Today, we're showing you how to see the internal search terms users are typing on your website in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This way, you can understand what users are looking for and make improvements to your site.
What is an Internal Search?
When someone visits your website and uses the search box to look for specific content, products or services, that's an internal search. They might type in terms like "shopify", "a name" or other relevant keywords for your product or service.
How to Setup and View
Enable Enhanced Measurement
- Navigate to the Admin section of your GA4 account.
- Under the Data Stream tab, ensure that enhanced measurement is activated. Access the "advanced settings" and look for your query parameter, typically represented as
?q=.
Create Custom Dimension
- In the Admin section, go to Custom Dimensions.
- Click on Add New.
- For both the "event_parameter" and "dimension_name" fields, input
search_term.
Wait 24-72 hours
After setting up, it takes 24 to 72 hours to start gathering the data.
View Event Reports
Engagement -> Events
After the waiting period, you can view the event reports. This provides insights into the terms users are searching for on your site.
Customize Reports and Add New Dimension Columns
Now that you have this custom dimension, you can customize your reports by adding the "dimension" to most reports.