Why does GA4 no longer display organic keywords?

GA4 does not receive organic search keywords from Google Search, so it cannot show them in its own reports. The search queries are only available in Google Search Console. If you link Search Console to your GA4 property, GA4 shows the queries in a separate report, the Google Organic Search Queries report.

When someone clicks on your site in organic Google results, GA4 records the source as google / organic, but not the search term. This has been the case for many years and is not a GA4 error. Search Console gets its data directly from Google Search and shows queries, clicks, impressions and average position.

How do I get search queries into GA4?

You need the Editor role in GA4 and must be a verified owner of the Search Console property. You can verify ownership during the linking process.

1. In GA4, open Admin and under Product links click Search Console links.
2. Click Link, choose the Search Console property you manage and confirm.
3. Select the web data stream of your website, then review and submit the link.
4. Go to Library in the left navigation and publish the Search Console collection. It is unpublished by default, which is why many people never find the reports after linking.

After that, the Search Console section in your reports contains two reports: Google Organic Search Queries with search terms and Search Console metrics, and Google Organic Search Traffic with landing pages combined with GA4 metrics such as engagement and key events.

Why are queries still missing after linking?

• Delay. According to Google, Search Console data is available in GA4 about 48 hours after Search Console has collected it.
• Wrong property. The Search Console property must cover the same pages as the GA4 web stream. A URL-prefix property for http:// or without www may not include most of your traffic. A domain property is usually the safer choice.
• Start date. Data in GA4 only starts from the later of two dates: when the web data stream was created or when the site was verified in Search Console.
• 16 months. Search Console keeps data for 16 months. Older queries are not available in GA4 either.
• Thresholds. If a report or exploration contains search query information, GA4 may withhold rows if there are not enough users. A longer date range often helps.

What can the Search Console reports in GA4 do, and what can they not?

The query report can only be broken down by Search Console dimensions. You can combine Search Console metrics with just three GA4 dimensions: landing page, device and country. You cannot see which search term led to a specific purchase or lead. Time-series charts are not supported in these reports either.

The limits of the link are also strict: one web data stream can be linked to only one Search Console property, and vice versa. Links cannot be edited; to change one, you delete it and create a new one.

Link GA4 to a Search Console domain property, publish the Search Console collection in the library and analyse search terms in Search Console itself. Use the landing page report in GA4 to see which organic pages lead to key events.

Sources

• Analytics Help: Connect Search Console to Google Analytics
• Search Console Help: Performance report (Search results)
• Analytics Help: About data thresholds

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