Overview
A well-designed tracking plan is like a blueprint for your data collection. It ensures you capture the right information to make smart business decisions. This guide shares best practices from successful Tag Insight implementations.Major retailers like Printemps started simple with critical events before expanding their tracking plans. You can too!
Start simple, grow smart
The phased approach
Don’t try to track everything at once. Build your tracking in phases:1
Phase 1: Business essentials (Weeks 1-2)
Start with what directly impacts revenue
- Purchases and conversions
- User signups and logins
- Key page visits
- Major errors or issues
2
Phase 2: Understanding behavior (Weeks 3-6)
Learn how customers interact
- Product views and interests
- Shopping cart activity
- Search usage
- Navigation patterns
3
Phase 3: Optimization insights (Weeks 7+)
Fine-tune your experience
- Detailed engagement metrics
- A/B test results
- Customer preferences
- Advanced segments
Planning your tracking events
What’s an event?
An event is any action you want to track. Think of events as moments that matter to your business:- Customer views a product
- Someone adds to cart
- User completes purchase
- Visitor signs up for newsletter
Organizing your events
Group similar events together for clarity:Shopping events
- Product viewed
- Added to cart
- Checkout started
- Purchase completed
Engagement events
- Content shared
- Review submitted
- Wishlist updated
- Newsletter signup
Navigation events
- Page viewed
- Search performed
- Filter applied
- Menu clicked
Account events
- User login
- Account created
- Profile updated
- Password reset
Naming your events clearly
Why naming matters
Clear names help everyone understand your data:- Marketing knows what they’re measuring
- Developers implement correctly
- Reports make sense to executives
- New team members learn quickly
Good naming principles
- Do this ✅
- Not this ❌
Be descriptive
- product_viewed
- checkout_completed
- newsletter_signup
- search_performed
- Always lowercase
- Words separated by underscores
- Action_object pattern
Choosing what data to collect
Essential vs nice-to-have
For each event, decide what information is critical: Purchase event example:- Essential: Order ID, total amount, currency
- Important: Customer ID (if logged in), payment method
- Nice to have: Discount code, gift wrap option
Data to always include
These basics help with every analysis:- When: Timestamp of the event
- Where: Page or screen location
- Who: User or session identifier
- What: The specific action taken
Making your plan future-proof
Plan for growth
Your business will evolve, and your tracking should too:Start flexible
Start flexible
Design events that can grow. For example, a “product_interaction” event can handle views, clicks, and future actions you haven’t thought of yet.
Leave room for details
Leave room for details
Begin with core information, but structure events so you can add more details later without breaking existing tracking.
Version your changes
Version your changes
When you update your tracking plan, note the version and date. This helps everyone stay aligned.
Documentation best practices
Create a tracking guide
Document each event clearly: Event name: product_viewed When it fires: When someone views a product detail page Business purpose: Understand product interest and popularity Information collected:- Product ID
- Product name
- Price
- Whether it’s in stock
Maintain a data dictionary
Keep a simple reference table:| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| User ID | Customer’s unique identifier | cust_12345 |
| Session | One visit to your site | sess_abc789 |
| SKU | Product code | SHOE-BLU-42 |
| Conversion | Completed goal (like purchase) | Order placed |
Common tracking patterns
E-commerce example
Here’s a typical online store tracking flow:- Discovery: Customer searches or browses
- Interest: Views specific products
- Consideration: Adds items to cart
- Decision: Starts checkout
- Success: Completes purchase
Content site example
For media or content sites:- Arrival: How users find you
- Engagement: What they read/watch
- Depth: How far they scroll
- Sharing: Social interactions
- Return: Repeat visits
Testing your tracking plan
Before going live
1
Review with stakeholders
Ensure marketing, analytics, and tech teams agree
2
Start small
Test on one section before site-wide rollout
3
Verify data
Use Tag Insight to check everything works
4
Gather feedback
Ask data users if they’re getting what they need
Quality checklist
Before launching, verify:- Event names are clear and consistent
- Each event has a business purpose
- Documentation is complete
- Privacy requirements are met
- Team is trained on the plan
Managing your tracking plan
Who owns what
Clear ownership prevents confusion: Marketing team:- Defines business requirements
- Prioritizes what to track
- Uses the data for decisions
- Implements tracking code
- Ensures accuracy
- Fixes issues
- Creates reports
- Identifies gaps
- Suggests improvements
Making changes
When you need to update tracking:- Document the need - Why is this change required?
- Assess impact - What might break?
- Get approval - Ensure stakeholders agree
- Test first - Try in staging environment
- Roll out carefully - Monitor during deployment
- Verify success - Check data quality
Best practices summary
Keep it simple
Start basic and add complexity gradually
Be consistent
Use the same naming patterns everywhere
Document everything
Future you will thank current you
Test thoroughly
Verify before going live
Common mistakes to avoid
- Tracking too much too soon - Overwhelming and hard to maintain
- Cryptic naming - Nobody knows what “evt_1a” means
- No documentation - Knowledge lives in one person’s head
- Ignoring privacy - Can lead to serious issues
- Never reviewing - Plans should evolve with your business
Industry-specific tips
Retail and e-commerce
- Focus on purchase funnel
- Track inventory views
- Monitor cart abandonment
- Measure promotion effectiveness
Media and content
- Emphasize engagement metrics
- Track content completion
- Monitor sharing behavior
- Measure return visits
B2B and SaaS
- Track feature usage
- Monitor trial conversions
- Measure user activation
- Focus on retention
Getting started
Ready to create your tracking plan?1
List your goals
What business questions need answers?
2
Map user journeys
How do customers interact with your site?
3
Define events
What actions indicate progress?
4
Create documentation
Write it down clearly
5
Review and refine
Get feedback from stakeholders