Strategy 9 min read
SEO Analytics: What to Measure in Search Console and GA4
Search Console tells you how people found you in Google; GA4 tells you what they did next. Link them, watch a handful of reports, and you can see which pages and searches actually bring customers.
Founder, SEO·AEO·GEO
Builds SEO·AEO·GEO and writes the crawler, schema, and citation research published here.
Key takeaways
- Search Console shows what happens before the click: queries, impressions, clicks, position and indexing. GA4 shows what happens after: engagement, conversions and revenue.
- Link them in GA4 (Admin > Product links > Search Console Links), then publish the Search Console report collection, which is unpublished by default.
- The linked reports have limits: Search Console metrics only combine with Landing page, Device and Country, data arrives about 48 hours late, and history stops at 16 months.
- Measure organic conversions, not just traffic: set up key events for enquiries, sign-ups or purchases.
- AI assistants send visitors you can see as referrals in GA4, and Search Console now reports AI Overviews and AI Mode.
SEO analytics means measuring how search brings people to your site and what they do once they arrive. For Google, two free tools cover almost everything: Google Search Console for performance in search results, and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for behaviour and conversions on your site.
Which tool answers which question
| Question | Tool and report |
|---|---|
| Which searches show my pages? | Search Console: Performance, Queries |
| How many clicks and impressions, at what position? | Search Console: Performance |
| Which pages are indexed, and why aren't others? | Search Console: Page indexing |
| Are my pages fast for real users? | Search Console: Core Web Vitals |
| What do organic visitors do on my site? | GA4: Traffic acquisition, filtered to Organic Search |
| Do organic visitors convert? | GA4: Key events by session default channel group |
| Which landing pages bring the most value? | GA4: Landing page report, or the linked Search Console reports |
Linking Search Console and GA4
- In GA4, open Admin, then Product links, then Search Console Links.
- Choose a Search Console property you're a verified owner of.
- Select the web data stream for your site, review and submit.
- Open Reports, then Library, and publish the Search Console collection; it's unpublished by default.
You get two reports: Google Organic Search Queries (queries with Search Console metrics) and Google Organic Search Traffic (landing pages with both Search Console and Analytics metrics, by country and device).
Limits to know
- Search Console metrics can only be combined with Search Console dimensions and the Analytics dimensions Landing page, Device and Country.
- One web data stream links to one Search Console property, and the reverse.
- Data appears about 48 hours after Search Console collects it.
- History is limited to Search Console's 16 months.
- The linked reports don't support time-series charts.
The monthly SEO report that matters
- Organic clicks and impressions versus the previous period (Search Console).
- Pages with high impressions and low CTR: candidates for better titles and content.
- New pages not indexed, and why (Page indexing).
- Organic sessions and key events: enquiries, sign-ups, purchases (GA4).
- Top landing pages by conversions, not just visits.
- AI referrals, from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai and others, as a separate line.
Measuring AI search traffic
Visitors from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot usually arrive as referrals, sometimes tagged with utm_source=chatgpt.com. Create a custom channel group in GA4 so they don't get lost in Referral. See the GA4 AI assistant channel and what utm_source=chatgpt.com means.
Paid search analytics
Google Ads has its own reporting, and linking Ads with GA4 adds post-click behaviour. Compare paid and organic landing pages side by side: if a page converts well from ads, it's worth optimizing for organic rankings too. See SEO vs SEM.
FAQ
What's the difference between Search Console and Google Analytics?+
Search Console reports how your site performs in Google Search: queries, impressions, clicks, position and indexing. Google Analytics reports what visitors do on your site from every channel. You need both for SEO.
How do I link Search Console to GA4?+
In GA4, go to Admin, then Product links, then Search Console Links, and create a link to a Search Console property you're a verified owner of, choosing the web data stream. Then publish the Search Console collection from the Library.
Why don't GA4 and Search Console numbers match?+
They measure different things. Search Console counts clicks from Google Search; GA4 counts sessions that its tag records, which depends on consent, ad blockers and tagging. Expect differences.
What does a Google Analytics agency do?+
Typically set up and audit GA4 tracking, define conversions, build reports and dashboards, and connect analytics with Search Console and ad platforms.
Sources
- Connect Search Console to Google Analytics — Google Analytics Help
- Performance report (Search results) — Search Console Help
- Page indexing report — Search Console Help
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