Track file downloads

Download tracking counts how often PDFs, ZIP files, and other files are downloaded. It is a useful sign of interest when there is no thank-you page you could measure instead.

When it is useful

Whitepapers, media kits, price lists as PDF, or software downloads. If the download is the moment that matters to your business, measure it.

PureMetrix setup

In WordPress, open PureMetrix > Settings and make sure File Downloads is ticked under Enhanced Measurements (it is on by default). It covers common file types such as PDF, Office documents, ZIP, CSV, MP3, and MP4. Elsewhere, send a custom event when the download starts. To test it, log out and download a sample file.

Better than downloads alone

Where it makes sense, put the file behind a short form that leads to a thank-you page, and track that page as a PureMetrix goal. Download counts on their own do not tell you who downloaded the file or why.

Files on a CDN

PureMetrix counts clicks on download links on your pages, even if the file itself sits on a CDN (a separate file server). What it cannot see is someone opening the file address directly, for example from an email or another website. If those downloads matter, link to a page on your site instead of the file.

How often to check

Once a month is enough for most company websites. For a campaign landing page that offers a PDF, check daily while the campaign is running.

Choose downloads that show real interest

Track brochures, price lists, and gated whitepapers (files behind a form)—not every small attachment. Name files consistently so reports group them sensibly. PureMetrix download events (or thank-you pages after gated forms) should relate to sales conversations, not to clicks that only look good.

Links to the file from outside your site (emails, other websites) are not counted, because no PureMetrix script runs there. Use a short page in between if you need those numbers.

Privacy note

A download can become personal data once it is linked to a name or email address from a form. Keep cookieless page measurement separate from contact data in your CRM, and name the services involved in your privacy policy when files are gated.

Gated vs open files

Open PDFs: count clicks on the download link. Gated files: use a thank-you page goal that fires after your newsletter tool or CRM has accepted the contact—a stronger sign of interest. Do not count both the click and the thank-you page as conversions unless you deliberately want two funnel steps.

Add a version to file names (price-list-2026-09.pdf) so reports show which version was downloaded.

Direct file links

Direct file links skip your WordPress pages—put a short page in between if you need numbers for them, or hand out the file link only after the goal has fired.

Sales material

Track which one-pagers your sales team shares via the website. Many downloads but few new sales opportunities means the PDF does not convince—not that analytics failed. Share PureMetrix download counts alongside CRM stages with whoever owns the content.

Large files and bandwidth

Videos and large ZIP files can make up most of your hosting traffic. Download tracking shows which files deserve CDN rules or restricted access. PureMetrix records each file’s address, so keep file names stable—renaming a file splits its history.

For press kits, use separate download paths for the public and for logged-in members if members get a fuller pack.

When you replace a PDF that partners link to, keep the same file name or set up a redirect; otherwise downloads drop silently and it looks as if the content stopped working.

Files in several languages

Track German and English PDFs as separate files when campaigns run in several languages. If English downloads rise while German ones stay flat, the translation may simply be late—demand has not necessarily dropped. Put the language in the file name (for example -de or -en) so reports keep them apart.

On password-protected pages, count a download only after the password was entered correctly, not when the password form is shown.

Watermarked sales PDFs can still be tracked by file name; never put customer names into file names, because they would end up in your analytics.

Expired offers

When a gated PDF offer ends, redirect the old URL to a follow-up offer or a friendly “offer ended” page with a new signup goal. Otherwise PureMetrix keeps counting an offer that no longer exists.

Take retired PDFs off the public web so old links do not keep serving outdated files that nobody tracks.

If the download itself is hard to measure, place gated PDFs behind a confirmation page and set the goal on that page instead of on the file.