---
title: "Sitecore Search events"
slug: "sitecore-search-events"
abstract: "Understand the events you can capture in search experiences."
---
# Sitecore Search events

Sitecore Search events track when the site visitor interacts with a search experience. All the event data [becomes available](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/working-with-the-collected-data.html "Working with the collected data") in Sitecore Search. You can set up event capturing in search experiences using the Cloud SDK [`search`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search.html "@sitecore-cloudsdk/search") package.

> [!important]
> To use the `search` package, you also have to install and initialize the `events` package.

## Overview of events

Here's an overview of the Sitecore Search events you can send:

| Event type | Description |
| --- | --- |
| [widget view](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/events/sitecore-search-events/widget-view-events.html "Widget view events") | A standard event that tracks when the site visitor views a widget[^UUID-101b62f6-b640-ed11-1057-29646ebb9fb7_N6724882fb3f4d] in your app.<br><br>Client-side tracking function: [`widgetView`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-browser/functions/cloud-sdk-search-browser-widgetview.html "widgetView")<br><br>Server-side tracking function: [`widgetView`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-server/functions/cloud-sdk-search-server-widgetview.html "widgetView") |
| [widget item click](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/events/sitecore-search-events/widget-item-click-events.html "Widget item click events") | A standard event that tracks when the site visitor clicks a search result.<br><br>Client-side tracking function: [`widgetItemClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-browser/functions/cloud-sdk-search-browser-widgetitemclick.html "widgetItemClick")<br><br>Server-side tracking function: [`widgetItemClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-server/functions/cloud-sdk-search-server-widgetitemclick.html "widgetItemClick") |
| [facet click](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/events/sitecore-search-events/facet-click-events.html "Facet click events") | A standard event that tracks when the site visitor clicks a facet value.<br><br>Client-side tracking function: [`widgetFacetClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-browser/functions/cloud-sdk-search-browser-widgetfacetclick.html "widgetFacetClick")<br><br>Server-side tracking function: [`widgetFacetClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-server/functions/cloud-sdk-search-server-widgetfacetclick.html "widgetFacetClick") |
| [navigation click](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/events/sitecore-search-events/navigation-click-events.html "Navigation click events") | A standard event that tracks when the site visitor clicks a navigation item, typically on a search results page.<br><br>Client-side tracking function: [`widgetNavigationClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-browser/functions/cloud-sdk-search-browser-widgetnavigationclick.html "widgetNavigationClick")<br><br>Server-side tracking function: [`widgetNavigationClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-server/functions/cloud-sdk-search-server-widgetnavigationclick.html "widgetNavigationClick") |
| [suggestion click](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/events/sitecore-search-events/suggestion-click-events.html "Suggestion click events") | A standard event that tracks when the site visitor clicks a search suggestion.<br><br>Client-side tracking function: [`widgetSuggestionClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-browser/functions/cloud-sdk-search-browser-widgetsuggestionclick.html "widgetSuggestionClick")<br><br>Server-side tracking function: [`widgetSuggestionClick`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-server/functions/cloud-sdk-search-server-widgetsuggestionclick.html "widgetSuggestionClick") |
| [entity view](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-concepts/concepts-tracking/events/sitecore-search-events/entity-view-events.html "Entity view events") | A standard event that tracks when the site visitor views the details of an index document.<br><br>Client-side tracking function: [`entityView`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-browser/functions/cloud-sdk-search-browser-entityview.html "entityView")<br><br>Server-side tracking function: [`entityView`](https://doc.sitecore.com/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/cloud-sdk-reference/cloud-sdk-search/cloud-sdk-search-server/functions/cloud-sdk-search-server-entityview.html "entityView") |

## Sequence of events

Typically, a site visitor interacts with a search experience in a certain sequence. This sequence defines the order in which you will send events:

1. First, when the search experience displays to the site visitor, send a *widget view* event.
2. Next, when the site visitor clicks an index document inside the search experience, send the applicable *click* event, depending on what was clicked.
3. Finally, some clicks will result in a new page loading. For example, when a page with the details of the index document displays to the site visitor, send an *entity view* event.

![A diagram showing the sequence of events as a site visitor interacts with a search experience.](https://doc.sitecore.com/api/markdown-image/sdk/en/developers/005/cloud-sdk/images/sitecore-search-events.jpg)

### Examples

Consider the following examples of how the site visitor interacts with a search experience:

- Performing a search on your site - first, when the search results display, send a *widget view* event. Next, when the site visitor clicks one of the search results, send a *widget item click* event. Finally, when the webpage describing the details of the clicked search result loads, send an *entity view* event.
- Interacting with a search suggestion - first, after the site visitor clicks inside a search field, a list of search suggestions displays. At this point, send a *widget view* event. Next, when the site visitor clicks one of the suggested index documents, send a *suggestion click* event. Depending on your search implementation, you might reload the page, this time displaying the clicked suggestion as the search term in the search field. In this scenario, send another *widget view* event.

[^UUID-101b62f6-b640-ed11-1057-29646ebb9fb7_N6724882fb3f4d]: A configurable page component that collects and transmits search-related content to your app. Widgets are set up and published in Sitecore Search, and Cloud SDK developers request widget data in their app. After Sitecore Search responds with the widget data, developers can use the data to display search experiences to site visitors.