How to Create an SEO Reporting Dashboard For Your Clients

Developing an effective SEO strategy that increases organic search traffic and boosts conversion rates will be an invaluable skill set in 2025. A key component of mastering SEO is the ability to monitor progress meticulously and analyze data to shape and refine your content strategy.

Equally important, however, is the ability to articulate the value of your SEO efforts clearly to clients, employers, or even for personal assessment. This dual focus on data-driven optimization and effective communication defines what it truly means to excel in SEO.

Managers and marketers appreciate marketing dashboards because they clearly show which marketing efforts lead to a return on investment (ROI). You must know how to create an SEO reporting dashboard to showcase your work effectively. 

This article will cover how to create an SEO dashboard, what to include, and tips for impressing your SEO clients during the presentation.

What is an SEO Reporting Dashboard for Clients?

An SEO dashboard is a specialized interface that presents essential SEO data and key metrics in a clear and accessible manner. This tool is a vital component of SEO strategies, enabling agencies and their clients to analyze and comprehend the real-time impact of their SEO efforts effectively. This dashboard lets users gain valuable insights into their SEO performance and make informed decisions to enhance their strategies.

A client dashboard helps you see and understand essential data. It gathers information from different sources, like Google Analytics, and displays it simply. That includes organic search traffic, CTR, and landing page performance. For example, by bringing this information together, we check how well our SEO for lawyers works in the dashboard. 

What Elements Should I Incorporate Into an SEO Reporting Dashboard?

Creating an SEO reporting dashboard can range from simple to complex depending on the website. A basic dashboard may suffice for a SaaS site with a blog, while a marketplace or site with extensive user-generated content requires a more comprehensive approach.

No matter what kind of website you manage, monitoring specific key metrics is essential. To effectively track your website's performance and optimize its visibility, consider incorporating the following elements into your SEO analytics dashboard:

1. Trends in organic traffic for the whole website;

2. Trends in organic traffic for branded keywords;

3. Trends in organic traffic for non-branded keywords;

4. Keyword rankings for both branded and non-branded terms;

5. Separate dashboards for different landing page categories;

6. Backlinks and domain authority or rating;

7. Conversion rates. 

When analyzing your marketing efforts, it’s essential to focus on three key elements: keywords, traffic, and conversions. However, depending on the data available, the conversion metrics may not always be necessary for your analysis. Understanding these aspects can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your strategies.

Adam Zayed from Zayed Law Offices noted that understanding traffic trends from both branded and non-branded perspectives is crucial. An increase in branded keywords doesn’t always mean overall SEO traffic is rising—it might indicate more searches for your company due to ads or word-of-mouth. If your goal is to enhance SEO traffic for better conversions, focusing on non-branded keywords is essential. Demonstrating the success of non-branded initiatives is key to gaining your clients' confidence.

Now that we've covered what to track, let's build an SEO reporting dashboard that our clients can access securely and efficiently.

How to Build an SEO Dashboard For Your Clients

Let’s go through the steps to build an SEO dashboard to automate your data workflows.

1. Choose the Right Tools and Get Access to Google Search Console and Analytics

The first step in creating your comprehensive dashboard is to gain access to your client's Google Search Console. This platform is essential as it provides valuable insights into how the client's website performs in search engines. 

While accessing the Google Search Console is sufficient to initiate your work, if your goal is to provide a more holistic view of the client's online presence, particularly in understanding where their website traffic is originating from beyond just search engine optimization, you should also request access to their Google Analytics account. 

The method of granting access can vary significantly based on the nature and size of the client’s organization. Smaller businesses might grant you access using your personal or professional email address. In contrast, larger companies may prefer to create a dedicated email account specifically for you, ensuring secure and manageable access. Understanding these nuances is crucial as you navigate the access process with your client.

To gain access, encourage your client to open Google Search Console. Next, they can easily scroll down and click on the “Settings” tab on the screen's right side.

To start, click “Users and permissions,” then hit “ADD USER” and request full access to your SEO dashboard's data. Once you’re in GSC and GA, it’s time to customize your dashboard. Although many paid tools are available, I highly recommend using Looker Studio.

2. Customize a Report Template 

The next step involves creating a report template that conveys essential information and captivates the reader with its visual appeal. This template should be thoughtfully structured, including dedicated sections for each key metric you’ve identified. 

Enhance the presentation of your data with well-designed charts, graphs, and tables that facilitate straightforward interpretation and insight. Create a report presentation to present your data to the target audience. Strive for a balance between functionality and aesthetics to ensure that the information is not only accessible but also engaging for the audience.

In platforms like Google Data Studio, users can utilize pre-existing templates that streamline the reporting process or develop a custom report from scratch. 

When crafting your report, infusing the client's unique branding elements to enhance personalization is essential. That includes incorporating their logo prominently within the design and carefully selecting a color scheme that aligns with their brand identity. This attention to detail makes the report visually appealing and effectively reinforces the client's brand presence.

3. Automate the Reporting Schedule

One key benefit of automating SEO reporting is establishing a consistent schedule for generating and distributing reports. That means you can tailor the frequency to each client's specific preferences and requirements, whether that’s a comprehensive update every week, a detailed overview each month, or a quarterly analysis that captures broader trends. This systematic approach saves time and ensures clients receive timely insights into their SEO performance, enabling them to make informed decisions.

Many reporting tools offer a feature that allows you to schedule email delivery for reports. By configuring this option, you can arrange for the report to be automatically sent to your clients at predetermined intervals, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. 

That saves time by eliminating manual sending and guarantees that your clients receive the necessary information consistently and punctually. It enhances the overall reliability of your communication and provides a surety bond.

4. Customize the Report for Each Client

You need the correct data to track your SEO performance effectively. If you plan to share your dashboard with clients, it's also important to customize it to reflect their brand. That is where custom SEO dashboards become useful for freelancers and marketing agencies.

You can customize your dashboard, for example, in Google Slides. You can change the types of charts, layout, fonts, logos, and colors. To do this, click “Theme and layout” and choose a theme matching your client's brand. 

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You can also add your client's logo in the top left corner and rename the dashboard. Click “View” in the top right corner to share the dashboard. Here, you can also see any additional pages you’ve created.

5. Integrate Your Dashboard Into a Client Portal

At the end of each day, your foremost objective is ensuring clients have an exceptional experience. One effective strategy to achieve this is to provide a personalized client portal that prominently reflects our brand. 

You can utilize Copilot to optimize this process. This tool seamlessly integrates all your preferred applications into a single, centralized hub, facilitating my clients' management of: 

• Messaging
• Files and contracts
• Billing, invoices, and subscriptions
• Intake forms
• Helpdesks 

You can embed the dashboard you created directly into my client’s portal, making it part of their system. That lets your client easily see everything you send them, including invoices, project timelines, statuses, and reporting dashboards, without switching between different tools.

Conclusion

Creating an SEO dashboard helps you focus more on your campaigns and less on gathering and analyzing data. SEO can confuse clients, so clear data visuals and personalized comments make sharing the campaign's results easier. 

Knowing how to make automated SEO reports for your clients is a wise choice. It saves time, improves accuracy, and keeps communication consistent. By using the right tools, choosing key metrics, and tailoring reports to each client’s needs, you can provide valuable insights that show the impact of your SEO work.

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