SEO Reporting Dashboards (For 3 Different Types of Websites)

Creating an SEO reporting dashboard is often an easier mode to stock your SEO show results than a text-heavy SEO report. So, what’s the champion mode to make one?

The benignant of dashboard you make often depends connected who you’re making it for—your ain website, a tiny business, oregon an endeavor business.

In this article, I’ll explicate the basics of SEO reporting dashboards and however to tailor them for your peculiar audience.

An SEO reporting dashboard is simply a ocular interface that displays cardinal show indicators (KPIs) and different metrics that amusement a website’s SEO show successful hunt engines similar Google. Its main occupation is to pass SEO show over time.

Here’s an illustration of what an SEO reporting dashboard looks similar for Ahrefs.com.

Ahrefs’ Looker Studio Integration – Site Explorer Template

In the supra example, we tin spot the results are affirmative due to the fact that the enactment illustration goes up, and the KPI comparisons are besides mostly green, showing affirmative yearly growth.

This is the powerfulness of an effectual SEO reporting dashboard—you tin instantly pass SEO show at-a-glance.

The elemental reply is anything you want. But it’s champion to see SEO metrics that substance to the website you‘re reporting on.

This could see metrics like:

• Clicks
• Sessions
• Click-through-rate (CTR)
• Conversions
• Conversion complaint (CR)
• Organic Traffic
• Average Position
• Referring domains
• And so on…

Let’s simplify this further.

At the astir basal level, determination are 2 halfway elements you should see successful an SEO reporting dashboard:

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – KPIs tin beryllium thing that is important to study connected for your concern and could see conversions, revenue, leads, orders, oregon immoderate different SEO metrics
• Organic postulation show chart – Tracking your postulation show crossed the year

So, however tin you make your precise ain SEO reporting dashboard?

One of the astir fashionable methods is to usage a instrumentality called Google Looker Studio (GLS). Dashboard solutions similar GLS integrate with galore fashionable information sources for escaped retired of the box, making them cleanable for astir websites looking to make an SEO reporting dashboard.

Here’s an illustration of the basal GLS connectors, with immoderate utile ones for SEO highlighted.

Although GLS is large for tiny idiosyncratic websites oregon small-medium businesses (SMBs), successful my experience, endeavor businesses usually necessitate much almighty alternatives, arsenic they person much analyzable demands.

So, based connected this, we tin accidental determination are 3 wide categories of websites you tin build for:

• Small idiosyncratic websites
• SMB websites
• Enterprise websites

Let’s research these further.

Creating an SEO reporting dashboard for a tiny idiosyncratic website is simply a bully enactment if you privation to show SEO show but don’t privation the hassle of logging into tons of antithetic tools regularly.

This was the decision I came to erstwhile I wanted to show my portfolio of affiliate sites with the slightest magnitude of effort possible.

There was nary mode I was prepared to cheque each azygous site’s show manually. So, I decided to make a mini SEO reporting dashboard successful GLS that looked thing like this:

This dashboard wasn’t visually impressive, but it was functional and displayed SEO show astatine a glance.

It combined 2 information sources: Sessions from Google Analytics and clicks, impressions, and CTR from Google Search Console. Checking this information manually is possible, but it would beryllium an inefficient usage of time, particularly crossed much than 1 website.

Having this setup meant I could:

• Spend much clip improving the websites alternatively than obsessing implicit the details and not doing thing that improves performance
• Understand wherever to absorption my efforts successful the portfolio – I had galore sites successful the dashboard, truthful checking them each wasn’t feasible oregon businesslike usage of time
• Identify show patterns betwixt websites—for example, if determination was a Google update, I could get a bird’s-eye presumption of show crossed the website portfolio to spot if determination were immoderate communal show drops oregon increases pursuing the roll-out of the update
• View year-over-year (YoY) comparisons: greenish if they were affirmative and reddish if they were antagonistic – this way, I could rapidly scan galore websites and recognize whether SEO show had accrued oregon decreased for each website
• Able to cheque quickly – if you’ve utilized GLS before, you’ll cognize that the much charts and visualizations you add, the longer it tin instrumentality to load the page

Even though I felt arrogant I’d created a minimal dashboard that saved time. I realized afterward that I’d re-created Ahrefs’ Webmaster Tools dashboard with a fewer added metrics—oh dear.

