How to Look Up Keywords in Google Analytics
Trying to find which keywords drive traffic to your website in Google Analytics 4 can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. While organic keyword data is no longer available directly within GA4 reports thanks to the infamous "(not provided)" label, you can still uncover these insights. This article will show you exactly how to connect the right tools and find the organic and paid keyword reports that will fuel your SEO and content strategy.
So, Where Did the Keyword Data Go?
If you've been using Google Analytics for a while, you probably remember a time when you could see a simple, clean report of all the organic keywords people used to find your site. Then, "not provided" started showing up and eventually took over nearly 100% of that report. What happened?
The short answer is privacy. Back in 2011, Google began encrypting search activity for logged-in users, which meant the keyword data was no longer passed along to Google Analytics. Over time, this was rolled out to all searches. While this was a win for user privacy, it left marketers and site owners in the dark about which organic search terms were bringing visitors to their pages.
The good news is that Google didn't abandon us entirely. They just moved that precious data into a different tool built specifically for search performance analysis: Google Search Console. To see your organic keywords, you just need to connect it to your Google Analytics 4 account.
The Essential First Step: Connect Google Search Console to GA4
To view your organic keyword data inside Google Analytics, you must first link your Google Search Console account. This integration brings key Search Console metrics (like queries, clicks, impressions, and average position) directly into your GA4 reporting interface, allowing you to analyze them alongside your website's behavioral data.
If you haven't set up Google Search Console yet, you'll need to do that first. It's a free tool that helps you monitor your site’s performance in Google Search, and it's essential for any serious SEO effort. Once you have it running, linking it to GA4 is a straightforward process.
How to Link Search Console and GA4
Navigate to the Admin section of your GA4 property by clicking the gear icon in the bottom-left corner.
In the Property column, scroll down to the "Product Links" section and click on Search Console Links.
Click the blue Link button in the upper right.
If you're an admin on a Search Console property, a new screen will appear. Click Choose accounts and select the Search Console property you want to link. Click Confirm.
Click Next. Now you need to select your Web Stream. This tells GA4 which data stream from your website should be associated with the Search Console data. Choose the correct web stream and click Next.
Review your settings on the final screen and click Submit.
That's it! You've successfully linked the two platforms. Keep in mind that it can take 24-48 hours for the data to begin populating in your GA4 reports, so you might not see it immediately.
How to Find Your Organic Keyword Report in GA4
Here’s something tricky about GA4: just because you've linked Search Console doesn't mean the reports will automatically appear in your main navigation menu. You often need to add them manually to your report collection.
Publishing the Search Console Reports
If you don't see a "Search Console" section in your main "Reports" dashboard, follow these simple steps:
From the main GA4 interface, click on Reports (the bar chart icon in the left-hand menu).
At the very bottom of the report navigation menu, click on Library.
In the "Collections" area, you'll see a card for the Search Console collection. It will likely say "Not Published."
Click on the three vertical dots on the card and select Publish from the dropdown menu.
Once you've published the collection, a brand-new Search Console section will appear in your left-hand Reports menu. Now you're ready to dive into the data.
Analyzing the Organic "Queries" Report
Click on the new Search Console link in your menu, and you'll see two report options:
Queries: This report shows you the actual search terms people used in Google to find your website.
Google organic search traffic: This is a landing page report, showing which pages received traffic from organic search.
For keyword analysis, you'll spend most of your time in the Queries report. Here's what the columns mean:
Google organic search query: The actual keyword or phrase the user typed into Google.
Organic search clicks: The number of times a user clicked your site link in the search results for that query.
Organic search impressions: The number of times your site appeared in the search results for that query, even if it wasn't clicked.
Organic search click-through rate: The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click (Clicks / Impressions).
Organic search average position: Your site's average ranking in the search results for that query.
Practical Tips for Using Your Organic Keyword Data
This report isn't just a list of terms, it’s a goldmine for your content strategy. Here are a few ways to use it:
Find "Striking Distance" Keywords: Sort your report by impressions (high to low). Look for keywords that have a high number of impressions but a low number of clicks and an average position between 11 and 20. These are your "striking distance" keywords — terms you are almost ranking on the first page for. Focusing on improving the SEO for the pages ranking for these terms can provide a quick and significant traffic boost.
Discover Content Gaps: Are you ranking for keywords you never intentionally targeted? This can reveal hidden opportunities for new blog posts, service pages, or content clusters that your audience is already looking for.
Gauge Content Performance: Use the search bar at the top of the report to filter for terms related to a specific topic or blog post. This helps you understand if your content is ranking for the primary keywords you intended it to.
Uncovering Paid Search Keywords in GA4
Finding keywords from your paid search efforts (like Google Ads) is much more direct. As long as you have linked your Google Ads account to GA4 (a process similar to linking Search Console, found under Admin > Product Links), this data flows right in.
Here’s how to find the paid search keywords report:
Navigate to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
This report defaults to showing "Session default channel group" as the primary dimension. Click the dropdown arrow next to this title.
In the search box that appears, type "keyword" or "query." You'll see a few options. The best one to select is Session Google Ads query.
The report will now repopulate to show the specific search queries that triggered your ads, along with key performance metrics like sessions, conversions, engaged sessions, and engagement rate. This allows you to quickly see which paid keywords are actually performing.
How to Use Paid Keyword Data for Better ROI
Analyzing this report is key to optimizing your ad spend and maximizing return on investment (ROI).
Identify Top Converters: Sort the table by the Conversions column to instantly see which search queries drive the most valuable actions on your site. Are these the keywords you expected? If not, you may want to reallocate budget toward these high-performing terms.
Find Wasted Spend: Look for keywords with a high number of sessions but zero or very few conversions. You could be spending money on irrelevant clicks. These terms might be candidates for your negative keywords list in Google Ads.
Check for Mismatches: Do you see any unexpected or irrelevant queries triggering your ads? This could be a sign that your match types in Google Ads (broad, phrase, exact) are too broad, pulling in traffic that isn’t a good fit for your business.
Final Thoughts
Uncovering your keywords in Google Analytics 4 isn't as simple as it used to be, but it’s entirely possible once you connect your data sources. By linking Google Search Console for organic data and Google Ads for paid data, you can build a comprehensive picture of the terms that are driving your business forward and use those insights to create a smarter marketing strategy.
We built Graphed to cut through this kind of manual setup and reporting work. Instead of navigating different UIs, publishing reports, and manipulating tables, you could just ask, "Show me my top 10 organic keywords by clicks from last month" or "Compare Shopify revenue from my top Google Ads campaigns." We connect directly to your data sources like Google Analytics, Search Console, and Google Ads, so you can chat with your data in plain English and get stunning dashboards and instant answers, saving you from the hours typically spent on repetitive reporting.