Tracking Downloads Using URI Redirects with Snowplow: A Robust Tutorial for Engineers

Tracking asset downloads, such as PDFs and software installers, presents a significant challenge for data teams aiming to understand user behavior. Traditional JavaScript-based click tracking is often unreliable due to modern browser behaviors, prompting the recommendation of using Snowplow's collector URI redirects for critical download tracking. This method provides robust reliability by capturing events before redirecting users, eliminating the dependency on JavaScript and requiring minimal HTML changes. Despite some limitations, such as missing domain_userid in redirect events, solutions like using a first-party collector domain or manually appending domain_userid can mitigate these issues. For cross-domain tracking, implementing a first-party cookie strategy and avoiding reliance on third-party cookies is advisable due to changing browser policies. Overall, Snowplow's collector redirect functionality is a powerful tool for precise download tracking and behavioral data capture, even as browser cookie policies evolve.