Track pdf download in google analytics

Track pdf download in google analytics

Track PDF Downloads with Google Tag Manager + Template,Start your project with Empower

15/04/ · Track PDF Downloads in Google Analytics – GA4 From theTagsmenu select New Give your tag a descriptive name, such as GA4 – PDF Download Select the Google 16/02/ · 1 In this case, you need to send a pageview hit on click event on your pdf link or button and provide distinct value for a 'page' parameter. Use ga ('send') to actually send data 12/08/ · Create the tag by clicking “Tags” then “New” then choose the tag type “Google Analytics: Universal Analytics” and configure as follows: Use naming conventions that best 29/04/ · To properly track this in GA, add the following code to link tag: 10/07/ · Here are the steps that you will need to do in order to track PDF downloads with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics: Create a link click trigger (blogger.com files) Enable ... read more

And they give you the option to use events or virtual page views. Tracking your downloads in MonsterInsights extremely easy to configure, and it's a comparable option to GTM. One of my Google Analytics Mastery Course students, Marco, was faced with this problem. My client wishes to track PDF download. I remember you talking about that. The best way is to use Google Tag Manager. Alas, I am stuck with Google Analytics. So I need to set up Event Tracking I believe. Marco can't use GTM for his client's website. So, he wants to know how to track PDF downloads using the Google Analytics code. Manually adding code sounds complicated, but there is a tool that can help you create event tracking links. Raven Tools has a form that allows you to build event tracking code for your download links. Their form will create two sets of tracking code. You can choose to use either line of code in your download URL. You can copy either of these lines of code and embed them in the link for your downloadable file.

This code will trigger a download event in Google Analytics anytime someone clicks your file link. Autotrack is a javascript library built on top of the analytics tracking code analytics. In the event tracking code, you adjust the data-event-category to register based on your button click. And you make the data-event-action equal your download. For this to work, you need to have Autotrack installed. You also need to have control over the metadata in your website's HTML. These tracking options might be starting to sound pretty advanced, but not every analytics solution is easy. That's why we started with the simpler solutions first. In general, the more difficult solutions provide more control. But they take more time to implement. With that in mind, let's talk about how you custom code your site to track downloads in Google Analytics. Custom coding is the most advanced solution. It involves writing your own code. Then you have run tests using your own systems to make sure your code executes correctly.

Here's an example of what your code would need to communicate with Google Analytics to track your downloads. This is not the actual code for this operation. This example is written using a computer science technique known as pseudocode. If the other options we covered so far don't work, you can try to find a third-party tool to help you track your downloads. I know these libraries exist, or they did at one time. But, my searches to find a library to share did not produce any results. It's possible these tools were made extinct by GTM. So, I don't have an example of a third-party tool that does automatic event tracking. But I'm pretty sure there's one out there somewhere. If you can recommend a third-party tool for event tracking, please leave a comment below. We'll update this section of the post with your suggestions. The best solution, in my opinion, is GTM. But the strategy you choose depends on your website setup and the resources at your disposal.

Let us know, which one of these tacking techniques works best for you? Leave a comment below with method you use for track downloads. Also, if you use a strategy we didn't cover, share it in the comments. We'll continue to expand this post with your recommendations. Jeff Sauer is an independent Digital Marketing Consultant, Speaker and Teacher based out of a suitcase somewhere in the world. Usually, tracking PDF downloads with Google Tag Manager is fairly easy or any other types of files. Once you get a grasp on the main concepts, like triggers, tags, variables, you should be up-and-running fairly quickly. Every time a file link is clicked, the trigger will be activated and the GA tag will be fired.

That tag will send the value of the Click URL to Google Analytics. If file links on your site do not contain file names or extensions, you should cooperate with a developer:. This is so helpful, thank you!! I really appreciate how you walked through the very very basic beginner steps as well. Any idea how to track direct links to a PDF file? Everything above makes sense from a link click perspective, but how would you handle someone taking your PDF link and posting it online and then as a website owner, knowing how many people not only see the PDF from link clicks, but also from direct traffic? Super helpful. I'm applying for jobs and have a resume link on my website-now I can see how often it has been clicked. Thank you so much for this really clear explanation! I've not used GTM before and was quite confused about how to go about tracking downloads and getting it hooked up properly with Google Analytics.

With your super clear step-by-step guide I've now got it up and running in no time. I really appreciate the effort you've put into this. I was wondering. Why did you choose page url as a label and not the click label? Also what is the use of the delay and page path condition? Just curious :. Because I already had a Click URL in the event action. If you click a link and then the user is redirected, GA might not have enough time to send the data if PDF is opened in the same window. If you want to give it more time to send the data, you can use Wait for tags. This applies not only to GA tags but to all tags. Yes I saw, I think you misunderstoond me. Why would you use page path and not the 'click text'? The page path can always be found since it's recorded when the event is triggered.

