Track PDF's in Google Analytics
-
Hi Mozzers,
Is it possible to track PDF's via Google Analytics/Google tag manager? I'm not only looking for PDF downloads but for the actual activity when someone opens an interactive PDF document. So would it be possible to have onclick events on buttons in the PDF etc...
Many thanks!
Sander -
Hi,
Interesting thought, but one that it seems at first glance technically impossible to do. There are some conversations here and here about using javascript events inside interactive pdfs but aside from immediate technical block points (would need a js enabled pdf viewer and an internet connection at the time of viewing) having a quick look at the acrobat js documentation here seems to imply that acrobat js functionality does not support standard http queries which is probably want you would want to use to send events via the Analytics Measurement Protocol. I suppose you might be able set up your own web service to receive a call and then send the http request to analytics.... but that just sounds like way too much work (with still doubtful results). If you do decide to give it try and it works it would probably be worthy of a moz blog post!
-
Short of tracking pageviews, downloads and clicks on links within the PDF I am not too sure how you would track an interactive PDF. I would still want to put tracking parameters on all links within the PDF and track traffic coming back into your website.
-
Hi Jordan,
Thank you for your answer. I'm looking more for an option to track interactive PDF's. Any suggestions for that?
Thanks
-
First I would recommend tagging all your links you include in your pdf with Google's URL builder tool to track engagement and activity once someone is in a pdf. You could also track pdf's as events or a download as a goal with Google analytics. Here is a more in depth article discussing how to track pdf's with a variety of methods.
Hope this helps some.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Most of the goal conversion in Google analytics showing under referral
Hi All, I have already asked this question twice here but issue is not resolved yet. http://moz.com/community/q/all-goal-conversion-in-google-analytics-showing-under-referral http://moz.com/community/q/some-goal-conversion-in-google-analytics-showing-under-referral In Google analytics most of the goal conversion in Google analytics showing under referral from payment gateway sites (Paypal.com & epdq.co.uk). I have applied all the possible solution that suggested by Moz community experts & Google Adwords support team but it is not resolved yet and it is really weird answer to give client that I have applied all possible solution and issue is still not solved. Lastly I am sharing Cross domain tracking code here that I have used on my site. Please check once and let me know if code is correct and If not correct please help me out to correct the code or suggest any other way to fix the issue Cross domain tracking code ======================= <script type="text/javascript">(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
Reporting & Analytics | | Alick300
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');
ga('require', 'linker');
ga('linker:autoLink', ['paypal.com', 'payments.epdq.co.uk'], false, true);
ga('create', 'UA-xxxxxx', 'auto', { 'allowLinker': true});
ga('require', 'displayfeatures');
ga('send', 'pageview');</script > I have hide the UID in above code. Thanks0 -
Universal Analytics: Why does Google Organic appear as Direct traffic?
Hi there, When I enter the site via Google Search and follow myself via Real-Time Analytics I appear an organic visitor (which is good). When I browse and visit the site I still am an organic visitor. However, as soon as I fill in the contact form (gravity forms) and land on the "thank you page" I appear as a direct visitor with Google as the source. Since I have the thank you page set-up as a goal, Analytics incorrectly attributes these conversions to the direct medium instead of the organic medium. The tracking code has been installed on all the pages and all conversions are being recorded. What is going on?
Reporting & Analytics | | Robbern0 -
Using Filters On Google Analytics
Hi Guys, I am In need of some technical help with regards to Google analytics. One of my clients has a site providing HR Software on SaaS basis. The users login via the site for the various HR Tools. Obviously this is skewing the analytics data and showing 10,000+ extra visitors that actually don't exist. Now I understand i can add filters and exclude certain pages for instance the login page, however, some users will visit the home page then click login. How can I exclude them just to show new visitors to the site rather than users that are just trying to login. Hope this makes sense Neil
Reporting & Analytics | | nezona0 -
It appears there's a problem with our connection to your Google Analytics account. Please go to your Settings page to update your connection.
I keep getting this error though I have confirmed I have the correct information. Any recommendations?
Reporting & Analytics | | x3oadmin0 -
Google's New Privacy Policy and Analytics
Does anybody know if Google's new privacy policy allows it to use data gathered by Analytics to be used as a ranking factor in the SERPs?
Reporting & Analytics | | Jolora0 -
X2 Google Analytics affect page rank ?
Hi there, If you had 2 Google Analytics Accounts one to the main site and another to the blog, could this affect the page position in Google? We've suddenly noticed a drop in our KWs and it was shortly after we added another Google Analytics Account. The blog has 68% Bounce rate and the main site has always been about 48%. Any help would be much appreciated. Many thanks Paul
Reporting & Analytics | | webdesigncwd0 -
Google Analytics bug?
Hi, I'm getting hits to this page, it's screwing up my Google Analytics stats. I know it's related with Google Website Optimizer, cuz it correlates with the tests I ran at the same dates. I'm just wondering if you've seen this before and what I should do to clean my stats? And is this affecting my SEO? Because it's still registering hits to these pages but I already stopped the tests a while go. Should I disallow this in my robots.txt file? Thanks! ga_bug3.jpg
Reporting & Analytics | | rhenster990 -
How do I unlink my Google Analytics Account from SEOmoz?
Hi, I am new to the community and have a very basic question concerning the internal settings for SEOmoz. How do I unlink the Google Analytics Account from SEOmoz. I am sure there is an easy answer to this. Thanks for helping!
Reporting & Analytics | | sandoery0