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OHack Google Analytics Event Tracking Reference

This document provides a comprehensive reference of all Google Analytics events tracked across the OHack application. Use this to inform business decisions and optimize user experience based on analytics data.

Event Tracking Implementation

The application uses a dual-tracking approach that sends events to both Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel. The main implementation is in src/lib/ga/index.js:

// log specific events happening for both Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel
export const trackEvent = ({ action, params }) => {
  if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
    // Google Analytics
    window.gtag('event', action, params);
    
    // Facebook Pixel
    if (ReactPixel) ReactPixel.track(action, params);
  }
}

User Engagement Events

Navigation & CTA Interactions

Event Name Description Parameters Business Value
slack_button User clicks to join Slack { action_name: "open_join_slack" } Track community growth funnel
button_submit_project User clicks to submit nonprofit project { action_name: "Submit new nonprofit project" } Measure nonprofit interest
button_profile User navigates to profile page { action_name: "clicked to see profile" } Track user engagement with profiles
button_donate User clicks donation link { action_name: "donate" } Track donation conversion funnel
button_request User requests a hackathon { action_name: "request_hackathon" } Measure demand for organized events
button_see_all User clicks to see all projects { action_name: "see_all_nonprofit_projects" } Track project discovery behavior

Authentication Events

Event Name Description Parameters Business Value
login_slack User logs in via Slack { current_page: [path] } Track where users login from
signup_slack User signs up via Slack { current_page: [path] } Identify signup sources
CompleteRegistration User completes registration {} Measure signup completion rate
Login Email Set Logged-in user identified to analytics (Navbar) {} Session-level login signal
user_identify Emitted by ga.set(email) alongside gtag('set','user_data') { event_category: "user", event_label: "user", email_hash } Ties sessions to a hashed identity

Dedupe (Sep 2026): Login Email Set and user_identify fire at most once per email per page session. The Navbar effect keys on user?.email (a string) with a useRef guard — never on the user object, whose identity changes across renders and previously produced ~130K junk hits per 90 days.

Content Interaction

Event Name Description Parameters Business Value
faq_item_expanded User expands FAQ item { faq_question: [question] } Identify common user questions
faq_search User searches in FAQ { search_term: [term] } Understand user information needs

Form Interactions

Event Name Description Parameters Business Value
input Form field changed { category: [form_name], label: [field_name] } Track form completion patterns
submit Form submitted { category: [form_name], label: [status], value: [amount] } Measure conversion rates

Hackathon Request Form Events

The hackathon request form at /hack/request.js implements detailed event tracking:

// Track form field changes
trackEvent("input", "CreateHackathon", `${name}_changed`);

// Track form submission
trackEvent("submit", "CreateHackathon", "form_submitted", formData.budget);

This provides insights into:

  • Which fields users interact with most
  • Where users abandon the form
  • Budget ranges being requested
  • Conversion rate from form start to submission

Error Tracking

Event Name Description Parameters Business Value
404_error User encounters 404 page { page_path: [path] } Identify broken links and improve navigation

Profile Activity

The profile component tracks various user interactions with their profile:

// Set user data for analytics
if (user && user.email) {
  set(user.email);
}

This enables:

  • User segmentation in analytics
  • Tracking profile completion rates
  • Identifying most commonly filled profile fields

Donation & Conversion Events

donation_interaction (from the Givebutter widget) is the primary donation signal. donation_completed and npo_form_submit exist purely so GA4 can mark them as key events — GA4 key events match on event name only, not on a parameter, so a single event with a type parameter can't be used as a conversion.

Event Name Source Parameters Notes
donation_interaction GiveButterWidget.js trackDonationEvent { event_category: "GiveButter", event_label: "<context>_<eventType>", custom_parameter_user_id, custom_parameter_application_type } Fires for widget_loaded, donation_started, donation_completed. Primary funnel signal; keep it.
donation_completed GiveButterWidget.js (donation_completed case only) { value: <amount>, currency: "USD" } GA4 key event. Fired in addition to donation_interaction. value omitted when the widget doesn't report a numeric amount.
donation_click design/DonateNudge.js trackDonateClick(placement) { event_category: "donation", event_label: "donate_click", placement, destination: "givebutter" } Link-out clicks to the Givebutter general fund (homepage band, onboarding, FAQ). Not a completed donation.
npo_form_submit pages/nonprofits/apply/index.js handleSubmit (live form) and hooks/use-nonprofit.js handle_npo_form_submission (legacy, uncalled) { form_name: "nonprofit_application" } GA4 key event. Fires only after a successful response.ok / data.message. Complements the structured form_complete event on the same path.

Google Ads

  • The Ads tag is configured in _document.js from NEXT_PUBLIC_GOOGLE_ADS_ID = AW-11474351176, which is the Google tag id of account 371-489-1437 (an Ads tag id is not the customer id; AW-3714891437 was briefly shipped in Sep 2026 and pinged a nonexistent tag). Unset → no Ads config call at all.
  • Blog conversion (SingleNews.js gaButton): every gaButton call sends conversion with send_to: AW-11474351176/2qwxCOXE8vccEMjost8q — the "News button click" conversion action (secondary, page-view category) in that account. The older label JCk6COG-q4kZEMjost8q was a deleted action in the same account. Setting GOOGLE_ADS_BLOG_CONVERSION_LABEL = null skips the ping.
  • GA4's Google tag G-EM3BV6M5EF is combined with AW-11474351176 (destinations: ohack.dev GA4 + Opportunity Hack Inc. Ads only). AW-10941512308 is the cancelled Ads account 659-034-6027 and was split off on 2026-09-17 — never re-add it as a tag id or destination.

