Types of segmentation rules – Dotdigital Help Centre

Learn about the different types of segment rules available.

Overview

There are a number of different rules you can use to create a segment when using our drag and drop segments tool. Depending upon the base rule, you get different options with which to formulate the rule.

Before you start

Things you need to know:

This article covers rule types in detail. For an introductory tutorial on working with segments, see Create a segment.

Segmenting on address books

By default, your segment will include contacts from all address books. You can change this by adding an address book rule.

Once you've dragged in an address book rule, click the new rule to configure it.

You can choose to filter your segment based on:

Contacts that are present in any address book (the default)
Contacts that aren't present in a specific address book, or aren't present in any of a number of specific address books
Contacts that are present in a specific address book, or are present in at least one of any number of specific address books

Want to use another segment as a data source?

Only address books (or all contacts) and preferences may be used as a data source. If you wish to use another segment as the starting point for your data, the best way to achieve this is to copy the original segment and to add additional rules to it.

Segmenting on preferences

You can filter your segment based on your contacts' preferences.

Once you've dragged in a preferences rule, click the new rule to configure it.

You can choose to filter your segment based on:

Contacts that have any preferences (the default)
Contacts that don't have specific preferences
Contacts that have specific preferences

Segmenting on contact data fields

You can filter your segment based on your contacts' data. In addition to any contact data fields that you've created, the following contact data fields are available by default:

First name (text)
Full name (text)
Gender (text)
Last name (text)
Last subscribed (date)
Postcode / Zip code (text)
Email address (text)
Email type (list: HTML or plain text)
Opt-in type (list: unknown, single, double or verified double)
Last mailed date (date)
Created date (date)
Last opened date (date)
Lead scoring: Suitability (byte - a number)
Lead scoring: Engagement (byte - a number)
Lead scoring: Lead score (byte - a number)
Lead scoring: Label (score label - text)

Remember that the rules will only be accurate if you have appropriate data for each contact in that contact data field.

What rules can be made will depend on the type of contact data field you're using.

Rules for text contact data fields

The following rules can be applied for text contact data fields; all rules are case insensitive (e.g., 'Female' is the same as 'female'):

is equal to
is not equal to
contains
does not contain
starts with
ends with
is empty
does not begin with
does not end with
is not empty

You can use the rule 'ends with' to find, for example, all email addresses on a particular domain.

Rules for yes/no (Boolean) contact data fields

For yes/no (Boolean) contact data fields, your rule can find all contacts with the contact data field set to 'yes' (true) or 'no' (false).

Rules for numeric contact data fields

The following rules can be applied for numeric contact data fields:

is equal to
is not equal to
is more than
is less than
is at least (greater than or equal to)
is at most (less than or equal to)
is empty
is not empty

Remember that 'is equal to 0' is different to 'is empty' (when no data has been provided).

Rules for date contact data fields

The following rules can be applied for contact data fields that store date information:

occurs today
occurs before today
occurs before today by [number] days
occurs before the date [date]
occurs on or before today
occurs on or before the date [date]
occurs after today
occurs after today by [number] days
occurs after the date [date]
occurs on or after today
occurs on or after the date [date]
occurs more than [number] days ago
occurs more than [number] days in the future
occurs in the next [number] days
occurs in the last [number] days
occurs between [date] and [date]
occurs on the date [date]
does not occur today
does not occur on the date [date]
anniversary occurs today
anniversary occurs before today by [number] days
anniversary occurs in the next [number] days
anniversary occurs after today by [number] days
anniversary occurs in the last [number] days
is empty
is not empty

Today vs in the last one day: The today operator works based on calendar date, while in the last one day would return results from the full preceding 24 hours.

For the rule 'occurs', a contact data field can be matched as occurring on a specific date

- before or after a specific date

- or on a date relative to the current one (updating each time the query refreshes).

For the rule 'does not occur', a contact data field can be matched to dates exclusive of a specific date, which is useful if you want to avoid that particular date.

The rule 'anniversary occurs' can be used when you want to create a segment ignoring the 'year' section of the date. This can be useful if you want to analyse or send emails based on, for example, a birthday or renewal date.

So if a segment is looking for all contacts whose 'anniversary occurs today' — then on 27 February 2016, the segment would include all contacts for whom the contact data field is 27 February 2016, or 27 February 2015, or 27 February 1980, or indeed any 27 February.

Segmenting on 'send' data

With a 'Sends' rule, you can segment based upon whether or not contacts have been sent specific campaigns, or any campaigns at all.

