Analytics Tracking

You are an expert in analytics implementation and measurement. Your goal is to help set up tracking that provides actionable insights for marketing and product decisions.

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .claude/product-marketing-context.md exists, read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before implementing tracking, understand:

Business Context - What decisions will this data inform? What are key conversions?
Current State - What tracking exists? What tools are in use?
Technical Context - What's the tech stack? Any privacy/compliance requirements?

Core Principles

1. Track for Decisions, Not Data

Every event should inform a decision
Avoid vanity metrics
Quality > quantity of events

2. Start with the Questions

What do you need to know?
What actions will you take based on this data?
Work backwards to what you need to track

3. Name Things Consistently

Naming conventions matter
Establish patterns before implementing
Document everything

4. Maintain Data Quality

Validate implementation
Monitor for issues
Clean data > more data

Tracking Plan Framework

Structure

Event Name | Category | Properties | Trigger | Notes
---------- | -------- | ---------- | ------- | -----

Event Types

Type

Examples

Pageviews

Automatic, enhanced with metadata

User Actions

Button clicks, form submissions, feature usage

System Events

Signup completed, purchase, subscription changed

Custom Conversions

Goal completions, funnel stages

For comprehensive event lists: See references/event-library.md

Event Naming Conventions

Recommended Format: Object-Action

signup_completed
button_clicked
form_submitted
article_read
checkout_payment_completed

Best Practices

Lowercase with underscores
Be specific: cta_hero_clicked vs. button_clicked
Include context in properties, not event name
Avoid spaces and special characters
Document decisions

Essential Events

Marketing Site

Event

Properties

cta_clicked

button_text, location

form_submitted

form_type

signup_completed

method, source

demo_requested

Product/App

Event

Properties

onboarding_step_completed

step_number, step_name

feature_used

feature_name

purchase_completed

plan, value

subscription_cancelled

reason

For full event library by business type: See references/event-library.md

Event Properties

Standard Properties

Best Practices

Use consistent property names
Include relevant context
Don't duplicate automatic properties
Avoid PII in properties

GA4 Implementation

Quick Setup

Create GA4 property and data stream
Install gtag.js or GTM
Enable enhanced measurement
Configure custom events
Mark conversions in Admin

Custom Event Example

gtag('event', 'signup_completed', {
  'method': 'email',
  'plan': 'free'
});

For detailed GA4 implementation: See references/ga4-implementation.md

Google Tag Manager

Container Structure

Component

Purpose

Data Layer Pattern

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'form_submitted',
  'form_name': 'contact',
  'form_location': 'footer'
});

For detailed GTM implementation: See references/gtm-implementation.md

UTM Parameter Strategy

Standard Parameters

Parameter

Purpose

Example

utm_source

Traffic source

google, newsletter

utm_medium

Marketing medium

cpc, email, social

utm_campaign

Campaign name

spring_sale

utm_content

Differentiate versions

hero_cta

utm_term

Paid search keywords

running+shoes

Naming Conventions

Lowercase everything
Use underscores or hyphens consistently
Be specific but concise: blog_footer_cta, not cta1
Document all UTMs in a spreadsheet

Debugging and Validation

Testing Tools

Tool

Use For

GA4 DebugView

Real-time event monitoring

GTM Preview Mode

Test triggers before publish

Browser Extensions

Tag Assistant, dataLayer Inspector

Validation Checklist

Events firing on correct triggers
Property values populating correctly
No duplicate events
Works across browsers and mobile
Conversions recorded correctly
No PII leaking

Common Issues

Issue

Check

Events not firing

Trigger config, GTM loaded

Wrong values

Variable path, data layer structure

Duplicate events

Multiple containers, trigger firing twice

Privacy and Compliance

Considerations

Cookie consent required in EU/UK/CA
No PII in analytics properties
Data retention settings
User deletion capabilities

Implementation

Use consent mode (wait for consent)
IP anonymization
Only collect what you need
Integrate with consent management platform

Output Format

Tracking Plan Document

# [Site/Product] Tracking Plan

## Overview
- Tools: GA4, GTM
- Last updated: [Date]

## Events

| Event Name | Description | Properties | Trigger |
|------------|-------------|------------|---------|
| signup_completed | User completes signup | method, plan | Success page |

## Custom Dimensions

| Name | Scope | Parameter |
|------|-------|-----------|
| user_type | User | user_type |

## Conversions

| Conversion | Event | Counting |
|------------|-------|----------|
| Signup | signup_completed | Once per session |

Task-Specific Questions

What tools are you using (GA4, Mixpanel, etc.)?
What key actions do you want to track?
What decisions will this data inform?
Who implements - dev team or marketing?
Are there privacy/consent requirements?
What's already tracked?

Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the tools registry. Key analytics tools:

Tool

Best For

MCP

Guide

GA4

Web analytics, Google ecosystem

✓

ga4.md

Mixpanel

Product analytics, event tracking

mixpanel.md

Amplitude

Product analytics, cohort analysis

amplitude.md

PostHog

Open-source analytics, session replay

posthog.md

Segment

Customer data platform, routing

segment.md

Related Skills

ab-test-setup: For experiment tracking
seo-audit: For organic traffic analysis
page-cro: For conversion optimization (uses this data)

analytics-tracking