Sending event data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
This article is related to measurement protocol in Google Analytics.
If you are brand new to measurement protocol, then read this article first: Understanding Google Analytics measurement protocol.
In this article, I will show you, how to send event data via the measurement protocol.
In order to send event tracking data via measurement protocol, use the following protocol parameters (in addition to the 4 required parameters) in the payload data:
#1 Event category
Event category is denoted by ‘ec’ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an URL encoded text string
Example: ec=videos
As in:
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
#2 Event Action
Event Action is denoted by ‘ea’ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an URL encoded text string
Example: ea=play
As in:
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
Get weekly practical tips on GA4 and/or BigQuery to accurately track and read your analytics data.
#3 Event label
Event label is denoted by ‘el‘ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an URL encoded text string
Example: el=spider%20man
As in
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
#4 Event value
Event value is denoted by ‘ev‘ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an integer value.
Example: ev=100
As in
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
Once you have created the payload data, ask your developer to write an application (program) which make the following similar HTTP POST request to the GA server:
User-Agent: user_agent_string
POST https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?payload_data
For example:
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.3; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/30.0.1599.69 Safari/537.36
POST https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
This HTTP POST request will send the payload data (which contains the event hit data) to Google Analytics.
Other articles on measurement protocol
- Sending pageview data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Sending campaign data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Sending ecommerce data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Sending social interactions via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Creating and validating measurement protocol requests through postman
- Understanding measurement protocol validation server
This article is related to measurement protocol in Google Analytics.
If you are brand new to measurement protocol, then read this article first: Understanding Google Analytics measurement protocol.
In this article, I will show you, how to send event data via the measurement protocol.
In order to send event tracking data via measurement protocol, use the following protocol parameters (in addition to the 4 required parameters) in the payload data:
#1 Event category
Event category is denoted by ‘ec’ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an URL encoded text string
Example: ec=videos
As in:
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
#2 Event Action
Event Action is denoted by ‘ea’ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an URL encoded text string
Example: ea=play
As in:
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
#3 Event label
Event label is denoted by ‘el‘ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an URL encoded text string
Example: el=spider%20man
As in
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
#4 Event value
Event value is denoted by ‘ev‘ parameter.
The value of this parameter should be an integer value.
Example: ev=100
As in
v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
Once you have created the payload data, ask your developer to write an application (program) which make the following similar HTTP POST request to the GA server:
User-Agent: user_agent_string
POST https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?payload_data
For example:
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.3; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/30.0.1599.69 Safari/537.36
POST https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&t=event&tid=UA-1500844-34&cid=98880ed4-c224-4b3c-b2e2-35a491373751&ec=videos&ea=play&el=spider%2520man&ev=100
This HTTP POST request will send the payload data (which contains the event hit data) to Google Analytics.
Other articles on measurement protocol
- Sending pageview data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Sending campaign data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Sending ecommerce data via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Sending social interactions via measurement protocol in Google Analytics
- Creating and validating measurement protocol requests through postman
- Understanding measurement protocol validation server
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and BeyondSECOND EDITION OUT NOW!
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
About the Author
Himanshu Sharma
