When Universal Analytics retired, everyone measuring SEO had to move to Google Analytics 4 — and that is not an updated UA but a fundamentally different system with an event model, different reports and different logic. Many SEOs still get lost finding organic traffic in GA4 and counting conversions from search. This guide covers how to set up GA4 specifically for SEO, link it to Search Console, which reports are actually useful, where GA4 has blind spots — and why the Russian market needs GA4 complemented by Yandex Metrika.
The GA4 event model vs UA sessions
The key GA4 difference is that everything is measured as events, not pages and sessions as in UA. A page view, a scroll, a click, a form submit, a purchase — all are events with parameters. Sessions exist in GA4 too but are a derived metric, not the basis of reports. For SEO this means a shift in thinking: instead of "how many organic sessions" you think "how many users came from organic, how engaged they are (engaged sessions), and which key events they completed". The "engaged sessions" metric (a session longer than 10 seconds, or with a conversion, or with 2+ views) replaces the old bounce rate in GA4 and reflects SEO traffic quality more accurately.
Linking GA4 to Google Search Console
The first thing an SEO should do in GA4 is link it to Google Search Console. It is done in Admin → Product links → Search Console. After linking, two reports appear in GA4: "Google Organic Search Queries" (impressions, clicks, CTR, average position by query — the same data as GSC but next to behaviour) and "Google Organic Search Traffic" (what users do on the site after clicking from search). This is the bridge between "how we are found" (GSC) and "what they do next" (GA4). Without the link, GA4 shows behaviour but not the search queries people arrived on.
Key SEO reports in GA4
To see organic traffic specifically, use the "Traffic acquisition" report in GA4 and filter by the Organic Search channel. Here is what an SEO should actually watch:
- Organic Search in Traffic acquisition — users, sessions, engaged sessions and key events from organic.
- Landing page report — which pages bring organic traffic. The main report for content SEO.
- Engagement rate and average engagement time — traffic quality by page and channel.
- Conversions (key events) split by channel — how many goal actions organic drives.
- Period comparison and an "Organic Search only" segment — to track SEO month-over-month.
Setting up conversions (key events) for SEO
SEO with no link to conversions is traffic for traffic's sake. In GA4 conversions are now called "key events". Set up the actions that mean a result for your business: form submit, call, add-to-cart, purchase, sign-up, download. Mark the relevant event as a key event in settings, and the reports will show how many of those actions organic traffic drives. This turns the SEO report from "N visitors arrived" into "SEO brought N leads worth M" — the language leadership speaks.
GA4 blind spots for SEO
GA4 is strong on behaviour and conversions but has limits worth remembering. It does not show search positions (that is GSC and Webmaster). Data may be sampled at large volumes and on complex reports. GA4 classifies part of Yandex organic traffic as Organic but gives no detail on Yandex queries — for that you need Yandex Webmaster. And crucially: GA4 is a Google-centric tool, while in the Russian market a significant share of traffic comes from Yandex, which GA4 sees only partially. So for the Russian market GA4 alone gives an incomplete picture.
Yandex Metrika for the Russian market
If your site targets the Russian market, Yandex Metrika is a mandatory second counter alongside GA4. It has tools Google lacks: Webvisor (recordings of user actions on the page), click and scroll heatmaps, a path map. For SEO, Metrika reflects the behaviour of the Yandex audience more accurately and integrates with Yandex Webmaster. Set up goals in Metrika (the conversion equivalent) for the same business actions as in GA4 so you can compare. Metrika's downside is that it is about the Yandex ecosystem and sees Google behaviour worse. So the right Russian-market setup is both counters at once.
How to reconcile GA4, Metrika, GSC and Webmaster
You end up with four sources: GSC (Google queries and positions), Yandex Webmaster (Yandex queries and positions), GA4 (behaviour and conversions, mostly Google) and Metrika (behaviour, mostly Yandex). Reconciling them by hand in spreadsheets is painful and a constant source of errors (different session definitions, different time zones, different attribution). That is exactly why aggregator platforms exist: they pull data via API from all sources and show positions, clicks, CTR and traffic for Google and Yandex in one dashboard. Site Metrics Tool is built precisely for this — dual GSC + Webmaster integration with unified analytics, history and alerts, so you do not stitch four systems together by hand.
SEO analytics setup checklist
- GA4 installed and linked to Google Search Console.
- Yandex Metrika installed (for the Russian market) with Webvisor enabled.
- Key events (conversions) configured in GA4 and goals in Metrika, for the same actions.
- An Organic Search segment/report is set up for regular review.
- GSC and Yandex Webmaster verified — the source of truth for queries and positions.
- Data reconciled in one dashboard (via a platform), not manual spreadsheets.
GA4 is a powerful tool, but for SEO it only works in combination: with Search Console for queries, with Metrika for the Yandex audience, and with Webmaster for Yandex positions. Set this up once, tie conversions to organic — and your SEO report starts speaking about money, not just traffic. And to avoid stitching sources by hand, keep positions, clicks and CTR for both engines in one place — Site Metrics Tool does it automatically.
Frequently asked
Where do I see organic traffic in GA4?
The "Traffic acquisition" report, filtered by the Organic Search channel. It shows users, sessions, engaged sessions and key events from organic. For pages, use the landing-page report with the same filter.
Does GA4 replace Google Search Console?
No. GA4 shows behaviour and conversions; GSC shows queries, impressions, positions and indexing with 16 months of history. You link them (Admin → Product links → Search Console), but GSC remains a separate, essential tool, as does Yandex Webmaster for Yandex.
Do I need Yandex Metrika if I have GA4?
For the Russian market — yes. GA4 is Google-centric and sees Yandex-audience behaviour poorly, while Metrika offers Webvisor, heatmaps and Yandex Webmaster integration. The right Russian-market setup is both counters at once.
What are engaged sessions in GA4?
An engaged session is one longer than 10 seconds, or with a conversion, or with 2+ screen views. In GA4 it replaces the old bounce rate and better reflects SEO traffic quality: a high engaged-session share from organic is a good sign.
How do I count SEO conversions in GA4?
Set the relevant actions as key events — form, call, purchase, sign-up. Then view those events split by the Organic Search channel. That shows SEO's contribution to real business results, not just traffic.