Event tracking lets you see how people interact with your website — not just which pages they visit, but the things they click. When it's switched on, Rocketspark automatically sends these interactions to Google Analytics (GA4) or Google Tag Manager, so you can see what's working and what isn't.
What can I track?
Once tracking is connected, Rocketspark records these automatically — there's nothing extra to set up:
- Button clicks — if you've got more than one button on a page, you can see which ones people click.
- File downloads — clicks on file download blocks, so you know which files are popular.
- Image clicks — which images people click, on both your website and your blog.
- Slideshow clicks — which slides in a slideshow get clicked.
- Email form sends — how many times people submit a form, without needing to send them to a separate "thank you" page.
If you run an online shop, Rocketspark also sends shopping events (like product views, add-to-cart, and purchases). You can read more about those in What data is sent to Google when a purchase is made on my site?
How do I turn event tracking on?
Event tracking switches on by itself as soon as you've connected Google Analytics (GA4) or Google Tag Manager to your site. There's no separate setting to flip.
If you haven't connected Analytics yet, start here:
- New to this? Follow How to create a new Google Analytics account (GA4) and connect a graph to your website Dashboard.
- Already have a GA4 ID? Add it in your Dashboard under Settings → Google Analytics. Your ID starts with G- for GA4, or GTM- if you're using Google Tag Manager.
That's it — once your ID is saved, Rocketspark starts sending events.
Where do I see my events?
If you're using Google Analytics (GA4)
- Log in to your Google Analytics account.
- Go to Reports → Engagement → Events.
- You'll see a list of event names. The ones from Rocketspark are click (for buttons, images, files and slideshows) and sent (for email forms).
To see the helpful detail — like which button or which form — you'll want to turn on two custom details in GA4, called event_category and event_label. In GA4 these are known as custom dimensions. Once they're registered, you can break your events down by category (Button, Image, and so on) and by label (the specific button or form).
If you're using Google Tag Manager (GTM)
Google Tag Manager works a little differently. Rocketspark sends every event into GTM's "data layer", but GTM won't pass them on to Google Analytics until you tell it to. To finish the job, you'll need to create your own tags and triggers in GTM that listen for these events and send them to GA4. Google has a step-by-step guide on setting up tags and triggers if you're new to it.
The event names Rocketspark sends to GTM are listed in the table further down.
Tracking events as Key events (conversions)
If there's an action that really matters to you — like someone submitting your contact form — you can mark it as a Key event in GA4 (you might also see these called Conversions). That lets you measure how often it happens and where those visitors came from, which is handy for checking whether an ad campaign is paying off.
In GA4, you do this under Admin → Events (or Key events), by switching on the event you care about — for example the sent event for form submissions. Google's own guide "Set up key events" walks through the latest steps, as the screens change from time to time.
Table of values
These are the exact events Rocketspark sends, in case you're setting up custom dimensions, Key events, or GTM triggers and need to match them precisely.
Google Analytics (GA4)
| What the visitor does | Event name | event_category | event_label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submits an email form | sent | Email Form | The form's name |
| Clicks a button | click | Button | Page: PageName - Button text |
| Clicks a file download block | click | File Download | Page:PageName - File block text |
| Clicks an image | click | Image | Page: PageName - LinkTo:/the link/ |
| Clicks a slideshow image | click | Slideshow | Page:PageName - Slide:number - LinkTo:/the link/ |
Google Tag Manager (GTM)
| What the visitor does | Data layer event name | label |
|---|---|---|
| Submits an email form | formSent | The form's name |
| Clicks a button | Button Click | Page: PageName - Button text |
| Clicks a file download block | File Download Click | Page:PageName - File block text |
| Clicks an image | Image Click | Page: PageName - LinkTo:/the link/ |
| Clicks a slideshow image | Slideshow Click | Page:PageName - Slide:number - LinkTo:/the link/ |
Tips and things to watch out for
- Your own clicks aren't tracked while you're logged in. Rocketspark leaves tracking off when you're logged into your own site, so your editing doesn't clutter your reports. To test that events are firing, view your live site in a private/incognito window (or ask a friend to click around).
- It can take up to 24 hours for events to start showing in Google Analytics after you first connect it.
- There's no data from before you connected. Analytics only records from the moment it's switched on, so the sooner you connect it, the sooner you'll have numbers to look at.
- For online forms, the label is usually the form's name. If your form redirects to a web address after it's submitted, the label will be that address instead.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to switch event tracking on separately? No. As soon as Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager is connected, event tracking runs automatically across your whole site.
I've connected GA4 but I can't see any events. What's wrong? First, check you're not viewing your site while logged in — your own clicks aren't tracked. Then give it up to 24 hours, and remember there's no data from before you connected. If you're using Google Tag Manager, you'll also need to set up tags and triggers (see above).
Why do I see a click event I didn't expect? GA4 has a built-in setting called "Enhanced measurement" that records some link clicks on its own, separately from Rocketspark. That's normal and nothing to worry about.
I use Google Tag Manager — why aren't my events in Google Analytics? With GTM, Rocketspark sends events into the data layer, but you decide what happens next. You'll need to create tags and triggers in GTM to forward them to GA4.
Need more help?
If you're still stuck, flick us a message at support@rocketspark.com. We're happy to help.