Documentation
How to connect a GA4 property
Grant read-only Analytics access once per Google account, then choose the GA4 property for each site. The steps, the property id and common errors.
Connecting GA4 involves two decisions: which Google account may read your Analytics data, made once per account, and which GA4 property belongs to which site, made once per Search Console property. Both happen on the site's Google Analytics (exp.) page. If your Google account can already see the GA4 property, the whole thing takes about a minute.
Before you start
- The site's Search Console property is already in AutoPSEO. See Connecting Search Console.
- A Google account you can sign in with has at least the Viewer role on the GA4 property. Viewers "can see settings and data" (Access and data-restriction management), which is all AutoPSEO needs.
- You own the property in AutoPSEO. Teammates can read the GA4 reports afterwards, but only the owner can couple a GA4 property.
Step 1: open the site's GA4 page
Open the site and, in the sidebar's Analytics section, click Google Analytics (exp.). The address is /property/<site>/analytics. The site's Property Setup page leads to the same place: its Google Analytics (GA4) section has a Set up Google Analytics for this property button and, once you are connected, shows the coupled property's id.
Step 2: grant read-only Analytics access
If none of your linked Google accounts has granted Analytics access yet, the page offers Connect Google Analytics. It opens Google's consent screen, which asks for read-only access to Google Analytics; the Search Console permissions you gave earlier are kept. Choose the Google account that can see the GA4 property. It does not need to be the account you use for Search Console. Google then sends you back to the property picker.
You can grant the same access from Account → Google Analytics (GA4) → Connect Google Analytics. Under Linked Google Search Console accounts on that page, any account without Analytics access has a Grant Google Analytics access link. A grant belongs to the Google account, so you give it once, however many sites you connect later.
Step 3: choose the GA4 property and save
Choose a GA4 property lists every GA4 property that your Analytics-enabled Google accounts can see, written as Account / Property name (numeric id) followed by the email address of the account that sees it. Type in the filter box to narrow the list by account, property name, numeric id or email, select the property and click Save. The page reloads as the GA4 Overview, with the property's name and id in the header.
If the property belongs to a Google account you have not linked yet, click Connect another account beside the Save button and approve with that account.
Where to find the property id
The number in brackets is the GA4 property id. Google Analytics shows it under Admin, in the property's settings (Property ID). Pasting it into the filter box is the fastest way through a long list, and it is how you confirm you picked the property your site's tag actually sends data to.
Changing or removing the connection
- change, next to the property id in the header of any GA4 report, reopens the picker so you can couple a different property.
- disconnect asks you to confirm, then unlinks GA4 from this site. Nothing changes in the GA4 property itself, and you can couple it again whenever you like.
- To stop AutoPSEO reading a Google account's Analytics data altogether, unlink the account in Account settings, or remove AutoPSEO's access from your Google Account (Manage links between your Google Account and apps). Sites that read GA4 through that account stop loading GA4 data until you link it again or pick the property from another account.
When the property is missing or the reports do not load
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| None of your connected Google accounts has granted read-only Google Analytics access yet. | No linked account has the Analytics permission. | Use Connect Google Analytics (step 2). |
| No GA4 properties found for your connected Google accounts. | The accounts with Analytics access see no GA4 property. | Link the account that has access, or ask a GA4 administrator to give yours the Viewer role. |
| A line starting "Google said:" under the picker | Google refused to list one account's properties and gave this reason. | Usually a permission problem on that account. Properties from your other accounts still appear. |
| Google Analytics property … is not accessible with the connected Google account. | The account lost its access to the property, or never had it. | Check the account's role in GA4, then reload or choose the property again. |
| Google Analytics property … was not found. | The property was deleted or the id is wrong. | Compare the id in the header with the one in GA4 and couple again. |
| Google Analytics API quota exceeded for this property. | The property's Data API quota is used up, and it is shared with every tool that reads the property (Data API limits and quotas). | Wait a minute and reload. |
| The Google account for this GA4 property is gone | The account the site was coupled through has been unlinked. | Connect account, or Choose a GA4 property from another account. |
| GA4 analytics isn't available for shared properties yet. | You are a teammate on a site whose owner has not coupled GA4. | Ask the owner to connect it. |
If the reports load but every number is zero, check the date range first: GA4 has nothing from before the property started collecting. Then compare the id in the header with the property your site's tag sends to.
Try it before connecting your own
The demo property is permanently coupled to a sample GA4 property, so you can explore every report first: open the demo's GA4 page.