Does Google Analytics Show Keyword Rankings in Google Analytics 4?

The short answer is no, Google Analytics 4 does not show organic keyword rankings on its own. However, you can unlock keyword data - including the search queries people use to find your site and your average search position - by connecting GA4 with Google Search Console. This article will show you exactly how to set up that vital integration and where to find the search query reports inside GA4.

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Why Can't You See Keywords in GA4 Natively?

If you used the older Universal Analytics, you might remember the infamous "(not provided)" keyword report. For years, this placeholder has dominated the organic keyword data in Google Analytics, and the reason behind it carries over to GA4: user privacy.

Back in 2011, Google began encrypting search traffic for users who were signed into a Google account. When a user performs a search while logged in, the search query (the keyword) is hidden to protect their privacy. This means the keyword data isn't passed along to the destination website's analytics platform. Since most people are logged into Google for Gmail, YouTube, or other services, this covers a massive percentage of search traffic.

So, an empty or hidden keyword report isn't a flaw in GA4. It's a reflection of a long-standing policy across the web to secure user search data. Fortunately, Google created a different tool specifically for web creators to understand their search performance: Google Search Console.

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The Fix: Connecting Google Search Console to GA4

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google designed to help you monitor your website's performance in Google search results. It provides a wealth of information about how Google crawls and indexes your site, mobile usability issues, and most importantly, search performance data like clicks, impressions, and queries.

By linking your GSC and GA4 accounts, you authorize GA4 to pull this performance data directly into its interface. This allows you to analyze search query data right alongside GA4's rich behavioral metrics like user engagement, conversions, and event counts, giving you a more complete picture of your SEO performance.

How to Link Google Search Console to Your GA4 Property: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before you start, make sure you have the right permissions. You'll need Editor access to the Google Analytics 4 property, and you must be a verified owner of the Google Search Console property for the same website.

Once you've confirmed your permissions, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Admin Panel in GA4 Log into your Google Analytics account, select the correct property, and click on the "Admin" gear icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
2. Find "Search Console Links" In the Admin panel, look for the "Product Links" column (it’s usually the middle one). Scroll down until you see "Search Console Links" and click on it.
3. Start the Linking Process You'll see a table of any existing links. In the top-right corner, click the blue "Link" button to create a new one.
4. Choose the Correct GSC Property A new screen will appear. Click "Choose accounts." You will see a list of Google Search Console properties that you own. Select the one that corresponds to the GA4 property you're working with and click "Confirm."
5. Select the Web Stream Click "Next." On the following screen, you'll need to select the web data stream for your website. If you only have one website connected to your GA4 property, there will only be one option. Click it, then click "Next."
6. Review and Submit The final screen gives you a chance to review your selections. If everything looks correct – the correct GSC property is linked to the correct GA4 web stream – click "Submit."

That's it! You'll see a "Link created" confirmation message. Your GSC and GA4 accounts are now connected. Keep in mind that it can take 24-48 hours for data to start populating in your GA4 reports.

How to Access Your Organic Keyword Reports in GA4

By default, the new Search Console reports are not automatically added to your reporting menu on the left side of the screen. You'll need to publish them from the "Library" first. It only takes a minute.

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Publish the Search Console Reports Collection

1. In the left-hand navigation, click on Reports.
2. At the bottom of the reporting menu, click on Library.
3. You'll see a section called "Collections." Find the card for "Search Console" – it will likely be unpublished. Click the three dots on the card and select Publish.

Once published, you will see a new "Search Console" section appear in your main reporting navigation, usually under the "Life cycle" group. If you click on it, you'll find two new reports are now available.

Exploring Your New Search Performance Reports

The integration adds two powerful reports to your GA4 property:

1. The "Queries" Report

This is where you'll find your keyword ranking data. The report shows a table with the following metrics tied to specific "Organic Google search queries":

• Organic Google search clicks: The total number of clicks your website received from a specific query in Google's organic search results.
• Organic Google search impressions: How many times your website appeared in the search results for that query.
• Organic Google search click-through rate: The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click (Clicks / Impressions). This is a great indicator of how compelling your title and meta description are.
• Organic Google search average position: Your website's average ranking in the search results for that query. This number might be a decimal (like 3.7) because your rank can fluctuate and Google is showing an average over the selected time period.

This report is perfect for identifying which queries drive the most traffic, discovering striking-distance keywords hovering on the bottom of page one or top of page two that need an extra push, and monitoring your overall organic search visibility trend so far.

2. The "Google Organic Search Traffic" Report

This report merges Search Console's pre-click data with GA4's post-click behavioral data. Instead of focusing on queries, it focuses on Landing Pages. Here, you can see not only the Clicks and Impressions for a given landing page but also valuable GA4 engagement metrics like:

• Users
• Engaged sessions
• Engagement rate
• Average engagement time
• Conversions

This blended view is incredibly useful. You can finally answer questions like, "Which of my top-ranking landing pages actually lead to conversions?" or "Do users who find my site through high-impression keywords actually stay on the page and engage with the content?" That bridges the gap between what happens on Google search and what happens next on your website.

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Limitations and Best Practices

Having GSC data inside of GA4 is a huge improvement, but it's important to know the limitations:

• Data Granularity: The reports in GA4 are a summary. For more granular details and filtering options, such as comparing performance by country or device for a specific keyword, you should still rely on the full Google Search Console platform directly. It has tools that GA4 doesn't offer, like the URL inspection tool and malware issue notification system, and even a coverage report for technical issue diagnosis. In such cases, it's more sensible to dive deeper there.
• Privacy Thresholds: GSC and GA4 may filter out extremely rare or personally identifiable search queries to protect privacy. Occasionally, you may see an '(other)' row as a result of this policy, but it's an important factor worth pointing out.
• Context is Key: Use both in their contexts where each has strengths. Use GA4 for high-level dashboards showing how SEO efforts translate to business goals like conversion. Use direct access to GSC for deep on-page technical health and diagnostics, which benefits from the combination.

Final Thoughts

So while Google Analytics 4 doesn't track keyword rankings out of the box, a simple integration with Google Search Console unlocks all the critical organic search data you need. By linking the two platforms, you can view your top-performing queries, impressions, click-through rates, and average search positions directly within your GA4 reports, bridging the gap between search performance and on-site user behavior.

Connecting data sources is the first step toward building a complete picture of your performance. At Graphed, we help you simplify that entire process. By connecting tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and all of your other marketing and sales platforms, we eliminate the need for you to grapple with complex interfaces or hunt for reports. You can simply ask questions in plain English, like, “Show me my top 10 search queries and which ones led to the most revenue last month,” and get dashboards and answers in seconds, turning scattered data into actionable insights.