Track file downloads

Note

The goal is created automatically if the Automatic goals option is enabled in the tag settings. You can manage these goals just like other automatic goals.

If your site contains a price list, license agreement, or other files, you can track how often users download them.

To do this, you need to set a special goal in Yandex Metrica. You can create this kind of goal:

  • For any file on the site. This goal will work for the most popular type files:

    • Document
    • Text
    • Executable file
    • Presentation
    • Applications
    • Compressed file
    • Video
    • Audio

    Supported extensions:

    3GP
    7Z
    AAC
    AVI
    APK
    CSV
    DJVU
    DOCX
    EXE

    FLAC
    FLV
    GZ
    KEY
    MIDI
    MKA
    MKV
    MP3
    MP4

    MPEG
    MOV
    MSI
    OGG
    PDF
    PKG
    PPS
    PPT
    PPTX

    RAR
    RTF
    TXT
    WAV
    WMA
    WMV
    WMF
    XLSX
    ZIP

  • For a specific file. In this case, specify the name of the file with or without an extension. For example, file or file.pdf. Yandex Metrica will search for it in links.

    You can specify any extension, even if it is not supported.

The goal is achieved when the user clicks on the link to the file. To view goal statistics, use the Conversions report and add the goal to other Yandex Metrica reports.

To create a goal manually:

  1. In Yandex Metrica, go to the Goals page in the left menu.
  2. Click Add goal.
  3. In the Name field, enter a name for the goal to create.
  4. Select the File downloads goal type.
  5. Select which files to create a goal for. If you chose Specific file, manually enter the name of the file with or without an extension in the field. For example, file or file.pdf. Make sure the spelling matches.
  6. Click Add goal. The created goal will appear in the list of goals. Yandex.Metrica will start collecting statistics on it within a few minutes.
  7. You can check if the goal is working in the Conversions or File downloads report. If everything is correct, data should appear in these reports. To check this, perform a conversion action on the site. If the Don't count my sessions filter is set in the tag settings, check the goals on the site in the browser's private mode (for example, Incognito in Yandex Browser).

Restrictions

  • This type of goal can’t be used in Multi-step goals.

  • The service registers a user reaching the same goal on the same counter no more than once per second.

  • During a single user session, the service can register up to 1000 offline conversions and 400 online conversions created for the tag.

  • If you edit the tag or a goal, all the previously collected information does not change.

  • If you delete a goal, information collected for it is no longer available in reports.

Learn more

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Goals in Yandex Metrica work the same way for any sources. Perhaps there aren’t any users who have completed the goal from this source yet.

The recommendations did not help

Please note: Our support team will never initiate a call to you. Do not follow any instructions of people who call you and introduce themselves as the Yandex Metrica support team.

This might happen for the following reasons:

  • The goal condition in Yandex Metrica doesn't cover all the possibilities. For example, the goal is set as going to the order confirmation page, but the site also allows instant checkout without visiting this page.
  • The site user has a browser plugin that blocks the Yandex Metrica tag, so this user isn’t counted.
  • The user has an antivirus system with strict privacy settings.
  • The user has a slow internet connection, so the Yandex Metrica tag didn’t load on the target page.
The recommendations did not help

Please note: Our support team will never initiate a call to you. Do not follow any instructions of people who call you and introduce themselves as the Yandex Metrica support team.