Segments

Segments are used to group your Visitors and Accounts in Pendo using metadata and product usage so that you can filter your data in analytics and target guides to specific users. 

A segment is a collection of rules that defines a group of Visitors or Accounts according to the combination of metadata or usage-based rules you select. Only Visitors or Accounts that match the criteria of your segment are included.

You can view and update your segments by navigating to People > Segments in the left-side navigation. Learn more in the Segments Management Page article.

Use cases

In Analytics, a segment can be used to get a count of users who meet certain criteria. You can also use segments in Data Explorer to compare data between groups.

In Guides, you can use segments to target messaging at a specific group of Accounts or to activate a guide when a user has performed a certain behavior, like visiting a page multiple times without using a feature.

You can use nested segments to pull existing segments into a new segment for more consistency and less duplication. This allows you reuse core segments that identify certain user groups in multiple new segments. For example, you can create a "new users at commercial accounts" segment with its own unique rules, then add that segment as a rule in new segments with additional rules to target more specific users without changing the core segment, such as admins who haven't viewed onboarding guides.

You can also pull additional metadata into Pendo from your other business tools to use in segments with our integrations, such as the Salesforce Integration. This is useful for improving the quality and utility of your Pendo analytics and enables more refined guide targeting with business data.

Requirements

All Pendo users can create segments. Use the Everyone permission under Visibility when creating a segment if you want to share the segment with the entire subscription. This also allows your segment to be used in nested segments.

Create a segment

Create a segment by navigating to People > Segments in the left-side navigation and selecting + Create Segment in the top-right of the page.

1. Name your segment to identify it. Use a descriptive name or something that follows your organization's naming convention.

2. Set your segment's Visibility. Use Everyone to make the segment visible to everyone in your subscription. Use Only Me to restrict visibility to you – this limits the functionality of the segment and the segment can't be used for Guide targeting.

3. Select Visitor Data. You have a choice between Identified Visitors Only, Anonymous Visitors Only, or All Visitors. If you want to create segments that include anonymous users, your subscription must have Show Anonymous Visitor Data enabled in Subscription Settings. For more information, see Anonymous Visitors.

4. Select + Add rules to start adding any combination of product usage and metadata rules. Be mindful when configuring rules. Combinations of rules can unintentionally target all users or be overly restrictive and not target any users. Some rules can't be used for guide targeting. For more information, see Segment Rules in this article.

5. Select Create Segment to save your segment.

The eligible visitors tally shows the all-time total number of Visitors that are included in this segment.

Segment Rules

Segment rules use product usage data, Visitor metadata, and Account metadata to target users. This includes metadata passed through your snippet (such as Visitor ID, email, isTrial, title, and so on), metadata from integrations, and default rules provided by Pendo.

Product Usage

• Feature. Tagged feature clicks.
• Feedback Requests. Visitors who have voted on a request, only visible with an active Feedback subscription.
• Guide. Pendo Guide views.
• Guide Element. Clicks on elements in Pendo Guides.
• Page. Tagged page views.
• Poll Response. Responses to Guide polls.
• Resource Center. Resource Center module views.
• Segment. Use existing segments as nested segments.
• Track Events. Pendo Track Events received

All of these rules are eligible for Guide targeting.

Visitor Data Defaults

• Account IDs. Account IDs associated with a Visitor. A Visitor can be associated with multiple Account IDs.
• Device Type*. Devices used by a Visitor.
• First Visit*. Date of the first recorded event.
• Language*. Browser language metadata.
• Last Visit. Date of the last recorded event.
• Most recent browser name*. Name of browser in the last event.
• Most recent browser version*. Version of browser in the last event.
• Most recent operating system*. Last mobile OS used.
• Most recent server name*. Domain of the last event.
• Number of Days Active. Number of days the Visitor has an event.
• Number of Events. Total number of raw events.
• Sample Group*. Random value between 0 and 99 used for targeting random groups.
• Time on Site. Time in minutes that the Visitor is generating events.
• Visitor ID*. Unique Visitor ID from your installed Pendo snippet.

* Rule is eligible for Guide targeting.

Account Data Defaults

• Account ID*. Unique Account ID from your installed Pendo snippet.
• First Visit*. Date of the first recorded event for any Visitor with this Account ID.
• Last Visit. Date of the last recorded event for any Visitor with this Account ID.
• Number of Days Active. Total number of days anyVisitor with this Account ID has generated events.
• Number of Events. Total number of raw events with this Account ID.
• Number of Visitors. Total number of Visitors with this Account ID.
• Time on Site. Total number of minutes Visitors have generated events with this Account ID.

