Do you have downloadable assets like eBooks, PDFs, and whitepapers on your website? If so, you should set up download tracking in Google Analytics to better understand your audience and track conversions.
When you set up file download tracking in Google Analytics 4 and WordPress, you can see not only which of your files are being downloaded but also from where and when.
With download tracking, you can:
- Discover how popular your downloadable resources are
- Find out which content type you should offer for download more often and which one is a waste of your time
- Save your time and money by only producing the downloads your audience actually wants
In this post, I’ll provide step-by-step instructions on tracking downloads in Google Analytics. Then, I’ll talk about how you can use that data to improve your marketing campaigns and your website.
Table of Contents
- Video Tutorial
- Does Google Analytics track file downloads?
- Tracking File Downloads Without WordPress
- Tracking File Downloads in WordPress + GA4
- View File Downloads in Google Analytics
- How to Use Your Download Data to Grow Your Business
- Frequently Asked Questions
Video Tutorial
Does Google Analytics track file downloads?
Yes, Google Analytics 4 has built-in file download event tracking. If you don’t have a WordPress website, that option might be your best bet.
However, even though you can turn on the built-in download tracking, many users find it difficult to figure out how to find the results inside the Google Analytics dashboard.
When downloads are tracked, Google Analytics will report those numbers for you in their Events report, which looks something like this:
Tracking File Downloads Without WordPress
If you’re not using WordPress, turn on download tracking by going to Admin » Data Streams » Your active data stream:
Then, under Events, make sure Enhanced measurement is switched ON:
Finally, make sure the switch for File downloads is switched ON and click the blue Save button.
To actually view the data on your tracked downloads, you’ll need to build a custom exploration report. Jump down to the instructions for locating file download data in Google Analytics.
Tracking File Downloads in WordPress + GA4
Looking for an easier, faster, better way to see how many users are clicking the download links on your WordPress site?
With MonsterInsights, you can easily start tracking downloads in Google Analytics without having to touch a single line of code or deal with confusing reports.
MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. Whether your site is small and simple or big and complex, MonsterInsights helps you track what matters most to grow your business. It connects with Google Analytics to set up important tracking features and bring your data into your WordPress dashboard in the form of easy-to-read reports.
When you use MonsterInsights Plus or above to track your downloads, there’s no custom report building required — just open your WordPress dashboard to find your numbers:
Here’s how:
Step 1: Install and Activate MonsterInsights
First, you need to download and install MonsterInsights on your WordPress website. Once you purchase a license at the level that’s right for your site, you’ll find the plugin file in your account area under the Downloads tab:
Next, go ahead and upload the plugin to your WordPress website by heading to Plugins » Add New:
After that, choose the MonsterInsights file you just downloaded and click the Install Now button.
Finally, activate MonsterInsights by clicking the Activate Plugin button.
Step 2: Sign Up for Google Analytics & Connect to MonsterInsights
Next, you’ll be able to connect Google Analytics to your WordPress website using MonsterInsights. Of course, you’ll need to create a free Google Analytics account first if you don’t already have one.
Then, the MonsterInsights onboarding wizard will walk you through each step of getting set up.
After you connect MonsterInsights with Google Analytics, you’ll see a Recommended Settings page where you can see which file extensions are automatically tracked in your Downloads report. By default, MonsterInsights tracks downloads of doc, pdf, ppt, zip, xls, docx, pptx, xlsx, jpg, png, and svg. Go ahead and add or remove any to suit your needs:
When you’re done with that step, keep going through all of the onboarding.
For a full tutorial on getting everything set up, refer to our guide on how to set up Google Analytics in WordPress using MonsterInsights.
After the setup, MonsterInsights will enable file download tracking automatically, and downloads will be tracked as events in Google Analytics.
Step 3: Add More File Extensions to Track as Downloads
If you’d like, you can edit the file extensions tracked in MonsterInsights at any time without going through the setup wizard.
To add or remove file extensions tracked in MonsterInsights, go to Insights and then click Settings. Then select Engagement from the top menu and scroll down to File Downloads.
Step 4: View File Downloads in WordPress
Now that your tracking is set up, you’ll be able to start seeing file downloads reported in WordPress.
To see the report, navigate to Insights » Reports » Publishers » Overview and scroll down to see the Top Download Links.
That’s it! Download tracking is set up.
How to View File Downloads in Google Analytics
To view your file download data in GA4, you’ll want to create a custom explore report.
Need to know how to create a custom report? Check out How to Create Google Analytics 4 Custom Reports (Step by Step).
First, click the plus sign in the Dimensions box and import the following dimensions:
- File name
- Link text
- Page location
- Event name
Once those are imported, go ahead and drag File name, Link text, and Page location over to the Rows box:
Now, click the plus sign in the Metrics box and add Event count. Click and drag it over to the Values box:
Finally, click and drag Event name from Dimensions down into the Filters box. Choose exactly matches and input file_download, then click Apply.
That’s it! You now have a GA4 file downloads report that shows which files were downloaded, what the link text was, and what page the download was on.
How to Use Your Download Data to Grow Your Business
Alright, so now you have download data. How can you use that data to grow your business?
Here are a few ideas.
- Add top downloaded content to more pages. This is primarily for those using file downloads as lead magnets. If you have one in particular that’s doing really well and getting a lot of downloads, figure out where else you can add it on your site to increase that number even more.
- Repurpose popular content. Have downloads that your users are downloading often? That’s a sign that the topic is super relevant to your audience! So, how can you get even more traction out of it? Try repurposing portions of it for social media posts or shorter blog posts. Here are a few content repurposing ideas.
- Rethink unpopular content. What’s not getting downloaded? Try different marketing methods to improve it. Move it to a new location on your site, update the description to make it more enticing, or update it to make it more relevant to your current audience.
Want more business growth ideas? Check out 32 Marketing Hacks Guaranteed to Grow Your Traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Google Tag Manager to track downloads?
Nope. Just install MonsterInsights to avoid any confusing download tracking setup in Google Tag Manager.
How do I track PDF downloads in Analytics?
Simply install MonsterInsights! It will track PDF downloads automatically.
Can you track link clicks in PDF documents?
Yes. You’ll just need to use campaigns.
Can I use event tracking to track downloads in Google Analytics?
Yes you can, although it’s more complicated than installing MonsterInsights. For instructions, read How to Set Up Google Analytics Event Tracking in WordPress.
Start Tracking File Downloads Today!
That’s it!
We hope that you liked our guide on how to track file downloads. You might also like:
How to Set Up Google Analytics Click Tracking
How to Track Form Submissions in Google Analytics & WordPress
How to Create a Survey in WordPress (Step by Step)
Not using MonsterInsights yet? What are you waiting for?
Finally, don’t forget to follow us on YouTube for more helpful reviews, tutorials, and Google Analytics tips.
Hi there! You have to have the paid version to track these downloads though, correct? I have the free version and I can’t see anything other than what is under the “overview” heading (like sessions, page views, bounce rate). Please verify! Thank you!
Hi Jenna – Downloads tracking does happen with MonsterInsights Lite, but the report is a Plus feature. So your downloads are tracked — you just have to look them up in Google Analytics. Here are the instructions for doing that: https://www.monsterinsights.com/how-to-track-and-view-file-downloads-in-google-analytics/#view-ga Let us know if you need more help 🙂