Google Analytics KPIs to Track in GA4

Google Analytics KPIs: Using GA4 to Steer SEO and GEO

If you have already covered the fundamentals in Google Analytics, the next step is selecting and structuring the KPIs within Google Analytics that turn GA4 data into concrete SEO and GEO decisions. The aim here is not to rehash the tool itself, but to go deeper into KPI selection, interpretation and instrumentation (events, conversions, value), with a performance-led approach suited to today's SERPs and generative AI engines.

What You Need to Have Right in Google Analytics 4 Before Choosing KPIs

Before debating the "right" KPIs, there is one non-negotiable prerequisite: data quality. Google Analytics relies on a tracking tag (JavaScript) deployed across your pages or via a tag manager (such as GTM). KPI reliability therefore depends directly on implementation (tag, triggers, data layer), the true tracking scope, and counting rules. For a full refresher on the current version of the tool, see Google Analytics 4.

• Session rules: by default, a session ends after 30 minutes of inactivity and may restart if navigation crosses midnight or if the marketing source changes.
• User identity: a "user" is a cookie-based identifier, not a guaranteed individual. One person across several devices can be counted as multiple users, and you should not add up users across sub-periods to estimate a longer timeframe (double-counting risk).
• GA4 events: GA4 uses an event-based model, which changes how you design KPIs — engagement KPIs, micro-conversions and conversions all depend on standard or custom events.

In short: if instrumentation is incomplete (untagged pages), inconsistent (variable event names), or disrupted (consent issues), your KPIs may look plausible but remain difficult to act on.

Why Acquisition, Engagement and Conversion KPIs Help You Avoid Vanity Metrics

Volume metrics such as sessions and page views are useful, but they quickly become vanity metrics if you do not connect them to intent (engagement) and outcomes (conversion, revenue). A robust approach is to structure your analysis into three blocks:

• Acquisition: where traffic comes from (organic, direct traffic, referral…), and which landing pages capture demand.
• Engagement: whether visitors genuinely interact (engagement rate, engagement time, events per session) rather than simply passing through.
• Conversion: whether those visits produce conversions (macro and micro), and then value (pipeline, revenue, ROI).

This structure reduces analysis paralysis: you start with a question (for example, "Which types of SEO pages generate qualified leads?"), then choose the KPIs that allow you to act quickly.

GEO Angle: Measuring Visibility in Generative AI Answers (and Tracking Limitations)

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) introduces an important constraint: a growing share of visibility does not necessarily translate into a click. The figures are telling — zero-click searches now account for 60% of queries (Semrush, 2025), and AI Overviews can increase impressions whilst reducing organic traffic by -15% to -35% (as summarised in aggregated GEO data).

The KPI implication is significant: GA4 only measures what clicks and arrives on your site. For GEO, you therefore need to:

• Track post-click KPIs (engagement, conversions, value) to assess the quality of visits attributed to AI platforms.
• Strengthen attribution (source/medium) to isolate visits genuinely originating from these environments, where attribution is available.
• Accept a structural limitation: some GEO impact occurs before GA4 (visibility without a click), which calls for a complementary opportunity-led perspective rather than a sessions-only view.

Recent data suggests visitors arriving via AI answers can be 4.4× more qualified than those from traditional search (Squid Impact, 2025) and show +15% to +30% higher engagement (Search Engine Land, 2026). This reinforces the value of engagement and conversion KPIs over raw volume.

Choosing KPIs by Objective: Visibility, Leads, Revenue and ROI

A good KPI is one that triggers a decision. To avoid accumulating metrics with no practical use, start from your primary objective (SEO visibility, lead generation, revenue) and define 3–5 tier-1 KPIs, supported by diagnostic indicators.

