The Metrics That Actually Matter
SEO reports can include dozens of metrics. Here are the ones you should actually pay attention to:
Organic Traffic
How many people find you through search engines (not ads). This is the ultimate measure of SEO success. Look for upward trends over time.
Keyword Rankings
Where you rank for target keywords. Focus on keywords that matter to your business, not vanity metrics. Position 1-10 = page 1.
Conversions from Organic
How many organic visitors take action (calls, forms, purchases). Traffic is nice, but conversions pay the bills.
Impressions & CTR
How often you appear in search results and how often people click. Low CTR might mean your titles/descriptions need work.
Understanding Keyword Rankings
Keyword rankings show where your site appears when someone searches for specific terms. Here's how to interpret them:
Top 3 results get the vast majority of clicks. If you're here, you're winning. Maintain and protect these positions.
You're on the first page, which is great. Focus on pushing these up into the top 3 for meaningful traffic increases.
Very few people click to page 2. These are "striking distance" keywords that need a push to become valuable.
You're ranking, but basically invisible. These need content improvements, better on-page SEO, or more backlinks.
Analyzing Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is visitors who find you through search engines. Here's what to look for in traffic reports:
Look at Trends, Not Snapshots
Daily or weekly fluctuations are normal. Compare month-over-month and year-over-year. Is the overall trend upward?
Separate Organic from Other Traffic
Make sure you're looking at organic search traffic specifically, not total traffic which includes direct, social, and paid.
Check Which Pages Get Traffic
Are your important pages (service pages, product pages) getting traffic? Or is it all going to random blog posts?
Consider Seasonality
Some businesses have natural ups and downs. Compare to the same period last year, not just last month.
Technical Health Metrics
These metrics show if your site has technical issues that could hurt rankings:
Core Web Vitals
- •LCP - Largest Contentful Paint (loading speed)
- •INP - Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness)
- •CLS - Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability)
Indexing & Crawling
- •Indexed pages - How many pages Google knows about
- •Crawl errors - Pages Google can't access
- •Mobile usability - Mobile-friendly issues
Learn more about these in our Technical SEO Guide.
Red Flags in SEO Reports
Sudden traffic drops
A significant unexplained drop could indicate a Google penalty, technical issue, or algorithm update. Investigate immediately.
Rankings for wrong keywords
If you're ranking for keywords that don't relate to your business, you're attracting the wrong audience. Quality over quantity.
High traffic, zero conversions
Traffic that doesn't convert is vanity metrics. Either you're attracting the wrong audience or your site isn't converting.
No progress after months
SEO takes time, but you should see some movement within 3-6 months. Flat lines for extended periods indicate something's wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be in an SEO report?
Organic traffic trends, keyword rankings, technical health, backlinks, and conversions. Plus explanations of what was done and what's next.
How often should I get SEO reports?
Monthly is standard. SEO changes gradually, so weekly reports often show little change. Monthly gives enough time to see meaningful trends.
What's a good organic traffic growth rate?
It varies by industry and starting point. New sites might see 50-100% first-year growth. Established sites aim for 10-20% year-over-year. Focus on consistent upward trends.
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