Skip to main content

Event: Click

The Click Event tracks unique clicks on user interface elements powered by Particular Audience, such as product display slots, call-to-action buttons, and sort/filters in search.

This event categorizes actions through ActionType (type of interaction) and ContextType (type of widget being interacted with).

Click events are crucial for tracking interactions related to Retailer Boost Collections and Supplier Funded Retail Media Campaigns, essential for Analytics in Discovery OS.

API Endpoint

Method: POST
URL: https://<PA_END_POINT>/3.0/events/clicks

Request Header

NameValue
Content-Typeapplication/json
AuthorizationBearer ACCESS_TOKEN

Request Parameters (Body)

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
customerIdGUIDUnique identifier for the customer, obtained from the Config API. This identifier persists throughout the customer's lifetime on the platform. For details on retrieving a customer ID, please refer to the Config API documentation.
sessionIdGUIDUnique identifier for the session, consistent throughout the session's duration. For information on obtaining a session ID, please refer to the Config API documentation.
eventsArray of objectsArray of objects detailing Click events. Each Click event object will contain the following properties:

Event Object Definition

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
currentUrlstringURL where the click occurred.
clickIdGUIDUnique identifier for the click event. This needs to be generated on the client side.
eventTimedateTimeUTC timestamp of when the click happened.
widgetIdGUIDIdentifier for the widget the slot belongs to. This information is available as part of the Recommendations API response payload from where the slot's data was collected.
routeIdGUIDRoute identifier that led to the widget display. This information is available as part of the Recommendations API response payload from where the slot's data was collected.
actionTypeintegerIdentifier for the type of action taken. Please refer to the Action Types for more information.
contextTypeintegerIdentifier for the type of context in which the click occurred. Please refer to the Context Types for more information.
contextDatastringAdditional data about the context, can be simple text or JSON structured. The required content depends on the context type.
contextIdstringIdentifier for the specific context. Required for some context types as detailed in the Context Types section.
refIdstringProduct's refID. If the event is in reference to an individual product then the refId of the product. For example, a click event to view the product detail page or add-to-cart. However, if the click is not related to an individual product, exclude this field.
tacticLabelstringHuman-readable label for the tactic that populated the slot.
recommenderIdGUIDIdentifier of the recommender that populated the slot. This information is available as part of the Recommendations API response payload from where the slot's data was collected.
campaignIdGUIDIdentifier of the campaign that populated the slot. This information is available as part of the Recommendations API response payload from where the slot's data was collected.
tacticIdGUIDIdentifier of the tactic that populated the slot. This information is available as part of the Recommendations API response payload from where the slot's data was collected.
bannerIdGUIDIdentifier of the banner if the click is related to a banner element.
placementIdGUIDIdentifier for the placement position where the click occurred.
Route, Widget & Tactic

Route ID, Widget ID and Tactic ID are important for tracking the performance and effectiveness of the recommendation strategies. These are available as part of the Recommendations API response payload from where the slot's data was collected. Please refer to the Recommendations API documentation and Personalization Overview page for more information.

Additional parameters:

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
clickPositionintegerPosition of the clicked item within a list or grid (e.g., position 3 in search results).
slotintegerSlot number where the product was displayed. This is important for tracking the performance of the slot (especially if the slot is related to Boosting or Retail Media campaigns). This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
referralUrlstringURL from which the user was referred (if applicable).
personalizedbooleanIndicates whether the click was on a personalized Recommendation or Search result.
redirectUrlstringURL to which the user is taken to after the click.
note

The redirectUrl tracking is very important for training the search engine and improving search performance. If you are using ATS, this is crucial for training the system. When a user clicks on a product from the search result, a Click event should be sent with the redirectUrl as the product URL.

Retailer Boost Campaign

The following properties are related to the Retailer Boost event tracking and are used for Retailer Boost analytics and reporting.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
retailBoostCollectionCampaignIdGUIDThe identifier of the Retailer Boost Collection Campaign. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.

Retail Media

The following properties are related to the Retail Media event tracking and are used for Retail Media analytics and spend calculation.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
adSetIdGUIDThe identifier of the Ad Set. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
adSetVersionintegerThe version of the Ad Set. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
costPerClickdecimalThe cost per click on a sponsored slot is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
costPerActiondecimalThe cost per action on a sponsored slot, if applicable. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
costPerMilledecimalThe cost per mille on a sponsored slot, if applicable. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
timeStamptimestampThe timestamp provided as part of the product's slot data in the Recommendations API response payload. This is the timestamp when the slot was populated.
hmacSaltstringString of 16 random characters generated by recommender. Used for calculating and validating HMAC field. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
hmacstringThe hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) generated using the adSetId, hmacSalt, costPerClick, timeStamp. This is used to validate the authenticity of the slot impression event. This is provided as part of the slot data for the product in the Recommendations API response payload.
supplierIdGUIDThe identifier of the supplier associated with the retail media campaign.
keywordIdGUIDClient generated Id. Required if the Retail Media slot was populated as part of a Keyword Targeting campaign. Generated as part of the search-keywords event.
note

If sending Retail Media tracking data, the cost parameters, timestamp, and HMAC-related fields are recommended to be included for proper analytics.