The click text most times has a better name to recognize what has been clicked :. Thanks for the answer. Would you say: no harm, no foul? always use the delay for downloads? This is up to you. I just showed an example. If I wanted to create a goal based on a click of particular URL just on the particular page, then Page Path would be useful. To sum up: your naming convention depends on your needs. it can cause harm. Imagine delaying every link click for up to 2 seconds. That impacts the UX. I feel totally inadequate. I have GA and GTM. Since 1 field asked for my Measurement ID number, I upgraded to GA4 which only confuses me further. Full disclosure, I'm a novice that goes to the Google school of how do I do this for all my instruction. Great set of instructions really clear, unfortunately I just cannot get either a simple ahref link, or button link to a pdf doc download to trigger at all.

Can you think why this may be the case? Other tracking tags work ok. On my site, all my PDFs open in new windows, so I'm not seeing my tags trigger properly. Any suggestions to fix that? However,after creating the event I'm just not seeing any activity in GTM preview mode that indicates that the event I'm watching for is firing. hello, I would like to know if the person went to the bottom of the document for example. How i do? How do i do to track a specific page on my website or landing page? Click, scroll etc. Hi, I am in the position where I need to know when the invoice is actually downloaded, can this be done?

Not when clicking on the URL or cliking on the text "X", this can only be done with data layers? How would it be? Thanks and regards, Ainoa. You need to talk to the developer about this. Placing Javascript including datalayer directly in the PDF file is impossible. After completing your instructions I could see the event was triggering fine but I couldn't see it against my goal in Google Analytics. I had a developer friend check this for me and apparently it was because I had set them up in different cases i. Thought I would flag that here for anyone else reading who may have made the same error! and maybe this note could be added to the article. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. answered Feb 17, at Дмитро Булах Дмитро Булах 3, 1 1 gold badge 14 14 silver badges 22 22 bronze badges. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password.

Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. The Overflow Blog. Work has changed. How machine learning algorithms figure out what you should watch next. Announcing the Stack Overflow Student Ambassador Program. Google Analytics 4 GA4 upgrade. Staging Ground Workflow: Question Lifecycle. The [option] tag is being burninated. Collectives Update: WSO2 launches, and Google Go sunsets. Linked 1. Related 3.

Ben Matthews Google Analytics Reading Time: 5 minutes. We love using Google Analytics to track how people are interacting with our website, but by default Google Analytics will not track how many times people download PDFs or other file types. This simply because those files do not have the ability to request a tracking pixel, which is the method Google Analytics uses to track what people are doing on your website. Some of the methods are easier than others, so have a read through and check which method is best for you. When a user clicks to download your file, a tracking pixel is requested and recorded in your Google Analytics. That solves the problem for individual PDF downloads, but what if you want to track any PDF download on your website? Many of our clients have built their websites using WordPress, so luckily for them there are a range of WordPress plugins that allow you to track PDF downloads.

To enable PDF downloads tracking, we recommend using a WordPress plugin like MonsterInsights. After installing and setting up the plugin, file downloads tracking will be enabled automatically and they will be tracked as events. By default, MonsterInsights lets you track downloads of the following file extensions: doc, pdf, ppt, zip, xls, docx, pptx, and xlsx. But you can add more extensions that you want to track. In Google Analytics, events tracking are used to measure user interactions with content like downloads, mobile ad clicks, video plays, etc. Google Tag Manager allows you to add tags to your website that can be associated with almost any element — buttons, time on a page, clicks. The video below describes how to install Google Tag Manager, as well as an introduction to the software, but there are also written instructions for how to install Google Tag Manager here.

Before you can measure PDF views, you need to first ensure that anytime someone clicks a link on your website, that click is tracked: a Link Click Listener tag accomplishes this. This creates a rule that is only met when someone clicks on a link with. pdf in the url string. This tag will add an event to your Google Analytics account anytime someone clicks on a PDF. In your event reports, navigate to Behavior » Events in the left panel. The Event Action report will show you the exact URLs of the downloaded PDFs. Empower also runs Google Analytics training for charities , so take a look at our offering if your charity needs an extra hand in understanding the data from your website visitors. All of these solutions surely only track clicks on links to PDFs, rather than visits to the PDFs themselves?

What if a user bookmarks the PDF URL, or navigates to it via search engine or link in an email, etc? If you send email newsletters using a service like Mailchimp, you can track links clicked that way. Or you can host the PDF on a platform like Slideshare or Scribd, which gives you analytics of how many people have viewed the PDF. All elements trigger tracks clicks of any element link, image, button, etc. nowhere to be found. these are the available values. Google Analytics: Universal Analytics Google Marketing Platform Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration Google Marketing Platform Google Analytics: GA4 Event Google Marketing Platform Google Ads Conversion Tracking Google Ads Google Ads Remarketing Google Ads Floodlight Counter Google Marketing Platform Floodlight Sales Google Marketing Platform Conversion Linker Google Google Optimize Google Marketing Platform Google Surveys Website Satisfaction Google Marketing Platform.

