Experiment Audience
URL targeting answers where a test may run. Audience answers who may enter after that page check passes. In everyday language, an audience is “desktop shoppers,” “new visitors,” or “everyone.” In CROForge, Audience is not a free-text list of people. You attach a Data Vista segment — a named set of attribute conditions. All Traffic is the usual default: a segment with no conditions, so anyone who already matched domain and URL can enter. A tighter segment (device, new vs returning, UTM, and so on) skips the experiment for visitors who do not match.
Words used on this page
| Word | Everyday meaning | Meaning in CROForge |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | The group of people a message or test is for. | The Configuration sub-tab where you attach one Data Vista segment to the campaign. It is not the report’s Traffic source filter. |
| Segment | A slice of visitors who share traits (new users, mobile, paid social). | A named condition list in Data Vista (standard or custom). Experiments attach one segment as audience. Conditions in a segment are AND. |
| All Traffic | “Do not filter anyone extra.” | The default-style segment with no conditions. After domain and URL targeting pass, everyone is eligible. |
| Data Vista | The place you define measurement building blocks. | Where Attributes, Segments, and Metrics live. Create or edit the segment there, then attach it here. |
| Attribute | A fact about the visitor or session (device, UTM, new vs returning). | The fields segment conditions compare (for example device type, visitor type, UTM source). |
| Traffic source | How someone arrived (search, social, direct). | Not Audience. Traffic source is a reporting filter on the Report tab. It does not decide who enters the live test. |
| Evaluation order | The sequence of checks before something is allowed. | Domain allowlist → URL targeting → Segment → Variation assignment. Fail any earlier step and the experiment is skipped. |
Screenshot
Filename: experiment-audience.png (Audience picker with a selected segment). Place the file under docs/assets/placeholders/. Paste the screenshot into WordPress after you copy this article; do not add an image tag here.
What an audience can look like
You attach a segment. Typical examples:
- All visitors (All Traffic — no conditions)
- Desktop only
- Mobile + Tablet
- New vs Returning
- UTM Source in {Google, LinkedIn} and extra URL-style conditions inside the segment
How to set Audience
- If the segment does not exist yet, create it in Data Vista → Segments (standard device/new-visitor segments are often reusable).
- Open the campaign → Configuration → Audience.
- Select the segment (or keep All Traffic).
- Save. Only visitors who match that segment can be assigned a variation after URL targeting passes.
Evaluation order at runtime
Smart Code does not start with “pick a variation.” It walks a gate sequence. Audience is gate three.
- Domain allowlist — is this site allowed to run CROForge experiments?
- URL targeting (Pages) — include matches and exclude does not.
- Segment conditions (Audience) — attributes must match. If not, the experiment is skipped for that visitor.
- Variation assignment — random bucket, then sticky storage.
Tips
- Prefer reusable standard segments for common device filters instead of one-off copies per campaign.
- Combine UTM attributes carefully. Empty UTM should not silently pass if you meant “only paid Google.”
- Watch casing. Values Smart Code produces (for example DESKTOP vs desktop) must match what the segment expects.
- Document why the segment was chosen in the campaign title or description so the next person does not “fix” All Traffic by accident.
- Changing the segment on a Running campaign can bias results (different people enter mid-flight). Prefer pause → edit → resume.
Audience ≠ Traffic source. Audience is who may enter the live test (a segment). Traffic source on the Report tab is only a reporting filter (direct, referral, social, search, paid, and so on). Filtering the report never changes live assignment.
