Not sure how to create SEO reports for clients in 2026? Start with goals and KPIs, then report the metrics that prove progress – rankings, traffic, conversions, site health, content/links, and next actions. For definitions and report types, see what is SEO reporting; for a reusable outline, use our SEO reporting template.
Reviewed September 2026 for client reporting workflows and SE Ranking reporting / pricing cues (Core $129/month, Growth $279/month: confirm on our SE Ranking pricing guide). Agency white-label and scheduled client reporting typically need the Agency Pack add-on (not a legacy “Pro” plan).
Determine KPIs & Client Goals
Before creating an SEO report for your client, it's a good idea to set expectations and determine your client's goals and KPIs.
In search engine optimization or SEO, KPIs (key performance indicators) are one or several metrics that are tracked to measure goal progress.
In relation to SEO, your client's goals might be one or several of the following:
- Improve keyword rankings
- Increase brand awareness
- Increase website traffic
- Generate more sales
Understanding what your client considers progress will help you determine which SEO metrics to focus on and track. Find out more about the metrics commonly used as KPIs in SEO reports below.
Understand SEO Reporting Options
I recommend learning a bit about SEO reporting software and its features while determining which metrics below are most important to your client's goals.
This will help you choose SEO software that can report on the right metrics.
Also, keep in mind that SEO reporting tools and all-in-one SEO software present metrics in unique ways, and some may not include all the metrics you need to report on. You might require combining reporting from multiple tools for large SEO campaigns.
What to Include in Your SEO Reports
Depending on your client's goals, consider including the following metrics in your SEO reports.
1. Keyword Rankings
SEO reports commonly include tracking keyword rankings in search results to show changes in a website's search visibility over time.
While Google can show different search results to people depending on their location, browsing history, and other personalization settings, tracking keyword positions still helps to gain a general sense of SEO performance for groups of keywords and site pages.
Keyword rank tracking software is used to track and organize groups of keywords for multiple search engines, locations, and devices.
While you can check keyword rankings manually, it's much too time-consuming to do this for SEO campaigns, especially when you're tracking separate groups of keywords for many different pages.
Here's a list of the leading rank tracking software on the market. Some are complete SEO platforms, and others are more dedicated to tracking rankings. However, most keyword tracking tools provide ways to create SEO reports to share progress.
2. Website Traffic
Website traffic or the number of visits to your client's website is an important SEO metric to include in SEO reporting. Your client will likely want to see how changes in rankings and search engine visibility have affected the quantity or quality of website traffic.
The most convenient and free way to monitor and report on website traffic trends is by tracking your client's website with Google Analytics (GA). With GA, you can check traffic based on source, such as visits that came from search engines, referring sites, or direct from the browser bar.
GA4 also provides engagement and behavior metrics – such as engagement rate, session duration, pages viewed, and user location – that help determine traffic quality and which areas of your client's site deserve focus. Bounce rate may still appear in some exports, but engagement rate is usually the clearer GA4 signal.
You can also use Google Search Console (GSC) to get an idea of which keywords are driving traffic to certain pages and which pages are receiving the most clicks from Google Search. You can also connect GSC to GA to see the data in one place.
3. Conversions & Goals
While keyword ranking improvements have the potential to increase website traffic, your client probably cares most about website conversion actions that lead to more business. The type of conversions to track depends on your client's business and goals.
For example, a service-based business often wants to see an increase in leads through website forms and phone calls. On the other hand, an e-commerce store might prefer an increase in online sales. Understanding your client's goals early on will help you prioritize SEO activities to focus on and the right SEO metrics & KPIs to track in your SEO reports.
Along with tracking website traffic, Google Analytics 4 can help you track conversion actions (key events) so you can show how often users complete form submits, calls, purchases, or other business outcomes. More about GA4 conversions / key events here.
You can mark form submits, phone calls (often via call-tracking integrations), and online transactions (such as for a Shopify store) as conversions / key events.
You can also report segmented outcomes – for example visitors from a target location, views of a key landing page, or a combination of actions that signal purchase intent.
Here's an example of SEO reporting in Google Analytics that displays Organic Search traffic and conversion completions (in this case a phone call or website form submit).
