What should an SEO report from an agency look like?

There are several SEO-related groups on Facebook where questions are raised from time to time from non-positioning professionals. Mostly these are marketing managers, owners of online stores or eCommerce specialists. Their knowledge of SEO is not negligible, but they are not experts either.

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That’s why when doubts arise, they decide to engage in discussions. One area where they seek advice is on what a professional report from an SEO agency should look like. Are we talking about you? Find the most important information about what an SEO report from an agency should look like in the following article!

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Watch the webinar “How to automate SEO reports?”

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Outsourcing SEO services

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Outsourcing SEO activities is natural in business. The Outsourcinginsight’s 2018 report shows what today’s trends look like when it comes to outsourcing a company’s various units and activities. Positioning and content-related tasks also appear in the list. According to the report, as many as 68% of companies delegate SEO services.

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The Deloitte report shows, in turn, what benefits outsourcing various tasks brings. The use of external companies allows, among other things:

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• reduction or control of costs by up to 59%;
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• increase the company’s focus on its core business by 57%;
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• resolution of resource problems by 47%;
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• improving the company’s service quality by 31%;
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• gaining access to expertise and experts easier by 28%;
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• managing the business environment easier by 17%;
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• accelerating transformation in the organization by 17%;
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Although the statistics cited are very convincing, it is enough to come across a weak agency for things not to go as we would like. The most important thing, therefore, is to use the expertise of proven companies that always take a professional approach to their tasks. It is also worth following a few rules of thumb, which are discussed below.

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Some rules for good cooperation

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Several guides have already been written on the topic of good practices for working with SEO agencies. You can find one of them on our blog (Check: https://www.senuto.com/pl/blog/start-wspolpracy-z-agencja-seo/). Learn the most important rules for good cooperation between a client and an SEO agency:

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1. Delegate contact persons in both companies. This will make further cooperation much easier.
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2. Decide on the goals and objectives of the campaign. You need to make our expectations clear to the other party – don’t count on anyone guessing what your needs are. If you are particularly keen on increasing traffic to a particular part of the site or selling specific products from your offerings through the website, it is your job to let the agency know. Determining everything you expect from an SEO agency will allow you to better plan your activities and verify the work done. You can read more about verifying SEO activities here: https://www.senuto.com/pl/blog/jak-weryfikowac-dzialania-agencji-seo/
3. Present your brand, marketing strategy and products to a dedicated specialist. The idea is to present the specifics of your business, your competitive advantage and how you operate. It is important that the agency’s specialists understand our product and think the way our customers might think.
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4. Give the necessary accesses. You can’t position a site without the right tools, just as you can’t set up ads on Google without a Google Ads account. In order to start your website’s SEO efforts, the SEO specialist needs access to your Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts. Provide them right at the beginning of the cooperation.
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5. Schedule time to contact the agency. Sometimes you will need to talk to agency staff, listen to their advice, make changes to your website. You should be ready for additional visits and phone calls to set everything up and fine-tune it. Most details are usually discussed during the first three months of cooperation.
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Knowing and applying the savoir-vivre of working with an SEO agency makes things easier for both yourself and the specialists. Now that we’ve established that, let’s move smoothly to the topic of reporting.

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What is an SEO report?

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SEO report is a specialized report on the situation of a given website in Google. The first SEO report from an agency is created based on the SEO audit performed, while subsequent reports already contain information on the effects of outsourced SEO activities.

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So we can really talk about two types of SEO reports:

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• SEO audit report;
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• SEO report on the activities of the hired agency;
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The first report will be created at the beginning of your cooperation, which is inaugurated by a detailed SEO audit. The second report is sent periodically by the agency servicing your site – as a rule, these are monthly reports.

The first report will be created at the beginning of your cooperation, which is inaugurated by a detailed SEO audit. . .

SEO audit report

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A comprehensive audit report contains recommendations and corrections that need to be made in order for a website to appear higher in the search engine. An audit report is a bit like the opinion of a doctor who has examined a sick person. The recommendations and comments contained in it are meant to point out places where our site is “unhealthy”, i.e. ineffective, and needs optimization. This, in turn, will be handled by the specialists you select.

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To put it in more business language, a SEO audit is a kind of SWOT analysis of our site to show its strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing for the recipient is to read this opinion and then start making the changes suggested by the analysts.

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Implementing some of the recommendations will be up to your team, but most of it is up to SEO specialists. Agreement on amendments is the basis for starting to work with an agency. Changes can be made by the people who did the audit, but they need the appropriate administrative rights to do so.

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What should an SEO audit report contain?

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Although opinions on the subject diverge, it’s a good idea for the following to appear in any SEO audit:

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• analysis of server performance. This is about the connectivity on the server-user browser line;
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• analysis of the site code. Many times, page load speed is affected by plugins that can put a lot of strain on the server;
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• data on how the site behaves in search results;
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• information about indexed pages;
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• errors on the site (404, redirects, sitemap, tags)
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• information about content on the site and its optimization;
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• information on internal linking and inbound links;
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• analysis of site traffic;
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Agency SEO Report

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SEO Report of the agency’s activities is another document you can expect when outsourcing SEO activities. It lets you know what actions the SEOs from the hired SEO agency have performed in a given month, and how this has translated into a change in the position of your site on Google.

