How to Link Google Analytics and Search Console

Analytics knows what people did once they arrived. Search Console knows what they searched to get there, and how many people saw you and didn't click. Linking the two properties puts Search Console's data inside GA4, so you can follow a query through to what the visit was worth without switching tools.

1. Check you have the right permissions on both sides. You need Editor or Administrator on the GA4 property and verified ownership of the Search Console property. If a colleague or an agency owns one of them, this is where it stalls.
2. In GA4, open Admin, then under Product links choose Search Console links, then Link.
3. Choose the Search Console property. Only properties you personally own will be listed — if yours isn't there, you're signed in as an account that has access but not ownership.
4. Pick the web data stream the link applies to. A GA4 property can hold several streams, and the Search Console data attaches to just one.
5. Confirm and submit the link.
6. Publish the reports. The link alone doesn't make anything visible — go to Reports, then Library, find the Search Console collection, and publish it. Skipping this is the usual reason people link the two and then say nothing happened.
7. Wait about 48 hours for data to appear, then look under Search Console in the reports navigation. You'll get two: Queries, showing search terms with impressions, clicks and average position, and Google organic search traffic, which pairs the landing page with what people did after arriving.
8. Read the two sources knowing they count differently. Search Console counts clicks on a search result; GA4 counts sessions. The numbers will never match exactly, and a small gap is normal rather than a sign of a broken link.

Which search terms actually bring me visits that convert?

Ask datanephew — with both sources connected it reads your search data and your analytics together, so it can answer across the two without you linking anything in GA4.

My Search Console clicks and GA4 sessions don't match — which is right?

Both, of the thing each one measures. They count different events, and blocked or bounced-back visits appear in one and not the other. Ask datanephew if the gap is wide enough to be worth investigating.