GA4 Paid Search and Non-Paid Search Views Reporting: 3 Methods and Step-by-Step Setup

GA4 paid search and non-paid search views reporting is the process of separating and comparing traffic, sessions, and page views generated by paid search campaigns from those generated by organic search results. GA4 uses default channel groupings to classify these sources. The 3 methods to report them include the Traffic Acquisition report, Comparisons, and Explorations.

What Is Paid Search and Non-Paid Search Views Reporting in GA4?

Google Help explains the official process in Set up conversion tracking for your website.

Paid search and non-paid search views reporting in GA4 is the measurement of page views and sessions attributed to paid search channels versus organic search channels within the same property. Google officially retired Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023, and GA4 restructured how traffic channels are classified and reported.

In GA4, "Views" is a unified metric that combines web page views and mobile app screen views, replacing the separate "Pageviews" metric from Universal Analytics. Channel types that fall under each category include:

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• Paid Search: Traffic arriving via cpc, ppc, or paid UTM mediums, such as Google Ads and Microsoft Ads
• Organic Search: Traffic arriving from unpaid search engine results, such as google/organic and bing/organic

How Does GA4 Classify Paid Search and Organic Search Traffic?

GA4 classifies paid and organic search traffic using default channel groupings based on UTM parameters, session medium values, and Google Ads account linking. GA4 reads the session medium to assign each session to the correct channel group.

Sessions without UTM parameters arriving from a search engine are classified as Organic Search by default. Sessions from Google Ads are classified as Paid Search only when Google Ads is linked to the GA4 property or when UTM parameters are applied correctly to all ad destination URLs.

What Are the 3 Methods to Report Paid vs Non-Paid Search Views in GA4?

The 3 methods to report paid versus non-paid search views in GA4 are the Traffic Acquisition report, Comparisons, and Explorations. Each method provides a different level of reporting depth and customization.

Method 1: Traffic Acquisition Report

The Traffic Acquisition report is the fastest method to view paid and organic search sessions and page views side by side in GA4. Follow these 5 steps:

1. Open GA4 and navigate to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.
2. Confirm the primary dimension is set to "Session default channel group."
3. Locate the "Paid Search" and "Organic Search" rows in the data table.
4. Click the pencil icon to customize columns and add "Views" if it is not already displayed.
5. Compare views, sessions, and engagement rate between both channel groups directly in the table.

Method 2: Comparisons

Comparisons in GA4 enable simultaneous side-by-side reporting of paid and organic search data across any standard report. Follow these 4 steps:

1. Open any GA4 standard report, such as Traffic Acquisition or Pages and Screens.
2. Click "Add comparison" at the top of the report interface.
3. Set the dimension to "Session default channel group" and the value to "Paid Search." Click Apply.
4. Add a second comparison with the value set to "Organic Search" to display both channels in parallel columns.

Method 3: Explorations

Explorations provide the most flexible method for building custom paid versus non-paid search views reports in GA4. Follow these 6 steps:

1. Navigate to Explore in the left GA4 navigation panel.
2. Select "Free Form" exploration to open a blank report canvas.
3. Add "Session default channel group" as a dimension in the Variables panel.
4. Add "Views," "Sessions," "Engaged sessions," and "Conversions" as metrics.
5. Apply a filter to include only rows where "Session default channel group" equals "Paid Search" or "Organic Search."
6. Export the completed report to Google Sheets or download it as a CSV for further analysis.

What Metrics Are Available for Paid and Non-Paid Search Views Reporting in GA4?

GA4 provides 6 primary metrics for comparing paid and non-paid search performance in views reports. These include:

Views per session and engagement rate are the 2 most effective metrics for comparing content quality between paid and organic traffic in GA4 reports.

Why Is Paid Search Traffic Misclassified as Organic Search in GA4?

Paid search traffic is misclassified as organic search in GA4 when UTM parameters are absent from paid ad destination URLs. There are 3 primary causes:

1. Missing UTM parameters: Ad URLs without utm_medium=cpc or utm_medium=ppc are read as organic sessions by GA4's channel grouping rules.
2. Google Ads account not linked to GA4: Without account linking, Google Ads click data does not pass session-level attribution to GA4 for untagged URLs.
3. Auto-tagging disabled in Google Ads: Auto-tagging appends the gclid parameter to destination URLs automatically. Disabling it removes automatic paid search classification in GA4.

According to Google's official GA4 documentation, channel group assignment follows a defined rule set evaluated in order, and sessions that match no rule are assigned to "Unassigned." Verifying UTM tagging across all paid search URLs prevents this misclassification.

How Do You Use UTM Parameters for Accurate Paid Search Reporting in GA4?

UTM parameters ensure accurate paid search classification in GA4 by explicitly defining the traffic source, medium, and campaign name for every ad destination URL. A correctly tagged paid search URL requires 3 parameters:

• utm_source: the search engine, such as google or bing
• utm_medium: the traffic type, which must be cpc or ppc for paid search classification
• utm_campaign: the campaign identifier, such as brand_q2_2025

An example of a correctly tagged destination URL reads: domain.com/landing-page?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand_q2

Using values outside cpc or ppc for utm_medium, such as ad or search, results in sessions being assigned to the "Unassigned" channel group in GA4 rather than Paid Search.

Does GA4 Paid Search Reporting Require Google Ads Integration?

GA4 paid search reporting does not require Google Ads integration when UTM parameters are correctly applied to all ad destination URLs. Linking Google Ads to GA4 provides 4 additional reporting capabilities that UTM parameters alone do not deliver:

1. Import of Google Ads cost data, including impressions, clicks, and cost per click, directly into GA4 reports
2. Access to the dedicated Google Ads report section within the GA4 Acquisition menu
3. Automatic gclid-based session attribution without manual UTM tagging on every URL
4. Ability to import GA4 conversion events back into Google Ads for smart bidding optimization

Linking is completed in GA4 under Admin > Google Ads Links > Link. The integration is free and imported data appears in GA4 within 24 hours of activation.