What Are Organic Keywords in Google Analytics?

Trying to see which organic keywords are driving traffic to your website in Google Analytics can feel like a riddle. You know the data should be there, but clicking through the reports often leads to a frustrating dead end: a long list of "(not provided)." This article will explain what organic keywords are, why they are mostly hidden in Google Analytics, and - most importantly - how to actually find them using a free integration.

What is an "Organic Keyword"?

An organic keyword is simply the search term someone types into a search engine like Google before clicking on one of the non-paid search results that leads to your website. It's the natural, unpaid path a visitor takes to find you.

Think of it this way:

• Organic Keywords: The terms that bring you "free" traffic from search engine results pages (SERPs). Your ranking here depends on your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts - creating high-quality content, building backlinks, and having a technically sound website.
• Paid Keywords: The terms you bid on in advertising platforms like Google Ads. You're paying for placement at the top of the search results for these specific keywords.

Understanding your organic keywords is essential. They tell you exactly what your audience is searching for, what questions they have, and which topics your content is successfully addressing. This insight is pure gold for refining your SEO and content strategy.

The Main Problem: Welcome to "(not provided)"

If you've spent any time in older versions of Google Analytics (Universal Analytics), you're likely familiar with the dreaded "(not provided)" entry. It represents the majority of your organic keyword traffic, making the native keyword report almost useless. So, why does Google hide this valuable data?

The short answer is user privacy.

Back in 2011, Google began encrypting search queries for users who were logged into their Google accounts. By switching searches from http to the more secure https, the search term itself was hidden from the analytics software of the destination website. Google's goal was to protect searcher privacy, but a side effect was that website owners and marketers lost visibility into the keywords bringing them traffic.

While this change happened years ago, its effects are now woven into the fabric of Google Analytics 4. By default, GA4 cannot see the specific organic search terms that drive most of your traffic from Google. It knows the traffic came from organic search, but it doesn’t know the exact query. This is why you need a different tool to get the full picture.

Finding (the very limited) Keyword Data directly in GA4

Before we jump to the real solution, let's look at where keyword data technically lives within GA4. Setting your expectations is important here: the report you find will likely be filled with either "(not provided)" or "(not set)," with maybe a handful of keywords from other, smaller search engines like Bing or DuckDuckGo that don't pass along the same encrypted data.

Here’s how you can find the report:

1. Navigate to your GA4 property.
2. In the left-hand navigation, go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
3. This report shows you traffic broken down by "Session default channel group." This gives you high-level sources like Organic Search, Direct, and Paid Search.
4. To add the keyword dimension, click the blue plus (+) icon to the right of the "Session default channel group" column header.
5. In the search box that appears, type "keyword" and select Session keyword from the list.

You'll now have a second column showing the keywords associated with each channel. Don't be surprised when you see that the "Organic Search" row is overwhelmingly dominated by terms you can't see. This confirms the problem we're trying to solve.

The Solution: Connecting Google Search Console to GA4

The best and most accurate source for your organic keyword data is not Google Analytics at all - it’s Google Search Console (GSC).

Google Search Console is a free platform offered by Google that helps website owners monitor their site's health and performance specifically within Google Search. Since the data comes directly from Google itself, it has access to all the search query information that GA4 doesn’t.

By linking GSC to your GA4 account, you can pull that rich keyword data directly into your GA4 analytics reports, giving you a full view without leaving the platform. This is the official, Google-approved method for unlocking your organic keywords.

Step-by-Step: How to Link Google Search Console and GA4

If you haven’t already set up Google Search Console for your website, you’ll need to do that first. It’s a straightforward process that involves verifying that you own your site.

Once your GSC property is active, linking it to GA4 takes just a few clicks:

1. In GA4, click the Admin gear icon in the bottom-left corner.
2. In the "Property" column, scroll down to the "Product links" section and click on Search Console links.
3. Click the blue Link button in the top right.
4. Click Choose accounts and select the GSC property that you want to link. Make sure it corresponds to the same website you're tracking in GA4. Click Confirm.
5. Click Next.
6. For "Select web stream," choose the correct data stream for your website. This is what connects the GSC data to your collected analytics data.
7. Click Next, review your settings, and then click Submit.

