Advanced Segments Vs. Filtered Profiles
Advanced segments
- May be applied to historical data
- Are available across all your acconts and profile
- Can be compared side-by-side in reports
- Are easier to create than a filtered profile
Use a filtered profile...
- To permanently alter or restrict the data that appears in a profile
- If you need to restrict user access to a subset of data
While it's possible to create filtered profiles that segment traffic data, there are some differences between filtered profiles and advanced segments. Advanced segments can be applied to historical data, but a filtered profile will only filter traffic going forward.
When you create an advanced segment, that segment is available across all of your accounts and profiles. But, a filtered profile is only useful for a specific web property. You can compare up to four advanced segments side by side in your reports. In contrast, filtered profiles can only be viewed one at a time.
It is much easier to create an advanced segment than it is to create a filtered profile. If you want to permanently affect the data that a profile shows, you should use a filtered profile. So if you want a profile that only shows CPC data, you should set up a filtered profile to do this. And if you want to restrict user access to only a subset of data, the best way to do this is to set up a filtered profile and restrict the users' access to only that profile.
