How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 and Search Console for Your Business Website

Two free Google tools tell you almost everything you need to know about your website's performance. Google Search Console shows how you appear in Google Search. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) shows what visitors do once they arrive. Here's how to set up both properly.

Google Search Console vs Google Analytics

Step 1: Set up Google Search Console

1. Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your business Google account.
2. Choose Domain property (recommended) and enter your domain without https or www.
3. Google gives you a TXT record. Add it in your domain's DNS settings (at your registrar or wherever your DNS is managed).
4. Click Verify. DNS changes can take a little time to take effect.
5. Go to Sitemaps and submit your sitemap URL (often /sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml on WordPress with an SEO plugin).

Step 2: Set up Google Analytics 4

1. Go to analytics.google.com, open Admin and create an account and a property for your business.
2. Set your time zone and currency correctly (for example India, INR).
3. Add a Web data stream with your website URL.
4. Copy the Measurement ID (starts with G-).
5. Add it to your site. On WordPress this is usually done with Site Kit by Google or your SEO/analytics plugin, or by adding the Google tag to your theme.
6. Open Reports → Realtime and visit your site to confirm it's working.

Step 3: Track the actions that matter

Page views alone don't tell you if the site brings business. Track the actions that lead to enquiries:

• Contact form submissions (a thank-you page or a form event)
• Clicks on phone numbers (tel: links)
• WhatsApp button clicks
• Email link clicks

Then mark the most important ones as key events in GA4 so you can see which pages and traffic sources produce leads.

Step 4: Link the two tools

In GA4 Admin, link your Search Console property. You'll then see search queries alongside visitor behaviour in Analytics.

What to check every month

• Search Console → Performance: top queries and pages, and which are growing
• Search Console → Pages: pages not indexed and why
• GA4 → Traffic acquisition: which channels bring visitors
• GA4 → Key events: how many enquiries, and from where

Need help?

Getting tracking right, especially for forms and WhatsApp clicks, is fiddly the first time. It's usually included in a proper WordPress SEO setup, so you can see from day one what's working.

Sameer Gupta

Freelance WordPress developer and founder of Samverse. Builds websites for clinics, manufacturers, agencies and online stores.