Counting AEM form clicks without Adobe Analytics

A team needs a basic count of how often visitors click from an AEM 6.5 page into an XDP form or generated PDF, but has no Adobe Analytics entitlement. In an Experience League thread, the accepted answer suggests starting with access logs when the destination has a unique URL, then considering a small custom endpoint if the click cannot be isolated there.

Define the count before building it

Decide whether the business wants link clicks, form starts, successful PDF responses or unique people. These are different events. A log line for a PDF request may include browser retries, bots or prefetching; a client click may happen even if the PDF fails. Choose one event definition and state the known overcount or undercount before showing a dashboard.

Use existing request evidence first

If the form or PDF has a stable, distinct path, inspect Apache and Dispatcher access logs for request counts and response status. Check cache behavior: requests served upstream, at Dispatcher and from a browser cache may have different visibility. Adobe's Dispatcher configuration guidance explains that layer's request handling. Filter known monitoring and bot traffic, and retain only the fields needed for the count.

Add an event endpoint only when necessary

If one page contains several indistinguishable actions, a small noncached endpoint can accept a form identifier and event type. Validate allowed values, rate-limit abuse, and store aggregate counts outside the AEM content tree. Do not write a per-click counter to a publisher's JCR repository. Test the path through the same CDN and Dispatcher rules as production, and review any identifiers with privacy owners.

Adovo’s view

The first measurement system should answer the decision at hand. A simple count with a clear definition is more valuable than a sophisticated number whose origin nobody can explain.