* Rule is eligible for Guide targeting.

Mobile-specific Data

• App Version. Your mobile app version.
• SDK Version. Pendo SDK version.
• OS version. Mobile OS version.
• Device Type. Mobile device type.
• Device model. Mobile device model.

Note: When using a rule with a text type attribute, the text is case-sensitive.

Metadata value search

When metadata is used in a rule, the input field shows all known values for that metadata in a dropdown list. This allows you to confidently select known values in your rule. You can add new values if necessary.

Metadata with more than 400 values shows the first 400 values in alphanumerical order in the dropdown list. You can search for other values.

Only "string" type metadata is available for metadata value search. Learn more about metadata types in the Data Mapping and Data Types in Pendo article.

Create nested segments

Nested segments allow you to add an existing segment as a rule in another segment. This simplifies creating new segments and makes it possible to create core segments that update other segments if their rules are changed.

You can add up to five nested segments to a segment. A segment must be visible to Everyone to be used as a nested segment. You can use nested segments in any type of segment, analytics, guide targeting, and draft segments in Data Explorer. The same restrictions that apply to each use case apply when using nested segments.

To add a nested segment rule, follow the instructions under Create a Segment and, when adding a new segment rule:

1. Select Segment from the Product Usage dropdown menu.

2. Select is equal to or is not equal not to include or exclude the nested segment.

3. Choose an existing segment from the Select a saved segment dropdown, which lists all segments shared with Everyone in your subscription. When editing a Guide-targeting segment, ineligible segments are unavailable. 

The nested segment is added with a preview of its rules, displayed alongside your other rules. You can't edit the nested segment from this segment. Instead, select the link to the nested segment and make changes to the original segment. This updates the segment everywhere it's used, including other nested segments.

Add additional nested segments or segment rules as needed and save your segment. If a nested segment is changed, it updates this segment automatically.

Note: If a segment is used as a nested segment, a message appears on the segment details page indicating everywhere that that segment is used in analytics, guides, and segments.

Bulk-add Visitor or Account IDs with a CSV file

To target a large number of known Visitor or Account IDs, upload a .csv file with the first column containing the Visitor or Account IDs that you want to include or exclude from the segment.

To upload a .csv file to a new segment, follow the instructions under Create a Segment and, when adding a new segment rule:

1. In the first dropdown menu, select Account ID or Visitor ID. You can either scroll through the list or start typing.

2. In the second dropdown menu, select either csv contains or csv does not contain. You're then presented with an Upload CSV button, prompting you to upload a .csv file.

File Format

The .csv file must be formatted in a way that Pendo can read. Visitor or Account IDs must be in a single, line-delimited column in the file. The column can have a header in cell A1 if it's omitted by checking the header checkbox during upload. No other columns, punctuation, or special characters are supported.

 

Eligible Visitors troubleshooting

After you upload the file, Pendo shows the list of Eligible Visitors.

If the number of eligible visitors is different than expected, there are a few potential explanations:

• Only visitor IDs with activity are included in the eligible visitors count. If you are pulling the IDs from another system, like Salesforce, Pendo may not have a record of them yet. This is especially likely with a new installation. When those users are identified by Pendo, they are added (or excluded) from the segment you've defined.
• Check the format of the visitor or account IDs in the CSV file by comparing them to the IDs in Pendo. Any formatting discrepancy (spacing, punctuation, or capitalization) can make a difference.
• If parent accounts are enabled for your subscription, double-check the account ID format in the CSV file by comparing them to the account IDs in Pendo. For more information, see Managing multiple level accounts.

Segment based on Feedback request votes

If you're a Feedback user, you can build dynamic segments based on request voters. Follow the instructions under Create a Segment and, when adding a new segment rule:

1. Select Feedback Requests from the first dropdown menu.

2. Select a specific app that you want to focus on, or a collection of apps from the second dropdown menu.

3. Select a feedback request from the the third dropdown menu.

The segment contains any Visitors who voted on the request. It is dynamically updated every 15 minutes with the current request voters. Only Visitors identified by the Pendo snippet are included. Team members and Visitor records created manually with the UI, API, or Salesforce integration don't appear in the segment.

Note: Segments using Feedback Request rules are usable in Analytics only. Guide targeting isn't supported.

Sample Groups

Use the Sample Group option to create a segment that targets a random sample of Visitors. Sample group values are assigned when a Visitor is created and remain static for that Visitor. Values range from 0 - 99, with an even distribution across all of your Visitors over time.

