What events will you need

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Events record the actions users take in your product (signup, purchase, level completed); properties describe the context of each action (channel, plan tier, level number). Every chart, funnel, and cohort in Amplitude reads from this event data, so the events you choose to track determine the questions you can later answer. Track too few and key questions go unanswered; track everything and signal drowns in noise.

Use this guide when you're building a tracking plan from scratch and need a starting list of events. If you already have a draft and want to validate event naming and structure, go to the data planning playbook instead.

How many events should you track

New customers often try to track most, or even all, of the actions a user can take in their product. Resist this urge. Although it feels logical that more data leads to more insights, it usually doesn't work that way. Too much data obscures insights, burying them under an avalanche of events and properties you don't need.

The right number of events depends entirely on the complexity of your product. If your app has a focused feature set, you might only need to track 20 events or so. If your product is feature-rich, 200 might be more appropriate.

To find the right number, think about what kinds of insights you want from Amplitude. What questions do you want Amplitude to help you answer in the next quarter? The next two quarters? Identify those questions, and choose the events that take you there.

What events should you track

Always track any actions that fit into these three categories:

Actions that complete a process within your product, such as a tutorial or signup process.
Actions that guide a user through the main mechanics of your product.
Actions that let a user make an in-app purchase.

After you decide which events to track, plan your events takes a deep dive into this question, so read that next.

Common events and properties to track by industry

This section offers advice, broken down by industry, about which events and properties to track to answer the questions most commonly asked by others in your industry. This isn't a comprehensive list of everything you need. These are suggestions to keep in mind as you create your taxonomy.


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
How many page views do we get?	Event Segmentation
How many sessions were there?	User Sessions
How long do users stay in session?	User Sessions
How much content does a user consume?	Event Segmentation
Which content has changed MoM?	Data Table
How many new users retain each week?	Retention Analysis
What content do users view?	Data Table
Where are our users?	Event Segmentation
What device families do our users use?	Event Segmentation
What platforms do our users use?	Event Segmentation
When are unique visitors coming to my site?	Data Table
What percentage of users convert?	Funnel Analysis
Is conversion improving or worsening?	Event Segmentation
How well do my channels convert?	Data Table
How many goals are users completing?	Data Table
What content represents the largest percentage of all page views?	Event Segmentation

Required events and properties:

Event: Page View.
- Properties: url, channel, [Amplitude] Event hour of the day.
Your conversion event.
[Amplitude] New User.
[Amplitude] Any Active Event.

Ecommerce


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
What are the top referrers or sources for our users?	Event Segmentation or Data Table
Which referrers have the highest purchase conversion?	Funnel Analysis
How many items are viewed per session?	User Sessions
What are the most popular items viewed?	Event Segmentation
What are the most popular items purchased?	Event Segmentation
What percentage of users complete an order after they view an item?	Funnel Analysis
How long does it take a user to complete an order?	Funnel Analysis
How many purchases are made weekly?	Event Segmentation
What is the total revenue in a given day/week/month?	Event Segmentation
What is the lifetime value of my users?	Revenue LTV

Required ecommerce events and properties:

Event: Page View.
- Property: utm_source.
Event: View Item.
- Property: product_id.

B2B / SaaS


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
How many daily active businesses do we have?	Event Segmentation
How many daily active users do we have?	Event Segmentation
What are the top engaged user roles?	Event Segmentation
What percent of businesses start a trial and convert to paying customers?	Funnel Analysis
What percent of businesses on a trial perform [key event]?	Event Segmentation
How many users sign up per week?	Event Segmentation
How long does it take for a new user to perform [key event]?	Funnel Analysis
What % of daily active users perform [key event]?	Event Segmentation
How frequently do users perform [key event]?	Event Segmentation
What are the most popular paths users take when they log in?	Pathfinder

Required B2B / SaaS events and properties:

Group type: Business.
User property: role = eng, design, etc.
User property: Paying = true/false.
Event: Trial Started.
Event: Trial Canceled.
Event: Account Signed Up.
Event: Account Logged In.
Your organization's own [key event].

Finance


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
How many users sign up per week?	Event Segmentation
Which marketing channels have the most conversion to sign-ups?	Funnel Analysis
What percentage of users who sign up then connect their bank?	Funnel Analysis
What percentage of users have automatic transfers set up?	Event Segmentation
What is the monthly retention of users who come back to submit money transfers?	Retention
What is the conversion of users who connect a bank and make three money transfers?	Funnel Analysis
How frequently do users submit money transfers?	Event Segmentation

Required finance events and properties:

User property: utm_source.
Event: Account Signed Up.
Event: Bank Connected (bank name).
Event: Automatic Transfer Created.
Event: Transfer Submitted (transfer amount).

Media


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
How many users sign up per week?	Event Segmentation
What percent of users start a free trial and then purchase a subscription?	Funnel Analysis
On what day within the trial do free-trial users usually cancel their trial?	Event Segmentation
What percent of users view content on phone vs tablet vs desktop?	User Composition
What is the average count of content viewed during a trial?	Event Segmentation
What percentage of users perform a search and then view content?	Funnel Analysis
What is the average count of content viewed per user per day?	Event Segmentation
What is the percentage of content viewed per genre?	Event Segmentation
What is the average session length per user?	User Sessions

Required media events and properties:

User property: Active Trial = true/false.
User property: Device Category = phone, tablet, desktop.
Event: Account Signed Up.
Event: Trial Started.
Event: Trial Canceled.
Event: Subscription Purchased.
Event: Search Performed.
Event: Content Viewed (genre property = comedy, romance, etc).

Healthcare


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
How many users sign up per week?	Event Segmentation
What percentage of weekly active users schedule an appointment?	Event Segmentation
What percentage of users perform a search and then schedule an appointment?	Funnel Analysis
How many users rate their visit after scheduling an appointment?	Funnel Analysis
What is the average appointment rating provided by users?	Event Segmentation
Of users who have booked an appointment, which regions are they from?	User Composition

Required healthcare events and properties:

User property: Region.
Event: Account Signed Up.
Event: Search Performed.
Event: Appointment Scheduled.
Event: Appointment Rated (rating = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Gaming


Typical questions	Charts that answer them
How many users install the app per day?	Event Segmentation
How many users start a level per day?	Event Segmentation
What percentage of users complete a level per day?	Funnel Analysis
Which level do users fail the most?	Event Segmentation
What percentage of users who have played a game make a purchase?	Funnel Analysis
What is the average session count of users per day?	User Sessions
What is the average session length of users who start a level?	User Sessions
What is the lifetime value of users?	Revenue

Required gaming events and properties:

User Property: Region.
Event: App Installed.
Event: Level Started (level = integer).
Event: Level Completed (level = integer).
Event: Level Failed (level = integer).
Event: Purchase Completed (revenue).

Industry-specific guides

Amplitude also offers industry-specific best practices guides to help you implement and start getting insights quickly. With the goal of driving tangible conversion, retention, and product outcomes, these guides provide you with recommended use cases and business questions, a proposed taxonomy, and an example dashboard that you can use for your own implementation, all tailored to meet the specific needs of your industry.

Amplitude offers guides for companies in the e-commerce, fintech, print media, and streaming media sectors, with more on the way.

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