Tracking user behavior on your website is crucial for understanding what works and what doesn’t. But not all tracking methods are the same. Two of the most common types are event tracking and pageview tracking. Many businesses use both, but they serve different purposes and offer different insights. In this article, we’ll break down what each tracking method is, how they work, and when you should use them.
Pageview tracking measures how many times a particular page on your website is loaded. Every time a user visits a new page, a pageview is recorded. This basic tracking method has been the foundation of web analytics for many years. It helps businesses understand which pages are most popular, how users navigate the site, and where they exit. If you want a general overview of your website’s traffic, pageview tracking is essential.
Pageview tracking is simple and easy to set up. Most analytics tools, including traditional ones like Google Analytics, automatically record pageviews by default. It tells you how many visitors your homepage, blog posts, product pages, or landing pages receive. However, pageview tracking does not show what users do inside a page. For deeper insights into user behavior, event tracking is needed.
Event tracking goes a step beyond pageviews by measuring specific actions users take on a page. Instead of just knowing that someone visited a page, you can see exactly what they interacted with. Events can track things like button clicks, form submissions, video plays, file downloads, and much more. Every meaningful interaction that does not trigger a new page load can be tracked as an event.
Setting up event tracking usually requires defining what you want to measure. For example, you might create an event to track when users click a “Sign Up” button or watch a product demo video. Some modern analytics tools make this very easy, while others require adding small pieces of custom code. Event tracking gives you detailed insight into user behavior and helps you optimize your website for conversions.
While both pageview and event tracking collect user interaction data, they focus on very different things.
Here’s a breakdown of the main differences:
Purpose: Pageviews measure visits to pages; events measure actions within pages.
Depth of Insight: Pageviews give surface-level information, while events reveal detailed behaviors.
Setup: Pageviews are automatic in most tools; events usually need manual setup.
Data Volume: Events generate more granular data because they track many more activities.
Use Cases: Pageviews are good for general traffic analysis; events are better for analyzing user engagement and optimizing conversions.
Understanding these differences helps you choose the right tracking method based on your business goals.
If you only rely on pageview tracking, you miss a huge part of the user journey. Knowing that a user visited your pricing page is good, but it doesn’t tell you if they clicked on the “Get Started” button. Similarly, a blog post might get many views, but you won’t know if readers downloaded your lead magnet or clicked a call-to-action. Pageview tracking gives you traffic volume, but not engagement quality.
Modern websites are highly interactive. Users click, scroll, hover, submit forms, and interact with dynamic content that doesn’t always load a new page. Without event tracking, you have no way to measure these valuable actions. Businesses that want to optimize conversion rates, reduce bounce rates, and improve user experience must move beyond pageviews and add event tracking.
You should use event tracking whenever you want to measure actions that show user intent. Common examples include:
Tracking clicks on signup or purchase buttons.
Measuring downloads of PDFs, whitepapers, or brochures.
Tracking video engagement, such as plays, pauses, and completions.
Monitoring interactions with sliders, tabs, or modal popups.
Tracking scroll depth on important content pages.
Events help you answer important questions about how users engage with your site. By tracking these interactions, you can find opportunities to improve design, messaging, and user flows.
Despite its limitations, pageview tracking still plays a vital role. It helps you understand basic traffic patterns across your website. Knowing which pages bring the most visitors, have the highest bounce rates, or lead to the most exits can guide your content and SEO strategy. Pageview tracking is also useful for measuring the performance of marketing campaigns and referral traffic.
In many cases, businesses combine pageview tracking and event tracking to get a full picture of user behavior. Together, they provide both the “what” and the “how” behind user activity.
The most powerful approach is using both tracking methods together. Start with pageview tracking to map the basic flow of users through your site. Then layer in event tracking to see what actions users take on each page. This combined view shows not just where users go, but what they do when they get there.
For example, you might see that a product page gets a lot of views, but event tracking reveals that few users click the “Add to Cart” button. This signals that you need to improve the page’s call-to-action or design. Combining both types of data gives you actionable insights that lead to smarter decisions and better results.
Not all analytics tools make event tracking easy. Some require coding knowledge, while others offer point-and-click setups. When choosing an analytics tool, look for platforms that make it easy to set up and manage events without slowing down your website. Lightweight scripts, real-time event monitoring, and privacy-focused tracking should also be top priorities.
Solutions like [Your Analytics Tool] offer seamless event and pageview tracking with a clean, easy-to-use interface. They are designed to help businesses of all sizes collect better data, improve website performance, and respect user privacy.
Both pageview tracking and event tracking are important tools in your analytics strategy. Pageviews show you the big picture of where your traffic comes from and which pages are most popular. Events dig deeper, revealing how users interact with your content and what actions they take. Relying only on pageviews leaves major blind spots in your data.
To fully understand your users and improve your website, you need to combine both methods. Modern analytics tools make this easier than ever, giving you the insights you need without the complexity you don’t want.
By mastering event tracking and pageview tracking, you can make smarter, faster decisions to grow your business.