How can I track a click event of an embedded video (youtube, vimeo, etc.)? (to track play count)

php jquery video embed analytics

18,316

Solution 1

Ryan, the only way to do this is to use the video sharing site's player api(s), as html and javascript have no native support for this.

To do this for youtube videos, you can check out the documentation here

To do this for vimeo videos, you can check out the documentation here

Solution 2

This works for Vimeo... Triggers a javascript alert on the "Play" event but there are a number of other events like "finished", "pause", "playProgress" (constantly updating while video is playing)... Uses Jquery

$(document).ready( function () {

var f = $('iframe'),
    url = f.attr('src').split('?')[0],
    status = $('.status');

// Listen for messages from the player
if (window.addEventListener){
    window.addEventListener('message', onMessageReceived, false);
}
else {
    window.attachEvent('onmessage', onMessageReceived, false);
}

// Handle messages received from the player
function onMessageReceived(e) {
    var data = JSON.parse(e.data);

    switch (data.event) {
        case 'ready':
            onReady();
            break;

        case 'play':
            onPlay();
            break;

    }
}

// Call the API when a button is pressed
$('button').on('click', function() {
    post($(this).text().toLowerCase());
});

// Helper function for sending a message to the player
function post(action, value) {
    var data = { method: action };

    if (value) {
        data.value = value;
    }

    f[0].contentWindow.postMessage(JSON.stringify(data), url);
}

function onReady() {
    status.text('ready');
    post('addEventListener', 'play');
}

function onPlay() {
        alert("Dude done clicked 'Play'");
}

});

18,316

Ryan

BY DAY: Ninja. BY NIGHT: Ninja. FOR FUN: "If you see scary things, look for the helpers-you'll always see people helping."-Fred Rogers

Updated on June 23, 2022

Comments

Ryan almost 2 years

Is there a way to track play counts for embedded videos? Ideally without resorting to a thumbnail linked to launch the embed / iframe code.

Example (try it yourself on jsFiddle):

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>Example</title>
    <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.2/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="log"></div>
    <ul>
        <li class="video" id="video1"><iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/z6lL83wl31E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><li>
        <li class="video" id="video2"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28231570?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe></li>
        <li class="video" id="video3"><embed flashVars="playerVars=autoPlay=no" src="http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/3153323/the_three_stooges_minisode_beer_barrel_polecats_season_1_episode_0008.swf" width="440" height="248" wmode="transparent" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" name="Metacafe_3153323" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></li>
    </ul>
    <script>
        /* Here's what I've tried so far: */
        $('.video').mouseover(function(){
            $('#log').html('Mouseover!');
            /*alert('Track mouseovers instead? Is this the best I can do?');*/
        });
        $('.video').mouseout(function(){
            $('#log').html('&nbsp;');
        });
        $('.video').mousedown(function(){
            $('#log').html('Mousedown!');
            alert('mousedown');
            /* This will track mousedown events in embed objects (not iframes), but not allow the click event to pass through to object. */
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>

How can I track play counts for each of these videos?