Segmentation and Audience Analysis
What this domain tests
Building and applying segments correctly. Concepts: hit/visit/visitor containers, sequential segments, segment stacking and scope, segment comparison, and audience analysis (new vs. return, high-value vs. low-value, cohort behavior). Know that a segment's container determines what qualifies: a visitor container includes all hits from a qualifying visitor; a hit container is narrowest.
Traps to watch for
- Using a visitor container when the question asks about behavior on a specific page (use hit).
- Forgetting that segments combine with AND logic by default; OR requires explicit grouping.
- Assuming segment order doesn't matter in sequential segments - it does.
- Confusing a segment (subset) with a calculated metric (derived number).
Worked example
"Which visitors viewed a product page but never added to cart?" Build a visitor segment: include visitors where page = product page, then exclude visitors where event = cart add. Applying it to an orders report reveals drop-off. Using a hit container here would only count product-page hits and miss the visitor-level story.
Rule of thumb
Match the container to the question: hit for page-level, visit for session behavior, visitor for cross-visit behavior. Test segments against a known cohort before trusting them.