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Segments allow you to group users based on shared characteristics and behaviors. By creating segments, you can analyze how different audience groups interact with your website and tailor your analytics insights.

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What are Segments?

A segment is a subset of your website visitors defined by specific criteria:

Behavioral Segments

Based on user actions:
  • Visitors from specific pages
  • Users who triggered events
  • Visitors from campaigns
  • Repeat vs new visitors

Demographic Segments

Based on user attributes:
  • Geographic location
  • Device type
  • Browser or OS
  • Language preference

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Segment Use Cases

  • Compare mobile vs desktop user behavior
  • Analyze traffic from specific marketing campaigns
  • Track users from different geographic regions
  • Segment by customer journey stage
  • Isolate power users vs casual visitors

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Creating Segments

Build segments using filter criteria:
1

Navigate to Segments

Select your website and go to the Segments section.
2

Add Segment

Click the Add Segment button.
3

Name Your Segment

Give your segment a clear, descriptive name (e.g., “Mobile Users from US”).
4

Define Filter Criteria

Add one or more filters to define your segment.
Multiple filters are combined with AND logic - users must match all criteria.
5

Save Segment

Save to make the segment available throughout your analytics.

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Filter Criteria

Segments are built using filters. Available filter types:

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Page and Content Filters

Filter by visited pages:
  • Equals: Exact URL match
  • Contains: URL includes text
  • Starts with: URL begins with pattern
  • Ends with: URL ends with pattern
Example: path contains /blog/ for all blog visitors
Filter by page title:
  • Match specific page titles
  • Use contains for flexible matching
Example: title contains "Product" for product page visitors

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Traffic Source Filters

Filter by traffic source:
  • Specific referrer domains
  • Social media platforms
  • Search engines
  • Empty (direct traffic)
Example: referrer equals twitter.com for Twitter traffic
Filter by campaign parameters:
  • utm_source: Traffic source
  • utm_medium: Marketing medium
  • utm_campaign: Campaign name
  • utm_content: Ad variation
  • utm_term: Keywords
Example: utm_source equals google for Google campaigns

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Technology Filters

Filter by web browser:
  • Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
  • Browser versions
  • Mobile browsers
Example: browser equals Chrome for Chrome users
Filter by OS:
  • Windows, macOS, Linux
  • iOS, Android
  • OS versions
Example: os equals iOS for iPhone/iPad users
Filter by device category:
  • Desktop
  • Mobile
  • Tablet
Example: device equals mobile for mobile users
Filter by screen resolution:
  • Specific resolutions
  • Screen size categories
Example: screen equals 1920x1080 for Full HD displays

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Geographic Filters

Filter by country:
  • Country codes (US, UK, CA, etc.)
  • Multiple countries
Example: country equals US for United States visitors
Filter by state/province:
  • Specific regions within countries
  • Regional targeting
Example: region equals California for California visitors
Filter by city:
  • Specific cities
  • Urban vs suburban analysis
Example: city equals New York for NYC visitors

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Behavioral Filters

Filter by custom events:
  • Specific event names
  • Event categories
Example: event equals purchase for users who made purchases
Filter by event data:
  • Custom properties attached to events
  • Property values
Example: event_property plan equals premium for premium subscribers

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Filter Operators

Choose how to match filter values:
OperatorDescriptionExample
EqualsExact matchcountry equals US
Not equalsExclude exact matchbrowser not equals Chrome
ContainsPartial matchpath contains /product/
Does not containExclude partial matchpath does not contain /admin/
Starts withBegins with valuepath starts with /blog/
Ends withEnds with valuepath ends with .pdf
Use “contains” operators for flexible matching when exact values may vary.

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Combining Filters

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Multiple Filters (AND Logic)

All filters must match: 
Segment: "US Mobile Users"
  Filter 1: country equals US
  Filter 2: device equals mobile
  
Result: Users from US AND using mobile devices

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Creating Multiple Segments (OR Logic)

To achieve OR logic, create separate segments: 
Segment 1: "Mobile Users"
  Filter: device equals mobile
  
Segment 2: "Tablet Users"
  Filter: device equals tablet
  
Compare both segments to analyze mobile OR tablet users

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Using Segments

Apply segments throughout your analytics:

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In Dashboards

1

Open Dashboard

Navigate to your website dashboard.
2

Select Segment

Choose a segment from the segment dropdown.
3

View Filtered Data

All dashboard panels update to show only the segment’s data.
4

Compare Segments

Switch between segments to compare different audience groups.

