How to Connect Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4

John / Updated on 12 Nov 2023

Understanding how users interact with your website, where they come from, and what they do when they arrive is essential for making informed decisions to improve your online presence.

Two powerful tools provided by Google, Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4, offer valuable insights into your website's performance.

By connecting these two tools, you can access comprehensive performance data for your website in one place. This makes it easier to analyze and gain important insights into your website's traffic and user behavior.

In this article, I will walk you through the process of connecting Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4.

Connecting Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4

Below is a step-by-step process to connect Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4:

Step 1: Ensure Access to Both Tools

Before you begin, ensure you have access to both Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 accounts for the website you want to connect. You should have administrator or owner access to these accounts.

Step 2: Access Google Analytics 4

Step 3: Choose the Property

Select the property for the website you want to connect with Google Search Console.

Step 4: Open Property Settings

Click on the "Admin" option at the bottom of the left menu.

Opening property settings on Google Analytics 4

Step 5: Search Console Links

You will be taken to the Admin page which is segmented into different sections. Scroll down to the Product Links section and click on "Search Console Links".

Step 6: Click the Link button

Click on the "Link" button in the Search Console Links table.

Adding Search Console Link in Google Analytics 4

Step 7: Choose a Property

Click on the "Choose accounts" button.

Choose Search Console Account in Google Analytics 4

If you are a verified owner of one or more Search Console properties, you will see them listed in a table. Select the property you want to link to by marking the checkbox. Then click on the "Confirm" button at the top-right corner.

Selecting a Search Console Property in Google Analytics 4

Click on the "Next" button to continue.

Link to Search Console Properties I manage

Step 8: Select Web Stream

Click on the "Select" button under Select Web Stream.

Click on the Data Stream that you want to connect to.

Choosing a Data Stream for connecting to Search Console

Click on the "Next" button to continue.

Confirming Web Stream for connecting to Search Console

Step 9: Review and Submit

Confirm that the right property and Web Stream are selected and then click on the "Submit" button.

Linking Search Console Property on to a GA4 Web Stream

The property will be linked on Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console and you will view the confirmation below.

You can't edit Search Console links. However, you can delete the existing link and create a new one any time you need to make a change.

How to View Search Console Data in Google Analytics

Once you have connected your Google Search Console property to your Google Analytics 4 property, follow the steps below to access Search Console data in GA4:

Step 1: Navigate to the Reports section and then click on the "Library" tab in the left menu.

Opening the library tab in Google Analytics 4

Step 2: In the Collections section, you will see several collections, which you can use the left and right arrow icons to navigate. Click on the three dots icon at the top-right corner of the Search Console collection, then on the "Publish" menu option to publish the collection.

Publishing the Search Console collection in Google Analytics 4

The Search Console collection will be added to the left navigation menu. It comprises two menu items including Queries and Google organic search traffic.

Search Console collection menu items in GA4

The above steps are a one-time process. You will now permanently have the Search Console collection in this property's Reports menu where you will be able to access its reports directly.

The Queries report shows which search terms are bringing traffic to your website from Google. This is inclusive of all the performance metrics from Google Search Console within the selected time frame:

Organic Google search clicks
Organic Google search impressions
Organic Google search click-through rate (CTR)
Organic Google search average position

In this report, you can also switch to the Countries dimension to see which countries your organic Google search traffic comes from, or to the Devices dimension to see which devices your organic Google search traffic comes from.

Organic Google search query report in GA4

The Google organic search traffic report has the same Search Console metrics as the Queries report but in this case, shows the pages that are bringing traffic to the website from Google.

Another contrast from the Queries report is that this has additional metrics per page which include:

Users
Engaged sessions
Engagement rate
Average engagement time
Event count
Conversions
Ad revenue

Google organic search traffic report in GA4

How to View Combined Google Search Console and Google Analytics Data

You can view the combined Search Console and Google Analytics data in Search Console Insights.

Search Console Insights is a feature within Google Search Console, that combines data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics, providing valuable insights into how website content is performing in Google Search. It is accessible via https://search.google.com/search-console/insights.

In the Search Console Insights, you can easily switch between different websites in your account.

Among the comprehensive performance data in Search Console Insights includes:

Total views: The total number of page views your website has gotten since creating the Google Analytics property.
Achievements: Website milestones in terms of the number of clicks from Google Search within 28 days.
Site overview: This comprises a chart showing the number of page views your website has been getting daily for the last 28 days. In addition to this, you can also view the total number of page views and average engagement time on your website for the same period.
New content: This section shows the best performing newly published (published within the last 28 days) content on Google search.
Most popular content: This section shows a list of pages that have been receiving the most page views within the last 28 days. For each of these pages, you can see the number of page views and average engagement time they got in the last 28 days. It also shows you the trend of the pages, i.e., the change in the number of page views compared to the previous 28 days.
Top traffic channels: This section shows the methods by which the majority of your website visitors find and get to your website. Such include organic search (e.g. Google, Bing, Duckduckgo, etc), direct, and organic social (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc) among others.
Google Search: This section shows the most searched queries that visitors use to find your site on Google. You can view the average position in Google search results for each search query, and how many clicks it has gotten from Google Search for the last 28 days.
Referring links from other websites: This section enables you to view which websites are linking to your website and to which specific pages on your site. It also consists of a filter to show the newest referring links.

That's it! Now you know how to easily connect Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4 and access the combined data via the Search Console Insights.