How to Create Audience in Google Analytics 4

Moving from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 can feel like learning a new language, but GA4 is a lot more powerful once you get the hang of it. Audiences are a great example of this - they are the key to transforming raw user data into clear, actionable segments you can use for deep analysis and targeted ad campaigns. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create custom audiences in GA4, with practical examples you can build today.

So, What Exactly Is an Audience in GA4?

In simple terms, an audience is a group of users you define based on shared attributes, behaviors, or events. Think of it as creating specific customer personas using your actual data. Unlike the more static segments in Universal Analytics, GA4 audiences are dynamic groups that users can enter and exit based on their actions.

You can create an audience for just about anything - from "visitors from Canada who viewed the pricing page" to "customers who have spent over $500 in the last 90 days." These are not just labels, they are foundational tools for running smarter marketing and making better business decisions. You can use them to compare behavior in your reports or, more powerfully, sync them with Google Ads to create highly specific retargeting campaigns.

The Building Blocks of GA4 Audiences

To build effective audiences, you need to understand the three core components you'll be working with. Everything in GA4 is built on events, and audiences are no exception.

Events: An event is any specific interaction a user has with your website or app. GA4 automatically tracks events like page_view and session_start, but you can also set up custom events for actions like add_to_cart, video_play, or form_submission.
Parameters and Dimensions: These add context to your events and users. A parameter provides more detail about an event (e.g., for a purchase event, the value parameter logs the transaction amount). A dimension describes the user themselves, such as their geographic location (Country), how they found you (Session source), or the device they're using (Device category).
User Properties: These are custom attributes you define to describe segments of your user base, such as customer_tier or logged_in_status. They help you understand different groups of users beyond standard demographic data.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Custom Audience

Ready to build your first audience? The GA4 audience builder provides a blank canvas to define exactly who you want to target. Let's walk through the process.

1. Navigate to the Audience Builder

From your GA4 property, go to the Admin panel (the gear icon in the bottom-left). Under the Property column, click on Audiences. Then, click the blue New audience button.

2. Choose to Create a Custom Audience

You will see some suggested or templated audiences, which can be useful starting points. For this guide, we're building from scratch. Select Create a custom audience.

This opens the main audience builder interface. On the left is where you’ll define your conditions, and on the right is a summary panel that estimates your audience size based on the past 30 days of data.

3. Define Your Conditions

Everything starts with a condition. An audience is simply a group of users who meet the conditions you set.

Click on "Add new condition" to begin. You'll see a searchable list of all available dimensions, metrics, and events. Let’s create a classic audience: Users who viewed a specific product category.

Start typing "page" in the search box and select the Page path and screen class dimension.
Set the filter logic to contains.
In the value field, enter part of the URL that identifies your product category, for example, /shoes/.

That's it! You’ve just created your first condition. Every user who has visited a URL containing "/shoes/" will be included.

4. Layer Conditions with AND / OR Logic

Rarely does a single condition create a valuable audience. You can combine conditions using "AND" or "OR" logic to create more specific groups. Let's refine our shoes audience to only include visitors from the United States.

In the same condition group, click the AND button.
Now, search for and select the Country dimension.
Set the filter logic to exactly matches.
Select or type in United States.

Now, your audience will only include users who viewed a "/shoes/" page AND are located in the United States.

5. Use Sequences to Track User Journeys

Sequences are one of GA4's most powerful audience features. They let you group users based on a series of actions they took in a specific order. Let’s build a "Potential Blog Subscribers" audience.

Click Add sequence to create a sequence block.
Step 1: Add a condition where the event is page_view and the Page Path contains /blog/. This identifies users who read a blog post.
Click Add step.
Step 2: Set this next step to be is indirectly followed by. This means the second action doesn't have to happen immediately.
Add a condition where the event is page_view and the Page Path contains /subscribe-newsletter/. This identifies users who visited the newsletter page after reading a post.

You can also set time constraints, such as requiring steps to happen within the same session or within a 7-day window.

