Audiences & Segments

Audiences Overview

GA4 audiences are groups of users based on conditions you define. Unlike segments, audiences are forward-looking and update in real-time.

Audiences vs Segments

| Feature | Audiences | Segments | |---------|-----------|----------| | Data Direction | Forward (future data) | Backward (historical) | | Update Method | Real-time | On-demand | | Use Cases | Remarketing, filtering | Ad-hoc analysis | | Google Ads Export | Yes | No | | Limit | 100 per property | 10 per exploration |

How Audiences Work

User visits site
      ↓
Meets audience conditions?
      ↓
Added to audience (within 24-48 hours)
      ↓
Available in:
├── GA4 report filtering
├── Google Ads remarketing
├── DV360 targeting
└── Comparisons

Audience Membership Duration

| Setting | Duration | |---------|----------| | Minimum | 1 day | | Maximum | 540 days | | Default | 30 days | | Recommendation | Match your sales cycle |

Creating Audiences

Method 1: From Scratch

Admin → Audiences → New audience → Create a custom audience

Define:
├── Conditions (AND/OR logic)
├── Sequences (optional)
├── Exclusions (optional)
└── Membership duration

Method 2: From Templates

GA4 provides pre-built templates:

| Template | Description | |----------|-------------| | Recently active users | Active in last 7 days | | Purchasers | Completed purchase | | Non-purchasers | No purchases | | 7-day inactive users | No activity for 7 days |

Method 3: From Suggested Audiences

GA4 suggests audiences based on your data:

• Likely purchasers (predictive)
• Users who abandoned cart
• High-value customers
• New users

Essential Audiences to Create

## Engagement-Based

□ All users (baseline)
□ Engaged users (engagement_time > 60s)
□ Returning visitors (session_number > 1)
□ High-frequency visitors (sessions > 3 in 30 days)

## Conversion-Based

□ All converters
□ Non-converters
□ Cart abandoners (add_to_cart, no purchase)
□ Checkout abandoners (begin_checkout, no purchase)
□ High-value customers (purchase value > X)

## Content-Based

□ Blog readers (page_location contains /blog)
□ Pricing page viewers
□ Product page viewers
□ Specific category viewers

Audience Conditions

Condition Types

| Type | Description | Example | |------|-------------|---------| | Event | Based on events | purchase, sign_up | | User Property | Persistent user data | membership_level = gold | | Dimension | Event parameters | page_location contains /pricing | | Metric | Numeric values | LTV > 100 |

Condition Operators

For Text:
├── equals / does not equal
├── contains / does not contain
├── starts with / ends with
├── matches regex
└── is one of / is not one of

For Numbers:
├── equals / does not equal
├── greater than / less than
├── between
└── is one of

Using AND/OR Logic

Example: High-intent users

Condition Group 1: (Event)
└── add_to_cart occurred

AND

Condition Group 2: (Event)
└── page_view where page_location contains /pricing

Result: Users who added to cart AND viewed pricing

Sequence Conditions

Track users who complete actions in order:

Sequence: Engaged Shoppers
Step 1: page_view (any product page)
Step 2: add_to_cart
Step 3: begin_checkout

Within: 7 days

Exclusion Conditions

Remove users from audience:

Include: All users who add_to_cart
Exclude: Users who purchase

Result: Cart abandoners only

Predictive Audiences

GA4 uses machine learning to predict future behavior.

Available Predictive Metrics

| Metric | Predicts | |--------|----------| | Purchase probability | Likelihood to purchase in 7 days | | Churn probability | Likelihood to not return in 7 days | | Predicted revenue | Expected revenue in 28 days |

Suggested Predictive Audiences

| Audience | Definition | |----------|------------| | Likely 7-day purchasers | High purchase probability | | Likely 7-day churning purchasers | Past purchasers likely to stop | | Likely 7-day churning users | Active users likely to leave | | Likely first-time 7-day purchasers | Non-purchasers likely to convert | | Predicted 28-day top spenders | Highest predicted revenue |

Eligibility Requirements

To use predictive audiences:

Purchase probability requires:
├── 1,000 purchasers in last 28 days
├── 1,000 non-purchasers in last 28 days
├── Consistent purchase events
└── purchase event with value parameter

Churn probability requires:
├── 1,000 returning users in 7-day period
├── 1,000 churned users in 7-day period
└── Sufficient activity data

Creating Predictive Audiences

Admin → Audiences → New audience → Suggested audiences

Select:
├── Likely 7-day purchasers
└── Configure thresholds (if available)

Pro Tip: Predictive audiences are automatically shared with linked Google Ads accounts, enabling powerful remarketing to high-intent users.

Segments in Explorations

Segments are for ad-hoc analysis of historical data.

Segment Types

| Type | Scope | Use Case | |------|-------|----------| | User segment | All sessions for matching users | "Users who ever purchased" | | Session segment | Only matching sessions | "Sessions with add_to_cart" | | Event segment | Only matching events | "Purchase events over $100" |

Creating Segments in Explorations

Explore → New exploration → Segments (in Variables) → New segment

Configure:
├── Segment type (user, session, event)
├── Conditions
├── Sequences (optional)
└── Exclusions

Segment vs Audience Use Cases

| Need | Use | |------|-----| | "Show me data for past purchasers" | Segment | | "Target past purchasers with ads" | Audience | | "Analyze last month's mobile users" | Segment | | "Build remarketing list for mobile users" | Audience |

Remarketing Integration

Exporting Audiences to Google Ads

Automatic after:
1. Link GA4 to Google Ads
2. Enable Google Signals
3. Create audience in GA4
4. Audience syncs within 24-48 hours

Audience Size Requirements

| Platform | Minimum Size | |----------|-------------| | Google Ads (Search) | 1,000 users | | Google Ads (Display) | 100 users | | YouTube | 1,000 users |

Best Practices for Remarketing

## High-Value Remarketing Audiences

□ Cart abandoners (7-day window)
□ Product page viewers (no purchase, 14 days)
□ Past purchasers (90+ days, re-engage)
□ High-LTV customers (upsell)
□ Likely purchasers (predictive)
□ Checkout abandoners (3-day window)

## Audience Hygiene

□ Review audiences monthly for relevance
□ Update membership duration based on sales cycle
□ Remove outdated audiences
□ Check audience sizes in Google Ads
□ Monitor predictive audience eligibility

Warning: Audience membership can decline due to site changes, tracking issues, or privacy settings. Audit your audiences quarterly to ensure they're still populating correctly.