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Custom Events analytics, event tracking #472

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mattab opened this issue Dec 9, 2008 · 65 comments
Closed

Custom Events analytics, event tracking #472

mattab opened this issue Dec 9, 2008 · 65 comments
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Critical Indicates the severity of an issue is very critical and the issue has a very high priority. Enhancement For new feature suggestions that enhance Matomo's capabilities or add a new report, new API etc.

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@mattab
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mattab commented Dec 9, 2008

This ticket is about adding powerful Custom events feature to Piwik.

Use cases:
- Mobile events analytics
- API analytics #4178
- JS error tracking #4977
- Offline tracking, Retail analytics
- Tracking actions by users or customers
– Getting useful aggregate reports on these actions, overall, averages, relative values.
- Web form analytics #562

An EVENT is defined by:

```
- Category
- Action
- Name
- Value
```

Event Metrics are in Events Overview report:
– Total number of events
– Unique events
– Visits with events
– Events/visit
– Event value
– Average event value AVG

MAIN REPORTS:

```
- Top Event Category (total events, unique events, event value, avg+min+max value)
- Top Event Action (total events, unique events, event value, avg+min+max value)
- Top Event Name (total events, unique events, event value, avg+min+max value)
```

COMPOSED REPORTS

```
- Top Category > Actions X
- Top Category > Names X
- Top Actions > Categories X
- Top Actions > Names X
- Top Names > Actions X
- Top Names > Categories X
```

UI
– Overview at the top (graph + Sparklines)
– Below show the left menu UI selector

Not MVP (move to other ticket)
– On hover on any row: Show % of total events
– Add min value metric, max value metric in tooltip
– List event scope Custom Variables Names > Custom variables values > Event Names > Event Actions
– List event scope Custom Variables Value > Event Category > Event Names > Event Actions

Done before 2.2.0:
- Tracking API (Javascript and HTTP)
– trackEvent( category, action, [[value](name],) )
- Events Segments
- Display events in Live/ [Visitor log](http://piwik.org/docs/real-time/) / [Visitor profile](http://piwik.org/docs/user-profile/)

Done in 2.2.0:
- Documentation
– add trackEvent to [Javascript tracker](http://developer.piwik.org/api-reference/tracking-javascript)
– Add new user manual for [Custom Events Analytics](http://piwik.org/docs/event-tracking/)

References:
- See Google Analytics API: [image](http://blogoscoped.com/files/google-analytics-event-tracking-large.png), [guide](http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/eventTrackerGuide.html), [extending tracking](http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/eventTrackerWrappers.html)
- trackEvent(category, action, label, value)

@anonymous-matomo-user
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Has there been any development in this area?

@mattab
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mattab commented Jun 16, 2010

geneellis, not so far.

@robocoder
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We can avoid some duplication in piwik.js by using the existing JavaScript tracking API, i.e., .trackLink(url, linkType, customData).

@robocoder
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Ok defer to 2.x pe email w/ matt

@mattab
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mattab commented Jun 19, 2011

Simple Events tracking is now possible in Piwik 1.5, using Custom Variables per page view feature.

This is explained in the forum post: http://forum.piwik.org/read.php?3,76580,78086#msg-78086

If this is useful enough, maybe we could produce a Documentation page to explain this technique, and label it as "Simple Event Tracking".

@anonymous-matomo-user
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Any updated on this?

Piwik needs real event tracking if it wants to compete with Google Analytics.

@anonymous-matomo-user
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I agree with mofle, Piwik needs real event tracking.

Imho this should go to 2.0 milestone

@anonymous-matomo-user
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I agree, as well. Event tracking in very important in tracking microconversions. Whether a video interaction (play, completion, etc), map interaction or even jquery tabs on a page, it goes a long way to deciphering visitor intention and behavior.

Any progress on this?

@mattab
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mattab commented Apr 2, 2012

It is already possible to do basic Event tracking in Piwik by using Custom Variable of scope "page". You can track for example

  • A custom variable Action: name="Video", value="Play" or "Pause" or "Share"
  • A custom variable Video category: name="Category", value="Biography"
    • Once you track these custom variables, the events reporting will be in Visitors > Custom Variables. The report contains each event name (Video, Category) which are clickable to display the sub tables.
    • For each event and value, the Piwik metrics are displayed: number of visits, pageviews, revenue, time on site, etc.
  • You can also track custom Page titles in Actions > Page titles. In the javascript, see piwikTracker.trackPageView("Video/Hello world"); would track a page view in a category "Video" called "Hello world".

