What to Include in an SEO Report (Agency Guide)
Most SEO reports are too long, full of vanity metrics, and ignored by clients. Here's the framework that keeps clients engaged and proves your value every month.
The 8 Sections Every SEO Report Needs
Executive Summary
Start with 3–5 bullet points. What went up, what went down, what's being done about it. Clients read this — most skip everything else. Keep it to one screen.
Organic Traffic Overview
Total organic sessions, month-on-month change, and year-on-year comparison. Use a simple line chart covering at least 6 months. Context matters — a 10% drop looks different against a 3-month chart vs a 12-month chart.
Search Console Metrics
Clicks, impressions, average CTR, and average position. These come directly from Google Search Console and are the most credible SEO metrics you can report. Always show trends, not just snapshots.
Keyword Rankings
Focus on target keywords agreed with the client — not your full tracked list. Show current position, movement since last report, and highlight anything in positions 4–10 that's close to breaking into the top 3.
Top Pages by Organic Traffic
Which pages drove the most organic visits this month? This grounds the report in real URLs rather than abstract metrics. Flag any pages that dropped significantly — it's usually content decay or a technical issue.
Technical SEO Health
A brief summary of site health: Core Web Vitals, crawl errors, indexed pages. You don't need to list every issue — just flag critical blockers and show progress on ongoing fixes.
Work Completed This Month
What did you actually do? Content published, links built, technical fixes deployed. Clients pay for outcomes but they also want accountability. A simple bullet list is enough.
Priorities for Next Month
3–5 clear priorities. Makes the next report's executive summary easy to write — and shows clients you have a plan, not just a reaction.
What to Leave Out
These sections waste space and dilute the impact of your report:
- ✕Domain Authority or any third-party score clients didn't ask for
- ✕Total pages indexed (unless there's a problem)
- ✕Social media metrics (unless you manage social)
- ✕Backlink counts without context
- ✕Screenshots of Google Analytics without explanation
The Golden Rule
Every section in your report should answer one question: "So what does this mean for my business?" If you can't answer that, cut it.