Writing An SEO Performance Report for Your Clients: 8 Insights

SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, involves a series of tasks, practices, online/offline activities, and marketing operations that help websites rank better in search engines, primarily Google. A company can have an internal SEO team comprising a group of SEO analysts and professionals who work on the company's website ranking. Alternatively, an organization can opt for the SEO services offered by the various digital marketing agencies available in the market to improve and maintain their website’s ranking.

Now, SEO involves a long-term strategy; it takes weeks and months of effort and thorough monitoring to make a difference and rank a website. The SEO team, irrespective of whether they are outsourced or internal, must prepare SEO reports for clients and managers, respectively. These reports comprise all key details, including progress, insights, and vital data, for example, conversion rates, keyword rankings, and search traffic. 

Creating such a report can be a time-consuming task, particularly when one has to do it manually. This problem can be solved by an experienced essay writers from EssayWriter.pro. That said, there are a good deal of downloadable SEO report templates available on the internet that SEO professionals can use to save time and effort. 

Now, typically, there are two types of SEO reports — initial and ongoing. As the name suggests, the former offers insights into the initial SEO performance, serving as a benchmark for comparison and analysis. On the other hand, the latter provides details regarding the prevailing results of the ongoing campaigns and is delivered at regular intervals, for example, weekly or monthly. Today, in this article, we will learn about the vital insights to consider when creating an SEO performance report.

Even before you start to write your SEO performance report, make sure to set your goals and define them with respect to the SEO campaign you are running or currently working on. From boosting rankings to targeting keywords, from establishing authority to promoting the business and working on in-depth content, you must be well aware of your SEO business goals for the campaign.

Again, when you are working on SEO strategies, have a crystal-clear understanding of your key performance indicators or KPIs and objectives and key results or OKRs. As we said earlier, it's a long-term approach. Thus, you must hold on to your objectives for a long period, persistently working toward them and not flinching away. A KPI is a quantifiable measure that allows you to gauge the performance over time for a particular objective. On the other hand, OKR is a goal-setting framework that allows teams to monitor the progress toward the fulfillment of different scalable goals.

Now, let us look at 8 vital insights for writing SEO performance reports:

#1 - Quantity ≠ Quality

You know what we are trying to say here. It simply refers to the idea that quantity is never equal to quality. When you are writing an SEO report, focus on the quality rather than the quantity of figures, data, and insights that end up complicating the report. Too many figures and data can leave the reader confused, and they may wonder what to make of the report. 

When you are running an SEO campaign, leave no stone unturned. Learn about new trends, changes, and updates. Incorporate them into your practices and then present a high-quality report to your client or manager.

#2 - SEO Performance Report Should Show The Dynamics Of Website Promotion

When engaging in SEO activities, directly or indirectly, you are working for the website's promotion on search engines. This way, you can think of the search engine as a digital market and your website as a digital store in that market. 

Now, with your SEO efforts, you have to promote your website so well that it always ranks high and appears on top. For this, understand the dynamics of website promotion and show your clients the difference you are bringing to their website and business in terms of metrics, progress, revenue, content, sales, etc. Make sure to include website performance analysis in the SEO report from time to time to keep the client informed.

#3 - SEO Performance Report Should Have Takeaways

This is very important; an SEO report can be lengthy. Now, often people like to read them with interest and pay attention to certain areas, but this should not stop you from adding a key takeaways section to the report. This way, you communicate the most crucial information in the entire report through five to ten pointers, which saves time. 

If it's an ongoing report, the client can directly focus on the key takeaways, understand and track the progress of the last period, and ask you to continue or make certain changes in your SEO practices without having to read the report all the way. As an SEO analyst, you should always strive to make the reports easy, convenient, and comprehensive for your clients.

#4 - SEO Performance Report Should Show All The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Promotion

When you indulge in SEO practices, just remember that it is a two-edged sword. This simply means that every campaign will have its advantages and disadvantages. When you are working on a website's content and web page optimization, try to avoid common SEO mistakes, never go for black hat SEO practices, and, most importantly, understand how search engine algorithms can impact your website. 

Make sure you pay attention to the user interface and experience. Remember, ideally, it takes months for the results to arrive. Certain disadvantages of promotion can sabotage your website or content. As an SEO analyst, it is your responsibility to inform your clients about the disadvantages of promotion.

#5 - You Should Write Individual SEO Performance Reports For Different Projects

A simple tip that we can offer you is to avoid clutter and complications in your SEO performance report by creating a single report for multiple campaigns or projects. Always write individual reports for every project that you are working on for your clients. This not only ensures a sense of clarity for yourself but, most importantly, for your clients. They don't get confused and can have a clear understanding of the project-specific details in the respective reports.

#6 - SEO Performance Reports Should Include Business Metrics

When you are working on a website's SEO, you will come across many key components that are directly related to website performance and promotion. These SEO metrics and insights are dynamic and must be included in your reports. Examples of such insights and metrics are organic traffic, bounce rate, keyword rankings, click-through rates, domain authority, page speed, backlinks, conversion rate, search visibility, keyword clicks, impressions, and so on. 

All these metrics show the website’s performance. Make sure you add charts, graphs, and other visual representation tools so that managers or clients can spot trends and find even complex data easily understandable.

#7 - SEO Performance Reports Should Include Goals And Sum Up

Always write your SEO goals in your SEO report. It keeps you on track and reminds you of the SEO objectives that you are working towards. A campaign can run for months, so it is easy to get deviated by external distractions and different website elements.

Please work with your client like a team and collaborate with them to understand what they are looking to achieve with their projects and SEO campaigns if it is not clear. Based on their requirements, provide a summary of the key insights, metrics, and progress that are relevant to the predefined goals in the SEO report. Summing up the key details will provide managers and clients with clarity regarding the effectiveness of the SEO services and the overall progress. 

#8 - SEO Performance Reports Should Provide Recommendations

At the time of creating a report, you may find that there are certain things that are taking time or not particularly working in favor of your client. When you submit the report, inform them about it and offer recommendations and suggestions as to what can be done instead to rectify things or bring back the metrics in order again. It is essential because sometimes, clients are dependent on your knowledge and skills to improve their SEO performance. Hence, offering valuable recommendations can really help and show them that you, as an SEO service provider, care about the website.

In the end, we leave you with these eight insights that you can utilize to create your SEO performance report. Stay true to your clients and keep them informed of all the actions that you take. As an SEO professional, it is an unsaid responsibility on your part to do what is best for your client's website and employ the best search engine optimization techniques. We encourage you to take all the help there is available on the internet to work, achieve, and report the best SEO results.