What is Search Console in Google Analytics?

Thinking about your website’s performance can feel like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing. Google Analytics tells you what visitors do on your site, but how did they find you in the first place? This article will show you how to find those missing puzzle pieces by connecting Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4. You’ll learn what each tool does, why linking them is so important, and exactly how to do it step-by-step.

First, What Are Google Analytics and Search Console?

While they both come from Google and relate to your website traffic, they answer fundamentally different questions. Understanding this distinction is key to using them effectively.

Google Analytics 4: The "On-Site" Story

Google Analytics is all about what happens after someone lands on your website. It’s the tool for understanding user behavior. GA4 can answer questions like:

• How many people visited my website today?
• Which pages are the most popular?
• What percentage of visitors are using a mobile device?
• How long do people stay on my site?
• Which marketing channels (like organic search, social media, or paid ads) are driving the most traffic and conversions?

Think of GA4 as your expert on user engagement and conversion. It tells you how visitors interact with your content, navigate through pages, and complete goals like filling out a form or making a purchase.

Google Search Console (GSC): The "Pre-Click" Story

Google Search Console, formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools, focuses entirely on your website's performance in Google Search results. It tells the story of what happens before a user ever clicks through to your site. GSC can answer questions like:

• Which search queries are people using to find my website?
• How many times did my site appear in search results (impressions)?
• What is my click-through rate (CTR) for a specific term?
• What is my average ranking position in Google for different keywords?
• Are there technical issues (like crawl errors or mobile usability problems) preventing Google from properly indexing my site?

Think of GSC as your direct line of communication with Google. It's the source of truth for your SEO performance and technical website health from Google’s perspective.

Why Can't I Get Search Queries in GA4 Natively?

You might be wondering, "If organic search is a channel in GA4, why doesn't it just show me the keywords?" For years, due to privacy concerns, Google has hidden most organic keyword data within Google Analytics, labeling it as "(not provided)". This makes it impossible to see a direct line between the specific keyword someone searched for and the actions they took on your site.

Connecting Search Console to Google Analytics is the official - and only - way to bypass the "(not provided)" issue and bring that essential keyword data directly into your GA4 reports.

The Benefits: Why Connecting Search Console and GA4 is a Game-Changer

Linking these two powerful tools provides a much more complete and actionable view of your marketing funnel. Instead of analyzing search performance and on-site behavior in separate silos, you can see the entire user journey in one place.

• Unlock SEO Keyword Data: See exactly which organic queries are responsible for driving traffic to your site right within the GA4 interface.
• Analyze Landing Page Performance: Connect specific search terms to the landing pages they lead to. This allows you to identify which pages are performing best in organic search and how users engage with them once they arrive.
• Understand the Full Picture: Answer critical questions like, "Which keywords are bringing in users who actually convert?" or "Which landing pages have a high SEO-driven click-through rate but a low on-site engagement rate?"
• Improve Content Strategy: Discover "low-hanging fruit" - keywords for which you rank but have a low click-through rate. You can use this insight to optimize page titles and meta descriptions to attract more clicks. You can also find content gaps by identifying keywords you're getting impressions for but don't have dedicated, high-quality content to match.
• Streamline Your Reporting: Stop jumping back and forth between two different platforms. Having your organic search data inside GA4 saves time and makes building comprehensive reports much easier.

How to Link Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4: A Step-by-Step Guide

The good news is that linking the two is a straightforward process. Just follow these steps.

Prerequisites:

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

• Admin/Editor Access: You need to have "Editor" role access (or higher) to the Google Analytics 4 property you want to link.
• Verified Site Owner: You must be a verified owner of the Google Search Console property.
• Same Google Account: For the easiest setup, ensure you are using the same Google account that has access to both GA4 and GSC.

Step 1: Navigate to the Admin Section in GA4

Open your Google Analytics 4 property. In the bottom-left corner, click on the gear icon labeled Admin.

Step 2: Find "Product Links"

In the Admin panel, you'll see two or three columns. Look for the "Product Links" section in the middle "Property" column. Click on Search Console Links.

