Google Analytics 4 Connection Guide

Connect once with your Google account and see traffic, channels and conversions right inside ClickSentinel.

Why connect GA4 to ClickSentinel?

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the most widely used traffic measurement tool, showing how many users you have, where they come from, and what they do on your site. ClickSentinel syncs this GA4 data and cross-references it with its internal Quality Score to reveal the gap between what Google reports and genuinely high-quality traffic.

The connection uses Google's official OAuth2 flow with read-only access (analytics.readonly), storing the token completely separately from your Google Search Console token — disconnecting GA4 never affects an existing GSC connection. Once connected, data syncs automatically every day at 3:15 AM.

A dedicated dashboard: Users, Sessions, Engagement, channels, events, revenue
Track Active Users in real time (Realtime)
Doesn't touch your existing Google Search Console connection

Key concepts

Total Users & Sessions

Total Users is the count of unique visitors; Sessions is the number of visits — one user can generate multiple sessions in a day.

Engagement Rate

Share of sessions with real engagement (lasted over 10s, had a conversion, or viewed 2+ pages) — the inverse of Bounce Rate.

Channel Group

Traffic source grouping: Organic Search, Direct, Referral, Paid Search... shows which channel is performing best.

Key Events

Events marked as business goals (sign-ups, purchases, contact forms) — equivalent to what used to be called Conversions.

How it works

1Go to GA4 in ClickSentinel, pick a Site and click "Continue with Google".
2Sign in with a Google account that has access to the GA4 property and approve the read-only (analytics.readonly) permission.
3Select the GA4 Property matching the site you track from the list of available properties.
4Wait for the first sync, then check the GA4 Dashboard for users, sessions, channels and events.

Frequently asked questions

Does connecting GA4 affect my existing Google Search Console connection?

No. GA4 uses a completely separate OAuth token (analytics.readonly scope), stored independently from the GSC token — connecting or disconnecting GA4 has no effect on GSC.

Can I connect multiple GA4 properties?

Yes, up to your plan limit (Free: 1 property, Starter: 3, Pro: 10). Each site in ClickSentinel connects to one corresponding GA4 property.

Is GA4 data shown in real time?

The Active Users widget shows who is active right now (refreshing every 30 seconds), while historical data syncs automatically every day at 3:15 AM.

Why don't GA4 numbers match ClickSentinel's Click Logs?

GA4 counts every visit, including low-quality/simple bot traffic, while ClickSentinel scores and filters suspicious traffic (VPN, bots, duplicate clicks). The gap between the two numbers is exactly the traffic worth scrutinizing.