Listen to this post: Using Google Analytics 4 to Measure SEO Performance (and Prove It)
SEO can feel like putting up road signs across a busy town. You can paint them bright, place them at every junction, and hope people follow them.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the CCTV. It won’t tell you where your signs sit in Google’s results, but it will show who arrived, which door they used (organic search), what they read, and whether they did anything that matters after the click.
This guide keeps it practical. You’ll set up GA4 so organic traffic data is clean, focus on the few metrics that tell the truth, and build a calm monthly routine you can repeat without getting lost in charts.
Set GA4 up so organic traffic data is clean and usable
Photo by Negative Space
If GA4 is mis-set, SEO reporting turns into guesswork. The goal is simple, collect reliable data from every page, and record meaningful behaviour on content pages.
Start with the minimum that affects SEO reporting:
- GA4 property and web data stream: Make sure the stream points at the right domain and protocol (https).
- Install the Google tag (gtag.js) or use Google Tag Manager: Either is fine, consistency matters more than the method. Check that GA4 fires on every template, including blog posts and landing pages.
- Enhanced Measurement: Turn it on. For SEO, the built-in events are useful on content-heavy sites, including scroll tracking, outbound clicks, and site search. These aren’t “vanity” events when used with care, they help you see if organic visitors actually used the page.
Two settings save a lot of pain later:
- Set event data retention to 14 months so you can do proper year-on-year checks. SEO moves slowly, so short retention hides patterns.
- Exclude internal traffic using GA4 data filters (your office, your home IP, your agency). Otherwise your own visits can inflate organic sessions, engagement, and conversions.
If you want Google’s official view on how GA4 works as “the next generation” of Analytics, this help page gives solid background: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10089681?hl=en
Define SEO success with conversions (not just clicks)
Traffic is attention, conversions are intent.
SEO is only “good” when it leads to an action you care about, such as:
Newsletter sign-up: A reader wants more.
Contact form submit: A lead is raised.
Demo request: A sales conversation starts.
Purchase: Revenue lands.
In GA4, the flow is straightforward:
- Create or identify an event that fires when the action happens (for example
generate_lead,sign_up,purchase). - Mark the event as a conversion inside GA4.
Keep names tidy. Don’t create five events that mean “lead” with slightly different spellings. When reports get messy, people stop trusting them, then SEO becomes a debate instead of a decision.
Link Google Search Console to connect queries to on-site behaviour
GA4 tells you what happens after the click. Google Search Console tells you what happened before the click.
When you link Search Console, you can bring in query and search performance fields like clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. That connection is gold for SEO because it helps you spot patterns like:
- Pages that rank and get clicks, but don’t convert (a page intent problem, or a weak next step).
- Pages that convert well, but need more traffic (a content promotion or internal linking opportunity).
Once linked, you’ll find the Search Console reports within GA4’s reporting area (under the Search Console section). For a broader overview of GA4 SEO reporting ideas, this breakdown is useful context: https://measureschool.com/seo-reports-in-google-analytics-4/
The SEO metrics in GA4 that actually tell the story
Most GA4 reports become clear when you stick to three questions:
- How many people came from organic search?
- Did they engage with the site?
- Did they convert?
Before judging anything, filter to Organic Search using “Session default channel group”. Otherwise you’ll mix SEO with paid, email, social, and referrals, and the story won’t make sense.
Traffic quality basics: users, sessions, engagement rate, average engagement time
Keep the definitions simple:
Users: How many people visited (roughly, it’s a modelled count).
Sessions: How many visits happened (one user can have multiple sessions).
Engagement rate: The share of sessions that were “engaged” (GA4 treats an engaged session as one that lasted 10 seconds or more, had a conversion, or had 2 or more page views).
Average engagement time: How long the site was actively in focus.
GA4 uses engagement rate as the headline, rather than bounce rate. If you miss bounce rate, you can still view it in GA4, but engagement rate is usually the better lens for SEO content.
A practical benchmark from recent industry guidance is to aim for engagement rate above about 63 percent for B2B sites and 71 percent for B2C, then improve from there based on your niche and page type.
Also, don’t chase daily spikes. SEO traffic can wobble for all sorts of reasons, including weekends, news cycles, and algorithm updates. Trends over weeks are steadier.
