VWO Troubleshooting: ‘Clicks on a Link’ Goal is Not Working

Problem Statement

I've set up the 'track clicks on link' goal, but it is not working as expected.

Resolution Steps

If the Goal Records No Conversions At All

• Ensure that you have added the VWO SmartCode on the page where the link is present.
• Ensure that the goal URL is correct (for a URL, it must be equal to the href attribute of the anchor tag)
• Verify that the goal does not have a function that returns false and is bound to an anchor tag. VWO does not track click events of anchor tag. 

Let's see an example to clarify:

/* codes */
return false;
} < a href = ”#”onclick = ”abc()” > SignUp < /a>

In this example code, the function is bound to the click event of the anchor tags(). Clicks on such elements are not tracked in VWO. In such cases, you should use custom conversion goals.

• The URL you are tracking must be defined in Included URLs or Goals URL of the test. If the URL is not included or defined in the goals URL, create a dummy 'page visit' goal on the URL to record the conversions.

If Goal Records Less than the Expected Conversions

• When a user clicks on a link, there are two requests generated in the back-end one for redirection to the page specified in the goal, and the other for triggering the conversion in VWO. These requests are generated by the browser and sometimes the page gets redirected even before the conversion request is completed. In such cases, the browser drops the conversion request and it is not recorded by VWO.
• Ensure that your goals are unique and you are not triggering the same goal repeatedly. If you are trying out dummy conversions, do not forget to clear your cookies every time you execute the goal.
• We recommend that you use the Track Page Visits goal for the URL on which the visitor lands after clicking the link.