> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.mediarithmics.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.mediarithmics.io/audience-and-activation/analyze-your-data/check-your-audience-reach-and-stats.md).

# Check your audience reach and stats

Read a segment's figures, get an exact count when you need one, and judge whether the audience is worth activating.

## Your goal

Decide whether a segment is what you think it is - the right size, the right composition, and addressable enough to be worth activating.

## Expected outcome

A reading of the segment's user count, its identifier breakdown, and its evolution - plus an exact count on demand when the daily figure is not good enough.

## When this is useful

Before every activation, and whenever an activation underperforms. Most "the feed is broken" investigations end here, with the discovery that the segment was smaller, or less addressable, than assumed.

## The three questions, in order

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### How many users are in it?

The **UserPoint** column in the segments list, and the **Overview** section on the segment page, which charts the evolution of the number of users over an adjustable time window.

{% hint style="warning" %}
A number in a builder is a **count**, not a populated segment. For a Query segment that is not persisted, nothing downstream can read the membership behind that number. See [Counting is not persistence](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference.md#counting-is-not-persistence).
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### What identifiers do they carry?

The [metrics panel](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-capabilities/segment-metrics.md) on the segment page, and the optional columns in the segments list: **User Accounts**, **Emails**, **Cookies**.

This is the question that decides reach. A segment of a million users of which few carry the identifier your partner accepts will deliver a small audience however healthy the feed.

{% hint style="info" %}
By default, metrics count **distinct identifiers**, not users holding an identifier. A user with three email addresses contributes 3 to an email metric. See [Identifiers, not users holding them](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-capabilities/segment-metrics.md#identifiers-not-users-holding-them).
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Is it stable?

The evolution charts, on the Overview section and behind each metric. Metric values are computed periodically and stored, which is what makes the trend readable.

A segment whose volume swings is a bad seed for a [lookalike](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/expand-your-audience-with-lookalike.md), and a likely source of [volume drop alerts](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-capabilities.md#segments-that-had-a-volume-drop).
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Getting an exact count right now

Segment counts shown in the platform are calculated **once a day**. For most decisions that is fine. When it is not, how you get an exact count depends on the segment type.

**A campaign segment** populates in real time. Query its membership directly in the [Query Tool](https://app.gitbook.com/s/XSPACE_SETUP/operate-and-monitor/query-your-datamart/query-tool) - this is the only way to get its real-time count:

```sql
SELECT @count{} FROM UserPoint where { segments { id = "1234" } }
```

{% hint style="info" %}
Replace `1234` with the segment's id, visible as an optional column in the segments list.
{% endhint %}

**A query segment** is recomputed every day, so a query on its membership only returns the users from its last computation. For a real-time estimate, run the segment's underlying query instead:

1. Open the segment and click **Edit Query** to read its query. In a visual builder, click **See OTQL query**.
2. Run that query in the [Query Tool](https://app.gitbook.com/s/XSPACE_SETUP/operate-and-monitor/query-your-datamart/query-tool), with **Precision** set to **Full**, adding the `@count{}` directive to get a number rather than a list - as when [counting before you save](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-builders/expert-otql-builder.md#counting-before-you-save) in the Expert OTQL Builder.

The gap between the displayed figure and a real-time count is expected in three cases:

| Case                                                                                                                   | Why                                                    |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Campaign segments](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-types/campaign-segment.md) | Membership is real time; the displayed count is daily. |
| [Edge segments](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-types/edge-segment.md)         | Statistics updates can take up to 24 hours.            |
| A segment edited today                                                                                                 | It must be recomputed before its count updates.        |

## Live counts while you build

Both visual builders show the audience size before you save anything:

* The [Standard Segment Builder](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-builders/standard-segment-builder.md) shows the number of users, with dashboards underneath, refreshed when you click **Your query has been modified, please click here to refresh**.
* The [Advanced Segment Builder](/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-builders/advanced-segment-builder.md) refreshes the user count from the symbol above it.

Because data is stored and indexed according to your schema rather than pre-aggregated, these counts are available in real time.

## Exporting the figures

* **Export stats** on the segments list exports the statistics of the segments in the current view.
* Segment metrics can be exported for analysis in external tools.

## Verification

You are ready to activate when the count is the order of magnitude you expected, the identifier you intend to send is well represented, the trend is stable, and no alert is open on the segment.

## Troubleshooting

<table data-search="false"><thead><tr><th width="290">Symptom</th><th>Explanation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>The count is 0 or -</td><td>The count is 0 or - when the segment is not yet computed. Once it has been computed, 0 means no user matches the segment's query: check the query.</td></tr><tr><td>The count is far higher than expected</td><td>An unset parameter field in the Standard Segment Builder selects every value, not none.</td></tr><tr><td>The count dropped sharply</td><td>A volume drop alert is probably open. See <a href="/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-capabilities.md#alerts">Alerts</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>The count looks right but the partner audience is small</td><td>Identifier coverage on the feed. See <a href="/audience-and-activation/activate-your-audiences/track-a-feed-stats-and-troubleshoot.md#the-three-numbers-that-matter">The three numbers that matter</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>The metric you need does not exist</td><td>Create a custom OTQL metric, within the ten-active ceiling. See <a href="/audience-and-activation/build-your-audiences/segment-reference/segment-capabilities/segment-metrics.md">Segment metrics</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Related pages

<table data-view="cards" data-search="false"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Compare segments</strong></td><td>Putting a segment's figures next to another's.</td><td><a href="/audience-and-activation/analyze-your-data/compare-segments.md">Compare segments</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Overlap segments</strong></td><td>Finding out how much two audiences share.</td><td><a href="/audience-and-activation/analyze-your-data/overlap-segments.md">Overlap segments</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


---

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