Local SEO reporting shows a local client three things each month: the counts for their Business Profile, where the business shows up for local searches, and the work done on the profile. Google's help pages define those counts and name what local results are mainly based on. Report in those terms, and promise the work in place of a rank.
Which Google Business Profile numbers go in a local SEO report?
Five counts from the profile's performance data go in a local SEO report: searches, views, directions, calls and website clicks. Google shows this data only for verified Business Profiles, so check that the profile is verified before you promise the counts.
| Count | What Google says each one is |
|---|---|
| Searches | Which search terms people used to find the business |
| Views | How many people viewed the profile on Search and Maps |
| Directions | The number of people who asked for directions to the business |
| Calls | How often a customer clicked the call button on the profile |
| Website clicks | How often people clicked the website link on the profile |
One caution belongs right under the table. These counts aren't SEO alone. Google says "Performance data includes views, searches, and actions from both organic search results and Google Ads". If the client runs ads, say so beside the counts. That way a jump that came from an ad doesn't read as a jump from your work.
To lay the counts out:
- Show each count for this month beside last month.
- Put directions, calls and website clicks where the client sees them first. Each one is something a customer did.
- Use the searches list to show the client the words their customers use.
- Say in one line where the counts come from, so the client knows whose counts they are.
These counts are one part of the monthly report. The rest of it, from the summary at the top to the plan at the end, is the same as for any client. For the parts of a monthly report, in order, see SEO report template.
The counts still have to be pulled, checked and put under your brand each month. How do I create a white label SEO report? walks through those steps.
How do you report rank tracking to a local client?
Report a local rank as one search checked from one place, and print both beside the number. Google says three things mainly decide local results: relevance, distance and popularity.
| What decides it | How Google explains it |
|---|---|
| Relevance | How good a match the Business Profile is for what the person is searching for |
| Distance | In Google's words: "Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who's searching" |
| Prominence | How well-known a business is. Google's summary line calls this one popularity, and its heading for it says prominence |
Distance is the reason to name the place. It's counted from the searcher, so a local rank can change with where the searcher stands.
That shapes what goes on the page.
- Pick a short list of searches with the client, and keep the list the same each month.
- Pick the places to check from, such as the storefront and the parts of town the client wants to serve. Keep those the same too.
- Print the search and the place beside every rank.
- Put last month's spot beside this month's.
- Set the ranks next to the profile's calls and directions, so the client reads them together.
- Add a line on what you changed on the profile that month.
Leave out any promise of a spot, and any guess at how far a rank will move.
Someone has to run those checks every month, whether that's you or a partner behind your brand. For local SEO work under your name, see white label local SEO.
Checking the same searches from the same places each month is a task you can write down and pass on. Handing off tasks is what our free template is for. You give your email to get it.
What local SEO expectations should the first report set?
The first report sets three expectations: what nobody can promise, what work you'll do on the Business Profile, and which counts will come back every month. Say all three in plain words on the first page.
Start with the limit. Google says a better local ranking can't be requested or paid for. Put that in the first report, before the client asks why the business isn't on top.
Then promise the work. The same Google help page names things a business can do on its profile.
- Fill in the profile. One of Google's tips for local ranking is to make the business info in the profile as complete as you can.
- Reply to reviews. Google says a reply to a customer review shows you value the feedback.
- Add photos and videos. Google says they show customers what you offer.
Google also says "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking". Keep the word "can" when you repeat that to a client.
Last, promise the report itself. A first report can close with four plain lines:
- What we'll work on this month.
- What we'll count, and where the counts come from.
- What nobody can promise.
- The day the next report comes.
A local client needs the same first talk as any SEO client, about what you can promise and what you can't. For what to promise an SEO client in week one, see SEO client expectations.
A local client may also want an audit of the profile at the start, or a live page of numbers to look at between reports. SEO reports for clients sorts out which of those to send, and when.
A local report repeats the same checks every month, so it's a good one to write down as steps. The free template we offer is for handing off tasks. You give your email to get it.