How to Get Your Keyword Data from Google Analytics

Trying to find your organic keyword data in Google Analytics can be frustrating. You open your reports, ready to see which search terms are driving traffic, only to be met with a long list of "(not provided)" and "(not set)." Don't worry, you aren't doing anything wrong. This article will explain exactly why that happens and show you the simple, official way to unlock your keyword data by connecting Google Analytics with another free tool from Google.

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Why Can't I See Keywords in Google Analytics Anymore?

If you've been using Google Analytics for a while, you probably remember a time when your organic traffic reports were filled with rich keyword data. You could see exactly what people searched for to find your site. So, what changed?

Back in 2011, Google began its initiative to make web browsing more secure by encrypting search activity. This shift to "secure search" (moving from HTTP to HTTPS) was a big win for user privacy. However, a side effect of this encryption was that the keyword data, which used to be passed along to websites, was now hidden to protect the searcher's privacy.

This is why the term (not provided) now dominates the organic keyword reports in Google Analytics. It doesn't mean your analytics is broken, it means Google is intentionally withholding the user's search query for privacy reasons. While this move protects users, it left marketers and site owners in the dark about the exact terms driving their organic traffic inside of GA.

Luckily, Google provides a different tool that gives you this information directly: Google Search Console.

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The Solution: Connect Google Search Console to Google Analytics

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free service that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google Search results. It's the primary source for understanding how Google sees your site and how users find it through organic search. Think of it this way:

• Google Search Console tells you what happens before a user clicks on your site (e.g., how many people saw your site in search results, what they searched for, and your average ranking).
• Google Analytics tells you what happens after a user clicks on your site (e.g., what pages they visit, how long they stay, and if they convert).

By linking these two platforms, you can pull your GSC query data directly into your Google Analytics reports. This allows you to analyze user behavior alongside search performance metrics, giving you a much more complete picture of your organic marketing efforts. You can finally see the search terms driving traffic and what those visitors do once they arrive on your site, all in one place.

How to Link Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4

Connecting the two tools is a straightforward process. As long as you have the right permissions, it should only take a few minutes. Here’s how to do it step-by-step.

Step 1: Check Your Permissions

Before you start, make sure you have the required access levels. You will need:

• Admin permissions for the Google Analytics 4 property you want to link.
• Verified Owner permissions for the Google Search Console property.

Crucially, you must be using the same Google account for both GA4 and GSC.

Step 2: Navigate to Admin and Product Links

Once you are logged into your GA4 account:

1. Click on "Admin" (the gear icon) in the bottom-left corner of the page.
2. In the "Property" column, find the section labeled "Product Links."
3. Click on "Search Console Links."

Step 3: Create the Link

You are now on the Search Console linking page.

1. Click the blue "Link" button in the top right.
2. A new panel will slide out. Click "Choose accounts." You will see a list of Search Console properties that you own with the same Google account.
3. Select the checkbox next to the GSC property you want to link and click "Confirm."
4. Click "Next."

Step 4: Select Your Web Stream and Submit

You need to connect your GSC data to a specific web data stream in your GA4 property.

1. Click "Select web stream."
2. Choose the appropriate web data stream for your website from the list. This tells GA4 which site the GSC data belongs to.
3. Click "Next."
4. Review the information to make sure everything is correct. The final screen should show the GSC property and the GA4 web stream you're linking.
5. Click "Submit."

That’s it! You’ll see a "Link created" notification. Keep in mind that it can take up to 48 hours for data to begin flowing from Search Console into your GA4 reports.

Where to Find Your Keyword Data in GA4

Once the data starts populating, you need to know where to find it. The GSC reports are not added to your standard reporting navigation by default. You have to publish them yourself.

1. In the left-hand navigation, click "Reports."
2. At the very bottom of the report navigation menu, click "Library."
3. Inside the Library, you should see a "Collections" section with a card labeled "Search Console." If the link was successful, it will be there.
4. Click the three vertical dots on the Search Console card and select "Publish."

A new "Search Console" section will now appear in your main reports navigation. Click on it, and you’ll find two new reports:

• Queries: This is the main report you’ve been looking for! It shows the exact search queries people used to find your site in Google Search and lists the clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR), and average position for each query.
• Google Organic Search Traffic: This report is essentially a landing page report for your organic traffic, but it’s enriched with Search Console metrics. You can see which of your pages attract the most organic clicks and impressions.

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A Quick Guide for Universal Analytics

While Google Analytics 4 is the current standard, many businesses still have years of valuable historical data in Universal Analytics (UA). If you need to access this data or had not yet linked GSC to your UA property, the process is slightly different but just as simple.

1. Go to the "Admin" section in your UA property.
2. In the "Property" column, click "Property Settings."
3. Scroll down until you see the "Search Console" section.
4. Click the "Adjust Search Console" button.
5. Click "Add" and select the GSC property you want to associate with your Analytics account.

Once linked, you can find the reports under "Acquisition > Search Console." You'll find reports for Landing Pages, Countries, Devices, and Queries.

How to Use Your Keyword Data for Real Insights

Just finding the data is only the first step. The real value comes from applying it. Here are a few practical ways to turn your keyword data into actionable marketing intelligence.

1. Find "Striking Distance" Keywords

Sort your Queries report by "Impressions" in descending order. Look for keywords that have a high number of impressions but a low average position (e.g., greater than 10) and a low CTR. These are your "striking distance" keywords.

They represent topics your site is already seen as relevant for by Google, but you aren’t on the first page yet. By focusing your SEO efforts on these terms — such as by improving the on-page SEO of the relevant landing page, building internal links to it, or refreshing the content — you can often achieve a quick ranking boost and a significant traffic increase.

2. Align Content with Search Intent

In the "Google Organic Search Traffic" (Landing Page) report, click on a specific page URL. This will filter the report to show you all the queries that a specific page is getting clicks for. Ask yourself: Do the queries line up with the content on the page?

If people are finding your page by searching for something only tangentially related to its content, they likely won’t find what they need and will bounce. This tells you that you may need to either update the page’s content to better serve that intent or create a new piece of content that is specifically designed to answer that query.

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3. Discover New Content Ideas

Scan your Queries report for surprising terms. Are you ranking for keywords you never intentionally targeted? These "accidental" rankings are a goldmine for new content ideas. They show you what topics your audience associates with your brand and what questions they’re asking that you aren’t directly answering yet. Use these discoveries to build out a content calendar that meets real user demand.

4. Blend GSC and GA Metrics for a Fuller Picture

The biggest benefit of this integration is combining the two datasets. For example, add "Conversion" or "Engaged Sessions" as columns in your Search Traffic report. This lets you see not only which pages get the most organic traffic but which of those pages actually drive business results. A page might get thousands of clicks, but if it has a zero conversion rate, it might need optimization. This integration connects the dots between what people search for and what they do next.

Final Thoughts

Uncovering your organic keyword data in Google Analytics isn’t about finding a secret workaround. It’s about using the tools Google provides as they were intended. By connecting Google Search Console with Google Analytics, you can officially bring your query data into a bigger analytical ecosystem, allowing you to see which terms drive traffic and how those visitors behave once they arrive on your site.

Of course, connecting your data sources is often just the beginning. Our goal at Graphed is to eliminate the manual work that comes after the setup. Instead of having to log into multiple platforms or create a custom report just to see how your organic search efforts impact sales, we allow you to simply ask questions in plain English. You can ask for things like, "Create a dashboard showing my top organic queries from GSC and the conversions they generated in GA4," and get an answer in seconds. It allows you to skip straight to the insights and spend your time on strategy, not on data wrangling.