If you're running a website, it's important to track your traffic and page views to see how your site is doing. Two of the most popular tools for doing this are Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Google Search Console is a powerful tool that allows website owners to keep track of their website's presence on Google search, while Google Analytics provides you with information about your website's traffic sources, user behavior, and more. In this article, we'll show you how to link Google Search Console to Google Analytics. This will allow you to view your website's traffic data in one place.
What is Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free web service offered by Google that helps webmasters track their website's performance in Google search results. It also provides tools to help improve your website's visibility and ranking in the Search Engine Result Page (SERP). You can use Google Search Console to:
- monitor your website's indexing status and performance in SERP;
- monitor your website's search traffic;
- identify and fix website errors;
- submit and manage your website's XML sitemaps;
- see how your website's robots.txt file is affecting how your website is indexed and ranked in Google search results;
- monitor your website's security and malware status;
- view your website's performance.
What is Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analysis service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Website owners can use Google Analytics to monitor the following indicators:
- website traffic, including visitors and their demographics;
- how the website is being used;
- effectiveness of website marketing campaigns.
Google Analytics is a freemium service, meaning that it offers a limited free version and a more comprehensive paid version. The paid version of Google Analytics offers more features, such as the ability to track website conversions, navigate to user paths, and track phone calls and e-commerce transactions. GA is one of the most popular website analysis tools available. It is used by millions of websites, including many of the most visited websites in the world.
How to connect Google Search Console to Google Analytics Account?
For integrating Google Search Console with Analytics you need both accounts set up. Then you can follow these steps:
1. To start linking Search Console to Google Analytics, log into your Google Analytics account and click on the Admin tab.
2. Account column – select the account you want to connect to your Search Console account.
3. Property column – select the property you want to connect to your Search Console account.
4. Property column – click Property Settings.
The information about your site will appear on the screen in the "Properties Settings". It is important to make sure that the default URL is the one you are using.
5. Scroll down and click “Adjust Search Console”.
In case you didn't link Google Analytics to Google Search Console yet, you will see the Add button.
Click Add and select a Search Console property to connect your website to.
Select a Google Analytics property to associate with this property.
And click “Associate” to confirm the association.
6. Now your site's correct URL should be displayed in the Search Console settings.
After connecting to the Google Search Console, you will have to wait a couple of minutes for the data to be filled in.
How to view reports in GA after connecting to Google Search Console?
Viewing reports in GA after connecting to Google Search Console is a fairly simple process.
1. The first step is to navigate to the Acquisition > Search Console > Queries in GA.
2. In the upper-right corner of the table, use the date selector to view data for a specific range of time.
3. In the table, use the dimension to view different types of data.
4. To view data from a specific country, filter the table by country.
5. Use the compare function to compare data between two time periods.
6. Export the data in the table to PDF, Google Sheets, Excel (XLSX), or CSV file.
How can I use the data from GSC in my Google Analytics Account?
When the data has been imported, you can use it in your reports. For example, you can view it in the “Acquisition > Search Console” report.
This report shows the number of impressions, clicks, and position data from GSC for the selected date range. You can also see how this data compares to the data from Google Analytics.
The Google Search Console data can also be used in other reports, such as the “Audience > Geo > Location” report.
This report shows the location of your website visitors, based on the IP addresses of their devices. You can see which countries your website visitors are from, as well as the cities and regions. The Google Search Console data can be helpful in understanding how your website is performing in different locations. For example, if you notice that your website is getting a lot of traffic from a certain city, you can investigate and see what’s causing it.
You can also use the Google Search Console data to improve your website’s SEO. For example, if you notice that your website is ranking lower than you want in the SERP, use the data from GSC to identify the keywords that you need to rank higher for.
Conclusion
By following these simple steps, you can connect your Google Search Console account to your Google Analytics account, giving you access to powerful data and insights about your website's search traffic. Doing so will allow you to see how your website's search traffic is performing, as well as identify any potential issues that may be impacting your traffic levels. Additionally, you can use this data to improve your website's search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing efforts.
FAQ
Why should I link Google Search Console to Google Analytics?
The main reason you should link Google Search Console to Google Analytics is to get more comprehensive data about your website traffic. Google Search Console provides data about how your website is performing in Google search results, while Google Analytics provides data about how your website is performing overall. By linking the two accounts, you can get a more complete understanding of how your website is performing.
Can I connect Google Search Console and Analytics?
Yes, you can connect Google Search Console and Analytics. Doing so allows you to view data from Search Console in Analytics and from Analytics in Search Console. To do this, you will need to create a property in Search Console for your website and then add the website to your Analytics account.
Does Google Search Console have an API?
Yes, Google Search Console has an API. It can be used to get information about your website, such as indexed pages, query data, and crawl errors.
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