Team Dashboard, Project Pages & Hackers' Choice (Sep 2026)

Events added by the DevPost-replacement work (docs/plans/team-dashboard-devpost-replacement.md). Dashboard/vote events fire via trackEvent({ action, params }); admin events via trackStructuredEvent(EventCategory.ADMIN, action, label, value) (which sets event_category + event_label).

Team dashboard (/hack/[event_id]/manageteam, event_category: "engagement")

Event Name Source Parameters Notes
team_dashboard_view pages/hack/[event_id]/manageteam.js { event_category, event_label: <team status>, event_id } Once per page load (ref guard) when a team is present. Funnel top for everything below.
team_deadline_strip_view TeamDashboard/DeadlineStrip.js { event_category, event_label: <deadlineState kind: open|late_open|closed|submitted|event_ends|none> } Once per mount. Compare submitted vs closed counts to measure late-submission drop.
team_project_saved TeamDashboard/ProjectWriteupEditor.js { event_category, event_label: <team id> } First successful autosave per page load only (not every keystroke).
team_project_submitted TeamDashboard/ProjectWriteupEditor.js { event_category, event_label: "submitted" | "late" } Fired after POST /api/team/<id>/project/submit succeeds. The core conversion of the dashboard.
team_demo_video_saved TeamDashboard/DemoVideoEditor.js { event_category, event_label: <team id> } Successful POST /demo-video.
team_devpost_saved TeamDashboard/DevPostEditor.js { event_category, event_label: <team id> } Successful POST /devpost (DevPost is optional now — expect this to trend down).
team_mentor_availability_toggled TeamDashboard/MentorAvailabilityToggle.js { event_category, event_label: "open" | "heads_down" } Signal-only toggle; fired on the optimistic change (reverted UI does not un-fire).
team_slack_tip_click TeamDashboard/SlackCoachCard.js { event_category, event_label: <tip id> } Which Slack coaching tips get used (standup template copy, ask-a-mentor, pin links, threads).

Hackers' Choice peer vote (/hack/[event_id]/vote + CTAs)

Event Name Source Parameters Notes
peer_vote_view PeerVote/PeerVotePage.js { event_label: <slate status: disabled|not_eligible|upcoming|open|voted|closed|voided>, event_id, page: "hackers_choice_vote" } Once per distinct status per page visit (not re-fired by the upcoming-state refocus poll). disabled also covers a 404 from an older backend.
peer_vote_cta_click PeerVote/PeerVoteCTA.js { event_label: "event" | "dashboard", event_id } Which surface drove the voter to the page (event page vs team dashboard card).
peer_vote_submitted PeerVote/PeerVotePage.js { value: <number of picks>, event_id, page: "hackers_choice_vote" } Ballot accepted (POST …/peer-vote/ballot). Re-votes fire again. No tallies are ever exposed to the client.

Admin (event_category: "admin")

Event Name Source Parameters Notes
admin_deadline_reminder_sent admin/hackathon-edit/sections/DeadlinesSection.js { event_category: "admin", event_label: <event_id>, value: <hours_before 24|6|1> } Manual "Send reminder now" (the hourly cron path is server-side and untracked).
admin_peer_vote_void_ballot admin/PeerVoteResults.js { event_category: "admin", event_label: <event_id> } A ballot was voided.
admin_peer_vote_publish admin/PeerVoteResults.js { event_category: "admin", event_label: <event_id> } Hackers' Choice published (award appended + public summary written).
admin_submissions_csv_export admin/TeamManagement.js { event_category: "admin", event_label: <event_id> } "Export submissions CSV" download.

Business Intelligence Applications

User Acquisition Optimization

  • Track which pages/CTAs drive the most signups
  • Identify where in the funnel users drop off
  • Optimize high-performing entry points

Content Strategy

  • Use FAQ interaction data to create targeted content
  • Track which projects receive most views/interest
  • Identify topics users search for but can't find

Conversion Funnel Analysis

  • Measure donation link clicks to actual donations
  • Track hackathon request form completion rates
  • Monitor nonprofit application conversion

Revenue Opportunity Identification

  • Profile budget data from hackathon requests
  • Track sponsorship interest indicators
  • Monitor engagement with specific nonprofit projects

User Segmentation

  • Associate events with user identities
  • Track different behavior patterns by user role
  • Compare engagement metrics across segments

Implementation Improvement Opportunities

  1. Standardize event naming conventions for better analysis
  2. Implement enhanced user journey tracking
  3. Add scroll depth tracking for long-form content
  4. Track time spent on critical pages
  5. Set up goal funnels for key conversion paths

Google Analytics Dashboard Recommendations

Create custom reports for:

  1. Volunteer conversion funnel
  2. Nonprofit engagement metrics
  3. Hackathon request analysis
  4. Revenue opportunity tracking
  5. User segmentation by behavior

How to Use This Data

  1. Monthly Metrics Review:

    • Track growth in community signups
    • Monitor conversion rates for key actions
    • Identify top-performing content and features

  2. Quarterly Business Planning:

    • Use hackathon request data to forecast demand
    • Analyze project engagement for resource allocation
    • Review dropout points in user journeys

  3. Continuous Improvement:

    • A/B test different CTAs based on click data
    • Enhance FAQ based on most viewed questions
    • Optimize forms with highest abandonment rates

  4. Revenue Generation:

    • Target sponsorship opportunities based on engagement data
    • Develop premium features around most-used functionality
    • Create corporate partnership packages informed by budget data