KPIs for Measuring SEO and Content Performance

For editorial SEO, the most useful question is not "How many page views did we get?" but "Which organic landing pages generate attention and intent?" The most actionable KPIs typically combine:

• Sessions from organic search (trend, seasonality, impact of a given optimisation).
• Landing pages and their contribution: which content captures intent.
• Engagement rate and engagement time by page: spotting a mismatch between the promise (title/meta) and the on-page content.
• SEO micro-conversions: clicks to pricing, contact, downloads, deep scroll, internal search, and so on.

This approach reflects a core principle: not all KPIs carry equal value relative to your objective, and prioritisation beats tracking everything indiscriminately.

KPIs to Monitor GEO Impact: Traffic, Engagement and Conversions from Generative AI Answers

In GEO, you are validating two things: (1) whether you can generate visits attributable to AI sources when they exist, and (2) the post-click quality. A pragmatic selection includes:

• Sessions and users by source/medium where AI platforms provide a usable referrer (interpret cautiously, as attribution may be incomplete).
• Engagement rate and events per session on these segments (quality signal).
• Conversion rate and value per user for that traffic, to test the "more qualified" hypothesis (Squid Impact, 2025).

Given the growth in AI-referred traffic — for example +300% global year-on-year growth according to Coalition Technologies (2025), and 1.13 billion monthly visits generated by AI according to Similarweb (2025) — isolating this segment is becoming increasingly relevant for acquisition analysis.

Business KPIs to Connect Acquisition, Pipeline and SEO ROI

For a B2B website, the priority is moving beyond a "traffic" narrative and demonstrating genuine business contribution. Typical KPIs include:

• Primary conversions: demo requests, meetings booked, qualified leads.
• Micro-conversions: intent-signalling actions (click to contact, pricing page visit, PDF download).
• Value: conversion value (where available) or an estimated goal value, to connect acquisition to business impact.
• ROI indicators: consolidating into an SEO ROI view (contribution → value → decision-making).

This approach becomes even more critical in volatile SERPs (AI Overviews, zero-click). Put simply: if sessions are flat but engagement and conversion are rising, you have delivered profitable optimisation without needing additional volume.

Core Metrics to Understand (and How to Interpret Them Safely)

Core metrics remain essential, but they come with calculation rules and inherent biases. Overlooking these risks optimising in the wrong direction.

Sessions, Users and Page Views: What You Are Actually Counting

Sessions: a session represents a visit within a given timeframe. By default, it ends after 30 minutes of inactivity. A visit spanning midnight may be counted as two sessions, and a change in marketing source can also trigger a new session.

Users: users are identified via cookies. Multi-device and multi-browser behaviour can inflate counts. Crucially, you should not sum monthly users to arrive at a quarterly figure, because the same user can return across multiple months, leading to double counting.

Page views: these count page loads and naturally increase with repeat visits and longer navigation. They describe consumption, not outcomes.

New vs Returning Users: Reading Change Without Bias

The split between "new" and "returning" users relies on cookie identifiers. It is useful for:

• Understanding intent: impulse actions (first visit) versus considered decisions after multiple visits — especially when cross-referenced with the conversion rate KPI.
• Assessing retention: via the sessions-to-users ratio (sessions per user), which serves as a proxy for repeat behaviour.

Biases to anticipate: cookie deletion, private browsing and device switching can artificially push "returning" users into the "new" bucket.

Pages per Session and Session Duration: Analysing Content Consumption

Pages per session measures average exploration depth. An increase can signal better internal linking or deeper reading, but a very high value may also indicate difficulty finding information (a UX issue). Always interpret in context.

Average session duration is a useful indicator but is biased by how sessions end. Google Analytics only registers duration when an event fires. If no interaction is recorded on the final page, duration will be underestimated — a user who spent 30 minutes reading may be measured at 10 minutes if no action occurred on the last page.

Bounce Rate vs Engagement Rate: Avoiding Confusion Between UA and GA4

In the older Universal Analytics model, a bounce typically meant a session with a single interaction (often just one page view). As soon as a second tracked interaction occurs (click, scroll, form interaction, additional page view), the session is no longer classified as a bounce.