The keywordId is only needed if the Retail Media slot was populated as part of a Keyword Targeting campaign. The keywordId is generated as part of the search-keywords event triggered when the Recommendations API is called with a specific keyword.

Example Request Payload

{
"customerId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"sessionId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"events": [
{
"currentUrl": "https://www.example.com/",
"eventTime": "2024-03-01T14:00:00.000Z",
"clickId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"refId": "231673",
"actionType": 1,
"contextType": 1,
"contextId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"contextData": "Camera",
"redirectUrl": "https://www.example.com/product/camera",
"referralUrl": "https://www.example.com/search",
"personalized": true,
"clickPosition": 3,
"widgetId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"routeId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"recommenderId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"campaignId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"tacticId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"tacticLabel": "Featured Products",
"bannerId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"placementId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",

// Retailer Boost event tracking
"retailBoostCollectionCampaignId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",

// Retail Media event tracking
"adSetId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"adSetVersion": 1,
"costPerClick": 0.5,
"costPerAction": 1.0,
"costPerMille": 0.25,
"timeStamp": 638481477292391000,
"hmacSalt": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"hmac": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"keywordId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"supplierId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
}
]
}

Response

On Success

On successful update, the returned status code will be 202, and the payload will contain the status message "Accepted" and a transaction ID.

{
"transactionId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
"status": "Accepted"
}

On Error

If there are any errors, the response status code will not be 202, and the relevant error messages will be provided as part of "errors" in the returned message.

{
"errors": {
"events[0].CurrentUrl": [
"'Current Url' must not be empty."
]
},
"type": "https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7231#section-6.5.1",
"title": "One or more validation errors occurred.",
"status": 400,
"traceId": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
}

Example Usage (JavaScript)

Here's an example code snippet using JavaScript's Fetch API:

const url = 'https://<PA_END_POINT>/3.0/events/clicks';
const accessToken = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'; // Replace with your actual access token
const body = {
customerId: 'xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
sessionId: 'xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
events: [
{
currentUrl: "https://www.example.com/",
eventTime: "2024-03-01T14:00:00.000Z",
clickId: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
refId: "12312",
actionType: 1, // OpenProductPage
contextType: 3, // SearchWidget
contextId: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
contextData: "Camera", // Search Term
redirectUrl: "https://www.example.com/product/camera",
personalized: true,
clickPosition: 2,
widgetId: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
routeId: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",

// Retail Media event tracking
adSetId: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
adSetVersion: 1,
costPerClick: 0.5,
timeStamp: 638481477292391000,
hmacSalt: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
hmac: "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
}
]
};

fetch(url, {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify(body)
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => console.log('Click Recorded:', data))
.catch(error => console.error('Error recording click:', error));

Action Types

The following action types define the specific user interaction being tracked:

NameValueDescription
OpenProductPage1User clicked to view a product detail page
AddProductToCart2User clicked to add a product to their shopping cart
SeeSimilar3User clicked a "See Similar" or related products link
OpenProductListPage4User clicked to view a product listing page
PopularSearchLink5User clicked on a popular or suggested search term
QuickLink6User clicked on a quick navigation link
OpenBrandPage7User clicked to view a brand page
TextLink8User clicked on a text hyperlink
AddProductToWishlist9User clicked to add a product to their wishlist
ClickBuyNow10User clicked a "Buy Now" button
ClickExternalBuyNow11User clicked to buy from an external vendor
ClickPhoneNumber12User clicked on a phone number link
ViewInformation13User clicked to view additional product information
ClickFilterSort14User clicked on filter or sort options
ClickDidYouMeanTerm15User clicked on a "Did You Mean" suggestion for a misspelled search
CloseModal16User clicked to close a modal or popup

Context Types

The context type defines the type of widget or element where the click occurred:

NameValueContextId Required?ContextData Required?
RecommendationWidget1Yes. Value: Id of the WidgetNo
VisualSearchWidget2Yes. Value: VisualSearchWidget event idNo
SearchWidget3Yes. Value: TextSearchEventIdYes. Search Term
NativeRecommendationWidget4Yes. Native Widget IdNo
ExitIntentWidget5NoNo
PersonalizeWidget6NoNo
PersonaliseBrandWidget7NoNo
BundleWidget8NoNo
PriceBeatWidget9NoNo
KeywordTargetingWidget10NoNo
NativeButton11NoNo

Summary

This document provides comprehensive details about the Click Event API, essential for tracking user interactions:

  • The Click Event API tracks unique clicks on user interface elements powered by Particular Audience
  • It categorizes actions through ActionType and ContextType, crucial for PA Advanced Analytics
  • The endpoint uses a POST method with URL https://<PA_END_POINT>/3.0/events/clicks
  • Required parameters include customer ID, session ID, click ID, and details about the click action and context
  • Additional parameters support retail media, retail boost tracking, and enhanced analytics
  • Special fields like bannerId, placementId, and clickPosition provide more context about user interactions
  • The API returns a 202 status code with a transaction ID on successful recording
  • Error responses include relevant error messages and a 400 status code
  • A comprehensive list of action types and context types is provided for accurate classification
  • The JavaScript example demonstrates how to implement the API call in your application