What to include in an SEO report: the freelancer's checklist

There's no universal law about what an SEO report must contain. But there is a useful filter: if a metric doesn't help the client make a decision or feel confident in your work, it probably shouldn't be in the report.

Below is the checklist I use for every monthly client report, with notes on which sections clients read carefully and which ones you include for completeness.

The checklist

1. Executive summary (clients read this first, and sometimes only this)

• Overall performance: up, down or flat?
• One specific win to highlight
• One notable challenge or risk, framed honestly
• What you're focusing on next month

Client priority: Very high. This is the section that determines whether the client trusts you. Write it in plain English. No jargon.

2. Organic traffic (from GA4)

• Organic sessions: current month
• Organic sessions: same month last year (YoY)
• Organic sessions: previous month (MoM)
• New users from organic
• Conversions or leads from organic (if tracked)

Client priority: High. Traffic is the most tangible number for most clients. YoY is almost always more meaningful than MoM because it removes seasonal variation.

3. Search visibility (from Google Search Console)

• Total impressions: current vs. previous period
• Total clicks: current vs. previous period
• Average position: current vs. previous period
• Top 5–10 queries by clicks

Client priority: Medium. Clients understand "we're showing up more in Google" even if they don't know what impressions means. Frame it that way.

4. Top performing pages

• Top 5 pages by organic sessions
• Any page that gained significantly vs. last month
• Any page that dropped significantly (with explanation)

Client priority: Medium. Clients like seeing their specific pages called out by name — it makes the report feel relevant to their business rather than generic.

5. Wins this month

• Rankings gained (keyword, old position → new position)
• New content published
• Technical issues fixed
• Links earned or built
• Any site speed or Core Web Vitals improvements

Client priority: High. This is your proof of work. Be specific. "Improved organic performance" means nothing. "The [service page] moved from position 14 to position 5 for [keyword]" is concrete.

6. Next month's priorities

• Top 1–3 things you're working on next month
• Why each one matters (tied to a business goal, not an SEO metric)
• Any input needed from the client (content approvals, access, etc.)

Client priority: High. This section is what justifies retaining you another month. Make sure the client can see the roadmap.

What to leave out

Leave out if there's no space, no audience for it or no context to explain it:

• Bounce rate (misleading in GA4, meaningless to clients)
• Domain Authority / Domain Rating (third party metric, can fluctuate confusingly)
• Crawl error counts (unless a specific issue was resolved)
• Core Web Vitals scores (unless they were causing a ranking problem)
• Backlink counts (unless link building is explicitly part of the engagement)

Including everything signals that you don't know what matters. Selective reporting signals expertise.

Format recommendation

• Length: 3–5 pages max
• Visuals: one or two charts (traffic trend line, impressions bar chart) — no more
• Delivery: PDF download + shareable link so the client can forward it without printing
• Branding: your logo, not the tool's logo

The goal is a report the client reads in five minutes and feels good about, not a dashboard they can explore for hours.