Business outcomes: conversions, conversion rate, revenue from organic (if you sell online)
This is where SEO earns its keep.
Conversions (Organic Search) tell you whether search visitors take action.
Conversion rate (Organic Search) helps you judge page intent and offer strength.
Revenue and items purchased matter if e-commerce tracking is set up.
A simple check that often surprises people is comparing organic conversion rate to other channels. If organic sessions rise but conversion rate drops, you might be ranking for broader queries that bring weaker intent. If organic conversion rate is strong but traffic is flat, you likely need more pages aimed at high-intent searches.
The GA4 reports to use for SEO wins (and what each one is for)
Think of GA4 reports like a map. You don’t need every street, just the routes that get you where you’re going.
Traffic acquisition and User acquisition to track organic growth
- Traffic acquisition shows what drove each session. Use it to measure organic session growth and check engagement and conversions for Organic Search.
- User acquisition shows where new users first came from. Use it to see whether SEO is bringing fresh audiences, not just repeat visitors.
The decision this supports: are you growing meaningful organic traffic, or just adding more low-quality visits?
Landing pages and Pages and screens to find your best and worst SEO pages
Filter to Organic Search, then review landing pages and page performance with three quick sorts:
- High organic traffic, high conversions: protect these pages. Update them, improve internal links, and keep them accurate.
- High traffic, low engagement: fix the mismatch. Tighten the opening, answer the query faster, improve layout, and reduce distractions.
- Good engagement, no conversions: the content may be fine, but the next step is hidden. Add clearer calls to action, add a relevant lead magnet, or link to a product page that fits the reader’s goal.
Enhanced Measurement events can help here. Scroll and outbound clicks won’t replace conversions, but they can hint at whether readers used the page or just bounced off the first screen.
Search Console reports inside GA4 to improve CTR and content intent
Two quick plays you can action today:
High impressions, low CTR: Your page shows up, but people don’t click. Improve the title tag and meta description so they match the query and promise a clear outcome.
Decent clicks, weak engagement: People click, then leave. Rewrite the intro, reduce fluff, and bring the answer closer to the top. Add internal links that point to the next useful page.
If you want more examples of GA4 use for SEO, this guide adds extra ideas without drowning you in options: https://agencyanalytics.com/blog/seo-reports-in-google-analytics-4
Explorations for deeper SEO analysis (when the default reports stop helping)
When standard reports feel too rigid, Explorations let you build exactly what you need.
Two useful options:
Organic landing pages exploration: A table with landing page, sessions, engagement rate, average engagement time, conversions, and revenue (if relevant). This helps you rank pages by business impact, not just traffic.
Path exploration for organic users: See where organic visitors go next, and where they drop. This shows whether your internal links guide people to key pages, or whether they hit a dead end.
Turn GA4 data into a simple monthly SEO routine (and avoid common mistakes)
SEO reporting should feel like checking the weather, not solving a puzzle. Same time each month, same core checks, a short list of actions.
A 20-minute monthly SEO check you can repeat
- In Traffic acquisition, compare last 28 days vs previous 28 days for Organic Search.
- Check engagement rate and average engagement time for the same view.
- Review top organic landing pages, then note which pages drive conversions.
- Open Search Console reports and scan for high impressions with low CTR.
- Write down 2 to 3 actions only (update one page, improve one title and meta, add one stronger conversion step), then track next month.
Mistakes that make SEO look better or worse than it is
Forgetting the Organic Search filter: You end up judging “marketing”, not SEO.
Not setting conversions: You can’t prove value, only traffic.
Comparing GA4 to Universal Analytics 1:1: The models differ, so expect different numbers.
Leaving short data retention: You lose year-on-year context.
Not excluding internal traffic: Your team becomes your best “SEO audience”.
A simple rule keeps you honest: trust trends, not single metrics.
Conclusion
If SEO is the signposts, GA4 is the footage that shows what people did once they arrived. It turns “we think SEO is working” into proof, engagement, conversions, and revenue tied to Organic Search.
Start small today. Clean up your GA4 setup, mark one real conversion, then check your top five organic landing pages. Which page deserves a refresh, and which one deserves a stronger next step?