That's it! Your two accounts are now linked. It can take up to 24-48 hours for the new data and reports to appear in your GA4 property.

How to Analyze Your New Organic Keyword Reports in GA4

Once the link is active and data has started to populate, you'll find two brand new reports available within GA4. Sometimes they are automatically added to your reporting sidebar, but you may need to add them manually.

To do this, navigate to Reports > Library. In the "Collections" section, you should see a card for "Search Console." Click the three dots on the card and select Publish. This will add a new "Search Console" section to your main reporting navigation.

Now, let's explore your two new superpowers:

1. The Queries Report

Navigate to Search Console > Queries. This is it - the report you’ve been looking for. It shows you the exact search terms (queries) people used on Google to find your website.

Here's what each metric in this report means:

• Google organic search query: The exact keyword or phrase someone searched for.
• Clicks: The number of times people clicked on your website link from the search results after using that query.
• Impressions: The number of times your website link was shown in the search results for that query, even if no one clicked it.
• Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click (Clicks / Impressions). A higher CTR generally means your page title and meta description are compelling.
• Average position: Your average ranking in the search results for that query. A smaller number is better (e.g., 2.5 means you're typically in the second or third position on page 1).

This report effectively replaces the broken keyword reports from the past, giving you real, actionable data directly from the source.

2. The Google Organic Search Traffic Report

The other report is under Search Console > Google organic search traffic. This report shifts the focus from keywords to landing pages. It shows you which pages on your site receive the most traffic from organic search, along with all the same metrics (Clicks, Impressions, CTR, Average Position). This is great for understanding which content pieces are your top SEO performers.

Putting Your New Keyword Data to Work

Simply finding your organic keywords is just the first step. The real value comes from interpreting that data to make smarter marketing decisions.

Here are a few actionable ways to use your new reports:

• Pinpoint "Striking Distance" Keywords: Filter your Queries report to see keywords with an Average position between 11 and 20. These are your "page two" keywords. People are actively searching for them and you're so close to ranking on page one, where the vast majority of clicks happen. Optimizing the pages associated with these keywords - by adding more detail, including internal links, or updating the title - can provide a significant traffic boost.
• Identify your Top Content Hubs: Look at your Organic Search Traffic report to find the pages getting the most impressions and clicks. What are these pages about? These are the topics your audience clearly cares about and trusts you for. Double down on this by creating related content, building on these "hub" pages to strengthen your authority.
• Discover Unintentional SEO Wins: Scan your queries list for surprising keywords that you didn't intentionally target but are still ranking for. This often reveals audience needs or questions you hadn't considered. Each one of these is a fantastic opportunity for a new, targeted blog post or landing page.
• Boost Low-CTR Pages: Sort your report by impressions to find keywords that show your site to a lot of people but don't get many clicks (low CTR). This could mean your page title or meta description isn't appealing enough. Rewriting them to be more compelling can instantly increase your traffic without having to improve your ranking.

Final Thoughts

Unlocking your organic keyword data transforms Google Analytics from a frustrating black box into a powerful strategic tool. While GA4 itself hides most direct keyword data due to privacy protections, linking it with the free Google Search Console unlocks a dedicated set of reports that shows you exactly which queries people use to find you on Google Search.

Connecting data sources like Google Analytics and Google Search Console is a critical first step, but analyzing performance across them, along with platforms like Google Ads or HubSpot, often means juggling dozens of tabs. With Graphed, we automate that. Just connect your platforms once, and use plain English to ask what you need, like, "Create a dashboard showing my top organic queries next to their traffic and conversion performance for the last quarter." It’s an effortless way to see the complete picture in seconds, skip the manual reporting, and get straight to the insights.