How to Find Your Website’s Keywords in Google Analytics 4

Keywords are the words people type into search engines when they’re looking for something. We use these words on our website so we can show up in those search results.

Google Analytics can show us which keywords bring the most visitors to our site. It can also help us spot drops in traffic and understand how people talk about our product or service.

By the end of this guide, we’ll know how to find these keyword details in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). We’ll also learn how to use this info to make our website better.

Can We See Keyword Rankings in Google Analytics 4?

No, GA4 doesn’t show keyword data by default. The old version of Google Analytics used to share this info. But now, it’s hidden to protect users’ privacy.

Still, there is a way to get some keyword data. We need to connect our Google Search Console (GSC) account to GA4.

Once connected, we’ll be able to see things like:

• How many times our site shows up in search results (impressions)
• How many people click on our site (clicks)
• Our average spot in search results
• Our click-through rate (CTR)

But here’s something interesting: We ran a small poll and asked marketers which tool they use—GSC or the GA4 report with GSC data. Out of 36 people, 86% said they use GSC directly. Only 14% use the GA4 version.

This tells us many marketers still go straight to GSC for their keyword data. Even though using GA4’s version can be more convenient by keeping all data in one place.

How to See Organic Keyword Data in GA4 (Using Google Search Console)

Here’s how to connect GSC to our GA4 account:

1. Verify Your Site in Google Search Console

First, we log in to GSC using the same Google account we use for GA4. If we don’t have a GSC account yet, we’ll need to sign up.

Then, GSC will ask us to add our website as a “property.” We’ll choose from two types:

• Domain: Collects data from all pages on our website. This one needs DNS verification.
• URL prefix: Tracks data only for a part of the site. This one can use the GA4 tag already on our site.

After picking the one that fits best, we follow GSC’s instructions to finish setup.

2. Connect Google Analytics to Google Search Console

• In GA4, click Admin
• Then find Search Console links under Product links
• Click Link to start
• Choose your GSC property by clicking Choose accounts
• Pick the right property and hit Confirm
• Click Next
• Choose your Web Stream, then hit Next again
• Review everything, then click Submit

Now, our GA4 account is linked to GSC!

3. Turn On the Search Console Reports

GA4 does not show GSC keyword data unless we turn it on. Go to “Reports” and click on “Library” in the lower-left corner. Find the “Search Console” report, click the three dots, and choose “Publish.”

4. See Keyword Data

After 48 hours, our keyword data will appear. Click on “Queries” to see the keywords that bring people to our website. We’ll be able to see:

• Clicks – How many times someone clicked on our site
• Impressions – How often our site showed up in search results
• CTR (Click-through rate) – What percent of views led to clicks
• Average position – Where we rank for a keyword on average

3 Tips to Use GA4 Keyword Data to Improve Our Site

Finding out which keywords bring people to our site is helpful. But using that info to get even more visitors is even better. Here are three simple ways to use GA4 keyword data to boost our site’s SEO:

Create Topic Clusters:

A topic cluster is a group of pages that cover similar ideas. We have one main page (called the pillar page) and smaller pages that go deeper into subtopics (called cluster pages).

For example:

• Main page: “Indoor plants”
• Subpages: “Best indoor plants for beginners,” “Indoor plants that clean air,” and “Indoor plants safe for kids”

Google keyword data helps us see what topics we already do well in. Then we can create more content around those same topics.

This makes us more trusted in that topic area, and Google may show our pages more often. To find good keywords:

• Open the keyword report in GA4
• Sort the list by clicks
• Look for patterns in the keywords that bring the most visitors

Let’s say we run a bike store website. And we see people are searching “best mountain bikes” and “best bikes for beginners.” That means we should create more buying guides about bikes.

Start by typing a basic keyword like “best bikes” and click Search.

Then:

• Choose Broad Match to get keyword ideas similar to our main one
• Use the filter “KD %” and set it from 0 to 49 to find easier keywords to rank for

Check the box next to all keywords that fit well. Try to choose at least 50 keywords for more ideas.

Then click:

Send keywords > Keyword Strategy Builder > Apply

We can save them to a new or existing list for future planning.

Find Pages That Need an Update

Keyword data helps us find pages that were doing well before but are not doing well now. By updating these pages, we can make them more useful and bring more people to them again.

To find these pages, go to the “Queries” report in GA4.

Click the date at the top right. Turn on the “Compare” option and choose “Last 90 days” — this gives us enough data to work with.

Improve Pages That Get Views but Few Clicks

Some pages show up in search a lot but don’t get many clicks. This means people see the page title, but it doesn’t grab their attention.

To find these pages, go to GA4 > Search Console > Google organic search traffic. Look at the “Impressions” and “CTR” (click-through rate) columns. Focus on pages with high impressions but low CTR.

We can improve these pages by changing the title tag (the page title shown in search results) and the meta description (the short summary under the title).

To start, search the keyword that the page ranks for.

Look at the top pages in Google and check how their titles are written.

Write a new title that’s similar in style, but not copied.

Try to keep it between 50–60 characters and make sure it matches the page content.

For example, if our title says “How to Sew a Button (with Photos),” then the page must really include photos. We don’t want to mislead people.

Our meta description should give a short and clear summary of the page. Try to keep it around 105 characters.

Include the main keyword in both the title and description when possible.

How to Get More Keyword Details

GA4’s GSC report is good for basic keyword data. But it won’t alert us when rankings change. It also doesn’t let us track a specific list of keywords.

To do that, we can use the Position Tracking tool.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Enter our website and click “Set up tracking”
• Add the keywords we want to keep an eye on
• Click “Import from…”, choose Google Search Console, and pick the keywords to track

After that, click “Add keywords to campaign” and then “Start Tracking”.

The Landscape report will show us:

• Keyword ranking changes
• Our site’s visibility in search
• An estimate of how much traffic we get
• Our average ranking position

Keep All Search Data in One Place

Whether we work in-house or at an agency, linking GSC to GA4 helps us see all our search data in one view. It also saves time switching between tools.

We can go even further by using the Position Tracking tool. It helps us spot changes in rankings fast.