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If any changes were made, you will observe what kind of impact they had on site traffic and sales. You will also find out from the document if there have been any alarming declines.

The document will also tell you if there have been any alarming declines. .

What should a good SEO report on the agency’s efforts look like? It must contain the most important data for the client and expected by him, and be a good argument for continuing cooperation with specialists.

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What should an SEO report contain?

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Although, as with an SEO audit, we may encounter differing opinions, experts agree that a report from an SEO agency should include the following:

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1. Overall visibility of the site on Google

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This part of the SEO document should show the visibility of your site in TOP 3, TOP 10 and TOP 50. The main point is to show the overall trend, whether in a given month we are talking about increases or decreases in the number of keywords for which the site is visible in certain ranges. Senuto’s integration with Google Data Studio allows you to add visibility charts directly to reports you create in GDS. If you receive (or create) reports in this form, suggest adding charts from Senuto, which will make it easier to see changes in a site’s visibility in search results.

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Read more about Senuto’s integration with Google Data Studio!

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2. Visibility of the website on the most important keywords

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When setting the terms of cooperation with an SEO agency, you and the specialists will select the right keywords that are most important for your site in terms of business. Driving up your site’s position on these phrases will be a priority for them, and the results of these efforts should dutifully be included in your monthly SEO report.

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Service positions for selected keyword phrases can be tracked in Senuto. The Monitoring module provides daily information on how your site’s visibility for the most important keywords has changed – both in the Polish and foreign markets. In addition, you can preview how your competitors are positioning on the same phrases.

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If your agency uses Senuto Monitoring (ask!), ask them to grant access to your projects. This way you’ll be able to view the site’s positions in real time, and reporting on the effects of your cooperation will be simpler for both parties. Access to the project in Monitoring will give you insight into all the information about your project – increases, decreases, comparison with competitors and much more. You can read more about this in the article “Senuto Monitoring – a guide for agency clients“.

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3 Page visibility for branded phrases

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Branded phrases

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Site visibility is not only the result of the work of SEO specialists, but also of the marketing activities carried out. A good example of this is the visibility of the site onbranded phrases of the brand, that is, those that contain the name of our company.

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Brand phrases bring traffic to the site, which often converts very well. However, the site’s high rankings for these types of phrases and their high calorie (conversion) are often due to marketing and PR efforts. An SEO report based solely on branded phrases is therefore not what you should expect from an SEO agency. This is because it is neither complete nor completely authoritative.

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Brand phrases of other brands

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In this section of the report, it’s worth noting brand phrases that are not associated with our brand, yet our service is exposed to them. Their presence in the report is a signal to us that in some way our brand is associated by visitors with another brand. It’s worth being aware of this and taking advantage of it, for example, when building an offer.

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If you run an eCommerce store offering products from different brands, then the visibility of your site for other branded phrases should be quite high. Phrases containing brand names convert very well, as users typing them are usually already at the final stage of their customer journey and know exactly what they are looking for. So pay attention to these types of phrases, as traffic from branded words is traffic that sells!

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TIP: When focusing on branded phrase search, it’s a good idea to preview your competitors’ keywords.

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4. Organic traffic to the site

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• Number of hits to the site from organic results
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Organic traffic information tells the number of users who came to our site through free search results. It is the SEO agency’s job to systematically increase this number. An SEO report should therefore include a breakdown of the volume of organic traffic month to month, or even year to year. Why? Because some phrases are characterized by seasonality and, for example, there will be more queries for beach chairs in the vacations than in the winter, which will directly translate into traffic on the site from the seasonal industry.

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• Percentage of organic traffic to the site
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The organic traffic section should also include a statement of the percentage of organic traffic to total site traffic. Why? Because it may turn out that the percentage of organic traffic on the site is relatively high, and traffic from advertising campaigns is relatively low, or vice versa.

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• Organic traffic per section of the site
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It is also worth analyzing the percentage of organic traffic in each section of the website. It’s a good idea to separate traffic that goes to category or product pages, as well as to the blog. Traffic to content pages should be especially taken under the microscope, as you may find that users are accessing them, but not taking any actions that translate into sales. Attracting readers is important, but when they don’t take the action we expect, it means we’re making a mistake somewhere.

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5. Comparison to competitors

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In the SEO report you receive from the agency, it’s a good idea to ask for a comparison of our position in Google to that of our competitors. This allows you to see who we are directly competing with in the search results (not always business competitors!) and how much separates us.

6. User behavior on the site

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How users who have visited your site behave is important information for you. You need to know whether they enter only the home page and then leave the site, or whether they stay a while longer, visiting several sub-pages. For example, if they spend a relatively long time browsing products in the store, but do not make a purchase or abandon the shopping cart, you should know about it. This will help you start looking for the reasons and optimize your service accordingly.

