/analytics

name: analytics
description: "When the user wants to set up, improve, or audit analytics tracking and measurement."
risk: critical
source: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/analytics
source_repo: coreyhaines31/marketingskills
source_type: community
date_added: 2026-07-01
license: MIT
license_source: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/LICENSE

Analytics Tracking

When to Use

Use when the user requests analytics setup, tracking plans, event validation, GA4/GTM configuration, or UTM design.

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 `.agents/product-marketing.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing.md`, or the legacy `product-marketing-context.md` filename, in older setups), 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:

1. **Business Context** - What decisions will this data inform? What are key conversions? 2. **Current State** - What tracking exists? What tools are in use? 3. **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](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](references/event-library.md)

---

Event Properties

Standard Properties

| Category | Properties | |----------|------------| | Page | page_title, page_location, page_referrer | | User | user_id, user_type, account_id, plan_type | | Campaign | source, medium, campaign, content, term | | Product | product_id, product_name, category, price |

Best Practices

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

---

Prefer GA4 recommended names such as `sign_up` and `purchase` over custom equivalents when targeting GA4 reports. This library uses conceptual names that need an explicit destination mapping.

GA4 Implementation

Quick Setup

1. Create GA4 property and data stream 2. Install gtag.js or GTM 3. Enable enhanced measurement 4. Configure custom events 5. Mark conversions in Admin

Custom Event Example

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

**For detailed GA4 implementation**: See [references/ga4-implementation.md](references/ga4-implementation.md)

---

Google Tag Manager

Container Structure

| Component | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | Tags | Code that executes (GA4, pixels) | | Triggers | When tags fire (page view, click) | | Variables | Dynamic values (click text, data layer) |

Data Layer Pattern

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

**For detailed GTM implementation**: See [references/gtm-implementation.md](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
• [