Ultimate Guide to SEO Reporting: The Basics

That first article you spotted on the SERPs?

It gets an average click-through rate (CTR) of 31.7% and is 10X more likely to attract a click than a post on the tenth spot.

Just these two facts alone prove it's crucial to rank high for target keywords.

To get your client’s website found quickly by their target audience, you need to track and report their data—from organic keywords to search traffic—in a quality search engine optimization (SEO) report.

How else will you determine if your SEO efforts are working?

What is SEO Reporting?

SEO reporting tracks your website’s SEO performance.

It tells you which SEO marketing efforts are working (e.g., identify specific keywords for organic search) and recommends opportunities for growth.

An excellent SEO report includes an overview, key metrics (usually shown in graphs and charts), and high-level opportunities on what to do next.

[Instead of spewing out raw data in endless rows and columns, turn them into beautiful visuals so clients can understand within seconds]

What to Include in Your SEO Reports

Given the sheer amount of data involved in SEO, you’ll want to showcase them in a digestible manner. Trust us, your busy clients will appreciate it!

Double-check that your SEO report is concise, broken down into clear sections, and visually appealing. Here are three sections we recommend to include:

1. Overview

Think of the overview as a table of contents. It gives the client a taste of what to expect in your SEO report.

[A great SEO report overview clearly explains what’s going to be covered]

The overview acts as an executive summary.

It helps the client get acquainted with your report by summarizing the main points. If you’re working with clients with zero to little SEO knowledge, this overview will help them navigate the information easily.

2. KPIs

This is the 'meatiest' section of your report.

KPIs demonstrate how effectively you’re hitting your client’s goals. By measuring these goal-focused metrics, you'll know whether you’re making progress (or what to improve on if you’re heading in the wrong direction).

Popular SEO KPIs include organic traffic, conversion rate, CTR, keyword ranking, and link building.

[Run a content marketing agency? Focus on these types of landing pages analytics to determine which generate the most-qualified organic traffic]

One last note before wrapping up this section:

Avoid listing vanity SEO metrics, as they rarely translate into revenue. For example, if your client’s primary goal is to increase leads and sales, leave out traffic.

In this case, high traffic without any conversions is of little value.

3. Opportunities

The last section, opportunities, explains the results you’ve delivered and lays out the next steps for the client.

Without insights, data is pointless.

No amount of SEO data will lead to revenue impact if it is not used to inform strategy.

Take this opportunity to educate clients through your SEO reporting and position yourself as a pro.

How Can You Create an SEO Report?

There are two main ways to create SEO reports: Spreadsheets or Automation.

Spreadsheets SEO reports

You can create an SEO report using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

The biggest advantage of using spreadsheets? There’s advanced functionality, and you have complete control (e.g., you can use the forecasting function to set future traffic benchmarks).

One major downside is the amount of time required to create them. Copy-pasting data from multiple SEO tools to a spreadsheet every week puts a real damper on productivity. Also, those kinds of reports are not always easy on the eye and are difficult to understand.

[A spreadsheet report vs an automated report]

Compare these two SEO reports. Which do you prefer?

Automated SEO reports

A better alternative is using an automated SEO reporting tool like DashThis. This is a great way to make sure your client understands your reports and the value you create for them. On the plus side, this is a much more streamlined and efficient process.

Grab this SEO report template

All it takes is a few quick clicks:

1. Connect your SEO tools (e.g., Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Moz) with DashThis
2. Select a ready-made SEO report template (all templates include pre-set SEO KPIs such as organic conversions)
3. Drag and drop the KPIs as you customize your report
4. Save your report as a template to reduce creation time for future SEO marketing reports
5. Send the report via email or PDF—better yet, share the URL to collect client feedback and edit the report accordingly easily

SEO reporting is an ongoing process. One quick way to speed it up is to set an automatic email dispatch. 

1. Click Share by Email in the dashboard
   
2. Indicate who you want to send it to
   
3. Choose the Frequency (e.g., weekly, monthly) to automate your reporting and simply click save.

Tools to Track Your SEO Analytics

1. Google Search Console (GSC)

GSC monitors and troubleshoots your website’s SEO performance. It’s built with Google Search in mind.

SEO specialists often use GSC to conduct an SEO site audit (e.g., fixing website crawling, mobile usability, and indexing issues) before starting a project.

Use GSC together with Google Analytics to get a well-rounded picture of your user experience.

Grab this GSC template today

KPIs to track: Top impressions for countries, devices, pages, and queries; average CTR for pages and site; and average position for pages and site.

2. Google Analytics

Google Analytics tracks your website’s activity, from analyzing how users interact with your content to measuring your advertising ROI.

It’s built with user activity in mind.

Grab this Google Analytics template today

KPIs to track: Number of visitors, average time on page, average order value, cost-per-conversion, and bounce rate.

3. SEMrush

SEMrush is one of the best SEO platforms for outbound and inbound marketers. It offers tools for SEO, search engine marketing (SEM), pay-per-click (PPC), and social media, among others.

This is the all-in-one marketing suite you need if you frequently create omnichannel digital marketing campaigns.

For instance, if your client is a B2B enterprise and their marketing strategy involves Google Ads, local SEO, LinkedIn, and Google My Business, look no further than SEMrush. It'll help boost their online visibility presence on one platform.

Grab this SEMrush template today

KPIs to track: Branded vs. non-branded traffic, keyword rankings, organic sessions, organic visibility, and backlinks.

4. Moz

Moz is a user-friendly SEO tool ideal for beginners. Use it to crawl your website on demand, research your competitor’s backlink profile, and analyze keywords by search volume.

Popular features include Moz Keyword Explorer and Moz Local.

Grab this MOZ template today

KPIs to track: MozRank, page authority, external equity links, root domain MozRank, and domain authority

Get Started with SEO Report Template

It’s meaningless to continue investing in an SEO strategy if we have no idea which specific content generates results. It’d be like throwing darts while wearing a blindfold.

Luckily, this is where SEO reporting comes in. It tells you which specific SEO campaigns are working, so you always know what to do next.

Long gone are the days where you have to grab data from one SEO platform to another and paste them in a cluttered spreadsheet.

With DashThis, you can automate all your SEO data from multiple sources—GSC, Moz, SEMrush, or whatnot—in one beautiful report.

Grab this SEO report template

Do you want to know more about SEO Reporting? We put together the Ultimate Guide to SEO Reporting - feel free to share the love on social media and check out the other chapters:

Part 2 - The Fundamentals of the Ideal SEO Reporting Dashboard

Part 3 - What does the Perfect SEO Report Look Like?

Part 4 – SEO: Manual Reporting vs. Automated Reporting

Part 5 – Your Foolproof SEO Report Template [Infographic]

Part 6 – Top 10 SEO Reporting Must-Reads

Happy reporting and make sure to try DashThis free for 15 days. You’ll never look at your SEO reports the same way again.