Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Explore reports allow you to analyze user behaviors in more detail by going beyond standard reports. The basis of these analyses is formed by Segments.

Thanks to segments, you can filter specific user groups, sessions, or events; compare different audiences and obtain insights that you cannot see in standard reports.

In this article, we will examine creating segments in GA4 Explore reports, the Sequence feature located within User/Session segments, its difference from standard conditions, and frequently made mistakes.

Which Segment Type Should I Choose in GA4?

In Explore reports, the panel initially offers you three basic segment types. Before starting your analysis, answering the following question makes it easier to choose the right segment: “Is what I want to analyze a user, a session, or a specific event?”

• User Segment: Analyzes users (along with all their past sessions) who meet the conditions you specify.

• Session Segment: Analyzes sessions with specific characteristics or where specific actions occur.

• Event Segment: Used in cases where you want to isolate and analyze only specific events and their parameters.

A Powerful Feature of Segments: What is Sequence?

In some analyses, the occurrence of just one event is not enough; it is also necessary to know in what order the user performed the events.

Important Note: Sequence is not a separate segment type that you will see in the panel. It is an advanced condition architecture that you activate by clicking the "Add sequence" button in the upper right corner after selecting User Segment (or Session Segment depending on your scenario).

Using the Sequence feature, you can find answers to critical questions like these:

• Did the user who read the blog post make a purchase at a later stage?

• Did users who used internal search view a product after this search?

• Did the user who started the checkout process follow the steps and reach the payment step?

The Difference Between "Directly Followed By" and "Indirectly Followed By"

When creating a sequence condition, you must specify the chronological relationship between each step you add. GA4 offers you two options here:

1. Directly Followed By

Requires the second step to occur immediately after the first step.

• Example Flow: view_item →  add_to_cart

• If the user triggers another automatically defined event such as scroll, click, page_view, or user_engagement between these two events, they are not included in the segment.

• This option is suitable for very specific technical scenarios where you want to verify the event sequence exactly (in millisecond steps).

2. Indirectly Followed By

It is sufficient for the second step to occur at any time after the first step. Different events can get in between.

• Example Flow: view_item → scroll →  page_view →  add_to_cart

• Even if the user inserts other actions in between, they are ultimately included in the segment because they completed the goal steps in order.

Recommendation: In real user behavior, page views, scrolls, or automatically collected engagement events always get in between. Therefore, including e-commerce checkout flows, the option you should prefer in 90% of your analyses should be "Indirectly Followed By". Otherwise, your segment will turn out unnecessarily too narrow.

Segment Scenarios with Practical Examples

Example 1: Do Users Who Read the Blog Post Make a Purchase?

• Segment Type to Choose: User Segment

• Condition Type: Sequence

  • Step 1: page_view (Page path contains /blog)

  • Step 2: purchase

• Sequence Setting: Indirectly Followed By (Because after reading the blog, the user can browse the site, add products to their cart, and purchase at the end of the day. This is a natural process.)

💡 Critical Comparison: What Would Happen If We Made This Segment with the "AND" Condition Without Using Sequence?

If you did not use Sequence and opened a standard User Segment saying page_view (/blog) AND purchase, GA4 would completely disable the chronological order.

• Sequence: First the blog must be read, then purchased. (Measures the effect of the blog on sales - Correct Method).

• Standard AND: The user must have both read the blog and made a purchase within the selected date range. (E.g.: If a user who bought the product on Monday reads the blog post on Wednesday, they are included in this segment. However, the blog post made no contribution to this sale.)

Result: while the standard "AND" filter gives you a higher and misleading number of users, the Sequence filter shows the actual conversion journey.

Example 2: Do Users Transitioning from Organic Traffic Make a Purchase?

• Segment Type to Choose: User Segment

• Conditions (Standard Condition):  Session source / medium contains organic

  • Event Name = purchase

• (In this scenario, since a sequence of priority-posteriority is not sought between actions, but only the intersection of two features in the same user is looked at, there is no need for the Sequence feature).

Example 3: Do Those Who Start the Checkout Process Reach the Payment Info Step?

• Segment Type to Choose: Session Segment

• Condition Type: Sequence

  • Step 1: begin_checkout

  • Step 2: add_payment_info

• Sequence Setting: Indirectly Followed By (Even within the same session, it is likely that the user refreshes the page, reads the shipping policy, or different automatic events are triggered between the two steps.)

The Most Common Mistakes When Creating Segments

1. Choosing the Wrong Segment Type: Selecting Session Segment when you want to analyze a behavior that continues throughout the user lifetime causes data to be interpreted incompletely or incorrectly.

2. Using Standard "AND" Instead of Sequence Analysis: Using standard logical operators when analyzing a behavioral sequence manipulates the data by including users who are "temporally reversed" in the analysis, as in the blog example above.

3. Choosing "Directly" by Rote in Sequence Analysis: Failing to account for intermediate noise events when analyzing the user journey leads to the number of users in the segment coming out close to zero.

4. Adding Too Many Conditions: Each new filter narrows the segment even further. Avoid over-reducing the data set with filters of no strategic importance.

GA4 Explore segments are one of the most powerful analysis tools for you to see the real story behind user behaviors.

Adding conditions one under another with flat logic (AND logic) can sometimes lead you to incorrect results. If your goal is to see whether one behavior triggers another behavior, always make sure to use the Sequence feature within User or Session segments and the Indirectly Followed By setting.

Make it a habit to ask yourself this question before starting the analysis: “Exactly what timeline does the question I am looking for an answer to cover?” The answer to this question will lead you to the right segment type and the right condition architecture.