Content revised 20 October 2026.
An SEO report should connect completed work, observed search changes and useful business outcomes. Read those parts separately before deciding what the numbers mean.
Check what the report covers
Confirm the date range, website property, search type, country and device filters. Compare like with like and note major campaigns or website changes. A whole-site total may hide an important service page losing relevant visits while unrelated articles gain traffic.
Read the search evidence
Review the queries and pages involved, not just a small set of tracked positions. Impressions, clicks, click-through rate and reported positions describe different aspects of visibility. Ask what changed and whether the affected searches relate to customers you serve.
Connect the visit with the next step
- Are enquiries recorded accurately?
- Which enquiries meet the agreed qualification criteria?
- Is revenue data available and reliable?
- Are paid and organic activity clearly identified?
Be careful with ROI claims
Return on investment needs an agreed cost base, outcome value and attribution approach. A list of visits or a keyword-position chart can't supply those missing inputs. A customer may have several interactions before buying, so the report should explain the limits of the available evidence.
Finish with actions
Look for completed deliverables, unresolved faults and proposed next work with an owner. Ask for the affected URLs and how fixes were verified. A useful report helps you choose the next priority; it doesn't turn every positive movement into proof that one tactic caused it.
Official guidance: Google’s Search Console performance report.