How to Connect Google Analytics (GA4)

Connecting Google Analytics 4 unlocks Searchlight's AI Visibility tab — a dedicated view that classifies your traffic as AI, SEO, Social or Direct, and tracks every visit referred from an AI assistant. The connection is one-click via Google OAuth and uses read-only scopes.

4 min readUpdated April 2026

What you need before you start

A Google account that has at least Viewer access to a GA4 property, and a Searchlight subscription on the Professional or Enterprise tier. The site you want to connect should already be tracked in your Searchlight dashboard.

Step-by-step: connect your GA4 property

1
Open the domain dashboard
Sign in to Searchlight, go to your Dashboard, and select the domain you want to connect from the domain switcher at the top.
2
Open the Analytics card
Scroll to the 'Analytics & Search Console' section. You'll see a 'Connect Google Analytics' button if no property is linked yet.
3
Authorize with Google
Click 'Connect Google Analytics'. You'll be redirected to Google's standard OAuth consent screen. Sign in with the account that has access to your GA4 property and approve the read-only analytics scope.
Tip: If you manage multiple Google accounts, double-check you're signing in with the one that has GA4 access — this is the most common cause of 'No properties found'.
4
Pick the GA4 property
After authorizing, Searchlight lists every GA4 property you have access to. Choose the one that matches the domain you're connecting and confirm.
5
Verify the connection
You should see a green 'Connected' badge and the AI Visibility tab will start populating with data on your next visit. First-time fetches can take up to 60 seconds.
Pro tip: Once connected, Searchlight syncs automatically. You don't need to reconnect unless you revoke access in your Google account.

What you unlock

AI Visibility tab with AI / SEO / Social / Direct traffic classification, top sources with auto-tagged AI referrals (chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai, claude.ai, gemini.google.com), top pages by engagement, and bounce rate trends.

Troubleshooting

If you see 'No data yet', confirm the GA4 property has tracking installed and is receiving events. If properties don't appear, sign out and reconnect with a different Google account. To remove the connection at any time, click 'Disconnect' on the Analytics card or revoke access from your Google Account permissions page.