seo-reporting-template

name	seo-reporting-template
description	Creates SEO reporting templates with KPI tracking, ranking changes, traffic analysis, and conversion attribution. Use when building regular SEO performance reports.
allowed-tools	Read Write Glob
metadata	{"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"}

SEO Reporting Template

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Build a recurring SEO report template for monthly or quarterly reviews
• Define which KPIs to track and how to present them
• Create a reporting framework that connects SEO efforts to business results
• Design dashboards or report documents for stakeholders or personal tracking

DO NOT use this skill for technical SEO audits, content strategy, or keyword research. This is for building the reporting structure that tracks SEO performance over time.

---

Core Principle

AN SEO REPORT MUST ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS: WHAT CHANGED, WHY IT CHANGED, AND WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT — DATA WITHOUT CONTEXT AND ACTION IS JUST NOISE.

---

Phase 1: Brief

Required Inputs

Input	What to Ask	Default
Report audience	"Who reads this report? (yourself, client, team)"	Yourself (solopreneur)
Reporting frequency	"How often? (weekly, monthly, quarterly)"	Monthly
Business goals	"What business outcomes should SEO drive?"	Traffic, leads, and sales
Data sources	"What tools do you have? (GSC, GA4, Ahrefs, etc.)"	Google Search Console + Google Analytics
Key pages	"Which pages matter most to track?"	Homepage, top 10 content pages, service pages
Baseline	"Do you have historical data to compare against?"	Last month and last year

GATE: Confirm reporting needs before building the template.

---

Phase 2: Report Structure

Monthly SEO Report Template

## SEO Report — [Month Year]

### Executive Summary (3-5 sentences)
- [Biggest win this month]
- [Key metric change: traffic up/down X%]
- [Primary action taken and result]
- [Focus for next month]

---

### Traffic Overview

| Metric | This Month | Last Month | MoM Change | Last Year | YoY Change |
|--------|-----------|------------|------------|----------|------------|
| Organic sessions | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] | [X] | [+/-X%] |
| Organic users | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] | [X] | [+/-X%] |
| Organic pageviews | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] | [X] | [+/-X%] |
| Avg session duration | [X] | [X] | [+/-X] | [X] | [+/-X] |
| Bounce rate | [X%] | [X%] | [+/-X%] | [X%] | [+/-X%] |

---

### Keyword Rankings

| Keyword | Current | Last Month | Change | Target Page |
|---------|---------|------------|--------|-------------|
| [keyword] | [X] | [X] | [+/- X] | [URL] |

**New keywords ranking (top 50):** [X] new keywords
**Keywords improved:** [X]
**Keywords declined:** [X]

---

### Top Performing Pages

| Page | Sessions | MoM Change | Top Keyword | Position |
|------|---------|------------|-------------|----------|
| [URL] | [X] | [+/- X%] | [keyword] | [X] |

---

### Conversions from Organic

| Goal | Completions | MoM Change | Conversion Rate |
|------|------------|------------|-----------------|
| [Email signups] | [X] | [+/-X%] | [X%] |
| [Sales] | [X] | [+/-X%] | [X%] |
| [Contact form] | [X] | [+/-X%] | [X%] |

---

### Actions Taken This Month
1. [Published X blog posts targeting [keywords]]
2. [Acquired X new backlinks from [sources]]
3. [Fixed X technical issues]

### Plan for Next Month
1. [Content to publish]
2. [Link building targets]
3. [Technical fixes planned]

GATE: Approve the template structure before customizing.

---

Phase 3: Customize and Populate

Data Collection Guide

For each section, document:

• Where to pull the data (which tool, which report)
• How to calculate the metric (formula if needed)
• What comparison period to use
• How to identify anomalies vs. trends

Visualization Recommendations

## Chart Types by Section

**Traffic overview:** Line chart showing 12-month trend
**Keyword rankings:** Table with color-coded changes (green up, red down)
**Top pages:** Bar chart of top 10 pages by sessions
**Conversions:** Funnel visualization or simple table
**Month-over-month:** Comparison bar charts

Commentary Framework

For each data section, answer:

1. What happened? — state the data change in plain language
2. Why? — attribute the change to a specific cause (algorithm update, new content, technical fix, seasonal trend)
3. So what? — what does this mean for the business
4. Now what? — what action to take based on this data

---

Phase 4: Polish

1. Report Automation Tips

• Set up Google Search Console email alerts for coverage issues
• Create saved segments in Google Analytics for organic traffic
• Use Google Looker Studio (free) for automated dashboards
• Schedule monthly calendar reminder to pull and review data

2. Reporting Cadence

• Weekly: quick check of GSC for errors, traffic anomalies
• Monthly: full report with all sections
• Quarterly: strategic review with trend analysis and goal reassessment
• Annually: year-in-review with ROI analysis

3. Presentation Tips

• Lead with wins, then areas for improvement
• Use percentages for changes, absolute numbers for totals
• Compare to goals, not just previous periods
• Include 1-2 screenshots of SERP wins or notable rankings

---

Anti-Patterns

• Data dump with no analysis — 50 charts with no explanation is not a report. Every metric needs a "so what."
• Tracking vanity metrics only — impressions and rankings matter, but conversions and revenue are what the business cares about.
• No comparison periods — a number without context means nothing. Always show month-over-month and year-over-year.
• Reporting on everything — focus on 8-12 key metrics. Too many metrics dilute attention.
• No action items — a report that doesn't end with "here's what we're doing next" is an FYI, not a strategy tool.

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Recovery

• No historical data: Start tracking now. The first report establishes the baseline. Month 2 is when comparisons begin.
• Only Google Search Console available: Build the report around impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position. Add GA4 for traffic and conversion data when available.
• Report takes too long to produce: Automate data collection with Looker Studio dashboards. Manual analysis time drops from hours to 30 minutes.
• Nobody reads the report: Shorten to a one-page executive summary with a link to the full data. Lead with the most interesting finding.