SEO: How to connect your Google Search Console to Google Analytics
Why This Matters
If you run a website, chances are you’ve wondered if all those tweaks you’ve made—the new blog post, the snappier homepage, the SEO plugin—are actually sending any more people your way. Did your latest update move the needle, or is your content still floating aimlessly in Google’s search results? That kind of uncertainty wastes hours you could spend actually improving your site, not squinting at ambiguous data.
Google provides two helpful tools for understanding traffic: Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Many people use them separately or muddle through a basic setup and never get the full picture. With Analytics, you get visitor numbers. Search Console tells you which keywords bring people to the door. When you combine both, you can finally see what draws potential customers in and what sends them away. If you don't integrate them properly, your SEO turns into guesswork and your improvements lose effectiveness. This leads to lost time, missed opportunities, and mounting frustration.
Common Pitfalls
Plenty of site owners, especially those new to SEO or using platforms like Squarespace, stumble over the same rough ground:
- Trying to connect mismatched Google accounts. Using different logins for Analytics and Search Console quickly causes problems.
- Fumbling through account permissions. If your site isn’t properly verified in Search Console, Analytics will politely ignore your requests.
- Assuming the tools talk to each other by default. They don’t. You have to link them properly or important data gets left behind.
- Expecting instant results. The data sync isn’t always lightning fast, and some integrations take 24 hours to kick in.
- Overlooking the data itself. It's easy to become so focused on connecting the accounts that you forget to check if the right data is actually showing up.
If any of the above rings true for you, you're part of a common group. Even seasoned website owners make these mistakes, particularly when balancing too many tasks at once.
Step-by-Step Fix
Here’s the process in straight lines, minus any unhelpful jargon and sales nonsense. If you’re running Squarespace, the steps are the same. Keep your Google tabs open and don’t skip the Tips.
Step 1: Make sure your Google accounts match
You need the same Google login for both Search Console and Analytics. If you haven’t already, check which account owns your website in Search Console. Then, verify you’re using that identical account for Analytics.
If you inherited a site from someone else, add your preferred Google account as a user before doing anything else. This avoids watching help videos in despair later, realising you’ve linked the wrong email.
Step 2: Confirm site verification in Search Console
Log into Google Search Console. Your site should appear in your dashboard. If it doesn’t, hit “Add Property” and follow the prompted steps. There are several methods (HTML tag, DNS record, or via Google Analytics if you’re lucky).
If you’re on Squarespace, the easiest method is usually the HTML tag: copy the code from Search Console and paste it into your Squarespace’s SEO settings under “Header”. Give it a few minutes, refresh, and Google should acknowledge you as the rightful owner.
Step 3: Access the right property in Google Analytics
Open Google Analytics, click the gear icon (Admin) at the bottom left, and make sure you have the correct property (your website) selected in the centre column. If your website isn’t there, you need to add it first.
If you manage multiple sites, double-check the domain matches your intended website. Many a Monday morning has been spent wondering why the Search Console integration isn’t working, only to find out you linked the wrong property.
Step 4: Link Search Console to Analytics
- With the correct property selected, click “Property Settings”.
- Scroll down until you find the “Search Console” section.
- Click “Adjust Search Console”.
- You’ll be redirected to Search Console’s settings page. Here, pick your website from the available list and save.
You may be asked to confirm permissions or complete verification again if you skipped Step 2.
If you don’t see your site listed, revisit Search Console and double-check you used the exact URL (http/https, www or not) as in Analytics. Even the smallest mismatch can prevent linking.
Step 5: Check data is flowing
After a successful link, head back to Analytics and look under the “Acquisition” tab on the sidebar menu. Open “Search Console”, then “Landing Pages” or “Queries”. You should see a combined view of Analytics traffic with Search Console keyword data. If it’s blank, give it a few hours.
Bookmark this screen and add it to your browser favourites. This view gives you a clear look at how your SEO efforts are affecting both what users click (from Google) and how they behave when they land on your site.
Step 6: Use what you find
Don’t settle for just watching the graphs. Look for queries that are getting impressions but not clicks. Check landing pages with high bounce rates. Here, you can identify which content needs a tweak or where new content can most improve your rankings.
Export data to Google Sheets or Excel once a month. Trends often appear in regular tracking that are invisible from isolated snapshots. Frequent, small improvements can lead to significant results.
What Most People Miss
Most advice stops at “get the data.” There’s an important next step: asking the right questions once the setup is finished. Are people searching for the terms you actually want to rank for? Is your best content being buried where no-one sees it, simply because you focused on traffic alone instead of intent?
High-traffic pages aren’t always the ones that convert. For example, a post about “how to connect Search Console to Analytics” might bring in many visitors, but those who subscribe, buy, or book services may have found your site through less obvious posts. After linking your tools, look for subtle patterns: odd spikes, sudden keyword drops, or pages that gain traction for unexpected queries. Opportunities often appear when you go beyond surface-level stats.
The Bigger Picture
Sorting out this integration goes beyond simply checking a box for SEO. It creates a system that saves hours every time you need to answer “what’s working?” or “why did traffic dip last month?” When you see exactly which keywords brought in visitors and what they did after landing on your site, you can fine-tune your Squarespace content, fix weak spots, and avoid wasting time and budget on strategies that don't deliver.
For businesses or solopreneurs who want to grow, having a setup like this ensures a high-quality site stays at the top of results. You avoid wasting effort trying to decipher scattered data. With everything in one place, you'll have more time to produce content—or enjoy some coffee—and less time spent wrangling spreadsheets.
Wrap-Up
Linking your Google Search Console and Analytics accounts isn’t glamorous, but it is one of the simplest ways to make real progress with your SEO. You gain clear insights into what drives your visitors, identify where to improve, and see evidence that your changes are effective.
If you want straightforward website advice that improves results, not just more tinkering, join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.
Written by William Hammond
Technical Director, Pixelhaze Academy
Will heads up the technical development at Pixelhaze, ensuring both our Squarespace templates and plugins are reliable and finely tuned. With a background in coding and a passion for clear, practical advice, Will’s guides focus on real-life web design problems and no-nonsense solutions. When not knee-deep in code, you’ll find him brewing coffee strong enough to wake the dead.