How to Measure SEO in Google Analytics

Wondering if all that time you spend on SEO is actually paying off? Google Analytics is where you'll find the answers, but let's be honest, finding them in Google Analytics 4 can feel like a chore. This guide will cut through the noise and show you exactly where to look and what to measure to get a clear picture of your SEO performance.

The Essential First Step: Connect Google Search Console

Before you do anything else, you must connect your Google Search Console (GSC) account to Google Analytics 4. Think of it this way: GSC tells you what happens before someone clicks to your site, and GA4 tells you what happens after they arrive. By linking them, you connect the dots between your search rankings and actual on-site user behavior, giving you a complete view of your SEO funnel.

Without this integration, you can only see that traffic came from "Organic Search." You can't see the specific keywords people used to find you, how you rank for them, or which pages appear most in search results. This connection is the key to unlocking meaningful SEO insights in GA4.

How to Link GSC to GA4

Fortunately, setting it up is quick and painless. Here’s how:

Navigate to the Admin section of your GA4 property (the gear icon in the bottom-left).
In the Property column, scroll down to the Product Links section and click on Search Console Links.
Click the blue Link button. A new panel will open.
Click Choose accounts. If you’re an admin on both GA4 and a verified GSC property, you'll see a list of your Search Console properties. Select the one you want to link.
Click Confirm, then Next.
On the next screen, you’ll choose your Web Stream. Select the appropriate data stream for your website and click Next.
Finally, review your selections and click Submit. That’s it! Your accounts are now linked.

Keep in mind: It can take up to 48 hours for data to start populating in the new SEO reports, so be patient. Once it's ready, you’ll find two powerful new reports available inside GA4.

Finding Your SEO Reports in GA4

After linking Search Console, GA4 automatically creates a new “Search Console” collection in your report navigation. You'll find it by going to Reports > Acquisition > Search Console.

This section contains two primary reports that will become your go-to source for SEO data: Queries and Google organic search traffic.

1. The Queries Report: What Keywords Drive Traffic?

This report is the gold mine. It shows you a list of the actual search queries people typed into Google to find your website. It breaks down performance by four key GSC metrics:

Google organic search clicks: The number of times users clicked your site’s link in the search results.
Google organic search impressions: The number of times your site’s link was shown to users in the search results.
CTR (Click-through rate): The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click (Clicks / Impressions).
Average position: Your average ranking in Google search for that specific query.

How to Use the Queries Report:

Identify low-hanging fruit: Sort the table by ‘Impressions’ in descending order. Look for keywords with high impressions but a low CTR. This often means your content is relevant, but your page title and meta description aren't compelling enough to earn the click. A quick rewrite could bring in a surge of new traffic.
Find "striking distance" keywords: Sort by ‘Average position’ and look for keywords ranking between 8 and 20. These are your "striking distance" pages. They're on the cusp of page one, and a content update, some internal links, or a few new backlinks could push them onto the first page for a significant traffic boost.
Uncover new content ideas: Filter for queries that contain question words like "what," "how," or "why." These are direct questions your audience is asking. If you don't have a dedicated page answering that question, you’ve just found your next blog post topic.

2. The Google Organic Search Traffic Report

While the Queries report shows you the keywords, the organic search traffic report shows you which of your landing pages are getting the most traffic from search engines. This helps you understand which pieces of content are your top SEO performers.

How to Use This Report:

Identify your SEO power pages: Sort by clicks to see which landing pages are bringing in the most organic visitors. These are your most valuable SEO assets. Make sure they are updated, internally linked from other posts, and have clear calls-to-action to capitalize on their traffic.
Discover underperforming valuable pages: Look for pages you know are important for your business (like service or product pages) but aren’t getting many clicks or impressions. This is a sign they need some SEO attention.
Connect pages to queries: In this report, you can add a secondary dimension to see which queries are driving traffic to a specific page. Click the small ‘+’ icon next to the primary dimension (Landing page + query string) and search for "Query." This will show you exactly which keywords are sending people to which pages, making it easier to optimize your on-page content.

Going Beyond Traffic: Measuring SEO Conversions

Traffic and rankings are great, but SEO’s real value lies in its ability to drive tangible business goals like leads, signups, or sales. GA4 makes it easy to measure this, but you first need to have conversions set up. Once you do, you can see which organic visitors are turning into customers.

Here’s how to track conversions from organic search:

Navigate to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
This report shows you performance by traffic source. The ‘Session default channel group’ column should be the first column you see.
Use the search bar above the table to filter for “Organic Search”.
Now, scroll the table to the right to find the Conversions column. This shows you the total number of conversion events completed by users who arrived via organic search.

This view answers the vital question: "Is my SEO traffic actually contributing to my business?" If you see a lot of traffic but zero conversions, it could mean there’s a mismatch between what users are searching for and what your landing page offers, or your page may not have a compelling call-to-action.

Assessing Content Quality with Engagement Metrics

Is your content resonating with search visitors, or are they leaving immediately? Gauging user behavior is critical for understanding content quality. In GA4, the primary metrics for this are Engaged sessions and Average engagement time.

An "engaged session" is a visit where the user either stayed on the site for more than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or viewed at least two pages. It’s a far more useful metric than ‘bounce rate’ from old versions of Google Analytics.

You can find these engagement metrics for your organic search traffic in the same Traffic acquisition report mentioned above. By setting the filter to ‘Organic Search,’ you can see engagement metrics side-by-side with traffic and conversion data. Low engagement time on a high-traffic organic landing page is often a sign that the page isn't delivering what users expected when they clicked from Google.

Putting It All Together: A Simple Custom SEO Report

Jumping between all these different reports can get tedious. GA4’s ‘Explore’ section lets you build a simple, custom report to see everything in one place. Here’s a quick recipe for a custom SEO dashboard that shows your top organic landing pages and how well they convert and engage users.

Click on Explore in the left-hand navigation.
Start a new analysis by clicking on the Blank template.
Name your report "Simple SEO Performance".
In the Variables column on the left, click the '+' icon next to Dimensions. Search for and import "Landing page and query string" and "Session default channel group".
Next, click the '+' icon next to Metrics. Search for and import "Sessions," "Engaged sessions," "Average engagement time," and "Conversions".
Drag Landing page and query string from the Variables panel over to the Rows section in the main Tab Settings panel.
Drag all your imported metrics over to the Values section.
Finally, drag Session default channel group over to the Filters section. Configure the filter to ‘exactly matches’ and enter ‘Organic Search’.

You now have a clean, reusable report showing your top organic landing pages and their associated performance metrics. This single view can tell you which content is working best, driving both traffic and business value.

Final Thoughts

Measuring your SEO performance in Google Analytics 4 boils down to connecting Google Search Console and focusing on the metrics that matter most. Beyond just clicks, you can track visitor behavior, engagement, and most importantly, the conversions that actually grow your business.

While GA4 offers powerful tools, building custom reports and connecting insights across different platforms can still feel like a manual chore. That's precisely why we created Graphed. We connect directly to your Google Analytics and Search Console data (along with dozens of other marketing tools), allowing you to ask questions like, "Show me a dashboard of my top performing blog posts by conversions last quarter," and get an instant visualization, no configuration required.