4. Site Performance
It's a good idea to report on and regularly audit your client's website for potential performance issues and opportunities to improve user experience. You can include this type of info under a website health section in your SEO reports.
Many SEO reporting software and all-in-one SEO software provide site auditing features and ways to report on website health. Example issues include fixing any broken links and unnecessary link redirects, compressing images to smaller file sizes for faster page loads, and leveraging browser caching.
You can use Google's PageSpeed Insights tool to check a page's loading speed, including potential issues and possible optimizations. You can also use Google's Lighthouse tool in Google Chrome browser's Chrome DevTools to audit page performance, accessibility, SEO, and more, and take screenshots of specific issues if needed.
It's good practice to check site performance on a regular basis. It also helps to detect critical issues and share them with your client sooner rather than later, as you might require additional resources like hosting access or developer support.
5. Content & Links
You might want to report on the content and links you're optimizing and creating, depending on the size of the SEO campaign and if your client would like SEO reports to include updates on work done alongside results-based metrics like rankings, visits, leads, or sales.
If you plan on posting new pages of content or blog posts as part of your SEO campaign, you can show a lot of value by providing a content schedule as part of your reporting, including the topics you plan to write about and how the content would help the SEO strategy moving forward.
We use SE Ranking for client-ready reporting across rankings, content, and backlinks (paid plans start at Core $129/month; Growth is $279/month: see SE Ranking pricing). White-label / scheduled client reports typically need the Agency Pack add-on. Semrush is another strong suite if you already live in that stack. Both offer free trials and can detect new backlinks over time; you can also share internal linking reports as you optimize pages.
In terms of content, Semrush provides helpful features for brainstorming, optimizing, and reporting on content ideas and on-page SEO insights.
6. Plan of Action & Recommendations
Conclude your SEO report with a section on your plan of action for achieving continued results and goal targets. It can also be helpful to provide a recommendations section for your client if you believe there are some actions your client or client's business can take to accelerate results.
How to Structure Client SEO Reports
Strong client reports are a short narrative with evidence – not a dump of every chart available. Use the same outline each cycle so stakeholders can compare periods quickly.
A practical monthly client structure:
- Executive summary: wins, risks, and what changed since last month in 5–8 lines.
- Goals & context: site launches, content, links, and algorithm notes that explain the numbers.
- Outcomes: organic sessions, conversions / key events, and revenue or lead metrics when available.
- Visibility: priority keyword movements, GSC impressions/clicks, and notable landing-page wins or losses.
- Health & worklog: crawl/index issues, speed regressions, backlink changes, plus content/links shipped.
- Next actions: 3–7 prioritized tasks with owners (agency vs client).
Weekly updates can stay thinner (rank movers + blockers). Quarterly reports should zoom out to pipeline impact and strategy. Reuse sections from the SEO reporting template, then automate charts with tools from the best SEO reporting software roundup.
Connecting Client Reports to ROI
Clients rarely renew on rankings alone. Tie organic visibility to leads, sales, or assisted conversions – and add cost context when they ask whether SEO was worth it.
A simple frame: organic value or leads attributed to SEO ÷ SEO cost (tooling + labor + content). Annotate with ranking and content proof so the ROI number is believable. Walk through the math in Track SEO ROI with SE Ranking reporting, and confirm current plan limits on our SE Ranking pricing page before you scale seats or white-label reporting.
Conclusion
I hope this post gave you a clearer playbook for SEO reports for clients – metrics, structure, and ROI framing. Ultimately, there's no one-size-fits-all report. Compare platforms in our best SEO reporting software listicle, then connect outcomes with SEO ROI reporting in SE Ranking.
Some clients prefer simple high-level reporting, some prefer detailed reports, and some prefer brief calls or email updates. Unless you have to follow an SEO reporting template as part of a company, if you're running your own SEO business, it's up to you to determine what to include in SEO reports and manage expectations.
Either way, it's a good idea to be prepared to report on any of the SEO metrics shared above in any format, whether through a detailed report or a brief chat.
Looking for low-cost SEO services? Check out the top affordable SEO plans here. For DIY tooling costs, start with SE Ranking pricing (Core $129/month, Growth $279/month).