How to Link Google Ads to Google Analytics

Connecting your Google Ads to Google Analytics 4 is one of the most powerful moves you can make to understand your paid advertising performance. It transforms your analytics from a simple traffic report into a clear roadmap of what's working and what's not. This is a straightforward guide that shows you exactly how to link the two platforms, what benefits to expect, and how to fix common problems along the way.

Why You Should Link Google Ads to Google Analytics

You’re already spending money on ads and tracking website performance. Linking these two powerful platforms closes the loop, giving you access to data that neither tool can provide on its own. The combined view helps you work smarter, not just harder.

Here’s what you actually gain by connecting them:

• See Ad Performance in GA4: Once linked, a new set of dedicated Google Ads reports will appear in your GA4 property. You’ll be able to analyze post-click metrics like engaged sessions, bounce rate, and events per session right next to your ad creative and campaign names. This tells you not just which ads get clicks, but what kind of traffic those ads are actually driving.
• Import GA4 Conversions into Google Ads: Google Ads can track conversions, but GA4 often has a richer definition of what a “valuable” action is. You can create nuanced conversion events in GA4 — like a user who plays a demo video and visits the pricing page — and then import that event directly into Google Ads as a conversion goal. This allows your campaigns to optimize for more meaningful user actions.
• Build Smarter Remarketing Audiences: Google Analytics is fantastic for creating highly specific audience segments based on user behavior. Once linked, you can build audiences in GA4 — for example, "users from the US who viewed 3+ product pages but did not purchase" — and sync them with Google Ads. This lets you run hyper-targeted remarketing campaigns to re-engage specific user groups.
• Uncover the Full Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Linking the platforms is the only way to merge your ad cost data (from Google Ads) with your website e-commerce or conversion value data (from Google Analytics). The result is a crystal-clear picture of your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and cost per acquisition (CPA) right inside your Analytics reports, helping you quickly identify which campaigns are profitable and which are burning cash.

Before You Begin: Pre-Link Checklist

Getting the connection right starts with a little preparation. Making sure you have the basics in place will make the process smooth and prevent common headaches. Run through this quick checklist before you start.

1. Confirm Your Permissions

To link the accounts, you need the right permission levels. Attempting this without proper access is the number one reason the process fails.

• In your Google Analytics 4 property, you need Editor role access.
• In your Google Ads account, you must have Admin access.

If you don’t manage these accounts yourself, you may need to ask an administrator to grant you the necessary access or to complete the linking process for you.

2. Use the Same Google Account

For the easiest setup, ensure the email address you use to log into both Google Ads and Google Analytics is the same one, and that this account has the required permissions mentioned above. While it's possible to link accounts under different emails, it's far simpler when they are managed under a single Google login.

How to Link Google Ads to Google Analytics 4 (The GA4 Method)

This is the most common and recommended way to initiate the link — starting from your Analytics property. Follow these steps carefully.

Step 1: Navigate to the Admin Section in GA4

Log in to your Google Analytics account. From the left-hand navigation menu at the bottom, click on the gear icon labeled 'Admin'.

Step 2: Go to Product Links

In the Admin panel, you'll see two columns: 'Account' and 'Property'. Under the 'Property' column, scroll down until you see the 'Product Links' section. Click on 'Google Ads Links'.

Step 3: Start the Linking Process

On the Google Ads Links page, you will see a list of any existing links. To create a new one, click the blue 'Link' button in the top-right corner.

Step 4: Choose a Google Ads Account

Next, you’ll see a new screen. Click on 'Choose Google Ads accounts'. A slide-out panel will appear on the right, listing all the Google Ads accounts that your Google account has Admin access to. Find the account (or accounts) you want to link, check the box next to them, and hit the 'Confirm' button in the top right.

What if you don't see your account? This almost always means you're either logged into the wrong Google account or the account you're using doesn't have Admin permissions on the Google Ads account you're trying to link.