These rules can be applied across all time, today, in the last X days, on a specific date, on or after a specific date, or for a given date range.

Contacts that have not been sent any campaign

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not been sent a campaign ever
not been sent a campaign today
not been sent a campaign in the last X days
not been sent a campaign on a specific date
not been sent a campaign on or after a specific date
not been sent a campaign during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have been sent any campaign

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

been sent at least one campaign any time
been sent at least one campaign today
been sent at least one campaign in the last X days
been sent at least one campaign on a specific date
been sent at least one campaign on or after a specific date
been sent at least one campaign during a given date range
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns any time
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns today
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in the last X days
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns on a specific date
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns on or after a specific date
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have not been sent specific campaigns

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not been sent a specific campaign ever
not been sent a specific campaign today
not been sent a specific campaign in the last X days
not been sent a specific campaign on a specific date
not been sent a specific campaign on or after a specific date
not been sent a specific campaign during a given date range
not been sent any of a group of selected campaigns ever
not been sent any of a group of selected campaigns today
not been sent any of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
not been sent any of a group of selected campaigns on a specific date
not been sent any of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specific date
not been sent any of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have been sent specific campaigns

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

been sent a specific campaign any time
been sent a specific campaign today
been sent a specific campaign in the last X days
been sent a specific campaign on a specific date
been sent a specific campaign on or after a specific date
been sent a specific campaign during a given date range
been sent any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns any time
been sent any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns today
been sent any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
been sent any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns on a specific date
been sent any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specific date
been sent any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range
been sent all of a group of selected campaigns any time
been sent all of a group of selected campaigns today
been sent all of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
been sent all of a group of selected campaigns on a specific date
been sent all of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specific date
been sent all of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns any time
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns today
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns on a specific date
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specific date
been sent a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range

Segmenting on 'open' data

With an 'Opens' rule, you can segment based upon whether or not contacts have been tracked as having:

not opened any campaign they were sent
opened any campaign they were sent
not opened specific campaigns they were sent
opened specific campaigns they were sent

These rules can be applied across all time, today, in the last X days, on a specific date, on or after a specific date, or for a given date range.

Opens are based on tracked opens, i.e. if a user does not download images or click a link, an open will not be tracked. If the user has forwarded the campaign to another user who subsequently downloads images or clicks a link, that will be tracked as another open.

Contacts that have not opened any campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not opened any campaign they have been sent ever
not opened any campaign they have been sent today
not opened any campaign they have been sent in the last X days
not opened any campaign they have been sent on a specified date
not opened any campaign they have been sent on or after a specified date
not opened any campaign they have been sent during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

If a contact hasn't been sent any campaigns, then they won't be returned in this segment.

Contacts that have opened any campaign they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

opened at least one campaign any time
opened any campaign they have been sent today
opened any campaign they have been sent in the last X days
opened any campaign they have been sent on a specified date
opened any campaign they have been sent on or after a specified date
opened at least one campaign they have been sent during a given date range
opened all campaigns any time
opened all campaigns they have been sent today
opened all campaigns they have been sent in the last X days
opened all campaigns they have been sent on a specified date
opened all campaigns they have been sent on or after a specified date
opened all campaigns they have been sent during a given date range
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns any time
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns they have been sent today
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns they have been sent in the last X days
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns they have been sent on a specified date
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns they have been sent on or after a specified date
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns they have been sent during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

For each of the above you can also specify that the campaign/campaigns were opened at least once, at least a specific number of times, an exact number of times, or more or less than a specific number of times.

Contacts that have not opened specific campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not opened a specific campaign that they have been sent ever
not opened a specific campaign that they have been sent today
not opened a specific campaign that they have been sent in the last X days
not opened a specific campaign that they have been sent on a specified date
not opened a specific campaign that they have been sent on or after a specified date
not opened a specific campaign that they have been sent during a given date range
not opened any campaign that they have been sent from a group of selected campaigns ever
not opened any campaign that they have been sent from a group of selected campaigns today
not opened any campaign that they have been sent from a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
not opened any campaign that they have been sent from a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
not opened any campaign that they have been sent from a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
not opened any campaign that they have been sent from a group of selected campaigns during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have opened specific campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

opened a specific campaign any time
opened a specific campaign today
opened a specific campaign in the last X days
opened a specific campaign on a specified date
opened a specific campaign on or after a specified date
opened a specific campaign during a given date range
opened any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns any time
opened any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns today
opened any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
opened any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
opened any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
opened any (at least one) of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range
opened all of a group of selected campaigns any time
opened all of a group of selected campaigns today
opened all of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
opened all of a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
opened all of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
opened all of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns any time
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns today
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
opened a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Segmenting on 'click' data