Step 3: Begin the Linking Process

If you don't have any existing links, you will see a blue Link button. Click it to start.

Step 4: Choose a Search Console Property

A new panel will appear. Click on Choose accounts. A list of all Search Console properties for which you are a verified owner will appear. Select the checkbox next to the GSC property you want to link to your GA4 property.

Pro-Tip: Make sure you're choosing the correct URL property (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com). If you set up a "Domain property" in GSC, that's typically the best one to choose as it covers all subdomains and protocols.

After selecting your account, click Confirm in the top-right.

Step 5: Select Your Web Stream

On the next screen, click Select. You'll need to choose the web data stream from your GA4 property that corresponds to your Search Console Site. For most websites, you will only have one option here. Select it and click Next.

Step 6: Review and Submit

The final screen will show you a summary of your configuration: the GSC property you're linking and the GA4 web stream you're connecting it to. If everything looks correct, click the Submit button.

That's it! You'll see a "Link created" notification. It can take up to 48 hours for the data to begin populating in your GA4 reports, so don’t worry if you don’t see it immediately.

Where to Find Your Search Console Data in Google Analytics

After you’ve successfully linked the platforms, you might not see the reports in your standard GA4 navigation right away. There’s one more quick step: enabling the reports in the Library.

1. Publish the Search Console Reports Collection

In the left-hand navigation of GA4, find and click on Reports. At the bottom of the reports menu, click on Library. Here you will see a card under "Collections" titled Search Console. Click the three dots on the card and select Publish. The Search Console reports will now permanently appear in your main navigation menu under the "Acquisition" section.

2. Explore Your New Reports

Once published, you will see two shiny new reports available to you:

• Queries: This report is pure gold. It shows you the actual Google Search queries that are driving impressions and clicks to your website. You can see clicks, impressions, average click-through-rate, and average position for each keyword.
• Google Organic Search Traffic: This report focuses on landing pages. It shows you the same GSC metrics (clicks, impressions, CTR, average position) but tied to the specific pages on your site that people land on from search results.

3 Practical Ways to Use the Integrated Data

Now that you have the data, here's how to turn it into actionable insights.

Find "Striking Distance" Keywords

Go to the Queries report. Filter it to show keywords with an Average Position that's greater than 8 (meaning they are on the bottom of page 1 or on page 2). Now sort by impressions, from high to low. These are your "striking distance" keywords - terms your site is already relevant for but needs a little push. You can boost their rank by improving the on-page SEO of the target page, optimizing title tags and headers, or building more internal links to it.

Match High Traffic With High Engagement

Navigate to the Google Organic Search Traffic report. Here, you start with SEO metrics (like clicks and impressions). Click the "+" button next to the "Landing page + query string" dimension to add a secondary dimension. Search for and select Average engagement time. You can now see which pages get a lot of organic clicks and keep users engaged, signaling high-quality, relevant content that you should try to replicate.

Optimize Low-Performing, High-Potential Pages

While still in the Google Organic Search Traffic report, spot landing pages that get a lot of impressions but have a very low click-through-rate (CTR). This often means your page title or meta description isn't compelling enough to earn the click in the search results. Rewrite them to be more engaging or to better match the search intent of the high-impression keywords driving traffic to that page.

Final Thoughts

Connecting Google Analytics and Search Console closes the loop on your SEO data, giving you a full-spectrum view from search impression to on-site conversion. This unified dashboard allows you to move beyond tracking basic traffic and start making truly data-driven decisions that will grow your organic presence.

Integrating these two tools is a huge step forward, but often it's just the start. Most businesses are also running ads, sending emails, processing sales through platforms like Shopify, and managing leads in a CRM. To get the real full picture, you'd need to pull all that data together. Instead of doing that manually in spreadsheets, we built Graphed to connect all your data sources and create live dashboards using simple, natural language. It allows your entire team to get answers and make smarter decisions without ever having to become a data expert.