Sidenote.

The advantages of utilizing AWT for idiosyncratic websites are:

• It’s escaped if you are a webmaster
• It’s casual to acceptable up if you person GSC access
• You tin presumption some GSC information and Ahrefs data

So, erstwhile creating an SEO reporting dashboard for a tiny idiosyncratic website, it’s champion to see what metrics you privation to way earlier you start. This volition assistance you find the champion solution for your reporting demands.

In short:

• If it’s conscionable GSC and for your idiosyncratic use, usage AWT with GSC connected
• If you privation to harvester aggregate information sources and stock with others, past use GLS

If you request much elaborate GA oregon GSC data, you tin besides visualize it rapidly utilizing GLS’ dedicated assemblage templates. I utilized the GSC template beneath to supply elaborate accusation connected each site.

Here’s however you tin acceptable this up:

How to link Google Search Console to Google Looker Studio

If you request much information from GSC oregon privation to visualize performance, Google Looker Studio’s Search Console templates are your friend. A pre-built Google Looker Studio assemblage template tin get you up and moving successful a fewer minutes.

To bash this, log into Google Looker Studio and link to this template:

Then click connected Use my ain data and Replace data.

Then, prime your tract from the list.

Then prime either Site Impression and web oregon URL Impression and web, depending connected your preference. I americium utilizing URL Impression and web successful this example.

Click Add astatine the bottommost right-hand corner. You’ll past astir apt get a pop-up—click Add to report.

Once that’s added, you should get thing that looks similar this but with your website’s information showing.

And determination you go—your precise ain GSC-flavored SEO reporting dashboard.

This dashboard reports on:

• Impressions
• Clicks
• CTR
• Top Landing Pages
• Top Queries
• Device performance
• Country performance

Of course, you tin customize it to your requirements, but I usually find this a bully starting constituent for visualizing basal GSC data.

How to link Google Analytics (GA4) to GLS

Similar to this, you tin make a dedicated GA4 SEO reporting dashboard by utilizing a GLS assemblage template.

To bash this, log into GLS and link to this template.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a template that looks thing like this:

If GA4 reporting is important for your business, you’ll find a bully enactment of metrics to research here. Again, you tin customize oregon adhd caller tabs to grow oregon trim the report’s scope, depending connected your website’s reporting requirements.

At its astir basal level, astir SMBs privation to cognize whether their SEO run is moving positively.

If so, you lone request to stock the SEO show illustration and the year-over-year KPIs.

It’s straightforward to stock this utilizing Ahrefs’ Site Explorer Google Looker Studio integration.

Ahrefs’ SEO reporting dashboards

If you request much circumstantial SEO information to study on, you mightiness privation to research immoderate of our different Ahrefs’ dashboards.

For example, our Site Audit dashboard is champion for monitoring the method SEO show of immoderate website.

This would beryllium a utile SEO reporting dashboard for improvement teams to way whether tract improvements person been successfully implemented.

Our Rank Tracker dashboard is champion for monitoring keyword rankings successful Google for immoderate website.

The astir evident prime for an SEO reporting dashboard is the Rank Tracker template. As it reports connected positions, SERP features, competitors, tags, postulation share, and different keyword metrics.

This would beryllium utile for sharing with SMBs that privation to cognize much astir SEO rankings and the circumstantial show of their keywords.

With truthful overmuch SEO information disposable here, this usually covers astir of an SMB’s reporting demands. And if you person immoderate different customized information you tin usually see it done Google Sheets connected a customized dashboard.

