Chapter 19. Event Tracking
Earlier this year Google Analytics finally released Event Tracking to all Google Analytics accounts across the globe. Event Tracking opens the door for web-site owners to track the activity of their rich media content, such as movies, games, widgets, loading times, and Flash and AJAX applications. As web sites incorporate more "Web 2.0" elements with each passing day, it has become essential to be able to properly track visitors' interactions with dynamic elements. Event Tracking for Google Analytics was designed with the ability not only to track rich media and Flash, but also to provide insightful and useful information about their activity.
In this chapter we'll cover your options for tracking implementation, as well as for understanding the report data in order to extract value out of it.
Why Bother with Event Tracking?
Web-site visitors have evolved since the early 1990s, when the Internet first exploded. They are becoming more demanding in terms of site usability, content, aesthetics, and, if you are a merchant, pricing. Their demand has exponentially increased the supply of bigger, better, faster web sites over the years, sites that provide more, and more...and even more to the user. What used to be a one-page listing of hyperlinks in 1994 on Yahoo.com is now a multifaceted, interactive global community, chock-full of videos, games, Flash content and social media applications.
The same can be said for the web analytics industry. In the late 1990's, ...
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