GA4 favours an engagement-led model, and in many cases bounce rate becomes less central than engagement rate. The key is to avoid mechanically comparing UA and GA4 periods, and to interpret bounce rate alongside page type (editorial content versus transactional landing page) and the events you actually track.

Advanced GA4 KPIs to Prioritise for Performance Management

Advanced KPIs are not complex for the sake of it — they are simply closer to decisions: optimising content, user journeys, CTAs, funnels and channels. In GA4, they almost always depend on well-defined events.

GA4 Engagement Rate: What It Measures and When It Becomes Actionable

Engagement rate measures the proportion of sessions in which users actively interact. From an SEO standpoint, it is immediately useful: you can identify content that attracts visits but fails to deliver (low engagement), which often points to:

• a mismatch between search intent and content (the landing page does not truly answer the query);
• an over-promising title or snippet;
• UX weaknesses (readability, mobile experience, page speed).

Conversely, a low-volume source with strong engagement may justify editorial prioritisation or wider distribution.

Events and Key Events: Turning Interactions into Operational KPIs

GA4 tracks interactions as events (clicks, scrolls, downloads, and so on). For KPIs, the goal is not to measure everything, but to define a concise set of business-relevant events that you can:

• segment (by page, source/medium, device, geography);
• promote to key events to power conversion reporting;
• standardise across dashboards.

A simple but highly effective example is counting clicks on a CTA (demo request, contact form) to capture intent signals before the final conversion.

Conversions and Conversion Rate: Essential KPIs for B2B

Conversions underpin performance KPIs. In Google Analytics, a conversion is the recording of an action defined as a business objective met. In GA4, you mark events as conversions, but the underlying logic remains consistent: interaction → business objective → measurement.

For conversion rate, formulas vary by context, but the principle is stable: relate the volume of conversions to visits or sessions. A commonly cited formula is (goal conversions ÷ sessions) × 100, though the exact approach should reflect your measurement model.

Where to Find Conversion Rate in GA4 and How to Use It by Channel, Page and Audience

To locate and use this KPI effectively in GA4:

• First, ensure your important events are marked as conversions (key events).
• Analyse conversion rate by channel (organic, email, referral, direct), then by landing page (which SEO content initiates journeys) and by audience (new vs returning, device, region).

This segmentation answers an operational question: "Where do our best leads come from?" rather than "How much traffic did we receive?"

Going Further with Conversion Rate KPIs Based on Your Objectives

Conversion rate only makes sense when tied to a specific objective. A practical approach distinguishes between:

• Macro-conversions: demo requests, qualified form submissions, purchases.
• Micro-conversions: CTA clicks, form starts, key-page visits, downloads.

This is particularly valuable in B2B, where sales rarely happen on the first visit. For a comprehensive framework, the dedicated article on the conversion rate KPI provides a solid starting point, after which you can return to GA4 to segment and diagnose.

Revenue and Value: Connecting Marketing Performance to Business Impact

When e-commerce tracking is in place, revenue becomes a direct KPI. In B2B, "value" can also be modelled via goal values — assigning a monetary figure to a non-transactional action. The aim is not perfect precision, but internal consistency that enables meaningful comparisons between pages, channels and time periods.

GA4 Acquisition KPIs: Correctly Attributing SEO, GEO and Campaigns

The quality of acquisition KPI analysis rests on two disciplines: (1) understanding dimensions (source/medium, channels), and (2) correctly tagging campaigns with UTMs. Without this, performance gets misclassified into catch-all buckets such as direct or noisy referral.

Source/Medium, Channels and UTMs: Building Reliable Acquisition Reporting

Sound analysis relies on the source/medium dimension (typical examples: google/organic, newsletter/email). This level of granularity enables informed decisions: one channel may deliver many sessions but few conversions, or vice versa.

