From the surface building a comparison or an audience seem quite similar though they are different in many ways. And then there are segments that are a branch off audiences.
A Comparison is when you need to create a quick simple segment eg show me users that came from a specific campaign, this will provide you enough information on the report you’re currently looking at but you don’t need to create a full blown audience.
You can see an Audience as a highly customiseable segment where you can use conditions, sequences, save for later use and utilise custom lookback windows and scopes.
A Segment is built in the Advanced Analysis Reports and functions very similarly to an Audience with some differences.
Below is a table laid out to show what you can and can’t do with Comparisons, Audiences and Segments.
When using Comparisons or Audiences can I… ?
Where to access Comparisons
Above most reports you can either select ‘Add comparison’ or the customise report icon.
Once you’ve selected either of these a panel will appear on the right where you can create your configurations. Once you have made your configurations you will need to select apply for the comparison to be added to the report.
Where to access Audiences
To see an overview of the audiences that you have created you must navigate to ‘Audiences’ under the ‘Configure’ section in the left hand side panel. From here you can create and manage audiences.
You can also bring your audience in via a Comparison by selecting ‘Audience Name’ as a Dimension and then choosing the audience you would like.
Where to access Segments?
Segments can be used in the Advanced Analysis UI and used with the following reports – Exploration, Segment Overlap, Funnel Analysis, Path Analysis, User Explorer and Cohort Analysis
