Segment
Definition
A subset of your analytics data filtered by specific criteria. Segments let you analyse particular groups of users or sessions separately.
What is a Segment?
A segment is a filtered view of your data that isolates a specific group of users or sessions. Instead of looking at all visitors, you might segment to see only mobile users, only returning customers, or only visitors from a specific campaign.
Segments help you understand how different groups behave differently on your website.
Why Segments Matter
Aggregate data hides important patterns. Your overall conversion rate might be 2%, but segmenting reveals:
- Mobile users convert at 0.8%
- Desktop users convert at 3.5%
- Paid traffic converts at 4%
- Organic traffic converts at 1.5%
These differences point to opportunities and problems that averages obscure.
Types of Segments
User Segments
Group users by characteristics: new vs returning, purchased vs didn't purchase, high-value vs low-value.
Session Segments
Group individual sessions: mobile sessions, sessions with transactions, sessions longer than 3 minutes.
Event Segments
Group by specific actions: users who watched a video, clicked a button, or downloaded a file.
Common Segment Examples
| Segment | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Converters vs non-converters | What do buyers do differently? |
| Mobile vs desktop | Are experiences consistent? |
| New vs returning visitors | How does engagement differ? |
| Geographic regions | Do different markets behave differently? |
| Traffic channels | Which sources bring quality visitors? |
Building Segments in GA4
In Google Analytics 4, segments are created within Explorations. You define conditions (like "device category equals mobile") and the segment filters your report to match only those users or sessions.
Segments don't permanently alter your data – they're just filtered views you can apply and remove.