In a GEO context, be rigorous with UTMs on distributed content (newsletters, shared articles), because platforms and browsers may weaken referrer data. The more fragile the attribution, the more you need strict, consistent naming conventions.

Understanding Referral Traffic Without Over-Interpreting It

The "referral" channel captures visits from links on other websites. Analysis quickly becomes misleading if:

• you have self-referrals (your own domain appears as the referrer);
• payment gateways, authentication steps or redirects break sessions;
• intermediary platforms generate technical referrers with limited analytical value.

Before drawing conclusions, clarify what lies behind this channel, as detailed in the article on referral traffic.

Understanding Direct Traffic and When It Masks Other Sources

"Direct" does not always mean the user typed your URL directly. It can also conceal missing attribution (links without UTMs, app traffic, certain browsing environments). If you observe an increase, begin with a diagnostic:

• recent campaigns launched without UTMs;
• links shared in environments that do not pass referrer data;
• redirects or poorly configured cross-domain tracking.

For a detailed walkthrough and common scenarios, see the article on direct traffic.

SEO KPIs and Search Console: Queries, Landing Pages and Intent (a Complementary View)

GA4 explains what happens after a user arrives on your site. For SEO, you also need a "before the click" perspective: queries, landing pages and search intent. Google Search Console provides this layer, and the key is to combine:

• pages gaining impressions but losing clicks (in the context of AI Overviews and zero-click searches);
• pages that attract visits but fail to engage (GA4);
• pages that engage but do not convert (offer, CTA or friction issues).

This logic naturally extends a data-driven approach to SEO — and Incremys integrates both Google Analytics and Google Search Console via API within its 360° SEO SaaS platform, so these views are available in one place.

Setting Up Custom Events for Tailor-Made KPIs

Tailor-made KPIs almost always stem from custom events. GA4 allows considerable personalisation, but best practice is to start simple (enhanced measurement) and add only what genuinely supports a decision.

Define a Measurement Plan: Naming Conventions, Parameters and Governance

A measurement plan helps you avoid two common pitfalls: "measure everything" (noise) and "measure ad hoc" (inconsistency). Define:

• a list of events (standard and custom);
• stable naming conventions (snake_case, action verbs);
• essential parameters (page, location, CTA label, destination URL);
• clear ownership (who builds, who approves, who documents).

Always test systematically in the Realtime report before going live, to avoid broken KPIs persisting for weeks undetected.

Tracking CTA Clicks (Navigation, Downloads) as Micro-Conversions

For a B2B site, CTAs reflect intent. Tracking clicks on elements such as:

• "Request a demo";
• "Contact us";
• "View pricing";
• "Download" (guide, case study, datasheet),

creates intermediate KPIs that occur far more frequently than final conversions. This accelerates SEO optimisation cycles: you can refine content as soon as CTA intent weakens, without waiting for sufficient lead volume to accumulate.

Measuring Forms, Demo Requests and Funnel Steps: B2B-Relevant Conversions

A form should not be treated as a single event. To manage the funnel effectively, measure individual steps:

• form start (intent);
• validation error (friction point);
• submission (conversion);
• thank-you page (confirmation).

You can then analyse drop-off by step and optimise the weakest point — a logic that applies regardless of whether you are using UA or GA4.

Data Quality: Exclusions, Self-Referrals, Cross-Domain and Parameter Consistency

An advanced KPI is only as reliable as your data hygiene. Common checks include:

• Exclude internal traffic to avoid inflated KPIs from testing, staff browsing or supplier activity.
• Prevent self-referrals (which pollute referral data) via correct cross-domain configuration.
• Standardise parameters: if a CTA label varies between "demo" and "Demo Request", your reporting will fragment.
• Monitor disruptions: changes to consent banners, tracking tags or the data layer can produce false drops in conversions that are easy to misdiagnose.