Brand vs. non-brand postulation split

So far, we’ve explained the basics of utilizing Ahrefs’ dashboards for SEO reporting, but sometimes, SMBs privation thing much specific. One country wherever they often petition this is marque vs. non-brand traffic.

Growing businesses privation to physique their brands. Monitoring whether they are driving capable marque postulation is portion of knowing whether they are doing this or not.

Although you tin fiddle astir with regex successful GLS to get the brand/non-brand divided for clicks and impressions, it’s often faster to usage oregon modify an existing SEO reporting template.

Here’s a clean-looking GLS template created by John Reinesch that does precisely that.

This template intelligibly shows marque vs. non-brand information implicit clip utilizing GSC data. If the SMB you’re moving with wants to show marque enactment closely, a abstracted marque and non-brand dashboard similar the supra could beryllium a bully option.

Unlike SMBs and idiosyncratic websites, endeavor businesses look 3 circumstantial SEO reporting challenges owed to the standard and complexity of their operations and business.

First, we’ll see what the astir communal SEO reporting challenges are, and past what tools you tin usage for creating an endeavor SEO reporting dashboard.

Common endeavor reporting challenges

• Vast amounts of data – Often, aggregate information sources, aggregate territories
• Complex segmentation demands – Customer benignant segmentation, behavioral segmentation, geographical segmentation
• Cross-team collaboration demands – For example, the C-suite should beryllium capable to recognize whether SEO is providing a bully ROI, improvement teams request to cognize wherever to absorption their efforts, selling heads request to cognize which transmission to delegate much fund to

Let’s research these challenges successful much detail.

Vast amounts of data

With GLS mostly considered the de facto solution for dashboard SEO reporting for SMBs and tiny websites, it’s casual to presume you could rotation retired the aforesaid solution for endeavor businesses. However, this is not ever possible.

At the endeavor level, the archetypal large hurdle is information size. While galore SMBs chiefly absorption connected a azygous territory arsenic their superior root of integrated traffic, endeavor businesses are often multi-territory, which instantly increases the magnitude of fig crunching required.

One of my erstwhile endeavor clients wanted an SEO reporting dashboard that displayed SEO show information and different selling information for the apical 25 territories—it was captious for their concern arsenic a formation operator.

While this level of information whitethorn beryllium imaginable to visualize with GLS, it’s often not applicable crossed the full endeavor website.

Added to this is the immense magnitude of information sources required to study on. Although endeavor businesses whitethorn person definite platforms they trust upon for halfway metrics, they volition beryllium funny successful getting a 2nd sentiment from different information sources, which puts further unit connected a reporting level solution.

Complex information segmentation demands

Data segmentation astatine endeavor level is usually wherever things get complicated. At its astir basal level, lawsuit segmentation tin beryllium achieved by geographic region, but often, segmentation for endeavor businesses goes deeper into defining, analyzing, and signaling user behaviors.

For example, show investigation tin beryllium divided into antithetic geographic regions, merchandise categories, oregon concern segments. An endeavor institution I worked with wanted to recognize the behaviour of caller and existing customers, truthful this formed a cardinal portion of their SEO reporting.

Advanced visualization of information segments helps pass a communicative to different teams and elder stakeholders. This communicative could beryllium utilized arsenic portion of a concern lawsuit to unafraid much concern successful SEO. So, the visualization, arsenic good arsenic the data, needs to beryllium compelling.

My erstwhile lawsuit wanted to recognize the interaction of the upwind connected definite merchandise categories, and to interruption this down by the antithetic types of customers they had defined. We utilized this visualization to get accrued concern successful SEO for definite parts of the website that needed improvement.

Cross-team collaboration demands

Enterprise companies enactment with aggregate stakeholders successful antithetic teams, some internally and externally. Therefore, reporting platforms indispensable beryllium capable to accommodate information sharing betwixt galore antithetic teams.

