Probably one of the easiest ways to check the effectiveness of a search engine optimization professional is through their SEO reports. These reports show clarity, value, and insight that will identify good SEO work from poorly done work.
- Ineffective SEO Reports – Do not clearly communicate what work is done, lacks actionable insight.
- Effective SEO Reports: Convey valuable insight; give straightforward updates on progress; provide a logical summary of activities related to SEO.
Having gone through dozens of SEO reports, from consultants through in-house teams and agencies, and asking what SEO experts would like to see within a report inside the Ahrefs Insider community, the following is an adaptable SEO report template that you can use to give insightful reports to your client or manager.
Just copy this template and have it adjusted according to the client’s needs. You are just one step away from having a professional-looking SEO report.
What to Include in an SEO Report
A search engine optimization report is a detailed summary of the key SEO metrics that ensure growth in crucial website performance regarding search engines, strength in backlink profiles, and technical site health. Your clients, managers, and other stakeholders depend on this report to find out whether their investment in SEO pays off. Even though results may take some time to materialize, a proper SEO report soothes the stakeholders and shows them their investment in SEO will yield a positive return on investment.
Let’s break down what comprises the core elements of an effective SEO report.
Core Elements of an SEO Report
While details will vary from business to business, most SEO reports that aim for maximum effectiveness include these core sections:
- Title Card: A minimalist front page introducing the report.
- Executive Summary: A quick summary of high points and outcomes.
- Performance Summary: A breakdown of essential performance metrics.
- Keyword Rankings: A look at keyword movements over the period.
- Links: An update on the link-building efforts and profile changes.
- Content: Insights into the performance of content and opportunities.
- Technical SEO Health: A health score summarizing technical SEO issues.
- Next Steps-A roadmap of critical tasks over the coming period.
While all of these metrics are important to provide, listing them is not enough. Your job in an SEO report is to interpret this data to explain how it impacts and provides a coherent narrative of the progress your work has taken.
Creating Your SEO Report
- Title Card
Begin with a simple, professional title card that includes essential information: the report date, the client’s website URL, and your company logo. This is a small detail, but it sets the tone for the report, emphasizing professionalism and attention to detail. For example, you might design a sleek title card in Canva or Figma that adheres to your brand’s color palette.
- Executive Summary
The executive summary is a critical section, as it offers a high-level overview of the report. Its purpose is to highlight the most important takeaways in a concise, bulleted format. In my opinion, this section should be brief yet impactful. Here are the key elements to include:
- Summary of Key SEO KPIs: Focus on metrics that matter most, such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversions. For example, “Organic traffic increased by 25% compared to the previous month.”
- Notable SEO Wins: Celebrate achievements like “Ranking #1 for the client’s primary keyword” or “Achieving 200% growth in impressions for a specific product category.”
- Key Activities Delivered: Detail the significant tasks completed, such as “Implemented technical SEO improvements, including fixing broken links” or “Published four optimized blog posts targeting high-value keywords.”
- Matters Requiring Further Attention: Mention areas that need focus, such as “Resolving crawl errors on mobile pages” or “Optimizing for featured snippets.”
A concise executive summary ensures that busy clients can quickly grasp the value you provide. For tips on writing an effective executive summary, see HubSpot’s Guide to Executive Summaries.
- Summary Performance
In this section, summarize the client’s key SEO performance indicators (KPIs), such as organic traffic, conversions, and keyword visibility. From my perspective, visual aids like charts or graphs are invaluable here. Tools like Google Data Studio or Looker Studio are excellent for creating these visualizations.
- Conversions: This metric is particularly important because it directly ties SEO efforts to business growth. For instance, you can use Google Analytics to show assisted organic conversions. Navigate to Conversions > Multi-Channel Funnels > Assisted Conversions for clients with complex sales funnels. Highlighting, “Organic traffic contributed to 40% of total assisted conversions,” can demonstrate the tangible value of SEO efforts.
