Reports are comprehensive guides into the current state of the client's SEO. Not only do they offer hard data and metrics that directly tie to business goals, but it also provides a window into what your team is doing to improve technical and organic SEO.

Reports should serve as a central resource for all the teams involved to understand where a company’s online presence stands and the improvements needed to make it better. While having one comprehensive report makes sense for some businesses, it may be valuable to break it up into standalone reports to fit the client, issue, or circumstance. For instance, if you notice that some team members get bogged down by the sheer volume of a complete report, it may make sense to only send applicable parts of the report to specific parties. If the content team doesn't necessarily need to know about technical SEO improvements but the data on link building and website metrics is helpful, it would make sense to serve them link and keyword reports instead of the full technical run-down.

However, having a comprehensive report is a good complete resource when looking to reflect on past performance or see if goals have been met over time. A redacted complete report is also a good example for new clients to peruse when considering your service, or for internal team members to review when onboarding a new client.

Telling a story

We've said it before because we really believe it: Reports that include data with zero analysis aren’t going to compete with agencies that are spending the time and energy to tell a compelling story. Clients rely on you to analyze multiple data sources and derive meaningful insights. Without your expertise, many clients are in the dark about what specific data means to them and what takeaways they can use to improve their SEO efforts.

This doesn't mean simply explaining or defining what a data point is showing. It requires relating what the data shows to real events in the client's business. Telling a better story through data and ongoing reporting also builds the relationship between the client and the SEO team. Clients want to know that you're as invested in their business success as they are. Thinking of reports as an afterthought devalues their potential to become catalysts for ongoing change and improvement.

When good reporting goes bad

Maybe you want to avoid detailed reports because it can be embarrassing — it requires you to admit when things aren't going well. Putting your heart and soul into a campaign only to find out that the efforts backfired is an awful feeling. And sometimes, no matter how much time and effort you put into white-hat SEO, there are going to be months where a client's SEO goals aren't met. But that shouldn't make you shy away from the opportunity that detailed reporting can bring to the client-SEO expert relationship.

When it's time to have a difficult conversation with a client or stakeholders, it doesn't mean that it's going to end the relationship. Most businesspeople expect there to be roadblocks or down months. As long as you come to them with suggestions, an action plan for improvement, and a valid and thorough explanation, bad news is easier to digest and move past. Never avoid the hard conversations — meet them head-on with optimism and bravery, or the client will wonder why you didn't tell them earlier. Inevitably, this damages the professional relationship more profoundly than any one-off instance of bad news.

Reporting can be an arduous process, but it can also be a rewarding one. It keeps everyone accountable and ensures that all parties involved are on the same page about the state of SEO. Reporting can include goals, metrics tracking, what to fix next, and industry education, making it an invaluable component of any agency’s SEO services. Don't sell yourself or your company short by not completing detailed reports on a regular basis. The only way to improve is to track where you've been and where you plan to go next with clients.

Learn how to create an SEO forecast in Tom Mansell's Whiteboard Friday:

We'll leave you with a bevy of reporting templates and free resources in our final chapter, Reporting Templates & Resources.