Tracking User Engagement Beyond Clicks with GTM

Clicks have traditionally been the go-to metric for measuring user engagement, but they don’t tell the full story of user interaction. Google Tag Manager (GTM) enables marketers to track a broader range of user behaviours, providing deeper insights and enabling more informed marketing decisions. This guide explains how to track user engagement beyond simple click metrics effectively using GTM.

1. Scroll Depth Tracking:

• Open GTM and create a new trigger with the type “Scroll Depth”.
• Define percentages or pixel depths you want to track (e.g., 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%).
• Attach this trigger to an appropriate analytics tag to capture scroll depth events.

2. Video Engagement Tracking:

• Create a new tag using “YouTube Video” or custom HTML/JavaScript for other platforms.
• Configure triggers for specific video interactions (e.g., play, pause, completion percentages).
• Connect these triggers to Google Analytics or other analytics tags to capture detailed video engagement data.

3. Form Interaction Tracking:

• Set up a new trigger for form submissions using the “Form Submission” trigger type.
• Use variables to capture specific form data such as form IDs or submission details.
• Link these triggers to analytics tags to track form submissions and form abandonment rates.

4. Element Visibility Tracking:

• Implement “Element Visibility” triggers to track when key elements appear within the viewport.
• Define specific elements to track using CSS selectors.
• Tie these triggers to analytics tags to measure engagement with critical page elements.

5. Timer Events:

• Create “Timer” triggers to measure user interaction over time spent on specific pages or elements.
• Define intervals for capturing timed interactions (e.g., every 30 seconds).
• Integrate these triggers with analytics tags to measure session duration and interaction intensity.

Leveraging GTM to track beyond clicks provides richer insights into user behaviour, empowering marketers to optimise engagement and drive more meaningful interactions. Utilising advanced tracking capabilities such as scroll depth, video interactions, form submissions, element visibility, and timer events enhances the understanding of your users’ journey.