- Events come from code, not a button
- Naming the event before anyone writes code
- Sending your first Track call
- A starter tracking plan for a small business
- Reserved properties can break your reports
- Tracking events in RudderStack or Mixpanel
- My advice: write the tracking plan first
- Frequently asked questions
In Segment you create an event by sending a Track call from one of your sources. Give it an event name such as User Registered, add optional properties like plan, and make sure a userId or anonymousId goes with it. Segment recommends names built from a noun and a past-tense verb.
Events come from code, not a button
This is Twilio Segment, the customer data platform, not audience segments in an email tool. In Segment there's no form where you type in a new event. An event is created the first time your website or app sends a Track call with that name. Segment describes the Track call as the way to record any action users perform, along with properties that describe it, and each action is an event.
So creating an event is really two jobs: deciding what to call it, and adding one line of code where the action happens.
Naming the event before anyone writes code
Segment recommends human-readable names built from a noun and a past-tense verb, such as Video Recorded or Order Completed, and warns against names like Event 12. Agree the names with your team first, in a shared list. It's the quickest decision you'll make and the hardest to undo.
| Good name | Poor name | Why |
|---|---|---|
| User Registered | signup_btn | Says what happened, not which button |
| Order Completed | Event 12 | Readable months later |
| Video Recorded | video | Noun plus past-tense verb |
Some names are reserved. Segment gives certain event names special meaning, called semantic events, and maps them to tools that support them. Use them when they fit what you're tracking.
Sending your first Track call
1. Pick your source
Choose the library you're tracking from, such as analytics.js for a website. Syntax differs by library, so the library-specific docs are on the Sources Overview page.
2. Call track with the event name
In JavaScript it looks like this: analytics.track('User Registered', { plan: 'Pro Annual', accountType: 'Facebook' }). The event field is required and is a string.
3. Add properties
These are optional and free-form, so add whatever describes the action, such as plan or accountType. Under the hood, the payload has type 'track', the event name and the properties object.
4. Tie it to a person
Every event needs a userId or an anonymousId. The User ID identifies a known user. The Anonymous ID is a pseudo-unique identifier for when you don't know who someone is yet. In browser and mobile libraries, a User ID is added automatically from an earlier Identify call, so you rarely set it by hand.
A starter tracking plan for a small business
If you run a service business with a website and a booking tool, a first plan might be as short as this:
| Event name | Useful properties |
|---|---|
| Lead Form Submitted | form name, page |
| Call Booked | call type, source |
| Proposal Viewed | proposal name |
| Account Created | plan, accountType |
| Newsletter Subscribed | signup location |
Each one is a noun plus a past-tense verb, each answers a question you'll ask in a report, and none reuses a reserved property for another meaning.
Reserved properties can break your reports
Segment Docs, in the Track spec, explain the trap. Some property names are reserved, and revenue is the obvious one: Segment expects it to hold a revenue value and sends it on to tools that handle revenue tracking. Reuse it for something else, like a score, and your downstream reports fill with nonsense. Use reserved properties only for their intended meaning. Vague event names are just as hard to fix once other tools have started receiving them.
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Tracking events in RudderStack or Mixpanel
RudderStack's track call works the same way: it records a user's action with properties, and each action is an event with a name such as Product Reviewed.
Mixpanel documents tracking events from its JavaScript SDK.
If you're still choosing where your data should end up, my guide to product analytics tools compares the options, and my roundup of customer segmentation tools covers what you can do with the data next.
My advice: write the tracking plan first
Before your developer adds a single call, write a one-page list of the five to ten actions that matter to your business, each named noun plus past-tense verb, with the properties you'll want. Track those well and leave the rest. Ten clean events beat a hundred messy ones every time you sit down to read a report.
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Frequently asked questions
What's an event in Segment?
A single user action recorded with a Track call, with a name and properties.
Is the event name required?
Yes. The event field is required; properties are optional.
How should I name events?
A noun and a past-tense verb, like Order Completed.
Do I need to send a user ID?
An event needs a userId or anonymousId. Browser and mobile libraries add them for you.
Are there reserved names?
Yes, reserved event names and property names such as revenue.
