Reporting can be the height of tedium. You spend your time making those reports, your client may (or may not) spend their time trying to understand them. And then, in the end, we’re all left with some unanswered questions and a rumble in the tum of dissatisfaction.

I’m going to take some basic metrics, throw in some culinary metaphors, and take your client reporting to the next level.

By the end of this article you’ll know how to whip up intelligent SEO reports for your clients (or potential clients) that will deliver actionable insights any search chef worth their salt would be proud of.

[Part one] Freshly foraged keywords on sourdough to power your campaign

I’ve got intel on some really tasty keywords; did you know you can scoop these up like wild porcini mushrooms using your website categories? The trick is to find the keywords that you can use to make a lovely risotto, and discard the ones that taste nasty.

The overabundance of keywords has become a bit of a challenge for SEOs. Google is better at gauging user intent — it’s kind of their thing, right? This results in the types of keywords that send traffic to your clients expanding, and it’s becoming trickier to track every. single. keyword. Of course, with a budget big enough almost anything is possible, but why hemorrhage cash on tracking the keyword minutiae when you can wrangle intelligent data by tracking a sample of keywords from a few pots?

With Keyword Explorer, you can save your foraged terms to lists. By bundling together similar "species," you'll get a top-level view of the breadth and depth of search behavior within the categories of your niche. Easily compare volume, difficulty, opportunity, and potential to instigate a data-driven approach to website architecture. You’ll also know, at a glance, where to expand on certain topics and apply more resources to content creation.

With these metrics in hand and your client’s industry knowledge, you can cherry-pick keywords to track ranking positions week over week and add them to your Moz Pro campaign with the click of a button.

What’s the recipe?

Step 1: Pluck keywords from the category pages of your client’s site.

Step 2: Find keyword suggestions in Keyword Explorer.

Step 3: Group by low lexicon to bundle together similar keywords to gather up that long tail.

Step 4: Analyze and save relevant results to a list

Step 5: Head to the Keyword Lists and compare the metrics: where is the opportunity? Can you compete with the level of difficulty? Is there a high-volume long tail that you can dig in to?

Step 6: Add sample keywords from your pots directly to your campaign.

Bonus step: Repeat for products or other topic segments of the niche.

Don’t forget to drill into the keywords that are turning up here to see if there are categories and subcategories you hadn’t thought of. These can be targeted in existing content to further extend the relevancy and reach of your client’s content. Or it may inspire new content which can help to grow the authority of the site.

Why your client will be impressed

Through solid, informed research, you’ll be able to demonstrate why their site should be structured with certain categories on the top-level navigation right down to product pages. You’ll also be able to prioritize work on building, improving, or refining content on certain sections of the site by understanding the breakdown of search behavior and demand. Are you seeing lots of keywords with a good level of volume and lower difficulty? Or more in-depth long tail with low search volume? Or fewer different keywords with high search volume but stronger competition?

Let the demand drive the machine forward and make sure you’re giving the hordes what they want.

All this helps to further develop your understanding of the ways people search so you can make informed decisions about which keywords to track.

[Part two] Palate-cleansing lemon keyword label sorbet

Before diving into the next course you need to cleanse your palate with a lemon "label" sorbet.

In Part One, we talked about the struggle of maintaining gigantic lists of keywords. We’ve sampled keywords from our foraged pots, keeping these arranged and segmented in our Moz Pro campaign.

Now you want to give those tracked keywords a more defined purpose in life. This will help to reinforce to your client why you’re tracking these keywords, what the goal is for tracking them, and in what sort of timeframe you’re anticipating results.

Types of labels may include:

• Local keywords: Is your business serving local people, like a mushroom walking tour? You can add geo modifiers to your keywords and label them as such.
• Long-tail keywords: Might have lower search volume, but focused intent can convert well for your client.
• High-priority keywords: Where you’re shoveling more resources, these keywords are more likely impacting the other keyword segments.
• Brand keywords: Mirror, mirror on the wall... yeah, we all want those vanity keywords, don’t lie. You can manage brand keywords automatically through "Manage Brand Rules" in Moz Pro:

A generous scoop of tasty lemon "label" sorbet will make all the work you do and progress you achieve infinitely easier to report on with clear, actionable focus.

What’s the recipe?

Step 1: Label your keywords like a pro.

