SEO reports for clients come in three kinds: a monthly report, a one-time audit report and a live dashboard. Send the monthly report to every client. The audit report goes out once, near the start. The dashboard is a choice, and it sits beside the monthly report.
Which SEO reports should you send to clients?
Send every client a monthly report, send an audit report once near the start of the work, and add a live dashboard only if the client will use it. Each one does a different job.
| Report | What it's for | When it goes out |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly report | Says how the month went. It can cover where the site ranks, the visits and the leads or sales that search brought, the work done that month, and what's planned next | Once a month, on a set day |
| Audit report | Says where the site stands today and what the work ahead looks like | Once, before the work starts |
| Live dashboard | Lets the client look at the numbers between reports | Nothing is sent. It's there whenever the client looks |
Build the monthly report first, since it's the one you'll send again and again. It has the same parts every month, so the client learns where to look. The parts, in the order a client reads them, are in SEO report template.
Whichever kinds you send, each one still has to be built, branded and checked before it goes out. The steps to build one are in How do I create a white label SEO report?.
A client that serves one town or one neighborhood needs a few lines in the monthly report that other clients don't. For a local client's monthly report, see local SEO reporting.
How often should SEO client reporting go out?
Send the main report once a month, on the same day each month. The audit report goes out once, and a dashboard has no send date at all.
A set day does two things. The client knows when to look for the report, and you know when the work on it has to be done. To pick the day and keep it:
- Choose a day early enough in the month that last month is still fresh for the client.
- Tell the client the day in writing, in the same place you list what you'll do for them.
- Block time before that day to check the numbers and write the notes.
- If a report will be late, say so before the day comes, and name the new day.
A client may ask for more than a monthly report. Before you agree to a weekly one, ask what they want to see each week and what they'll do with it. A short weekly note about the work can answer that without a second full report.
You don't have to be the one who builds it each month. Jeremy Kenerson, DeskTeam360's founder, says the team builds and sends monthly SEO reports for agency clients. Here's where the team stands on the SEO work itself. On-page SEO is covered. Link building and outreach aren't.
Each client you sign adds one more report to that day. For reports that take less time as you add clients, see how to scale client reporting.
If you plan to pass the monthly report to someone else, our free template is for handing off tasks. You get it when you give your email.
When does a client need an SEO audit report?
A client needs an audit report at the start, before any work is done on the site. It can fit a second time after a big change, such as a rebuilt website or a new line of business.
That timing is our own plain guidance. Google's advice to a business covers a different part: what an audit should give, and what access to grant for one. If an SEO offers an audit, Google tells the business to grant only read access to Search Console at that stage, and to hold back write access. It also says an audit should be about "giving you realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved".
A client may have read that page before they talk to you. So settle these points before you send an audit report:
- Access. Which accounts will you ask to see, and at what level?
- What you found. Can the client follow each finding without knowing SEO terms?
- Your estimates. Does each one say what it rests on, and is it one you'd stand behind later on?
- The work. Does the report say how much work the fixes are, and who would do each part?
- What happens next. Is the audit a paid piece on its own, or the first step of a monthly plan?
An audit report is a one-time read. Once the monthly work starts, the monthly report takes over.
Should clients get an SEO dashboard or a report?
Every client gets the report, and a dashboard is an extra for the client who'll look at it between reports. The two do different jobs. A dashboard is a live page of numbers the client can look at any time. A report is a dated page you send, with your notes on it.
| What differs | Dashboard | Report |
|---|---|---|
| When the client sees it | Any time they look | On the day you send it |
| What it shows | The numbers as they stand | The numbers for one month, with the work done and what comes next |
| Who explains it | Nobody, unless you add notes or a call | You do, in the notes |
| What you do each month | Check that the data still flows | Fill it in, check it and send it |
Ask the client these questions before you build a dashboard.
- Will you look at it between our reports?
- Who else at your company will look at it?
- When a number drops, do you want to see it right away, or with our notes beside it?
- Would you still like the monthly report?
If the answers point to a dashboard, keep the monthly report going beside it. The dashboard shows the numbers. The report says what you did about them.
Each kind of report has its own steps. Write them down once, and the job can move to someone else. Our free template for handing off tasks comes to you when you give your email.