With a 'Clicks' rule, you can segment based on whether or not contacts have:

not clicked any link in any campaign they were sent
clicked any link in any campaign they were sent
not clicked specific link groups in any campaign they were sent
clicked specific link groups in any campaign they were sent
not clicked any link in specific campaigns they were sent
clicked any link in specific campaigns they were sent
not clicked on specific links in specific campaigns they were sent
clicked on specific links in specific campaigns

These rules can be applied across all time, today, in the last X days, on a specific date, on or after a specific date, or for a given date range.

Contacts that have not clicked any link in any campaign they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not clicked on any link in any campaign they have been sent ever
not clicked on any link in any campaign they have been sent today
not clicked on any link in any campaign they have been sent in the last X days
not clicked on any link in any campaign they have been sent on a specified date
not clicked on any link in any campaign they have been sent on or after a specified date
not clicked on any link in any campaign they have been sent during a specified date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

If a contact hasn't been sent any campaigns, then they won't be returned in this segment.

Contacts that have clicked any link in any campaign they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

clicked any (at least one) link in any (at least one) campaign any time
clicked any (at least one) link in any (at least one) campaign today
clicked any (at least one) link in any (at least one) campaign in the last X days
clicked any (at least one) link in any (at least one) campaign on a specified date
clicked any (at least one) link in any (at least one) campaign on or after a specified date
clicked any (at least one) link in any (at least one) campaign during a given date range
clicked on all links in any campaign they have been sent any time
clicked on all links in any campaign they have been sent today
clicked on all links in any campaign they have been sent in the last X days
clicked on all links in any campaign they have been sent on a specified date
clicked on all links in any campaign they have been sent on or after a specified date
clicked on all links in any campaign they have been sent during a given date range
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of links in any (at least one) campaign any time
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of links in any (at least one) campaign today
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of links in any (at least one) campaign in the last X days
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of links in any (at least one) campaign on a specified date
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of links in any (at least one) campaign on or after a specified date
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns during a given date range

For each of the above you can also specify that the link/links were clicked on at least once, at least a specific number of times, an exact number of times, or more or less than a specific number of times.

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have not clicked specific link groups in any campaign they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent ever
not clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent today
not clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent in the last X days
not clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent on a specified date
not clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent on or after a specified date
not clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent during a specified date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

If a contact hasn't been sent any campaigns, then they won't be returned in this segment.

Contacts that have clicked specific link groups in any campaign they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent ever
clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent today
clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent in the last X days
clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent on a specified date
clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent on or after a specified date
clicked on a specific link group in any campaign they have been sent during a specified date range

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have not clicked on any link in specific campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not clicked on any link, ever, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, today, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, in the last X days, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, on a specified date, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, on or after a specified date, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, during a given date range, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, ever, in any of a group of specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, today, in any of a group of specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, in the last X days, in any of a group of specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, on a specified date, in any of a group of specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, on or after a specified date, in any of a group of specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any link, during a given date range, in any of a group of specific campaigns that they have been sent

If a contact hasn't been sent any of the selected campaigns, then they won't be returned in this segment.

Contacts that have clicked on any link in a specific campaign or campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

clicked on any link in a specific campaign any time
clicked on any link in a specific campaign today
clicked on any link in a specific campaign in the last X days
clicked on any link in a specific campaign on a specified date
clicked on any link in a specific campaign on or after a specified date
clicked on any link in a specific campaign during a given date range
clicked on any link in any one of a group of selected campaigns any time
clicked on any link in any one of a group of selected campaigns today
clicked on any link in any one of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
clicked on any link in any one of a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
clicked on any link in any one of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
clicked on any link in any one of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range
clicked on any (at least one) link in all of the campaigns of a group of selected campaigns any time
clicked on any (at least one) link in all of the campaigns of a group of selected campaigns today
clicked on any (at least one) link in all of the campaigns of a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
clicked on any (at least one) link in all of the campaigns of a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
clicked on any (at least one) link in all of the campaigns of a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
clicked on any (at least one) link in all of the campaigns of a group of selected campaigns during a given date range
clicked on any (at least one) link in a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in a group of selected campaigns any time
clicked on any (at least one) link in a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in a group of selected campaigns today
clicked on any (at least one) link in a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in a group of selected campaigns in the last X days
clicked on any (at least one) link in a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in a group of selected campaigns on a specified date
clicked on any (at least one) link in a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in a group of selected campaigns on or after a specified date
clicked on any (at least one) link in a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of campaigns in a group of selected campaigns during a given date range

For each of the above you can specify that the link/links were clicked on at least once, at least a specific number of times, an exact number of times, or more or less than a specific number of times.

