Hey there! I'm Benjamin from Loves Data. In this video, I'm going to show you how to link
Google Search Console to Google Analytics 4 (or GA4). This has been a highly requested feature
since GA4 was released, so I'm excited to take you through the steps to link your properties.
Once you've linked GA4 with Search Console,
you will be able to see how your website is performing in the organic search results
on Google – right inside the latest version of Google Analytics. Let's jump in and take a look!
Okay, we're already in the admin area of my GA4 property. And scrolling down,
we can see 'Search Console Linking' at the bottom of the property column... Let's select this...
We can see Google Search Console hasn't been linked yet, so let's click the 'Link' button...
In order to link Google Search Console to GA4, you will need edit or administrator-level permission
in Google Analytics and you will need to be a verified owner of the property in Google Search
Console. So if you have any issues linking accounts, as we're about to cover, they're
the first things you should check. Okay, now let's click 'Choose Accounts'... We can now select the
website we've verified in Google Search Console. The nice thing with GA4, is that we can now choose
to link a domain property or a URL-prefix property from Search Console. In the previous version of
Google Analytics, so Universal Analytics, we could only link the URL-prefix type properties.
So that's a bonus. And if you haven't verified your website in Google Search Console yet,
you can click the 'Add a property' link at the top and follow the steps to verify your website.
If you're just getting started, then check out my dedicated Google Search Console video. I've
included a link in the description below. Once you've selected a property, click 'Confirm'...
Now we click 'Next'... And we need to select the data stream that is used to collect data for the
website. So let's click 'Select'... We can see I only have a single data stream, but if you
have multiple data streams, take a moment to make sure you select the one used for the same website
you are linking from Google Search Console. Hover over the stream... And click 'Choose'...
Now we click 'Next'... We can check the details, so we can check we're using the
correct property from Search Console, and the correct stream. Then click 'Submit'...
We've now linked Google Analytics and Google Search Console. You will need to wait 48 hours
before you see data in Google Analytics. This is because Search Console has a reporting delay.
Okay, let's close this... And let's navigate to 'Reports'...
Now let's select 'Acquisition'... And 'Acquisition Overview'...
Scrolling to the bottom, we can now see two new cards have been added to the report... There is a
card for 'Google Organic Search Traffic'... After 48 hours this will show you the landing pages on
your website along with the number of organic impressions you've received in Google search
results. And the other card shows you 'Google Organic Search Queries'... So this will show you
what people have searched for and the number of times they have clicked through to your website.
You can use the links at the bottom of each of these cards to view the dedicated reports. And
I also want to show you can add two new reports to your GA4 property. To do this, you will need edit
or administrator-level access to Google Analytics. Okay, so we start by selecting 'Library'...
And you will see there is a new 'Search Console' collection that
isn't published yet. So let's click 'Edit Collection'... And then 'Save'...
Navigate back... And now we can click the three vertical dots... And click 'Publish'...
If you run into any issues, then I recommend waiting a few minutes and clicking refresh.
I've found this worked when I was testing things out earlier. You will now see the reports in the
main reporting menu... And if you would prefer the Search Console reports somewhere else in the menu,
then you can head back to 'Library' and adjust where they're located in your reporting menu.
So that's how you can link GA4 and Google Search Console in order to see how your website performs
in organic search results on Google. Once linked, you'll be able to use the Search Console reports
to analyze keywords, landing pages, and more. And remember you can also access reports directly
inside Google Search Console too. Are you going to link Search Console to GA4? I'd love to know! Let
me know in the comments below! And if you found this video helpful please subscribe, share it with
your friends, and hit the like button so I know to make more videos like this. See you next time!