Follow the instructions under Create a Segment and, when adding a new segment rule:

1. Select Sample Group from the dropdown menu. You can either scroll through the list or start typing.

2. Choose your quantity rules for the sample group.

Use sample groups to A/B test different guide designs, target rotating random groups for user research, or limit the number of visitors eligible for a guide experiment.

Example using multiple rules to target sample groups 50 - 74 (25% of the user base)

You can see the sample group value for any Visitor by looking at their Visitor Details.

 

Ineligible segments for Guide targeting

Certain segment rules aren't available for Guide targeting. Often, this is due to calculations or time-bound usage values in a segment that can't process for all Visitors fast enough to provide the responsiveness required for Guide activation. Segments with Only Me visibility are also not available for Guide targeting.

Ineligible rules

• Time on Site
• Number of Days Active
• Last Visit
• Number of Events
• Account ID’s (All Accounts a Visitor is associated with, found under Visitor Metadata)
• Number of Page Views, Feature Clicks, or Track Events (within a time period; see below for examples)
• Click or Track Event Properties 

Guide targeting rules using Page Views are limited to "Seen" or "Not Seen" with the following conditions:

• "Seen" options include ever, since, within last, at least, or at most.
  
  

• "Not Seen" options include ever, since, or within last.
  
  

Guide targeting rules using Feature Clicks are limited to Used or Not Used with the following conditions:

• "Used" options include ever, since, within last, at least, or at most.
  
  

• "Not Used" options include ever, since, or within last.
  
  

If you want to target a Guide at users who have or haven't seen a different or previously deployed Guide, you have the following options: Viewed or Not Viewed.

 

Copy segment

If you have a segment you want to reuse and modify, you can copy or duplicate it. Navigate to the existing segment in a dropdown menu or the Segments page, and select the copy icon next to it. A new segment named "Copy of..." with the same rules and visibility set to Only Me is created.

 

Troubleshooting Segments

Segmenting by a boolean metadata field

Segments that evaluate metadata with the boolean datatype include visitors who don't have a value for the metadata field in the "false" group.

Using multiple "does not contain" with "OR"

If you want to show a guide to most users except those from specific Accounts, you must use AND rather than OR. If the guide segment is created with OR

Visitor ID does not contain Apples 
This statement is saying to display the guide to everyone other than Apples, including Oranges

OR

Visitor ID does not contain Oranges
This statement is saying to display the guide to everyone other than Oranges, including Apples

The above parameters don't segment out Apples or Oranges. This is because even if the Visitor ID contains Apples, it is allowed through because it doesn't contain Oranges and vice versa.

To exclude both Visitor IDs containing Apples and Oranges, use AND:

Visitor ID does not contain Apples
AND
Visitor ID does not contain Oranges

CSV failed to upload

Below are the two most common causes for a CSV failing to upload:

• Double underscores. The presence of a double underscore at the beginning of a value—for example, "__username"—triggers an error upon upload. Ensure none of the values in your CSV file utilize this naming convention.
• Incorrect file type. CSV is the only supported file format. Ensure your file is saved as .csv.

Filters are showing as "Unknown Segment"

Someone has deleted the segment currently set in Filters. This is indicated with the Unknown Segment label. Change the segment and the page will update to show data as expected.

Account versus Visitor data attributes

Segments allow you to develop groups based on product usage, Account attributes, and Visitor attributes. Remember the difference between Account and Visitor data. 

There are parallel fields, like First Visit and Last Visit, that exist as both an Account and Visitor field. When creating a segment, check that you are selecting a field under the desired data type (Account Data or Visitor Data).

My CSV segment is showing 0 eligible visitors when I apply it to a guide

Typically, this is due to the processing time associated with a CSV upload. The segment can be saved and used while Pendo processes the CSV and generates the eligible Visitor total.

Sometimes this is due to Visitor IDs in the CSV not being known to Pendo. A Visitor must use your app and generate a Pendo event for the Visitor ID to show up in your Pendo data. Pendo can't count unidentified Visitors.

When those unidentified Visitors log in for the first time, Pendo receives the Visitor ID and the guide segment targets them as expected. The eligible Visitor number on the guide updates to include the newly identified Visitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

I deleted a metadata field. What happens to the segment that's applied to a guide?

A deleted metadata field is removed from the Data Mappings page. If that field is used in a segment, it's removed. This makes the existing segment invalid and any guide using that segment no longer displays.

Can I target excluded Visitors and Accounts with segmentation?

Excluded Visitors and Accounts can only be targeted using the Excluded Accounts & Visitors segment in the Segments dropdown in the Filter bar on most pages. Excluded Visitors and Accounts can't be targeted with regular segments.