Every time a user acts with event tracking implemented, an event hits Google Analytics.
A tracking code is a small script that is embedded in the HTML source code of a website to track the user’s activity. Tracking code is useful for marketers, advertisers, and webmasters to analyze the activity from website visitors. With the use of tracking code you can track website access, from where the traffic comes, devices, and other activities. By knowing the behavior and activity of your visitors, you can plan the strategy for the marketing campaigns to get the effective results. So, when does the tracking code send an event hit to Google Analytics?
When does the tracking code send an event hit to Google Analytics?
Every time a user acts with event tracking implemented, an event hits Google Analytics. So, what is an event hit? An event hit is a user interaction after which data is sent to Google Analytics for tracking. The interaction may be link click or video play or it can be anything. Page views are not considered as interactions.
There are the following hit types:
- Event tracking hits
- Page tracking hits
- Ecommerce tracking hits
- Social integration hits
Website owners can measure different types of user activity by tracking these hits. For example, they can see how users interact with the content, what content they don’t like, and what they like the most.
The tracking process is simple because the tracking code sends data to Google Analytics automatically. When a user triggers the tracking code, Google Analytics records this activity and provides the information in the form of statistical reports.
Google Analytics will trigger a hit, each time when an event occurs. Some examples of different events that registers the hit are:
- Mouse movements and clicking on buttons.
- Registrations and logins.
- Sharing the article, video, or image.
- Downloading a file.
- Page scrolling.
- Loading of light boxes and popups.
- Clicking on an image or link.
Where do I put the Google Analytics Code on my Website?
Google Analytics code can be added either in the HTML footer of your code or in the header of the website. However, Google recommends placing the code in the header section.
If you run a lot of JavaScript on your website, there is a chance that Google Analytics will not accurately measure your website traffic data. You can easily track website traffic statistics with the help of header scripts, because these scripts are loaded before any other script on your website page.
Adding the tracking code to your website will not affect the website performance and speed. This is the reason it is efficient to add the tracking code in the header section of your website.
How to find tracking code in Google Analytics?
- Login to Google Analytics Account.
- Click on Admin.
- Select your account from the account menu.
- After that, choose the property from the menu in the property column.
- Expand the Property section and click on tracking info and then tracking code.
- You will get your tracking ID at the top of the page.
Also, Read
- What Report Shows The Percent Of Site Traffic That Visited Previously in Google Analytics
- When does a default analytics session expire in Google Analytics?
- What is not Considered a Source in Google Analytics by Default?
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for an event to show in Google Analytics?
Google Analytics will take 24 hours to show the data for your website.
What kinds of hits does Google Analytics send?
It tracks page view hits, event hits, ecommerce hits, user time hits, and more.
Where should the analytics tracking code be placed in the HTML of a webpage for data collection?
Place the code before closing </body> tag of your website.