Dashboards and Reporting: Making KPIs Clear and Actionable

KPIs only deliver value if they are regularly consulted and clearly understood. A dashboard acts as a filter: it surfaces the metrics people actually use and eliminates manual workarounds such as copy-pasting data or taking screenshots.

Building a Useful KPI Dashboard for Different Stakeholders (Marketing, Sales, Leadership)

The same website serves multiple KPI audiences:

• Marketing: acquisition by channel, engagement on SEO landing pages, micro-conversions, cost per lead where connected.
• Sales: lead volume and quality, pages and content that precede contact requests.
• Leadership: 3–5 headline KPIs (SEO trend, engagement, conversions, value).

To operationalise this, a well-structured dashboard separates tier-1 KPIs from diagnostic views — for example, a conversion dip at the top level, then a breakdown by landing page and device below.

Tracking Rhythm: Weekly, Monthly and Post-Optimisation Reviews

An effective cadence combines:

• Weekly: anomaly detection (tracking breaks, engagement drops on key pages, attribution drift).
• Monthly: SEO trends (landing pages, engagement, conversions) and editorial prioritisation.
• Post-optimisation: before/after analysis on a specific segment (page, cluster, audience) to evidence the impact of an SEO or GEO improvement.

Compliance and Reliability: Reading KPIs in a GDPR Context

In Europe, analytics measurement does not exist in isolation. Consent and compliance influence volumes, audiences and sometimes attribution. A transparent approach to governance is essential.

Consent, Modelling and Thresholds: Their Impact on Your KPIs

Depending on consent levels, certain KPIs may be under-measured. It is also worth noting the retention periods of Google Analytics cookies — for example, _ga and _ga_# persist for up to 2 years, whilst _gid lasts 1 day. Key takeaways:

• a consent management platform (CMP) can widen the gap between GA4 figures and back-office data;
• track trends within a stable configuration rather than seeking a single "true" number;
• interpret KPIs in light of any changes to consent settings or tracking configuration.

For a fuller framework on this topic, see the article on GDPR and Google Analytics.

Matomo vs Google Analytics: Governance and KPI Interpretation

Comparing web analytics solutions is often a question of compliance, governance and measurement discrepancies. From a KPI standpoint, the key is to define:

• which solution serves as the reference for which decisions;
• how you document differences (consent handling, calculation methods, attribution models);
• how you preserve comparability over time.

To explore these criteria without bias, the article on Matomo vs Google Analytics provides a balanced comparison.

Centralising GA4 KPIs for SEO with Incremys (at a Glance)

When several teams — marketing, content, leadership — rely on the same KPIs, the challenge is no longer accessing metrics, but centralising them and connecting them to SEO and GEO decisions. In this context, Incremys provides a consolidation point via its Performance Reporting module, integrating Google Analytics and Google Search Console via API within a 360° SEO SaaS platform.

What the Performance Reporting Module Covers for Content Impact Tracking

The principle is to bring together, in a content- and performance-led view, the KPIs that truly matter for steering strategy: organic acquisition trends, page-level engagement, micro-conversions and conversions, and contribution analysis (including ROI indicators where data is available and consistent). The goal mirrors that of GA4 itself: connect each KPI to an action — optimise a page, prioritise a cluster, improve a CTA — with a simpler workflow suited to regular reporting cycles.

FAQ: Google Analytics KPIs in GA4

What are the most important Google Analytics KPIs for SEO and GEO?

For SEO and GEO, prioritise a "volume + quality + value" mix:

• sessions from organic search (trend over time);
• landing pages and performance by page;
• engagement rate and engagement time (post-click quality);
• micro-conversions (CTA clicks, downloads);
• primary conversions and, where possible, value (pipeline or revenue).

What are the main KPIs to prioritise for a B2B website?

In B2B, focus on:

• engagement rate (to assess traffic quality);
• clicks on strategic CTAs (intent signals);
• form submissions and demo requests (primary conversions);
• conversion rate by channel (to inform acquisition decisions);
• value per user or conversion value, if you can model it.