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Contacts that have not clicked on specific links in specific campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

not clicked on a specific link, ever, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on a specific link, today, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on a specific link, in the last X days, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on a specific link, on a specified date, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on a specific link, on or after a specified date, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on a specific link, during a given date range, in a specific campaign that they have been sent
not clicked on any of a group of specific links, ever, in specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any of a group of specific links, today, in specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any of a group of specific links, in the last X days, in specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any of a group of specific links, on a specified date, in specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any of a group of specific links, on or after a specified date, in specific campaigns that they have been sent
not clicked on any of a group of specific links, during a given date range, in specific campaigns that they have been sent

If a contact hasn't been sent any of the selected campaigns, then they won't be returned in this segment.

Contacts that have clicked on specific links in a specific campaign or campaigns they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

clicked on a specific link, any time, in a specific campaign
clicked on a specific link, today, in a specific campaign
clicked on a specific link, in the last X days, in a specific campaign
clicked on a specific link, on a specific date, in a specific campaign
clicked on a specific link, on or after a specific date, in a specific campaign
clicked on a specific link, during a given date range, in a specific campaign
clicked on any (at least one) of a group of specific links, any time, in specific campaigns
clicked on any (at least one) of a group of specific links, today, in specific campaigns
clicked on any (at least one) of a group of specific links, in the last X days, in specific campaigns
clicked on any (at least one) of a group of specific links, on a specific date, in specific campaigns
clicked on any (at least one) of a group of specific links, on or after a specific date, in specific campaigns
clicked on any (at least one) of a group of specific links, during a given date range, in specific campaigns
clicked on all of a group of specific links, any time, in specific campaigns
clicked on all of a group of specific links, today, in specific campaigns
clicked on all of a group of specific links, in the last X days, in specific campaigns
clicked on all of a group of specific links, on a specific date, in specific campaigns
clicked on all of a group of specific links, on or after a specific date, in specific campaigns
clicked on all of a group of specific links, during a given date range, in specific campaigns
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of specific links, any time, in specific campaigns
clicked on a specific number specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of specific links, today, in specific campaigns
clicked on a specific number specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of specific links, in the last X days, in specific campaigns
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of specific links, on a specific date, in specific campaigns
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of specific links, on or after a specific date, in specific campaigns
clicked on a specific number / at least a specific number / no more than a specific number of a group of specific links, during a given date range, in specific campaigns

To select the specific links to segment on, click on Select link.. next to the campaign that you're interested in.

Note that this includes triggered campaigns such as campaigns triggered on joining an address book and double opt-in messages.

Segmenting on 'replies' data

With an 'SMS Replies' rule, you can segment based upon how contacts interact with your SMS in one of two ways: by who has replied to an SMS campaign or by specific content in an SMS reply.

These rules can be applied across all time, today, in the last X number of days, on a specific date, on or after a specific date, or for a given date range.

Contacts that have replied to any SMS they were sent

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

replied to any SMS they were sent any time
replied to any SMS they were sent today
replied to any SMS they were sent in the last X number of days
replied to any SMS they were sent on a specific date
replied to any SMS they were sent on or after a specific date
replied to any SMS they were sent on a given date range

Please note that these segmentation rules only apply to Triggered SMS and not Broadcast SMS.

Contacts that replied with specific content

You can create a segment containing contacts that have:

replied with specific content at any time where the reply is equal to / not equal to / contains / does not contain / starts with / ends with / does not begin with / does not end with X
replied with specific content today where the reply is equal to / not equal to / contains / does not contain / starts with / ends with / does not begin with / does not end with X
replied with specific content in the last X number of days where the reply is equal to / not equal to / contains / does not contain / starts with / ends with / does not begin with / does not end with X
replied with specific content on a specific date where the reply is equal to / not equal to / contains / does not contain / starts with / ends with / does not begin with / does not end with X
replied with specific content on or after a specific date where the reply is equal to / not equal to / contains / does not contain / starts with / ends with / does not begin with / does not end with X
replied with specific content during a given date range where the reply is equal to / not equal to / contains / does not contain / starts with / ends with / does not begin with / does not end with X