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Defining Segments

How to build segments and sync them to your destinations.

Set up your Entities

Segments are built on top of Entities, the core models set up for a data warehouse connection. Typically a member of the data team will need to first set up the entities for your warehouse connection before getting started.

Using the visual builder

Click on Segments tab in the left-hand menu to go to the segments page. Click Add a New Segment and use the visual builder to define your segment.
To start, you'll need to select the Entity you're segmenting in the top left. This will determine the records returned by your segment.
Then start adding conditions. For more details on the various operations available, see below. If you are segmenting an entity that has relationships to other entities, you can also filter on those related entities by adding a new group.
At any point, you can press Preview Results to get a look at a sample of the data that will be available in your segment or View SQL to see the SQL generated to power your segment. When you're happy with your segment conditions, give you segment a name and press Save.

Segment Operations

Census supports a wide variety of operations that can be used to filter segments. The types of operators available are dictated by the types of the data warehouse columns being filtered. Selecting a column with a different type will change the types of operators available.
Operator
Column Type
Description
is null / is blank
All
Column is NULL (or the empty string if given a text column)
is not null / is not blank
All
Column contains any value other than NULL (and not the empty string, if given a text column)
is
All except boolean
Exactly matches the given value (case sensitive)
is not
All except boolean
Does not match the given value
starts with
Text
Starts with the given value
ends with
Text
Ends with the given value
contains
Text
Column contains the given value
doesn't contain
Text
Column doesn't contain the given value
more than
Number
Column is larger than the given value
less than
Number
Column is smaller than the given value
is true
Boolean
Column is true
is false
Boolean
Column is false
more than
Datetime
Column's value is more than ___ days ago
less than
Datetime
Column's value is less than ___ days ago
exactly
Datetime
Column is exactly ___ days ago
after
Datetime
Column is after the given date
on
Datetime
Column is exactly the given date
before
Datetime
Column is before the given date
between
Datetime
Column's value is between ___ days and ____ days ago
contains any of
Array
Array column contains any of the provided values

SQL Conditions

Though Census's visual segment creator is designed to be used without knowing any SQL, it works by generating SQL underneath the covers and running that against your data. You can actually view this SQL at any point by pressing the View SQL button.
Additionally, if you're trying to create a condition that Census doesn't support, you can still add conditions to your segment by selecting the SQL Condition in the Attribute menu. The SQL you provide will be added as an additional condition alongside any other conditions you've added to your segment. Think of it like formulas in Excel: it's a powerful tool in your toolbelt that can let you express very complex concepts, but it can break the segment so use with care!

Event Filters

When the Entity you're segmenting has a related events entity, those events have even more conditions available, powered by the schema columns defined on the event entity.
Type
Operator
Description
Event Name
Any Event
Entity has any event matching the other conditions
No Event
Entity has no event matching the other conditions
Event Name is
Entity has an event with the given name
Event Name is one of
Entity has an event with any of the given names
No Event Named
Entity has no event with the given name
No Event Named any of
Entity has none of the given events
Engagement
At least
Entity has at least x matching events
At most
Entity has at most x matching events
Exactly
Entity has exactly x matching events
Any number
Entity has any number (> 0) of events
Time Period
Between
Events occurred between ___ and ___ days ago
Prior To
Events occurred before a date ___ days ago
Within Last
Events occurred within the last ___ days
Between dates
Events occurred between two fixed dates
After date
Events occurred after a fixed date in time
Before date
Events occurred before a fixed date in time
Any time
Entity has match dates regardless of time

Syncing your segment

Your newly created segment will now be available to sync in the standard Census sync workflow. You can sync segments to all over our supported destinations such as Facebook Ads, Google Ads and Marketo. At this point, you're good to go with Segments, but there's more to read if you need:
  • Want to learn about Syncs? Check out the Core Concepts section
  • Need to get your favorite app connected to Census? Take a look at Destinations in the menu on the left.

FAQs

Which string comparison operators are case sensitive and insensitive?
Case sensitive: Census will consider the "is" and "is not" operators to be case sensitive.
Case insensitive: Census will consider the "contains", "does not contain", "starts with", and "ends with" operators to be case insensitive.