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The user behavior data contained in the SEO report will give us valuable knowledge about where on the site problems occur and how they can be fixed. Maybe the content is not engaging enough, maybe the prices are too high?

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7. Acquired links and their sources

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Link building, as it is referred to, is a very important part of the SEO process. Building good content based on valuable external links as well as internal links is key to increasing a site’s visibility in Google.

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There may be many external links to your site, but what matters to Google’s robots is their quality. Links can be obtained from many sources. Until quite recently, the most popular of these were online site directories, which have now lost their popularity.

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Still going strong are price comparison engines and review sites. Links can also appear in postings on discussion forums, in posts on social media, and on friended websites. A popular option is to buy sponsored/guest articles on industry portals and blogs. The report should include information on where the agency acquired the links and their value.

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8. Accomplished activities

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The above-described examples of data that should be included in the SEO report are largely effects of the actions of hired specialists.

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Month after month, they work to improve your site’s position on established phrases and increase your site’s visibility in search results. It’s a good idea for the report to include a summary of the activities performed in a given month, so you can see in black and white how they translate into, for example, site traffic or the number of conversions. This is a mandatory point of an SEO report!

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9 Planned activities

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The last part of the report is a summary, which should include a plan for the next SEO activities. Keep in mind, however, that the specifics of SEO in free organic results will require you to be patient – you often have to wait up to 6 months or more for the results of a campaign. However, it is worth knowing what the idea of hired specialists is to increase organic traffic to the site and raise sales with traffic from Google.

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What if we need other data?

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It may turn out that in addition to the above-mentioned data, we need other information that is not included in the standard SEO report. This is because it is important to remember that agencies have different standard SEO documents and they will not always be 100% in line with our needs. In such situations, it is worth informing the agency staff what we expect.

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Similarly with key phrases for our business – maybe you want to build a brand based on specific words? Maybe you’re looking to get traffic from specific pages and pages that are thematically related to your products? These are elements that should be signaled and discussed with a specialist, who will advise accordingly and implement the chosen strategy.

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Tools for SEO reports

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Many different tools are used for reporting. Below you will find examples of those that are the most popular solutions among SEO agencies. However, many other tools can be used for SEO reporting, including Keynote or Infogram, but they are less commonly used. If you prefer specific solutions, determine this with your agency or hired specialist.

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Google Docs

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What tools are used when creating SEO reports? Most agencies and professionals primarily use Google Docs. The tool allows you to build extensive analysis and reports, where you can visualize the most important information in a simple and convenient way. At the same time, Google Docs allows you to easily export information of interest, such as H1 tags. Using commands, you can also translate selected fields into English. In addition, Google Docs can be used as a task or progress board.

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Trello

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A good and equally frequently used solution is also Trello, which is generally used mainly for project coordination, but is also great for SEO reports. Once you install the “Plus for Trello” extension for Chrome, you’ll be able to use the application, which offers many ways to analyze data and reports.

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Google Data Studio

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Google Data Studio is another solution from Google that allows you to create powerful reports. It can combine many different data sources, making reporting not only fast, but also individually tailored.

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Google Data Studio can cause some problems at the beginning of use because of the large number of options and the ability to personalize each document. However, over time, using GDS becomes very intuitive.

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Report + invoice?

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Most often, a report on SEO activities is generated for the client once a month and an invoice for the work done is sent along with it. In this case, you only learn about the activities performed and the results achieved after they have been implemented in a given month. Billdu invoicing software is an invaluable tool for effectively managing and monitoring your cash flow. It automates billing processes, reduces errors, and provides real-time insights into your financial status.

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Learn more about SEO agency billing models!

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Some agencies, however, use tools in their work that allow them to share data with the client on an ongoing basis. These include Senuto Monitoring, where, as I mentioned at the beginning of the article, the agency can give you guest access. Also great for keeping your hand on the pulse are reports in Google Data Studio or Google Docs.

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Continuous access to data will allow you to see information about the results you are getting, so you can verify the agency’s work and ask questions about optimization efforts at any time if you have your own suggestions or don’t understand something.

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What should an SEO report from an agency look like? Summary

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Remember that what the report looks like should be specified already at the stage of discussing the terms of the contract. The SEO report received periodically from the agency is supposed to equip the client with information that will allow him to make his own assessment of the site’s situation in Google. It should not lack data on visibility increases, the share of organic traffic in the total traffic volume, or the site’s position on the most important keywords.

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However, there may be a need to include additional data in the report. It is worth signaling this.

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If you’re not satisfied with just monthly updates on your site’s situation on Google, ask your agency for access to Senuto Monitoring and tcreate reports in Google Data Studio.

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I also encourage you to create your own account in Senuto, which will allow you to accurately verify your agency’s activities. For more on this topic, see the article “How to verify SEO agency activities?”

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