Tracking Downloads
Downloadable documents (files such as PDF’s Word docs, and other files you can upload) are handled differently in Google Analytics. Drupal cannot add the tracking code to them, so they do not count as “pages.” Thus to find statistics for downloadable documents, you have to look in a different place. In Google Analytics, downloads (as well as clicks on external links) are considered Events.
In your left sidebar in Google Analytics, go to Behavior > Events > Overview, then click Downloads.
Open the menu “Secondary dimension.”
Set a Secondary Dimension of Behavior > Event Label.
This will allow you to view the filename.
The number of downloads for each document in the list can be found in the “Total Events” column.
Filtering results
Optionally, you can filter the results for a specific term in the filename. Use the “advanced” link to make sure you’re filtering on the Event Label, and not Event category, which is the default.
- Change “Event Category” to “Event Label”
- Type in your search term*,
- Then click “Apply.”
*Be aware that spaces in filenames are converted to %20 on the Web, so you can’t use spaces in your search term.
Google Analytics can track downloads, but only when the download is initiated on the tracked site. For example, if a user opens a PDF directly from a Google search, or if the link to the PDF is on another site, the download will not be tracked because the user didn't start on your site.
Related articles