Configure audience targeting for an A/B test

Configure audience targeting for an A/B test



Audience targeting allows you to control which visitors participate in your A/B test. Instead of exposing the experiment to all website visitors, you can define specific visitor segments to ensure the test is shown only to the audience relevant to your experiment goals.
By targeting the right audience, you can obtain more meaningful insights, improve experiment accuracy, and evaluate how different visitor groups respond to your variations.

Why use audience targeting

Different visitor segments often behave differently when interacting with a website. Audience targeting helps you understand how changes perform for specific groups and prevents unrelated visitors from influencing experiment results.
Audience targeting can help you:
  • Test personalized experiences for specific visitor groups.
  • Evaluate variation performance across devices.
  • Compare behavior between new and returning visitors.
  • Measure the impact of changes on targeted campaigns.
  • Exclude visitors who are not relevant to the experiment.

Participation

Participation determines what percentage of eligible visitors can enter the experiment.
By default, the participation rate is set to 100%, which means every visitor who matches the targeting criteria can participate in the test. You can reduce the participation percentage when you want to:
  • Run experiments on a smaller audience segment.
  • Minimize risk while testing major changes.
  • Gradually roll out new experiences.
  • Limit traffic allocation during validation.
Example
If participation is set to 50%, only half of the visitors who match the audience criteria will be included in the experiment. The remaining visitors will continue to see the original experience.

Configure audience targeting

To configure audience targeting for your experiment:

1. Navigate to the Audience step in the experiment workflow.
2. Set the participation percentage.


3. Choose a preset audience or create a custom audience.
Preset audience
Custom audience
Preset audience

Custom audience

4. Configure the required targeting conditions.



5. Save the audience configuration.
6. Click Next to proceed to the Configuration step.

Preset audiences

PageSense provides predefined audience segments that allow you to quickly target common visitor groups without manually creating targeting rules.
Direct visitors
Paid campaigns traffic
Organic search traffic
Social traffic
Referral traffic
Mobile and tablet traffic
Desktop traffic
New visitors
Returning visitors
Direct visitors
Targets visitors who access your website directly by entering the URL in their browser or using a saved bookmark. These visitors are typically familiar with your brand and intentionally navigate to your website.
Example : Test whether a new homepage layout performs better for loyal visitors who regularly visit your website.

Paid campaigns traffic
Targets visitors arriving from paid advertising campaigns such as Google Ads, display campaigns, sponsored content, or other paid acquisition channels.
Example : Compare two landing page designs to determine which version generates more conversions from paid advertisements.

Organic search traffic
Targets visitors who arrive through search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. These visitors are typically searching for information, products, or services related to your business.
Example : Test different page headlines to determine which variation engages search visitors more effectively

Social traffic
Targets visitors arriving from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Pinterest, or other social networks.
Example : Test whether a visually focused landing page performs better than a content-focused version for visitors coming from social campaigns.

Referral traffic
Targets visitors arriving from external websites, partner websites, banner advertisements, affiliate sources, or email campaigns.
Example : Compare two promotional landing pages to determine which variation performs better for visitors referred from a partner website.

Mobile and tablet traffic
Targets visitors accessing your website from mobile phones and tablet devices. This segment is useful when testing responsive layouts or mobile-specific experiences.
Example : Test two mobile navigation menus to determine which version improves user engagement.


Desktop traffic
Targets visitors accessing your website from desktop or laptop devices. This audience is commonly used when testing desktop-specific layouts and user journeys.
Example : Compare two desktop checkout flows to identify which variation generates more purchases.

New visitors
Targets first-time visitors who have not previously interacted with your website. This audience is ideal for evaluating first impressions and acquisition-focused experiences.
Example : Test two hero banner variations to determine which version generates more signups from new visitors.

Returning visitors
Targets visitors who have previously visited your website and returned for another session. Returning visitors are often more familiar with your products, services, or brand.
Example : Compare two pricing page layouts to determine which variation encourages returning visitors to start a free trial.

 Create a custom audience

If the preset audiences do not meet your requirements, you can create a custom audience by defining one or more targeting conditions.
Custom audiences allow you to target highly specific visitor groups based on their attributes and behavior.
To create a custom audience:
  1. Enter an audience name.
  2. Optionally enter a description.
  3. Select a targeting segment.
  4. Configure the required condition.
  5. Add additional conditions if required.
  6. Save the audience.
Available custom audience segments
Current URL
Referral URL
Query parameter
Source
Location
Device type
Visitor type
Browser
Operating system
Day of week
Hour of the day
Mobile OS
JS variable
Current URL
Targets visitors based on the webpage they are currently viewing.
Example : Show the experiment only to visitors viewing pages that contain /pricing.

Referral URL
Targets visitors based on the webpage they visited immediately before arriving on your website.
Example : Include visitors arriving from a specific partner website.

Query parameter
Targets visitors based on URL parameters.
Example : Target visitors whose URL contains utm_campaign=summer-sale.

Source
Targets visitors based on the traffic source.
Example : Include only visitors arriving from Google Search.

Location
Targets visitors from specific countries, regions, states, or cities.
Example : Run the experiment only for visitors located in India.

Visitor type
Targets visitors based on whether they are new or returning visitors.
Example : Run an onboarding experiment exclusively for first-time visitors.

Device type
Targets visitors based on the device they are using.
Example : Show the experiment only to mobile users.

Browser
Targets visitors using specific web browsers.
Example : Test a browser-specific experience for Chrome users.

Operating system
Targets visitors based on their operating system.
Example : Target visitors using Windows devices.

Day of week
Targets visitors based on the day they access your website.
Example : Run a weekend promotion experiment only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hour of the day
Targets visitors during specific time periods.
Example : Show a lunch-time promotional offer between 12 PM and 3 PM.

Mobile OS
Targets visitors using specific mobile operating systems.
Example : Run an experiment exclusively for Android users.

JS variable
Targets visitors based on the value of a JavaScript variable available on the webpage. This option provides advanced audience targeting capabilities for custom use cases.
Example : Show an experiment only when a logged-in user variable equals "premium".

 Audience targeting vs. URL targeting  

These settings control different parts of your experiment:

URL targeting

Audience targeting

Determines where the experiment runs

Determines who participates

Targets webpages based on their URLs

Targets visitors based on their attributes or behavior

Example: /pricing

Example: Mobile visitors

Configured using URL conditions

Configured using audience conditions


You can use both together. For example, you can run an experiment only on your pricing page for mobile visitors from India.

Audience groups

You can combine multiple audience conditions within a group to create more specific visitor segments.
Example : Target visitors who:
  • Are located in India.
  • Use a mobile device.
  • Arrive from organic search traffic.
Only visitors matching all configured conditions will participate in the experiment.

Best practices

  • Start with broad audiences when collecting initial experiment data.
  • Use participation settings to control traffic exposure.
  • Avoid creating overly restrictive audiences that receive very little traffic.
  • Use preset audiences whenever possible for faster experiment setup.
  • Combine conditions carefully to ensure sufficient visitor volume.
  • Verify audience conditions before launching the experiment.





We’ve designed this documentation to guide you every step of the way. If you need further assistance or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at support@zohopagesense.com - we’re always here to help!