6. Exclude Users You Don't Want

Just as important as including the right users is excluding the wrong ones. Let's refine our "Potential Blog Subscribers" to exclude people who have already signed up.

Click Add group to exclude.
Inside this exclusion group, click "Add new condition."
Create a condition based on the event you fire upon a successful signup, for example, event_name is newsletter_signup.

Now, your audience will capture everyone who read a blog post and then viewed the subscription page, unless they actually completed the signup.

7. Set Membership Duration

At the top right, you'll see "Membership duration." This determines how long a user remains in an audience after they meet the criteria. The default is 30 days but can be set up to a maximum of 540 days.

For timely retargeting (like cart abandoners), a shorter duration like 7 or 14 days makes sense.
For long-term segments (like 'VIP Customers'), a longer duration makes more sense.

8. Name and Save Your Audience

Finally, give your audience a clear, descriptive name like "US - Shoe Page Viewers" or "Blog Readers - Potential Subscribers." Add a brief description so your team knows exactly who this audience represents.

Click Save, and your audience will start populating. Note that it can take 24-48 hours for new audiences to be fully available in your reports and in Google Ads.

5 Practical GA4 Audience Examples to Create Today

Need some inspiration? Here are a few valuable audiences marketers and e-commerce managers frequently build.

1. Cart Abandoners

These are prime candidates for retargeting campaigns with a "Did you forget something?" message.

Include: Users who triggered the add_to_cart event.
Within the same session: Set this condition scoping to ensure you're looking at a single shopping trip.
Exclude: Users who also triggered the purchase event in the same session.

2. High-Value Customers

Identify your most valuable shoppers to offer them exclusive deals or enroll them in a loyalty program.

Include: Users who triggered the purchase event.
Refine the event: Add a parameter condition where the event parameter value is greater than (>) a specific amount, like 150.
Set Membership to 'Maximum Limit': This keeps them in the audience permanently after qualifying, so you get a lifetime view.

3. Engaged Content Readers

Find users who are really engaging with your content but haven't converted yet. You can retarget them with a downloadable e-book or webinar invitation.

Include: Users who triggered the scroll event with a parameter of percent_scrolled greater than 90.
AND: Users who also triggered a page_view event at least 3 times in a single session.
Exclude: Users who triggered your primary conversion event, like generate_lead.

4. One-Time Purchasers

Encourage repeat business by targeting customers who have only ever made one purchase.

Include: Users who have a purchase event count that exactly matches (=) 1 across all time.

5. All Converters

This is a foundational audience that groups all users who have completed any primary conversion goal on your site. It's incredibly useful for building Lookalike audiences in Google Ads or as an exclusion list for top-of-funnel campaigns.

Include: Users who triggered the generate_lead event OR the purchase event OR a form_submit event.

Using Your Audiences for Smarter Marketing

Creating audiences isn't just an academic exercise. Once they are built, you can activate them. The most common use case is syncing them with your Google Ads account for remarketing. To do this, simply ensure your GA4 property and Google Ads account are linked (Admin > Product Links > Google Ads Links). Once linked, any audience you create in GA4 will automatically become available to target in your Google Ads campaigns.

Within GA4 itself, you can use audiences to compare behavior in reports. Use the "Add comparison" tool in a report, select the "Audience name" dimension, and choose your audience to see how their behavior differs from your overall user base.

Final Thoughts

Creating custom audiences in GA4 is your pathway to moving from general traffic analysis to specific, user-centric insights. By grouping users based on who they are and what they do, you unlock the ability to get your message in front of the right people at the right time and understand your most valuable customer journeys with far greater clarity.

While setting up detailed audiences in GA4 is an essential step, we know that figuring out what to do with them - analyzing their behavior across your entire marketing stack - can get complicated fast. We built Graphed because we believe getting answers from your data shouldn't be a full-time job. Once you’ve connected your sources like Google Analytics and Facebook Ads, you can skip the manual report building and just ask questions in plain English, like, "Compare my 'High-Value Customers' from GA4 to my total revenue from Shopify last quarter." Graphed instantly builds the real-time dashboards you need, turning hours of analysis into a 30-second conversation.