- Supporting KPIs: Depending on the client’s business model, you might include additional metrics like search visibility. For example, “Search visibility for target keywords increased from 20% to 35% over the reporting period,” providing a broader picture of organic growth. Learn more about search visibility and related metrics at Moz’s Guide to SEO Metrics.
- Keyword Rankings
Clients are often most interested in the movement of their key rankings. In my experience, using a rank-tracking tool like Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker or SEMrush is essential for this section. Here’s how to approach it:
- Tag and Track: Focus on the most relevant keywords and categorize them by product categories or topics. For instance, if a client sells outdoor gear, group keywords under categories like “camping equipment” or “hiking boots.”
- Highlight Key Changes: Summarize the progress of critical keywords in the report. For example, “The keyword ‘best hiking boots’ moved from position 12 to position 4, resulting in a 50% increase in clicks.”
- Detailed Rankings: Avoid cluttering this section with excessive details. Instead, provide a link to a detailed spreadsheet or dashboard for clients who want to dive deeper.
For advanced keyword ranking strategies, refer to Ahrefs’ Keyword Ranking Guide.
- Keyword “Winners” and “Losers”
Major ranking shifts in high-value keywords should be in focus because this allows clients insight into where they’re gaining or losing visibility. Zero in on the keywords with the most value for your business and add context to major shifts in rankings.
- Brand vs. Non-Brand Traffic
If the client has an established brand, segment organic traffic into branded and non-branded traffic. In that way, you will avoid attributing traffic changes to something that isn’t related to SEO. Use Google Search Console to filter in non-branded queries and compare results month in/month out, or year-over-year, for a more real view of organic progress.
- Referring Domains Highlights
In the backlink profile section, point out new referrals added. This applies if your SEO project encompasses link building or outreach activities. Using Ahrefs Site Explorer, select Filter New Referring Domains, last 30 days, and sort by DR for quality. Highlight the exceptional links that come along as a result of your link-building process.
- Link-Building Progress
If link-building is part of your strategy, please provide a summary about link-building efforts here:
- Pages targeted with new links.
- Noteworthy referring pages.
- Number of new links acquired.
- Metrics on outreach performance, such as number of contacts and success rate.
Use the Best by Links Growth report in Ahrefs Site Explorer to see which pages have gained the most new links in the past 30 days.
- Technical SEO Health Overview
Provide an overview of the site’s technical health based on data provided by Ahrefs’ Site Audit. This technically-based score is in simple and easy-to-understand visuals that clients can have a high-level view of the technical health of the site.
If the project involves complex technical work, include more detailed data, such as crawl and indexing statistics or detailed issues affecting site performance.
- Next Steps
Close the report by summarizing your focus areas for the next period. Give reasons for key objectives so that the client can have an idea of what to expect for the next period moving forward; you will take it as a benchmark for the subsequent report.
How Long Does It Take to Build an SEO Report?
It’s supposed to, but in reality, it really depends on a number of variables: how complex the project is, your experience with the SEO tool in use, and even the format you adopt for reporting. To most SEOs, this may take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours every month, as some individuals use PDF decks and others invest in dashboards such as Google Looker Studio, Tableau, or Power BI that automatically refreshes data to save them time in the long run.
For even more streamlining, consider using Ahrefs’ Reports-which let you automate reports and customize performance overviews using widgets.
Conclusion
A good SEO report is not just about sharing numbers; it is about making data meaningful to your clients and helping them understand the value of your work. To support your findings with relevant data and insight, use Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Rank Tracking tools.
SEO reporting may not be the most glamorous activity, but it is indeed an important skill to build trust and keep your clients interested in what you are doing. With crystal-clear, enlightening reports, you evidence your professionalism and care about the success of your clients.
Want to start building your SEO report? Feel free to use our template, shaping it as you go in a way that helps you convey your growth with clarity and professionalism.