7 Tips For Better Local SEO Reporting
One area that many organizations are completely lacking, especially in local SEO, is speaking.
Unlike businesses and international businesses with C-level executives and shareholders, most local businesses only care about getting more foot traffic in their doors.
So by simplifying our process and focusing on reporting only the most important data, agencies can better serve local businesses and build stronger relationships.
Here are seven tips to improve your local SEO reporting and serve your local customers.
1. Simplify Reports
Simplifying your SEO reports isn’t just a tip that local SEO agencies should follow – but one that most any agency should, too.
Our first thought as advertisers and speakers is to provide as detailed a report as possible. That’s even more true when marketers have to hide bad campaign results under a mountain of information.
However, our reports should tell a clear and concise story about how our marketing companies are doing.
Complex reports with irrelevant data will distract from the success of the campaign and will cause eyes to glaze over when reading them.
Image from Google Analytics, September 2022
Follow these tips to keep local SEO reports simple and easy to digest for clients:
2. Choose The Right Metrics
Part of telling a story with data is choosing the right data that fits that story.
Most local businesses only care about two key metrics:
However, this does not mean that you should ignore all important metrics, but that you should choose metrics that are relevant to your case.
Even metrics like total traffic don’t show you how relevant the traffic is or which channels the traffic originates from.
That’s why I like to include the following key metrics from Google Analytics:
Image from Google Analytics, September 2022
These metrics tell our clients which campaigns provide the most valuable traffic flow to and from cities and sources.
I also like to include Google Search Console data in my reports to track SERP (search engine results page) data, such as clicks, impressions, and CTR (click-through rate).
You’ll also need a tool to report keyword data, like Semrush or Ahrefs. Semrush even provides a clean tool to easily build reports and build templates for future clients.
3. Segment Keywords By Location
To get into some of the areas of SEO, we will need to make sure that our reports are optimized enough to only talk about the area’s keyword data.
For this part, you’ll need an advanced keyword tool like Semrush, Moz, or Ahrefs.
I used Semrush to create a new project and do a follow-up ranking on my best keywords in this example.
As you can see below, I have set up a research position mainly in the Houston metropolitan area. I can then download the keywords I’m tracking from Semrush or even Google Analytics to talk about.
Photo from Semrush, September 2022
To filter the keywords I’m after, I can also add tags that separate them into specific categories.
Photo from Semrush, September 2022
You can get as granular as you want with your list by splitting your keywords with query phrases, “near me” searches, or including a city-based keyword from your list.
Once you have a tracking position and tag
4. Segment Traffic By Device
Equally important for tracking local SEO campaigns is filtering data by device.
That’s why I like to include sections in my reports that describe traffic by device and even go as granular as by location and device.
Image from Google Analytics, September 2022
In terms of local SEO, mobile search traffic is more important than desktop traffic, especially when you have click-to-call and phone orders, which are usually on a smartphone or other mobile device.
5. Track Local SERP Results
Another big difference in how Google handles local search is using tools like the Local Search Pack and Google Business Profile.
For many local businesses, Google Business Profile listings can be a very high source of conversion and foot traffic to the business on their specific website.
You will need to sign up for a link to track Google Business Profile data using any standard reporting tool.
Image from Google Data Studio, September 2022
However, many important tools like Semrush provide detailed keyword information about local search results, such as local pack results and featured snippets.
Photo from Semrush, September 2022
This information is important for businesses looking to rank in “near me” searches that will generate more traffic for their business.
Export this data to CSV or import it directly into Semrush’s reporting tool.
6. Go Beyond Standard SEO Tools And Metrics
Going beyond the local pack, we can add a number of KPIs (key performance indicators) to our local SEO reports that are most important to businesses.
Photo from Semrush, September 2022
For example, consider including the following metrics in your next local SEO report:
Photo from Semrush, September 2022
You may need to purchase a social media monitoring tool or upgrade your Semrush account to track social media mentions and engagement.
However, you can also perform manual searches to check for changes in review ratings, unlinked brand mentions, or social media engagement on trends to add to your reports.
7. Provide Actionable Information
Finally, we want to round out our reports by adding a section at the end summarizing campaign results and future actions based on the data you provide.
This section will help you complete your story using the data provided and help customers understand what you have presented to them.
I also find adding the last part of the recommendation important because many campaigns can be hampered by limited budgets or reluctant clients who don’t want to take the necessary steps to change their site.
So if your campaign is stuck because a local business won’t update their site or make the recommended changes, make sure to remind them nicely at the end of your report and explain the benefits of your recommendations.
Credit: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock
What is an SEO strategy?
An SEO strategy is the process of organizing website content by topic to improve the likelihood of appearing in search results. Basically, it’s the process you follow in order to increase your chances of getting organic traffic from search engines.
What are the top three SEO strategies?
How many types of SEO are there?
There are about a dozen types of SEO that help websites perform better on search engine pages.
What are the 3 main areas of SEO? This is a comprehensive guide to the three components of SEO. What is Technical SEO, On-page SEO, and Off-page SEO.
What do Google Analytics reports include?
Basic Analytics reports Availability provides information about the source of your traffic, the ways users reach your site or app, and the marketing efforts you use to drive traffic.
What type of report does Google Analytics generate? Explorer: The standard Analytics report. It includes a line graph and a data table that includes powerful features such as search/sort options and thumbnails. Flat Table: A vertical, organized table that displays data in rows.
What are the 4 main reports in Google Analytics?
While you can use the data from Google Analytics in many ways, the four most useful for your content marketing reports are website traffic, traffic summary, traffic from organic search, and conversions.
How many reports are there in Google Analytics?
There are 7 different types of Google Analytics reports that you can build in your account. It is important to have a full understanding of the options you have beforehand so that you can make the best decision for your property.
What are the 4 goals in Google Analytics?
There are four types of goals you can create within Google Analytics: attendance, activity, time, and pages per session. If you use Google Ads, you can also use Smart Targets to track qualified visitors to your site from a pay-per-click campaign.
What are the three different types of reports in Google Analytics?
There are also three different report types: explorer, flat table, and top of the map.
How many reports are there in Google Analytics?
There are 7 different types of Google Analytics reports that you can build in your account. It is important to have a full understanding of the options you have beforehand so that you can make the best decision for your property.
What SEO platforms do you use for reporting and tracking?
13 Best SEO Recording Tools Google Analytics. Google Search Central. Google Data Studio. Semrush.
What kind of softwares or external companies do you use for SEO reporting etc.? Google Search Console This is an essential SEO reporting software in the work of any SEO expert, especially a newbie. Good on page SEO software. Google Search Console is used by all companies that have websites.
What is reporting in SEO?
What is SEO Reporting? SEO reporting tracks your website’s SEO performance. It tells you which SEO marketing efforts are working (for example, search for specific organic search terms) and suggests opportunities for growth.
What are SEO reports?
What is an SEO report? The SEO report is a look at key SEO metrics that show business growth, performance in search engines, backlink portfolio strength, and website health. It is the main resource for your clients, managers, or bosses who track your work progress and performance.
Why SEO reporting is important?
SEO reporting plays an important role in creating a strong digital marketing strategy. Collecting the right data and knowing how to process and understand the information can enable marketers to know which efforts bring in customers and which areas need to be improved to provide better ROI for the company.
