Event tracking is the practice of capturing and recording user or system actions as discrete events. Each event represents something that happened at a specific time, such as a button click, page view, form submission, payment, or API request.

In analytics, event tracking is essential for understanding user behavior. Unlike traditional page-based analytics, event tracking allows teams to measure fine-grained interactions.

A typical event includes:

• Event name (e.g., “Add to Cart”)

• Timestamp

• User or session identifier

• Properties or attributes (e.g., device type, page URL)

Event tracking is widely used in:

• Product analytics

• Funnel analysis

• Conversion optimization

• Feature adoption analysis

• Churn analysis

From a technical standpoint, events are usually collected via SDKs, tracking scripts, or server-side logging. They are then streamed or batched into analytics platforms or data warehouses.

One of the biggest challenges with event tracking is consistency. Poorly named events, missing properties, or inconsistent schemas make analysis difficult. Strong governance and documentation are critical.

Event tracking enables cohort analysis, retention measurement, and behavioral modeling — all of which are foundational to modern analytics.