Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the current version of Google’s analytics platform. It records what visitors do on a website or app as a stream of events, such as page views, scrolls, clicks and purchases, and reports where those users came from, how engaged they were and which key events they completed.
GA4 replaced Universal Analytics, which stopped processing data for standard properties on 1 July 2023. The big change is the data model. Universal Analytics was built around sessions and pageviews; GA4 treats everything as an event with parameters. A page view is a page_view event, a form submission might be a generate_lead event, and you choose which events count as key events.
GA4 also changed its headline metrics. Bounce rate came back in 2022 but is now defined as the inverse of engagement rate. Conversions were renamed key events in 2024. Standard properties keep detailed user and event data for 2 or 14 months (you set this in Data retention), while standard aggregated reports are not affected by that setting.
Why Google Analytics 4 matters for SEO
Search Console tells you how you were found. GA4 tells you whether those visits were worth anything. To judge SEO by results, you need to know how organic visitors behave: which landing pages they arrive on, whether they engage, and whether they sign up or buy.
The organic search channel in GA4 (the "Organic Search" default channel group) lets you compare SEO with paid, social, email and referral traffic on the same terms, and put a value on it for SEO ROI. GA4 does not show the search queries behind organic visits; link it to Search Console to see query and landing page data side by side.
How to see organic traffic in GA4
- Open Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
- Keep the primary dimension as Session default channel group and look at the Organic Search row for sessions, engaged sessions, engagement rate and key events.
- To see which pages organic visitors land on, open Engagement > Landing page and add a filter or comparison for Session default channel group = Organic Search.
- Link Search Console under Admin > Product links > Search Console links, then publish the Search Console collection in the Library so its query and landing page reports appear.
- Mark the events that matter to your business as key events so you can see which organic landing pages produce them.
Google Analytics 4 FAQ
Is GA4 free?
Yes, the standard version of GA4 is free. Google Analytics 360 is a paid version for large organisations with higher limits and service agreements.
Does GA4 show organic search keywords?
No. Google encrypts search queries, so GA4 shows the visit as Organic Search but not the keyword. Link GA4 to Search Console to see queries next to landing pages.
Can I still use Universal Analytics?
No. Standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data in July 2023 and the interface and API were later shut down. GA4 is the only current version.
Related SEO terms
Google Search Console is Google’s free tool that shows how your site performs in Google Search and flags indexing, security and spam problems.
Engagement rate in GA4 is the share of sessions that were engaged: lasted 10+ seconds, had a key event, or had 2+ page or screen views.
Bounce rate in GA4 is the share of sessions that were not engaged. It equals 100% minus engagement rate.
Key events are the GA4 events you mark as important to your business, such as a purchase or sign-up. Google renamed conversions to key events in 2024.
UTM parameters are tags added to a URL, such as utm_source and utm_medium, that tell analytics tools where a visit came from.
Organic traffic is the visitors who reach your site by clicking an unpaid search result rather than an ad, link or social post.
Looker Studio, renamed Data Studio in 2026, is Google’s free dashboard tool, often used to build SEO reports from Search Console and GA4.