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In Reports

Apply segments to reports:
  • Filter funnel reports by segment
  • Analyze retention by segment
  • Compare goal completion rates
  • Segment revenue analysis
Segments can be applied to any report type for focused analysis.

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In Real-time View

See segment activity in real-time:
  • Monitor specific audience groups live
  • Track campaign traffic as it arrives
  • Watch geographic regions separately

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Managing Segments

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Editing Segments

1

Find Segment

Go to the Segments page and locate your segment.
2

Click Edit

Click the edit icon next to the segment name.
3

Modify Filters

Update the segment name or filter criteria.
4

Save Changes

Save to update the segment definition.

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Deleting Segments

Deleting a segment removes the segment definition but does not affect your underlying analytics data.
1

Open Segments

Navigate to your segments list.
2

Delete Segment

Click the delete button next to the segment.
3

Confirm Deletion

Confirm to permanently remove the segment.

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Segment Examples

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Marketing Segments

Paid Search Traffic

Filters:
  • utm_medium equals cpc
  • utm_source equals google

Email Campaign Visitors

Filters:
  • utm_medium equals email
  • utm_campaign contains newsletter

Social Media Traffic

Filters:
  • referrer contains facebook.com OR create separate segments for each platform

Organic Search

Filters:
  • referrer contains google.com
  • utm_medium not equals cpc

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Behavioral Segments

Product Page Visitors

Filters:
  • path starts with /products/

Content Downloaders

Filters:
  • event equals download

Video Watchers

Filters:
  • event equals video_play

Form Submitters

Filters:
  • event equals form_submit

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Technical Segments

Mobile Safari Users

Filters:
  • device equals mobile
  • browser equals Safari

Windows Desktop Users

Filters:
  • os equals Windows
  • device equals desktop

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Best Practices

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Segment Naming

  • Use clear, descriptive names
  • Include key filter criteria in the name
  • Use consistent naming conventions
  • Avoid overly generic names
Good names: “US Mobile Users”, “Blog Visitors from Twitter”Poor names: “Segment 1”, “Test”, “Users”

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Segment Strategy

  • Create segments for your key audience groups
  • Start with broad segments, then create sub-segments
  • Don’t create too many similar segments
  • Review and archive unused segments regularly
  • Document segment purposes and use cases
  • Share important segments with team members

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Analysis Tips

  • Compare segment performance regularly
  • Look for significant differences between segments
  • Use segments to validate hypotheses
  • Combine segments with date ranges for trend analysis
  • Apply segments to different report types

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Segments vs Filters

Segments are saved filter combinations that can be reused across your analytics.Filters are temporary criteria applied ad-hoc to dashboards and reports.
FeatureSegmentsFilters
SavedYesNo
ReusableYesNo
ShareableYesNo
NamedYesNo
Quick AnalysisNoYes
When to use Segments:
  • Analyzing recurring audience groups
  • Sharing analysis with team members
  • Consistent comparison over time
  • Important business segments
When to use Filters:
  • One-time analysis
  • Quick exploration
  • Testing filter combinations
  • Ad-hoc questions

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Troubleshooting

Possible causes:
  • Filter criteria too restrictive
  • No matching visitors in date range
  • Incorrect filter syntax
Solutions:
  • Broaden filter criteria
  • Extend date range
  • Check filter values against dashboard data
  • Remove filters one by one to identify issues
Possible causes:
  • Filter operator incorrect (e.g., contains vs equals)
  • Case sensitivity issues
  • URL pattern matching too broad
Solutions:
  • Review each filter carefully
  • Use more specific operators
  • Test with sample data first
  • Add additional filters to narrow results

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Next Steps

Filters

Learn more about filtering analytics data

Reports

Apply segments to custom reports

Dashboards

Use segments in your dashboard analysis

Event Tracking

Track custom events for behavioral segments

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