Most people think SEO is a “set and forget it” game. They never track any data or important SEO report metrics. And guess the results? Decreasing ranking and constantly ranting about how SEO doesn’t work.
An SEO report tracks your website performance. It tells you what opportunities are worth chasing after and whether your SEO efforts bring positive results. A comprehensive SEO report includes an overview, key metrics, and high-level opportunities on what action to take next.
Here we have listed the top metrics to include in SEO reports, along with some tips to improve them. So, let’s dive in.
7 Must-Include Metrics You Should Include in Your SEO Report
1. Incoming Traffic from All the Channels
Start with this one. Clients all want to know whether their traffic has increased.
Congratulations if you have noticed high traffic to your client’s website through your SEO efforts. But wait. Where’s the traffic coming from?
It’s imperative to understand which source is bringing the most traffic. Now there are several traffic sources that you can add, but here is the top few:
- Traffic by Referral Source: This metric is worth paying attention to. Why? Because referral sources tell us what source is bringing in the most bang for your bucks and which one isn’t. For example, if Instagram is bringing you higher referral traffic than Facebook and Twitter, it’s worth spending more effort there than on other platforms.
- Mobile Traffic: If you aren’t paying attention to mobile traffic, now is the time! Smartphone users have quadrupled in recent years, and your SEO efforts should reflect that.
- Traffic by Location: The Internet is global. Chances are, your client’s websites would attract traffic from different regions. Hence, it’s worth noting which region responds the most to your efforts. You can leverage these regions down the road through social media campaigns and more.
2. Time On Site & Bounce Rate
Time on site or dwell time is an appropriate metric to consider. It’s a metric that tells how much time a user spends on a particular page of your site.
On the other hand, the bounce rate is a metric that measures how many users visit your site before leaving and returning later. A higher bounce rate implies users are not satisfied with the content.
You can use some of the tips given here to reduce bounce rate and improve time on site
- Publish high-quality content. Content, of course, plays a major role in reducing bounce rate because if users are not happy with what they see, they will flock to other websites in search of answers.
- Improve page speed. This is another element that can cause a high bounce rate. It’s preferable to keep the loading speed below 3 seconds. If a page takes more time to load then it will affect the websites visibility.
- Avoid filling pages with ads. If your page has little content and more ads, chances are users will get frustrated and leave.
3. Keyword Ranking
Yes, keyword ranking matters. No matter what people say about tracking keywords being lost causes, it’s critical. Here’s why you should absolutely include keyword ranking in your SEO report.
- Reason #1: Keyword tracking helps you solve traffic drop issues- Traffic drops happen. Sometimes due to Google updates or testing upcoming features. However, there are several other reasons why your traffic will drop suddenly. This includes competitors overtaking you or a technical glitch in the site. Unless you track your keywords, it will be difficult to find the underlying reason behind the sudden drop.
- Reason #2: Grab new opportunities- SERPs keep changing every day. It’s easy to lose new opportunities with so many things going on in SEO. Fortunately, tracking keywords helps you find new opportunities by showing new profitable keywords that you can leverage, your competitor’s keyword strategy, domain performance, etc.
4. Organic Click-Through Rate
Organic CTR is the number of people who clicked on your website out of the total number of people that saw your site in search results. Of course, everyone wants a high CTR because it means more traffic. But that’s not the only reason why organic CTR is important.
According to Backlinko, Google uses CTR as a metric for ranking your website. This means the more clicks you get, the better your ranking will be. It’s like telling Google this site is suitable for a particular search term. Let’s take it higher.
5. Lead Conversion Rate
Leads keep the business running. Lead conversion rate tells us how quickly the lead turns into a client. The higher it is, the better. Because a higher rate means every dollar you spend on leads is earned back along with significant profit.
That’s why it’s an essential metric to add to SEO reports. If you find lead conversion rates on the lower side, there might be issues with your conversion optimization.
Here’s how to check:
- Your landing pages are not optimized. This can be anything from a non-responsive page, unclear CTA, ineffective copywriting, etc.
- Your offer doesn’t meet lead expectations. It’s time to improve the offer.
- You are not attracting the right leads. Leads, for instance, are not yet at the buying stage.
6. Top Exit Page
SEO professionals often track pages that are bringing in the most traffic all the time. But have you wondered about the pages where the majority of users are leaving the site?
These pages are called exit pages. The key element of exit page data is to identify the page that leads to the most exits. This is very crucial data. Why? Why do people leave the site after visiting that particular page? Is the content weak? Or did customers find something offensive that made them exit?
By strengthening the exit pages, you will be able to take the opportunity to strengthen the content. Now, you can optimize these pages in any way. We have listed some of those below:
- If the goal is to create engagement, add a video or images like infographics. Because you know what they say? A picture is worth thousands of words and a video is worth 1.8 billion images!
- If the goal is to make users take a particular action, add a contact form or a strong call to action button. This will ensure that users know exactly what action they have to take.
7. New Backlinks & Referring Domains
SEO trends come and disappear. However, backlinks have stayed constant. Despite what Internet gurus say about backlinks, they are still an enormous factor in SEO.
This was proved by Backlinko’s study on over 1 million Google search results. The study highlighted a strong correlation between ranking and the number of referring domains.
But the question here is why are backlinks so significant? Backlinks are like signals to search engines that a site is trusted. Hence, so many sites are linking back to them. As a result, search engines improve their rankings in SERPs. If you have not been tracking backlinks, now is the time. They are not going anywhere, yet.
SEO Reports & Metrics – FAQs
1. How To Make SEO Reports?
Most SEO tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and other tools provide an option to create monthly, quarterly, or yearly SEO reports. The reports also have customization options so that you can choose which metrics to display and which to leave out.
2. What Is An SEO Report? Why Do You Need It?
An SEO report is a detailed evaluation of how your website is performing. SEO agencies often require SEO reports to show clients how the SEO efforts have boosted the performance of the website.
3. What Should Be Included In The SEO Monthly Report?
Although things included in the SEO reports vary slightly, basic metrics remain the same. These metrics are:
- Traffic engagement
- Click-through rate
- Keyword ranking and performance
- Page speed insights
- Organic traffic
- Conversion rate
Key Takeaways
- Watch which sources are bringing in the most traffic and which ones the least.
- Leverage page data to understand what makes users exit a site at that particular point and optimize the page.
- Track keyword rankings to discover new opportunities.
- Know the organic click-through rate. If it’s low, dig deep.
- Add new backlinks and referring domains to your site because Google loves quality backlinks.
Bottom Line
An effective SEO report isn’t just about numbers—it’s about insights that drive decisions. By tracking the right metrics, from traffic and keyword rankings to conversions and backlinks, you gain a clear picture of performance and opportunities.
