Mass.gov events reporting
Overview
Google Analytics captures interactions under the Events reports (which you can find under the Behavior report).
An event could represent any interaction a user has with your content – clicking a link, pushing a button, watching a video, etc.
You can analyze and report on events based on the metadata associated with them. For example, each link click is associated with the page it happened on, the content type of the page, and the organization that owns that content. In addition, we keep track of the text that the user clicked, the URL they clicked, and the Mass.gov component they clicked (e.g. if the link click was a Mosaic image click, an inline link, a footer link, etc.)
You can find this information most easily if you’re familiar with these 4 technical terms: event category, event action, event label, and custom dimension.
Terms
Event category shows the website the event took place on and the service family (a service page & all its child pages) it took place in. For Mass.gov’s analytics, you will always see “massgov” for the website. If you’ve implemented cross domain tracking and have access to another Google Analytics property, you may see your site’s name instead.
Event action describes the type of interaction and provides additional contextual data. For example, a link click event would begin with “Link click:” and also provide the actual text that the visitor clicked.
Event label usually shows a click URL.
Reference
Dimension | Definition | What it looks like in GA |
Event Category | The website the event took place on and the service family it took place in. | massgov Department of Public Health |
Event Action | The type of interaction and provides additional contextual data. | Link Click: Apply Online for WIC |
Event Label | If applicable: shows the URL that was clicked. | https://www.mass.gov/forms/apply-for-wic-online |
We have also added a number of custom dimensions to Google Analytics that you can use to look up other interesting data about your events. For example, you can add “organization” or “hit timestamp” to your events reports to see what state organization(s) they’re associated with or the exact times they occurred.
Custom dimensions
Dimension name | Definition | What it looks like |
Organization | All organizations associated with a page. You can add or remove these in the CMS. | departmentofunemploymentassistance,executiveofficeoflaborandworkforcedevelopment |
Hit Timestamp | The time down to the millisecond the event occurred. | 2020-06-12T08:10:46.593-04:00 |
sessionId | The unique identifier of the session that the event occurred in. | 591809676497.lvbn5kbv |
Node Id | The unique ID of the page that the event occurred on. (Matches the ID in the CMS.) | 13811 |
Event target | The Mass.gov component the visitor interacted with. | Mosaic image |
Page type | The content type of the page the event occurred on. | how_to_page |
In-out-dl | Whether a click was to an inbound, outbound, or download link. | Out |
Service families | Shows the full list of service families the page that the event happened on is associated with. | Vehicle registration, RMV services at aaa, disability plates and placards |
Event targets
"Event target" is a custom dimension that indicates the component that a user interacts with, such as a “Callout button,” “Header logo,” or “inline link.” Here is a list of event targets and descriptions of what components they refer to.
Event target | Description |
Footer link | Links in the site's footer (not including the logo) |
Footer logo | The logo in the site’s footer |
Header logo | The logo in the site’s header |
Mosaic image | Image or associated text for the smaller mosaic components on Organization Page mosaics |
Mosaic image (tall) | Image or associated text for the largest mosaic component on Organization page mosaics |
Social media icon | Sidebar social media links (e.g. on the Service and Organization Pages) |
Social media icon (footer) | Social media links in the site’s footer |
Google translate widget | Google translate link in upper right navigation |
State organizations | State organizations link in upper right navigation |
Utility nav login | Log-in links in upper right navigation |
Org page sub-navigation | Org nav links. |
Relationship indicator | Relationship indicators that connect pages to parents (e.g. "Part of:" & "Offered by: " above main content area) |
Table link | Links in table data cells |
Rich text link | Links in rich text sections (e.g. inline links) |
Related link | Links in the Related section at the bottom and in sidebars |
Related services | Links in the Related services section on Service Pages |
Additional resources & downloads | Links in the Additional resources & Download sections |
Related organization link | Links in the Related Organization section of Organization Pages |
Our organizations | Links in Our Organization section of Organization Pages |
Org page subnav | Organization Page subnavigation menu link |
Featured card header | Featured card header link (e.g. the header link for the gray cards on Topic pages) |
Featured card link group | Featured card link (e.g. links in list format on gray cards on Topic Pages) |
Global alert | Site-wide alert link |
Page-level alert | Alert that's local to a specific page |
News link | News and announcements links on Organization Pages |
Callout button link | Button-style link, such as the ones on at the top of How-tos, as "Key Actions" on Guide Pages, etc. |
Curated list link | Any list item in a curated list |
Contact information | Any link in a contact information section (e.g. on sidebars and in accordions at the bottom of a how-to) |
Homepage news & updates link | Link in the homepage's "News and updates" section |
Popular searches | Links under "Popular searches" heading on home page |
Binder organization | Link to state organization's Org Page in Binder subheading area |
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