Yes, your detail has helped me to setup my website for analytics, i was now able to solve my issues, but everything is now working well. Thanks for your support, subscribed your blog.. Hello — When following method 1 — whereabouts do I find this data in Google Analytics? Hello, is it possible to track different PDF downloads from different parts of a website or does the total always lump all PDF downloads across the entire site together? If it is possible, how do you do it? I would also like to know this. Hello, Is it possible to track the names of the people who come to our website to download files? I want to see how many people have clicked a link of a pdf without downloading it that is in my media library.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. About Team Careers Case Studies Blog Sitemap. Digital Strategy Agency Content Marketing Agency Social Media Agency Facebook Ads Agency Google Ads Agency Digital Audits. Digital Marketing Resources Facebook Ads Resources Google Ads Resources Google Analytics Resources Video Marketing Resources Social Media Resources. Digital Strategy Training Social Media Training Facebook Ads Training Google Ads Training Google Analytics Training. Accessibility Statement. Modern Slavery Statement. Environmental Policy. Privacy Policy. Skip to content. About Team Values B Corp Services Digital Strategy Digital Audits Social Media Facebook Ads Google Ads SEO Email Marketing Case Studies Resources Blog Contact. How to track PDF downloads in Google Analytics Ben Matthews Google Analytics Reading Time: 5 minutes. In this article: Method 1: Adding a script to the PDF download link Method 2: Using a WordPress plugin Method 3: Google Tag Manager How to view PDF downloads in Google Analytics Need help with how to track PDF downloads in Google Analytics?

Link Click Listener in Google Tag Manager. PDF Click in Google Tag Manager. PDF view tag firing in Google Tag Manager. Ben Matthews is the co-founder of Empower Agency. He is a digital strategist specialising in technology, media, government and charity. Ben offers senior client consultancy and trusted counsel, sets strategy, and ensures well-executed implementation for campaigns at all levels. Thanks for this info! Is this outdated now? Google Analytics: Universal Analytics Google Marketing Platform Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration Google Marketing Platform Google Analytics: GA4 Event Google Marketing Platform Google Ads Conversion Tracking Google Ads Google Ads Remarketing Google Ads Floodlight Counter Google Marketing Platform Floodlight Sales Google Marketing Platform Conversion Linker Google Google Optimize Google Marketing Platform Google Surveys Website Satisfaction Google Marketing Platform Reply.

I would like to know this too. Will Conversion linker still work? Thank you Narelle Reply. Leave a Comment Cancel reply Comment Name Email Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Contact Empower. Subscribe for updates We send one email per month. No fluff. Easy to unsubscribe. Empower Agency About Team Careers Case Studies Blog Sitemap. Services Digital Strategy Agency Content Marketing Agency Social Media Agency Facebook Ads Agency Google Ads Agency Digital Audits. Resources Digital Marketing Resources Facebook Ads Resources Google Ads Resources Google Analytics Resources Video Marketing Resources Social Media Resources. Training Digital Strategy Training Social Media Training Facebook Ads Training Google Ads Training Google Analytics Training. Close About Team Values B Corp Services Digital Strategy Digital Audits Social Media Facebook Ads Google Ads SEO Email Marketing Case Studies Resources Blog Contact.

How to track PDF downloads in Google Analytics,New to Google Tag Manager?

29/04/ · To properly track this in GA, add the following code to link tag: 12/08/ · Create the tag by clicking “Tags” then “New” then choose the tag type “Google Analytics: Universal Analytics” and configure as follows: Use naming conventions that best 10/07/ · Here are the steps that you will need to do in order to track PDF downloads with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics: Create a link click trigger (blogger.com files) Enable This help content & information General Help Center experience. Search. Clear search 15/04/ · Track PDF Downloads in Google Analytics – GA4 From theTagsmenu select New Give your tag a descriptive name, such as GA4 – PDF Download Select the Google 16/02/ · 1 In this case, you need to send a pageview hit on click event on your pdf link or button and provide distinct value for a 'page' parameter. Use ga ('send') to actually send data ... read more

The same applies to user activity on a web page. I would like to know this too. You should see your file download events there. In your event reports, navigate to Behavior » Events in the left panel. Interaction Events An interaction event is a true or false type of command that exists within the event code. It involves writing your own code.

Why did you choose page url as a label and not the click label? Tracking downloads of your content is a great way to understand what your audience is interested in and provide track pdf download in google analytics high-value content that kickstart customer journeys. Google Analytics: Universal Analytics Google Marketing Platform Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration Google Marketing Platform Google Analytics: GA4 Event Google Marketing Platform Google Ads Conversion Tracking Google Ads Google Ads Remarketing Google Ads Floodlight Counter Google Marketing Platform Floodlight Sales Google Marketing Platform Conversion Linker Google Google Optimize Google Marketing Platform Google Surveys Website Satisfaction Google Marketing Platform, track pdf download in google analytics. Raven Tools has a form that allows you to build event tracking code for your download links. Just make sure that you DO NOT leave the pipe before the parentheses.