GA4 ratings in a nutshell
- The concept: Groups of users grouped according to their behavior (e.g. "those who saw my price but didn't buy")
- Interest : Move from a blurred global analysis to a precise vision by customer profile
- Superpower: Export these lists to Google Ads for ultra-personalized retargeting
- Profit : Stop talking to everyone the same way to increase conversions
In a physical store, a good sales assistant treats a loyal customer differently from a curious one entering for the first time. On the web, it's the same. Audiences in Google Analytics 4 are the tools you need to make this crucial distinction.
An audience isn't just a traffic statistic. It's a group of humans that you gather according to precise criteria: what they've done on your site, where they're from, or the device they're using. It's the basis to stop "guessing" and start "driving".
Why are audiences the brains of your strategy?
Audiences allow you to personalize your messages and optimize your advertising budgets:
- Personalize your messages : Create a "Brand Fans" audience (those who come often) and offer them something different from "New Prospects"
- Optimize your advertising budgets: Why pay to show an ad to someone who just subscribed yesterday? By isolating this audience, you save your budget
- Understanding blockages : By creating a "shopping cart abandonment" audience, you can identify the obstacles to purchase
- Compare your channels : Do people who come from SEO buy more than those who come from Instagram? Audiences give you the answer
How to build your first audience
GA4 has made audience creation accessible. Here's how it works:
- Behavioral targeting : Start with simple segments: "Users who have spent more than 2 minutes on the site" or "Visitors to the contact page". These criteria show real interest in your services
- Export to advertising : Once your audience has been created in GA4, it can be automatically shared with your account Google Ads. You can then target only those people in your audience who are "Interested but not yet customers"
- Refine over time: Too large an audience is rarely useful. Too small an audience won't generate enough data. Test different settings to find the segment that responds best to your offers
Advice : Start by creating 3 essential audiences: engaged visitors (more than 2 page views), cart abandoners and recent customers. These three segments cover 80% of your retargeting needs.