What Is an Advanced Segment in Analytics? Examples with GA4 and plainSignal

Advanced segment

Isolate and analyze subsets of analytics data using custom filters and conditions for targeted insights.

Understanding Advanced Segments

• Concept and definition

  An advanced segment is a defined set of criteria applied to analytics data to isolate a subset of traffic or user behavior for deeper analysis.

• Types of advanced segments

  Segments can be based on user properties, session attributes, or individual events.

  • User segments

    Group users based on lifetime attributes or behaviors, like users who made a purchase.

  • Session segments

    Filter sessions based on session-scoped criteria, such as sessions lasting longer than five minutes.

  • Event segments

    Focus on specific events or sequences of events, such as add_to_cart followed by checkout.

Benefits of Advanced Segments

• Granular insights

  Drill down into specific user groups or behaviors to understand their unique patterns.

• Personalized reporting

  Create dashboards and reports tailored to different stakeholders or campaign goals.

• Cross-platform analysis

  Compare segments across devices, channels, and sessions to optimize the entire user journey.

Creating Advanced Segments in GA4

• Accessing the segment builder

  In GA4, open Explore, select an analysis technique (e.g., Free Form), then click + next to Segments to start defining a new segment.

  • Open GA4 property

    Sign in to Google Analytics and select your GA4 property.

  • Navigate to explore

    In the left-hand menu, click Explore and choose an exploration.

• Defining conditions

  Set filters using dimensions, metrics, or event parameters. You can include or exclude criteria and nest OR/AND logic.

  • Dimension filters

    Filter users or sessions based on attributes like country or device.

  • Metric filters

    Apply numeric thresholds, like engagement_time > 60 seconds.

  • Event parameters

    Include events with specific parameters, such as purchase_value > 100.

• Using sequence segments

  Build segments based on ordered or unordered sequences of events to analyze user flows and drop-offs.

  • Ordered sequences

    Define a strict step-by-step path, such as page_view → add_to_cart → purchase.

  • Unordered sequences

    Allow events to occur in any order within a session.

Implementing Advanced Segments in plainSignal

• Example tracking code

  Embed the following snippet on your site to enable data collection:

  <link rel="preconnect" href="//eu.plainsignal.com/" crossorigin />
  <script defer data-do="yourwebsitedomain.com" data-id="0GQV1xmtzQQ" data-api="//eu.plainsignal.com" src="//cdn.plainsignal.com/plainsignal-min.js"></script>
  

• Basic url-based filters

  Use the filter UI in plainSignal to segment traffic by URL patterns or referrers.

  • Path contains

    Segment sessions where the URL path includes a specific substring.

  • Referrer matches

    Filter sessions by the referring domain.

• Custom event properties

  Tag events with metadata to create more granular segments.

  • Event tracking

    Send custom events using ps('event', 'actionName', { key: 'value' }).

  • Property filters

    Filter segments based on the properties attached to events, such as user plans or campaign UTM parameters.

Best Practices and Considerations

• Keep segments focused

  Limit conditions to the most impactful criteria to avoid overly narrow segments.

• Validate segments regularly

  Test segment definitions to confirm they capture the intended audience before using them in reports.

• Beware of sampling

  In GA4, complex segments on large datasets can trigger sampling; simplify segments if sampling affects accuracy.

Related terms