Step 2: Filter by labels in the Ranking tab to analyze Search Visibility for your keyword segments.

In this example, I’m comparing our visibility for "learn" keywords against "guide" keywords:

Step 3: Create a custom report for your keyword segments.

Step 4: Add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar by triggering the Optimize button — now you can send the latest on-page reporting with your super-focused ranking report.

Why your client will be impressed

Your ranking reports will be like nothing your client has ever tasted. They will be tightly focused on the segments of keywords you’re working on, so they aren’t bamboozled by a new slew of keywords or a sudden downward trend. By clearly segmenting your piles of lovely keywords, you’ll be proactively answering those inevitable queries about why, when, and in what form your client will begin to see results.

With the on-page scores updating automatically and shipping out to your client’s inbox every month via a custom report, you’ll be effortlessly highlighting what your team has achieved.

[Part three] Steak sandwich links with crispy competitor bacon

You’re working with your client to publish content, amplifying it through social channels and driving brand awareness through PR campaigns.

Now you want to keep them informed of the big wins you’ve had as a result of that grind. Link data in Moz Pro focuses on the highest-quality links with our Mozscape index, coming from the most prominent pages of authoritative sites. So, while you may not see every link for a site within our index, we're reporting the most valuable ones.

Alongside our top-quality steak sarnie, we’re add some crispy competitor bacon so you can identify what content is working for the other sites in your industry.

What’s the recipe?

Step 1: Check that you have direct competitors set up on your campaign.

Step 2: Compare link metrics for your site and your competitors.

Step 4: Head to Top Pages to see what those competitors are doing to get ahead.

Step 5: Compile a delicious report sandwich!

Step 6: Make another report for Top Pages for the bacon-filled sandwich experience.

Why your client will be impressed

Each quality established link gives your client a clear idea of the value of their content and the blood, sweat, and tears of your team.

These little gems are established and more likely to have an impact on their ranking potential. Don’t forget to have a chat with your client where you explain that a link's impact on rankings takes time.

By comparing this directly with the other sites battling it out for top SERP property, it’s easier to identify progress and achievements.

By highlighting those pesky competitors and their top pages by authority, you’re also getting ahead of that burning question of: How can we improve?

[Part four] Cinnamon-dusted ranking reports with cherry-glazed traffic

Rankings are a staple ingredient in the SEO diet. Much like the ever-expanding keyword list, reporting on rankings has become something we do without thinking enough about that what clients can do with that information.

Dish up an all-singing, all-dancing cinnamon-dusted rankings report with cherry-glazed traffic by illustrating the direct impact these rankings have on organic traffic. Real people, coasting on through the search results to your client’s site.

Landing Pages in Moz Pro compares rankings with organic landing pages, imparting not just the ranking score but the value of those pages. Compliments to the chef, because that good work is down to you.

What’s the recipe?

Step 1: Track your target keywords in Moz Pro.

Step 2: Check you’ve hooked up Google Analytics for that tasty traffic data.

Step 3: Discover landing pages and estimated traffic share.

As your SEO work drives more traffic to those pages and your keyword rankings steadily increase, you’ll see your estimated traffic share go up.

If your organic traffic from search is increasing but your ranking is dropping off, it’s an indication that this keyword isn’t the driving force.

Now you can have a dig around and find out why that keyword isn’t performing, starting with your on-page optimization and following up with keyword research.

Why your client will be impressed

We all send ranking reports, and I’m sure clients just love it. But now you can dazzle them with an insight into what those rankings mean for the lifeblood of their site.

You can also take action by directing more energy towards those well-performing keywords, or investigate what worked well for those pages and replicate it across other keywords and pages on your site.

Wrapping up

It’s time to say "enough is enough" and inject some flavor into those bland old SEO reports. Your team will save time and your clients will thank you for the tasty buffet of reporting delight.

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Next Level is our educational series combining actionable SEO tips with tools you can use to achieve them. Check out any of our past editions below:

• Hunting Down SERP Features to Understand Intent & Drive Traffic
• I've Optimized My Site, But I'm Still Not Ranking—Help!
• Diving for Pearls: A Guide to Long Tail Keywords
• Be Your Site's Hero: An Audit Manifesto
• How to Defeat Duplicate Content
• Conquer Your Competition with These Three Moz Tools
• 10 Tips to Take the Moz Tools to the Next Level