SEO reports can sometimes feel like a foreign language. But once you get the hang of them, they can be an incredibly powerful tool. If you're putting together a monthly SEO report, you want to make sure you're covering all the bases. Why? Because a well-structured report does more than just present data—it tells a story, tracks progress, and highlights areas for improvement. Whether you’re reporting to a client or your boss, clarity and precision are key.
This post will walk you through the must-have elements of a monthly SEO report that not only informs but also enlightens. From traffic analysis to conversion tracking, we'll cover the metrics and insights that matter most. We'll also provide tips and examples to help you present them in a way that’s both comprehensive and easy to understand.
Traffic Overview
Let's start with the big picture: the traffic overview. This section should give a snapshot of how many visitors your website received over the past month. But don't just stop at the numbers—contextualize them. Are they up or down compared to the previous month? Are there any noticeable trends?
Consider breaking down traffic into various segments such as:
- Organic Traffic: This is the bread and butter of SEO. How many visitors came from search engines?
- Direct Traffic: These are people who typed your URL directly into their browser. While not directly related to SEO, it’s good to track.
- Referral Traffic: Did any other websites link to yours, driving traffic your way?
- Social Traffic: If your social media efforts are paying off, this is where you’ll see it.
Dig a little deeper by comparing these figures to past months or the same month last year to gauge growth or identify potential issues. It’s also helpful to visualize this data in charts or graphs to make it more digestible.
Keyword Performance
Keywords are the backbone of SEO, so it’s essential to keep a close eye on how they’re performing. Start by listing your top-performing keywords and noting any changes in their rankings since last month.
Here's how you can structure this section:
- Current Rankings: List the keywords and their current positions.
- Movement: Did they move up or down? By how much?
- Search Volume: Is the keyword's search volume increasing or decreasing?
- Competitor Analysis: How are your competitors ranking for these keywords?
Highlight keywords that are trending upward and analyze what might have contributed to their success. Also, take a closer look at any keywords that have dropped in rankings. Is the content outdated? Is there increased competition? Understanding these dynamics can help you plan your next steps.
Backlink Profile
Backlinks are like the votes of confidence from other sites, signaling to search engines that your content is valuable. In your report, you'll want to showcase your backlink profile, focusing on both the quality and quantity of these links.
Consider including:
- New Backlinks: How many new links has your site gained in the past month?
- Lost Backlinks: Have any links been removed or become inactive? If so, why?
- Domain Authority of Linking Sites: Are these links coming from reputable sites?
- Anchor Text Diversity: What keywords are being used to link back to your site?
Using tools like Moz or Ahrefs can help you track this data efficiently. Highlight any significant new backlinks from high-authority sites, as they can significantly impact your site's credibility and rankings.
On-Page SEO Insights
On-page SEO is all about optimizing individual pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic. In your report, you should highlight any changes or optimizations made to your site’s pages.
Cover aspects such as:
- Meta Tags: Are your titles and descriptions optimized for your target keywords?
- Content Updates: Have you refreshed any old content or published new posts?
- Internal Linking: Are you linking effectively between related pages on your site?
- Mobile Optimization: Is your site responsive and fast on mobile devices?
By addressing these elements, you ensure that your website is not only attracting visitors but also providing them with a seamless experience. This section should also discuss any technical issues that have been resolved, like fixing broken links or improving page speed.
Conversion Tracking
Traffic is great, but conversions are what ultimately matter for most businesses. In this section, highlight how well your site is converting visitors into leads or customers.
You might want to include:
- Conversion Rate: What percentage of visitors are completing a desired action, like filling out a form or making a purchase?
- Goal Completions: How many goals (like newsletter sign-ups) have been completed?
- Top-Converting Pages: Which pages are driving the most conversions?
If conversion rates have increased, try to pinpoint why. Was it a new call-to-action? A special offer? Conversely, if conversions have dropped, investigate potential causes. Maybe a form is broken, or there's confusion in the checkout process.
Content Performance
Your content is at the heart of your SEO strategy. Tracking its performance helps you understand what resonates with your audience and what doesn’t.
Focus on these elements:
- Top Performing Content: What articles or pages are getting the most traffic?
- Engagement Metrics: Are people spending time on your pages, or are they bouncing off quickly?
- Social Shares: How is your content performing on social media?
Take note of any new content pieces that have been particularly successful and analyze why. Were they promoted more heavily? Do they address a trending topic? Use these insights to guide future content creation efforts.
Technical SEO Health
Technical SEO ensures that your site is structured in a way that search engines can easily crawl and index. It might seem a bit dry, but it’s crucial to your site’s performance.
Include metrics such as:
- Crawl Errors: Are there any issues with search engines accessing your site?
- Site Speed: How fast are your pages loading?
- Schema Markup: Is your site using structured data to help search engines understand your content?
Regularly conducting technical audits and addressing issues promptly can vastly improve your site’s health and performance. Highlight any improvements made in this area over the past month.
User Experience Metrics
User experience (UX) plays a significant role in SEO. After all, if users find your site difficult to navigate, they're unlikely to stick around.
Consider including:
- Bounce Rate: What percentage of visitors leave your site after viewing just one page?
- Average Session Duration: How long are visitors staying on your site?
- Pages per Session: How many pages does a visitor view on average?
By understanding these metrics, you can identify areas where the user experience might need improvement. Is there a particular page with a high bounce rate? Maybe it’s not providing the information users are looking for.
Competitor Analysis
No SEO report is complete without a glance at the competition. This helps you understand where you stand in your industry and what strategies you might want to adopt or avoid.
Focus on:
- Competitors’ Rankings: What keywords are they ranking for that you’re not?
- Content Strategies: What types of content are they producing that seem successful?
- Backlink Profiles: Are they gaining links from notable sites?
Competitor analysis can help you find opportunities and gaps in your own strategy. Perhaps they’re targeting a keyword you hadn’t considered yet, or maybe they have a more engaging content format you can try.
Final Thoughts
Creating a monthly SEO report might seem like a lot of work, but it's a valuable exercise that can drive your strategy forward. By including traffic analysis, keyword performance, backlinks, on-page insights, and more, you'll have a comprehensive view of your SEO efforts.
And if you're looking to take your SEO game to the next level, Pattern can help. As an SEO agency focused on results, we know how to drive more traffic and turn it into paying customers. Our approach is all about programmatic landing pages and conversion-focused content, ensuring your investment delivers real ROI. With Pattern, SEO isn't just a guessing game—it's a strategic channel for growth.