or system events, such as running out of memory. In software development, many applications are designed to respond to these events efficiently, known as event-driven programming.
Web Analytics Events
In the context of web analytics, an event is a specific action that occurs on a website or application. These events are tagged to record interactions, allowing web analytics tools to collect and analyze them. Events are critical to understanding how users interact with a site and to optimizing the user experience based on this data.
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4): The approach to events is more flexible and open than in previous versions. GA4 does not use traditional categories, actions and tags. Instead, each event can include up to 25 custom parameters that provide additional details about the interaction. This structure allows for more detailed analysis tailored to the specific needs of each business.GA4 is designed to provide a holistic view of user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, facilitating a more complete analysis of the user journey.
- Adobe Analytics: Uses a highly customizable event system. Instead of following the category, action and tag schema, Adobe employs variables known as “props” and “eVars” to capture details about events. These variables allow companies to define metrics and events that align with their business objectives, providing deep and detailed analysis of user interactions.
- Matomo: This open source web analytics platform follows the traditional category, action and tag-based event model, similar to Google’s old Universal Analytics. This approach provides a clear and organized structure for event tracking, allowing users to effectively segment and analyze interactions.
- Piwik PRO: A business-oriented variant of Matomo, it also uses the category, action and tag model for event tracking. It offers additional privacy and compliance features, making it an attractive option for organizations that handle sensitive data.
- Mixpanel: Another analytics platform that focuses on events, but with a different approach. In Mixpanel, events are used to track specific user actions and can be enriched with additional properties to provide deeper context. This platform is known for its ability to perform advanced behavioral and cohort analysis, allowing companies to better understand the user lifecycle.
Event configuration and tracking
The process of configuring and tracking events on a website or application is essential to collect accurate data on how users interact. This process is done through web analytics tools such as Google Analytics 4, Adobe Analytics and Matomo, among others.
To begin, it is important to clearly define the interactions you want to monitor, such as button clicks, video views or form submissions. Once these key actions have been identified, specific tracking codes are implemented on the website or application. These codes, often in the form of scripts or tags, allow analytics tools to detect and record each event as it occurs.
Collecting this data provides a detailed view of user behavior, enabling companies to analyze usage patterns, identify areas for improvement and optimize the user experience. In addition, event tracking provides the basis for A/B testing and other optimization methodologies, facilitating data-driven decision making.
Event-driven optimization
Collecting event data not only helps to understand user behavior, but is also essential for continuously optimizing a website or application. By analyzing event data, companies can identify areas for improvement, such as pages with high bounce rates or incomplete forms. With this information, specific adjustments can be made to improve the user experience, such as simplifying navigation or adjusting content to make it more relevant. In addition, event analytics allows for A/B testing, helping to implement data-driven changes and improve the overall performance of the digital presence.