google-analytics-tool

Google Analytics (GA4) Tool

GA4 has an official MCP server from Google. When connected, use it for website traffic analysis, conversion attribution, and user behavior data. GA4 answers "what happens AFTER someone finds you."

When to Use GA4 vs Other Tools

You Need	Use GA4	Use Instead
Traffic to location pages	✅	—
Conversion tracking (calls, forms, bookings)	✅	—
Traffic source attribution (organic vs paid vs GBP)	✅	—
Geographic traffic patterns	✅	—
User behavior (bounce rate, engagement, time on page)	✅	—
GBP-specific traffic (via UTM)	✅	—
What keywords people searched to find you	❌ Very limited	GSC (query data)
Search rankings	❌	Local Falcon, Semrush
Backlinks	❌	Ahrefs
SERP features	❌	SerpAPI

Critical Distinction

GA4 shows what happens ON YOUR WEBSITE. It does NOT show:

• GBP interactions that don't reach your website (calls from GBP, directions from GBP, map views)
• Map pack clicks that go to the GBP profile, not the website
• Local Falcon/ranking data

For complete local performance: GA4 (website) + GSC (organic queries) + GBP Insights (profile interactions) + Local Falcon (map rankings).

Core Workflows

Location Page Traffic Analysis

When: User asks "how are my location pages performing?" or "which locations get the most traffic?"

What to pull:

1. Landing page report filtered to location page URLs
2. Metrics: Sessions, users, engaged sessions, engagement rate, conversions
3. Compare across location pages

How to interpret:

• Location page with high traffic but low engagement: Content doesn't match what visitors expect — check title alignment
• Location page with high engagement but low conversions: Missing or weak CTA (call button, form, booking link)
• Location page with no traffic: Not indexed (check GSC) or no keyword targeting (check local-keyword-research)
• Big traffic differences between location pages: Might reflect market size, or some pages are better optimized

Conversion Tracking

When: User asks "how many leads am I getting?" or wants to measure ROI.

Key local conversions to track:

Conversion Event	How to Track	Setup Required
Phone calls (click-to-call)	Event on tel: link clicks	Yes — event must be configured
Form submissions	Event on form submit/thank-you page	Yes — event or thank-you page trigger
Direction requests	Event on directions link clicks	Yes — event on link
Booking/scheduling	Event on booking completion	Yes — depends on booking system
Chat initiated	Event on chat widget open	Yes — event on widget

If conversions aren't set up: Tell the user. GA4 doesn't track conversions automatically. Without configured events, you can only report traffic, not leads.

What to look for:

• Conversion rate per traffic source (organic vs paid vs direct vs referral)
• Conversion rate per location page
• Which pages generate the most conversions (not just traffic)
• Conversion trends over time (improving or declining?)

GBP Traffic Attribution

When: User wants to know how much traffic comes specifically from their Google Business Profile.

How it works: GBP website links should include UTM parameters. Common patterns:

• utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp
• utm_source=gmb (older convention)

What to pull:

1. Filter by source/medium matching GBP UTM parameters
2. Sessions, users, conversions from GBP specifically
3. Compare GBP traffic to overall organic traffic

If no UTM tracking: Most businesses don't set this up. Recommend adding UTM parameters to the GBP website URL so future data can be attributed.

Geographic Traffic Analysis

When: User wants to know where their website visitors are located.

What to pull:

1. Geographic report by city/region
2. Filter to organic traffic only
3. Compare against service area

How to interpret for local:

• Traffic concentrated in one city but business serves a wider area: Need service area pages for other cities
• Traffic from cities outside service area: Content attracting non-local visitors (may or may not be useful)
• No traffic from a city in the service area: No content targeting that area, or not ranking there

Traffic Source Comparison

When: User wants to understand their traffic mix.

Pull traffic by source/medium:

• Organic search (Google/Bing) → SEO working
• Direct → Brand awareness / repeat visitors
• Referral → Links from other sites sending traffic
• Paid search → Google Ads / PPC
• Social → Social media channels

Healthy local business traffic mix:

• Organic: 40-60% (should be the largest source)
• Direct: 20-30% (brand recognition)
• Referral: 5-15% (healthy backlink profile)
• Paid: varies by budget
• If organic is under 30%, SEO needs work

Key Metrics and What They Mean

Metric	What It Is	Local SEO Context
Sessions	Website visits	Total demand reaching your site
Engaged Sessions	Sessions with meaningful interaction	More important than raw sessions
Engagement Rate	Engaged sessions ÷ Total sessions	Below 50% on location pages = content problem
Conversions	Completed goal actions	THE metric — everything else is a means to this
Conversion Rate	Conversions ÷ Sessions	Benchmark: 3-5% for local service businesses
Bounce Rate	Sessions with no interaction	GA4 bounce = not engaged. High bounce on location pages = bad signal
Average Engagement Time	Time actively on page	Under 30 seconds = content isn't connecting

What to Do Next

What You Found	Next Action	Skill
Location pages with low traffic	Check GSC for indexing, then check keyword targeting	google-search-console-tool, local-keyword-research
Traffic but no conversions	Add/fix CTAs, forms, click-to-call	local-landing-pages
No conversion tracking set up	Configure GA4 events before anything else	Technical setup needed
GBP traffic not being tracked	Add UTM parameters to GBP website URL	gbp-optimization
Good traffic from organic but bad conversion rate	Landing page content/design issue	local-landing-pages
Geographic gaps in traffic	Build location pages for underserved cities	local-landing-pages, service-area-seo
Need this in a client report	Include traffic and conversion data in reports	local-reporting

Default next step: Traffic without conversion tracking is vanity metrics. If GA4 events aren't configured, that's the first thing to fix — before any SEO work, you need to be able to measure results.