How to Use Google Analytics and Search Console to Monitor Traffic

To monitor website traffic using Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you should first understand how each tool provides insights and then link them for a comprehensive view.

Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to Monitor Traffic:

1. Access Traffic Reports:
   • Navigate to Acquisition > Traffic acquisition in GA4.
   • This report shows the channels driving traffic to your site, such as organic search, direct, referral, and paid campaigns.
2. Analyze Traffic Sources:
   • Use the session default channel group or switch to session source/medium to see detailed traffic origins.
3. Page-Level Traffic:
   • Go to Engagement > Pages & Screens to view page-specific traffic.
   • Add dimensions like source/medium to understand where visitors to each page come from.
4. Key Metrics:
   • Focus on metrics such as sessions, users, event counts (e.g., first visits), and engagement to evaluate traffic quality and behaviour.

Using Google Search Console to Monitor Organic Search Traffic:

1. Set Up and Verify Your Site:
   • Add your website as a property in Search Console and verify ownership.
2. Access Search Performance Data:
   • Search Console provides data on queries, impressions, clicks, click-through rates (CTR), and average position in Google Search results.
3. Reports by Device, Query, and Landing Page:
   • Analyze how your site performs on different devices and which queries bring traffic.
   • Identify landing pages with low CTR to optimise for better search performance.

Integrating Google Analytics and Search Console:

• Linking the two accounts allows you to view Search Console data inside Google Analytics under Acquisition > Search Console.
• This integration merges organic search data (queries, CTR, impressions) with behavioural data (bounce rate, conversions) from Analytics.
• It helps identify which search queries drive traffic and how those visitors behave on your site, enabling better SEO and content decisions.

Summary of Steps:

By using both tools together, you gain a holistic view of your website traffic, combining detailed user behaviour with search performance data, which is essential for effective traffic monitoring and optimisation.