Step 5: Configure Link Settings

Now you get to configure the settings for your new link. There are two important options here:

• Enable Personalized Advertising: Keep this box checked. This is the setting that allows you to use your GA4 audiences for remarketing campaigns in Google Ads. Unless you have a specific privacy policy reason not to, leave this on.
• Enable Auto-Tagging: This one is critical. Auto-tagging automatically adds a parameter (the GCLID, or Google Click Identifier) to your ad destination URLs. This is how Google Analytics knows to attribute website sessions to your specific ads. This setting is typically enabled by default, but it’s essential you leave it on. Without it, you won't get detailed campaign data in GA4.

Once you’ve reviewed these, click 'Next'.

Step 6: Review and Submit

You’ll now see a final review screen summarizing the Ads account you’re linking and the settings you’ve selected. If everything looks correct, click 'Submit'.

Congratulations! You've successfully sent the link request. The platform should update within moments to show the Accounts as 'Linked'.

An Alternative Method: Linking from Google Ads

You can also start the process from within your Google Ads account, which might feel more natural if that's where you spend most of your time. The outcome is exactly the same.

1. Log in to your Google Ads account.
2. In the top menu, click on 'Tools and settings' (the wrench icon).
3. Under 'Setup', select 'Linked accounts'.
4. You’ll see a list of different products. Find 'Google Analytics & Firebase' and click on 'Details'.
5. A list of GA4 properties accessible by your email address will appear. Find the property you want to connect to, look in the 'Action' column, and click 'Link'.
6. A pop-up will appear. You will be prompted to import GA4 audiences and data. Click 'Link' to finalize the process.

How to Verify the Link Was Successful

Just because you clicked 'Submit' doesn't mean your work is done. It's always a good practice to confirm the link is active and data is flowing. Note that it can take 24-48 hours for new data to begin populating in your reports.

• In Google Analytics 4: Go back to Admin > Google Ads Links. You should see your linked Google Ads account there with the status 'Linked'. You can also check your reports under Reports > Acquisition > Acquisition overview. Look for cards related to 'Google Ads'.
• In Google Ads: Navigate to Tools and settings > Linked accounts > Google Analytics & Firebase. Your linked property should now have a status of 'Linked'.

Troubleshooting Common Linking Issues

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Here are some of the most common user-reported problems and how to solve them.

1. Problem: "My Google Ads account doesn't show up in the list."

When you're supposed to choose an Ads account from the list inside GA4 and yours is nowhere to be found, it's almost always a permissions issue.

The Fix: Double-check that you are signed in to the Google account that has both 'Editor' access to the GA4 Property and 'Admin' access to the Google Ads account. People often have multiple Google accounts (work, personal) and being logged into the wrong one is a very easy mistake to make.

2. Problem: "The accounts are linked, but I don't see any data."

You’ve confirmed the link, but your Google Ads reports in GA4 are empty.

First Fix: Wait 48 hours. It can take up to two days for data to start flowing between the platforms and appearing in your reports. Don’t panic if you don’t see it instantly.

Second Fix: Check if auto-tagging is enabled in Google Ads. Log in to your Ads account and navigate to Settings > Account settings. In the account settings menu, ensure 'Auto-tagging' is enabled. If it was turned off, new link data won’t flow into GA4. Flip it on, wait for another 24-48 hours and check again.

3. Problem: "My e-commerce data (revenue/ROAS) isn’t showing up."

You can see sessions and cost data, but conversion value and revenue are not pulling through.

The Fix: This means either your GA4 property does not have e-commerce tracking correctly configured, or you don’t have conversion values assigned to your key events. You need to ensure purchase events (or lead goals with assigned values) are properly set up inside Google Analytics for this data to appear in your attribution reports.

Final Thoughts

Connecting your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts is a foundational step for any business that relies on paid search or display marketing. It moves you from looking at isolated metrics to understanding the entire customer journey, helping you make smarter, data-driven decisions that ultimately grow your business.

Of course, connecting all your data is just the first step. The real challenge is finding the time to analyze it all. At Graphed, we automate all that reporting work for you. We help you connect all your marketing and sales accounts — like Google Ads, GA4, Shopify, and Facebook Ads — into one place and let you create real-time dashboards and reports just by using simple conversational language. Instead of spending hours in different platforms, you can get instant answers and get back to thinking about strategy.