Build Tales Analytics Guide

Complete guide to the enhanced analytics tracking implemented on Build Tales.

📊 Overview

Your site now tracks comprehensive user behavior and engagement metrics using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) with custom events.

🎯 Events Tracked

1. Page Engagement

Scroll Depth

• Event: scroll_depth
• Triggers: At 25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 100% scroll
• Parameters:
  • percent: Scroll milestone reached
  • page: Current page path
• Use Case: Understand how far users read your articles

Reading Time

• Event: engagement_time
• Triggers: At 30s, 1min, 3min, 5min, 10min
• Parameters:
  • duration_seconds: Time spent actively on page
  • page: Current page path
• Use Case: Identify sticky content that holds attention

Page Exit

• Event: page_exit
• Triggers: When user leaves the page
• Parameters:
  • total_time: Total time on page (seconds)
  • active_time: Active engagement time
  • max_scroll: Maximum scroll depth reached
  • page: Page path
• Use Case: Complete picture of page engagement

2. User Intent & Behavior

Exit Intent

• Event: exit_intent
• Triggers: Mouse leaves viewport at top (close/switch tab)
• Parameters:
  • page: Current page
  • time_on_page: Seconds before exit intent
• Use Case: Potential for exit-intent popups or interventions

Outbound Links

• Event: outbound_click
• Triggers: Click on external links
• Parameters:
  • link_url: Full URL clicked
  • link_domain: External domain
  • link_text: Link text (first 100 chars)
• Use Case: Track referral traffic and external resource clicks

3. Content Interactions

Article Clicks

• Event: article_click
• Triggers: Click on article links
• Parameters:
  • article_title: Title/text of link
  • article_url: Target URL
  • click_location: Where click originated
• Use Case: Understand content discovery patterns

Series Navigation

• Event: series_navigation
• Triggers: Click on series links
• Parameters:
  • series_name: Name of series
  • from_page: Origin page
• Use Case: Track series engagement

Site Search

• Event: site_search
• Triggers: Search query (3+ characters)
• Parameters:
  • search_term: Lowercase search query
  • search_location: Page where search initiated
• Use Case: Understand what users are looking for

4. Conversion Tracking

Newsletter Signup

• Event: newsletter_signup_attempt
• Triggers: Newsletter form submission
• Parameters:
  • form_location: Page where signup occurred
• Use Case: Track newsletter conversion funnel

Contact Form

• Event: contact_form_submit
• Triggers: Successful form submission
• Parameters:
  • event_category: ‘engagement’
  • event_label: ‘success’
  • recaptcha_score: reCAPTCHA score (0.0-1.0)
  • form_location: Contact page
• Use Case: Monitor contact form quality and bot protection

Contact Form Errors

• Event: contact_form_error
• Triggers: Failed submission
• Parameters:
  • event_category: ‘engagement’
  • event_label: Error message
  • form_location: Contact page
• Use Case: Debug submission issues

5. Page Metadata

Page Metadata

• Event: page_metadata
• Triggers: On page load
• Parameters:
  • page_type: Type of page (article, page, etc.)
  • page_path: URL path
  • page_title: Page title
• Use Case: Segment analytics by content type

📈 GA4 Dashboard Setup

Recommended Custom Reports

1. Content Engagement Report
   • Dimensions: Page path, Page title
   • Metrics: Scroll depth (avg %), Reading time (avg), Exit rate
   • Filter: scroll_depth and engagement_time events
2. User Journey Report
   • Path exploration from entry to exit
   • Track: article_click → series_navigation → newsletter_signup
3. Search Insights
   • Dimensions: Search term, Search location
   • Metrics: Search count, Follow-up events
   • Filter: site_search event
4. Conversion Funnel
   • Steps: Page view → Scroll 75% → Newsletter signup → Contact form
   • Goal: Track conversion paths
5. Bot vs. Human Traffic
   • Dimensions: reCAPTCHA score
   • Metrics: Form submissions
   • Filter: contact_form_submit event
   • Threshold: Score < 0.5 = potential bot

🎨 Custom Dimensions in GA4

Set these up in GA4 Admin → Custom Definitions:

Dimension Name	Event Parameter	Scope
Article Series	article_series	Event
Reading Time	reading_time	Event
Scroll Depth	scroll_depth	Event
reCAPTCHA Score	recaptcha_score	Event

🔍 Key Metrics to Monitor

Content Quality

• Avg scroll depth per article → Content holds attention?
• Reading time distribution → How long do people actually read?
• Exit points → Where do people drop off?

User Engagement

• Return visitors with 3+ pages → Building audience?
• Series completion rate → Following content journeys?
• Newsletter conversion → Growing subscriber base?

Technical Health

• reCAPTCHA scores → Bot activity levels
• Form error rates → User experience issues?
• Outbound clicks → External resource value?

Content Discovery

• Search terms → What are users looking for?
• Article click patterns → Related content effectiveness
• Entry vs. exit pages → Conversion paths

🚀 Advanced Analytics

Cohort Analysis

Track users who:

1. Read 3+ articles in a series
2. Scroll 90%+ on multiple pages
3. Sign up for newsletter within first visit

A/B Testing

Compare performance of:

• Article lengths (by reading time)
• Series vs. standalone articles
• Different CTAs for newsletter

Predictive Analytics

• Likelihood to subscribe (based on scroll depth + time)
• Article series completion probability
• Contact form quality (reCAPTCHA score correlation)

🔒 Privacy & Compliance

• IP Anonymization: Enabled
• Cookie consent: SameSite=None;Secure
• Data retention: Follow GA4 defaults (2 months)
• PII Protection: No email/name tracking in events

📊 GA4 Event Quotas

• Free tier: 500 distinct events
• Currently using: ~15 custom events
• Room for growth: ✅ Plenty

🎯 Quick Wins

1. Top performing content
   • Sort by avg scroll depth + reading time
   • Identify patterns in high-engagement articles
2. Content gaps
   • Analyze search terms with no results
   • Check series with low completion rates
3. Conversion optimization
   • Pages with high engagement but low newsletter signup
   • Optimize CTAs on those pages
4. User experience
   • High bounce on long articles → Add table of contents
   • Low scroll on mobile → Check responsive design

🔄 Continuous Improvement

Monthly Reviews

• Top 10 articles by engagement
• Newsletter conversion trends
• Search term analysis
• Bot activity (reCAPTCHA scores)

Quarterly Deep Dives

• User journey mapping
• Content strategy validation
• Technical performance
• Competitive analysis

---

📞 Support

For analytics questions or custom tracking needs, update the tracking code in:

• _layouts/default.html (lines 36-374)

All events are sent to GA4 property: G-RRLZZG4DPV