See also the documentation for custom variables: http://piwik.org/docs/custom-variables/

@mattab
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mattab commented Jun 4, 2012

If we could allow events via pageviews, without increasing page view counts, we could allow very nice new reports such as "how many visits scroll down to a certain DIV" or "how many read the article until the end", as is demoed in this jquery GA plugin: http://robflaherty.github.com/jquery-scrolldepth/

Would be nice to be able to do this in Piwik! This would ideally require that page views tracking events (with custom variables) do not increase the pageview counter.

@anonymous-matomo-user
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While "event tracking" a la GA style isn't present, is it possible to extend the amount of custom variables that can be used to 10+, instead of 5?

@mattab
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mattab commented Feb 22, 2013

yes we could consider increasing amount of custom variables. Please create a ticket for this request, and we will see how many people are interested.

@mattab
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mattab commented Apr 11, 2013

As part of work on Page Speed reports in #1700 we added a new column in the link_visit_action table, called "custom_float". This is used to track page performance time, but could also be reused for an Event Tracking mechanism. Most event models have a numeric value (to track time progress, counts, scores, etc.).

A perfect use case for Event tracking could be to setup Automatic Youtube videos tracking (see article).

I think Event Tracking would be a great fit sometime in 2.X!

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 20, 2013

In 15a4fc8: Minor refs #472

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 21, 2013

In 3760ca1: Tracker refactor + fix bug in bulk authentication + Cleanup some of Transitions code refs #472

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 22, 2013

In 5bd3921: Preparing for New Action Event type refs #472

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 22, 2013

In bd298e1: Tracking Custom Events refs #472

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 23, 2013

In 821b739: refs #472 Adding Javascript API for tracking Event + Javascript tests

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 23, 2013

In b194c90: Refs #472 Adding events in other tests to make sure events don't regress

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 23, 2013

In 03805c8: Refs #472 Custom Events are now displayed especially in the visitor log (with new icon) and in the Live API output

        <row>
            <type>event</type>
            <url>http://example.org/movies</url>
            <pageIdAction>12</pageIdAction>

            <pageId>16</pageId>
            <eventCategory>Movie</eventCategory>
            <eventAction>play50%</eventAction>
            <eventName>Spirited Away ()</eventName>
            <timeSpent>1320</timeSpent>
            <timeSpentPretty>22min0s</timeSpentPretty>
            <icon>plugins/Zeitgeist/images/event.png</icon>
        </row>

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 27, 2013

In b2bc0c9: Custom events Major update in 2.0-b3 refs #472

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 1, 2013

In 0eb2397: Refs #472 Move some logic to TableLogAction

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 1, 2013

In 335ba18: Refs #472 PrivacyManager support for Custom Events, so that when old data is purged, it works as expected for purging Segments as well.

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 3, 2013

In 2bc6f21: Refs #472 trimming event attributes and adding test ensuring labels are not truncated

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 4, 2013

In d16c46f: Refs #472 move getIdActionFromSegment to TableLogAction class

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 4, 2013

In b3491bf: Refs #472 adding Events segments: eventCategory and eventAction and eventName and eventValue segments and some tests

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 4, 2013

In a57f6b6: Refs #472 Making eventValue match work by only matching events actions + adding test

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 4, 2013

In 5d2f48e: Refs #472 Enabling plugin in tests

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 4, 2013

In 641e9ce: Refs #472 Adding Events Segments tests

@mattab
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mattab commented Nov 4, 2013

In 5766bc3: Refs #472 Checking in test files

sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
PHP Tracker and Tests fixtures
Schema updates
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
… visitor log (with new icon) and in the Live API output

			<row>
				<type>event</type>
				<url>http://example.org/movies</url>
				<pageIdAction>12</pageIdAction>

				<pageId>16</pageId>
				<eventCategory>Movie</eventCategory>
				<eventAction>play50%</eventAction>
				<eventName>Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し)</eventName>
				<timeSpent>1320</timeSpent>
				<timeSpentPretty>22 min 0s</timeSpentPretty>
				<icon>plugins/Zeitgeist/images/event.png</icon>
			</row>
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
… when old data is purged, it works as expected for purging Segments as well.
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
…tion and eventName and eventValue segments and some tests
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
sabl0r pushed a commit to sabl0r/piwik that referenced this issue Sep 23, 2014
@mattab
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mattab commented Sep 26, 2014

The Event Tracking guide has been updated

@dmtintner
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The event tracking guide is not found. link is dead

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 2, 2014

@dmtintner fixed, thanks

@mattab
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mattab commented Oct 27, 2016

Note we've now also released Video Analytics for Piwik as a premium plugin.

The Media Analytics User Guide and the Media Analytics FAQ cover how to get the most out of this plugin. The Media Analytics developer guides help you setting up the tracking of your video and audio on your websites or apps.

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