How to See Search Terms in Google Analytics 4

Finding the specific search terms people use to find your website is one of the most fundamental tasks in marketing analytics. In Universal Analytics, locating this report was fairly straightforward. But if you've opened Google Analytics 4 looking for the same information, you’ve probably discovered it’s either missing or hidden. This article will show you exactly how to find and analyze your organic search queries in GA4.

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Why Can't You Just See Search Terms in GA4?

The short answer is privacy. Over the years, Google has increasingly restricted access to user-level search query data to protect user privacy. You might remember the rise of the "(not provided)" keyword in Universal Analytics, which was the first big step in this direction. GA4 simply makes this separation official. The platform is designed primarily for analyzing on-site user behavior, not the pre-click search journey.

But that data isn't gone, it has just moved. Google's definitive tool for understanding your organic search performance is Google Search Console (GSC). GA4 recognizes this and, instead of trying to duplicate the data, it's designed to integrate with GSC. By linking the two platforms, you can pull valuable GSC data directly into your GA4 interface, allowing you to connect organic search performance with on-site engagement and conversions.

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Step 1: Link Google Search Console to GA4

This is the essential first step. Without this connection, you won't be able to see any query data within Google Analytics 4. The good news is that the process is simple and only takes a minute if you have the right permissions.

Prerequisites:

• You need Editor access to the Google Analytics 4 property.
• You need to be a verified Owner of the right Google Search Console property.

Linking Instructions:

1. In your GA4 property, navigate to the Admin section by clicking the gear icon in the bottom-left corner.
2. Under the Property column, scroll down to the Product Links section and click on Search Console Links.
3. Click the blue Link button. You’ll be taken to a new screen to establish the connection.
4. Click Choose accounts. A list of GSC properties for which you are a verified owner will appear. Select the one that corresponds to your GA4 property and click Confirm.
5. Click Next. You’ll be asked to select the web stream for your site. Choose your website’s data stream.
6. Click Next again, and then review your settings. If everything looks correct, click Submit.

That's it! Your GA4 property and Search Console account are now linked. Data will start populating in GA4 within the next 24-48 hours. Note that this linking is not retroactive, so you won’t see historical data appear in GA4 from before you made the connection.

Step 2: Accessing and Publishing the Search Console Reports

After linking GSC, GA4 will automatically add a new collection of reports. However, for many users, these reports are not immediately visible in the left-hand navigation. You may need to "publish" them from the report Library.

How to Find and Publish the Reports:

1. From the main menu on the left, click Reports.
2. At the bottom of the Reports navigation, click Library.
3. You should see a new card under the Collections section called Search Console. Click the three dots icon on the card and select Publish.

Once you publish the collection, a new "Search Console" section will appear in your main Reports navigation panel. Click on it, and you'll find two new valuable reports.

Understanding the Two New Reports

1. Queries Report

This is the report you've been looking for. The Queries report shows a list of the actual Google search terms that brought users to your site. By default, the table shows four key metrics directly from GSC:

• Organic Google Search Clicks: The number of clicks from organic search results.
• Organic Google Search Impressions: The number of times your site appeared in search results for that query.
• Organic Google Search Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click (Clicks / Impressions).
• Organic Google Search Average Position: Your average ranking in the search results for that query.

This report is perfect for a quick overview of what terms are driving the most clicks and where your website has high visibility (impressions).

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2. Google Organic Search Traffic Report

The second report, Google Organic Search Traffic, combines GSC data with GA4's on-site behavior metrics. The default view shows landing pages instead of queries. What makes this report powerful is that it connects pre-click search performance with post-click user engagement.

Here you can see your top-performing organic landing pages and analyze key metrics like:

• Total Users
• Sessions
• Engaged sessions
• Average engagement time
• Conversions

You can use this report to answer questions like, "Which of my high-traffic organic pages actually lead to conversions?" or "Which blogs have the highest user engagement?"

Creating Custom Reports for Deeper Analysis

The standard published reports are great, but the real power comes from building your own custom explorations to answer specific questions.

Example 1: Finding Organic Keywords for a Specific Landing Page

Let's say you want to see exactly which keywords are driving traffic to your new pricing page. You can build a custom report in the "Explore" section of GA4.

1. Go to the Explore tab and start a new Free-form exploration.
2. In the Variables column on the left, click the "+" icon next to Dimensions. Search for and import Search query and Landing page.
3. Click the "+" icon next to Metrics. Search for and import Search Console clicks, Search Console impressions, and any on-site metrics you care about, like Sessions or Conversions.
4. Drag Search query from the Variables panel to the Rows box in the Tab Settings panel.
5. Drag the metrics you imported (e.g., Clicks, Impressions, Sessions) to the Values box.
6. Now, drag the Landing page dimension to the Filters section. Choose "exactly matches" or "contains" and then add your page URL (e.g., /pricing), then click apply.

Your report will now show all the search queries that drove users to that specific page, giving you incredibly valuable insight into the user intent behind its traffic.

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Example 2: Discovering "Striking Distance" Content Opportunities

This is a classic SEO technique for finding low-hanging fruit. The goal is to find queries for which you rank just off the first page of Google (e.g., positions 11-20). A slight optimization boost to these pages can push them onto page one and result in a significant traffic increase.

1. Create another Free-form exploration.
2. For Dimensions, import Landing page and Search query.
3. For Metrics, import Average position, Search Console clicks, and Search Console impressions.
4. Set your Rows to Landing page and your Columns (optional) to Search Query. This allows you to see the terms for each page. Place your metrics under Values.
5. Next, create two filters:
6. Finally, in the main report visual, sort the table by Impressions in descending order.

This customized report delivers a prized list: pages with solid visibility (high impressions) that are just barely missing out on significant traffic because they're on page two of Google. Now you have a clear action plan - go optimize those pages by improving title tags, adding relevant content, and building internal links.

Final Thoughts

While GA4 doesn't show you search query data out of the box, connecting it with Google Search Console unlocks all the organic search insights you need. By publishing the default GSC reports and learning to build custom explorations, you can easily find which search terms drive discovery, traffic, and on-site conversions through your website's content.

Putting all this data together from Google Analytics, Search Console, and your other marketing platforms is still a manual process full of exporting CSVs and fighting with spreadsheets. At Graphed, we built a tool that connects to all of your data sources so you can turn hours of report-building into simple conversations. Instead of manually filtering for "striking distance" keywords, you could just ask, "Show me keywords where my average position is greater than 10 and impressions were high last month," and get an instant, real-time dashboard that answers your question in seconds.