How to Write an Effective SEO Initial Report
An SEO report can be daunting for clients. But with the appropriate reporting templates in place, you can craft easily-readable reports with relevant information for clients.
Search engine optimization (SEO) keyword rankings are one of the key indicators of its progress. They measure how effective your efforts have been and will give a measure of how successful they have been in terms of keyword positioning.
Overview
An effective SEO report must include a concise yet understandable summary of all metrics being tracked, and must also contain details on technologies used on the site and backlink overviews.
An overview should provide your clients with an indication of the effectiveness of your strategy, for instance citing that organic traffic has increased or that a campaign has brought in new leads.
Always keep in mind that your clients may not be SEO specialists, and explain each metric clearly to avoid confusing them with complex numbers and charts that make no sense to them. Doing this will build trust instead of breaking it, leading them to believe you aren’t doing an outstanding job.
On-page optimization
On-page optimization involves making changes to a website’s content and HTML code to enhance its search rankings, such as altering titles, headings and URLs; adding keyword-focused meta tags; optimizing images; and strengthening internal links.
These elements of SEO can help a website rank higher in search engines and attract more traffic to it. A successful on-page SEO strategy also includes structured data to assist Google in understanding a page’s content more easily.
As SEO consultants, it’s crucial that your clients receive an SEO report with real insight. By providing concise yet meaningful data to support their investments and demonstrate ROI, your report can boost trust among stakeholders for greater collaboration in future partnerships.
Off-page optimization
As part of off-page optimization, building high-quality links is of utmost importance. They act as votes of confidence that increase search engine rankings while driving traffic directly. But link building alone won’t bring results; additional methods must also be utilized to drive more customers towards your site.
An effective off-page strategy typically comprises social media marketing, blog writing and guest blogging, directory submission and creating a Google My Business account for your website, as well as creating brand mentions without directly linking back to it.
Assembling an executive summary of your SEO efforts with SEO reporting tools is the ideal way to provide an executive assessment. A good report should showcase key metrics and suggest future actions to increase traffic; additionally it should provide an overall score on how effectively your strategy is performing.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO (search engine optimization) refers to optimizing the infrastructure of a website in order to make it easier for search engines to crawl, read, and index its pages. It’s part of on-page optimization and can help increase rankings on search engine results pages.
Technical Search Engine Optimization is a complex field requiring both website development and marketing experience, but essential for any ecommerce SEO strategy.
Backlinko reader Salman Baig runs a tech review website targeting “Best Gaming Laptops under 500”, and implemented several technical SEO best practices to increase traffic by 250% within one week. He achieved this result through personalized reports that focus on clients’ individual KPIs and next steps – this ensures your clients receive maximum value from your work.
Keyword research
Keyword research involves discovering which search terms your ideal visitors use to find you online, so you can tailor content specifically to their needs and intent. Though an integral component of SEO, keyword research is often neglected.
SEOs and their clients often focus on rankings as an indicator of success; however, other factors should also be taken into account, including technical issues which might be hindering site performance.
Link Assistant’s dashboard can be an effective tool for discovering keywords. It displays organic ranking progress for any domain across major search engine platforms. Furthermore, this tool enables you to analyze competitors and their backlink profiles; uncovering potential areas of growth.