How do you find the conversion rate in Google Analytics (GA4)?

In GA4, begin by marking your key events as conversions. Then review the conversion reports and segment by channel, landing page and audience. The real value lies not just in locating the number, but in explaining it: which channel converts best, which pages initiate journeys, and which segments outperform others.

What is the difference between core metrics (sessions, users, page views) and advanced KPIs (engagement, conversions, revenue)?

Core metrics primarily describe volume and consumption — visits, cookie-identified users, page loads. Advanced KPIs reflect intent (engagement, events) and outcomes (conversions, value, revenue). In SEO and GEO management, it is the advanced KPIs that enable meaningful prioritisation and improvement.

How do you define goals in GA4, and how do they relate to conversions?

The underlying logic remains consistent: an interaction (event) represents a business objective being met, which then becomes a measured conversion. For a clear framework, see the article on goals in Google Analytics, then apply a practical rule: 1–3 primary conversions (macro) plus a limited set of micro-conversions.

How do you track a CTA or button click in GA4 using a custom event?

Create a click event (via enhanced measurement if it covers your needs, or with a dedicated configuration otherwise) and add useful parameters (button text, placement, target URL). If the click signals strong intent — such as "Request a demo" — treat it as a micro-conversion. For further detail, see the article on clicks in Google Analytics.

How do you analyse referral traffic properly and avoid false positives?

Start by checking for self-referrals, redirects and intermediary domains (payment gateways, authentication flows). Then analyse referral by source/medium and quality signals (engagement, conversion rate), rather than volume alone. The article on referral traffic provides a useful reference.

Why is direct traffic increasing, and how can you diagnose it?

A rise in direct traffic may stem from campaigns without UTMs, environments that do not pass referrer data, or incomplete cross-domain configuration. Diagnose by reviewing recent marketing activity, checking redirects and comparing direct traffic across landing pages. Common scenarios are covered in the article on direct traffic.

How can you measure GEO impact in GA4 if some visits are poorly attributed?

In GA4, you primarily measure post-click impact. Isolate what you can attribute (source/medium where available), then assess quality via engagement and conversion KPIs. For visibility without a click, adopt a complementary view based on SEO signals (impressions, changes in cited pages, landing-page performance), because GEO is structurally constrained by tracking limitations when users do not visit the site.

Does engagement rate replace bounce rate in GA4?

GA4 places greater emphasis on engagement, and bounce rate is generally less central than it was in Universal Analytics. The most reliable approach is to analyse engagement (and events) by page type and objective, treating bounce rate as a secondary indicator to be interpreted with care.

New vs returning users: how should you segment and interpret them to manage SEO?

Segment new versus returning users, then cross-analyse with:

• SEO landing pages (which content recruits new visitors versus retains existing ones);
• micro-conversions and conversions (impulse actions versus considered, multi-visit decisions);
• channels (some recruit, others re-engage).

Keep the cookie bias in mind — deletion, private browsing and multi-device usage can all artificially inflate the "new" user count.

Which KPIs help prove SEO's contribution to ROI, beyond traffic volume?

To evidence ROI contribution, prioritise:

• primary conversions attributed to SEO (directly or as an assisted channel);
• conversion rate by organic landing page;
• value (e-commerce revenue or estimated conversion value);
• engagement trends, since more qualified traffic can deliver results even when session volume is flat.

For the decision-making framework behind this logic, see the article on SEO ROI.

Where can you find reliable figures to contextualise your KPIs (SEO, SEA, GEO)?

To add context — benchmarks, market trends, usage shifts — draw on dedicated quantified sources, for example:

• SEO statistics (CTR, market share, SERP dynamics);
• SEA statistics (paid CTR and conversion benchmarks, useful for comparing acquisition logic);
• GEO statistics (AI platform growth, click impact, quality signals).

To keep developing your SEO, GEO and digital marketing performance with a data-driven approach, explore the Incremys blog.