• Different teams value antithetic metrics, truthful the dashboard needs to bespeak each of these antithetic reporting demands
• Different teams indispensable beryllium capable to understand the information that’s presented
• Dashboards successful endeavor companies service arsenic a benchmark for performance, though they whitethorn beryllium accompanied by a static report, the dashboards are often utilized to archer a communicative astir a website’s show successful betwixt times

What tools to use

Based connected my acquisition of moving with endeavor businesses, I’ve seen determination are 2 tools often utilized to make SEO reporting dashboards astatine the endeavor level: Power BI and Tableau

Power BI

Power BI is simply a Microsoft instrumentality for creating interactive dashboards from antithetic information sources. It’s besides utile for creating SEO reporting dashboards.

Here’s an illustration of a third-party SEO reporting dashboard created successful Power BI.

By Coupler.io: Get the template here.

Power BI’s insights and affluent visualization options assistance pass decision-making for endeavor businesses.

Here are the pros and cons of Power BI:

Pros

• Ability to link to assorted information sources similar Google Analytics, Search Console, fertile tracking tools
• Powerful information visualization capabilities
• Easy sharing and collaboration features to administer reports/dashboards
• Affordable pricing compared to immoderate BI tools
• Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem (Excel, Azure, etc.)

Cons

• Limited autochthonal SEO information connectors whitethorn necessitate further tools oregon customized data prep
• A steep learning curve, particularly for precocious investigation Performance, tin degrade with precise ample datasets oregon analyzable visualizations
• The dashboard interface tin look cluttered oregon overwhelming for some users
• Time-consuming to process and alteration information for optimal reporting

Tableau

I utilized Tableau with 2 antithetic endeavor clients and recovered that, if acceptable up properly, it’s 1 of the astir almighty dashboarding tools for SEO dashboard reporting.

It’s a large prime if you enactment with an endeavor concern that covers aggregate territories, arsenic I did a fewer years ago.

Here’s the overview leafage from an SEO reporting dashboard that reports implicit 20 territories.

It whitethorn look simple, but the information down this was pulled from aggregate sources, and it was conscionable 1 of galore parts of the dashboard.

If you’re reasoning of utilizing Tableau, here’s my sentiment connected its pros and cons:

Pros

• Powerful data visualization capabilities
• Range of integrations similar Google Analytics and Google Sheets
• The drag-and-drop interface makes it casual to analyse and visualize SEO information without coding
• Collaboration features let teams to stock and administer reports/dashboards easily
• Tableau Server oregon Tableau Online enables unafraid sharing and deployment wrong the enterprise
• Useful for aggregate territory reporting – I’ve personally tested it with 20+ territories

Cons

• A steep learning curve for precocious investigation and calculations
• Limited autochthonal SEO information connectors whitethorn necessitate further tools oregon customized data prep
• Customization of visualizations tin beryllium constricted compared to customized solutions

As some of these solutions don’t ever screen everything you need, arsenic an endeavor SEO, you whitethorn request much SEO-specific tools to supply other details astir their website’s performance—like Ahrefs.

Combining tools

Although Tableau and Power BI are almighty dashboard reporting tools, they tin often beryllium little SEO-specific—especially if they’ve been built internally by the endeavor business.

Combining tools tin assistance heighten your SEO reporting by providing a 2nd opinion. I preferred this enactment erstwhile moving with endeavor brands due to the fact that it allowed maine to summation insights from aggregate sources alternatively than relying connected 1 level arsenic a azygous root of truth.

The clients I worked with had entree to Tableau and platforms similar GA360 and Adobe Analytics, but to marque consciousness of it all, I often returned to SEO tools similar Ahrefs to get a much elaborate SEO perspective.

Here’s an illustration of what a customized reporting solution could look similar astatine its astir basal level. You tin usage this to supplement your existing SEO reporting dashboard.

Creating a dashboard similar this allows you to comparison and opposition archetypal and third-party information and adhd immoderate different information you have.

• First-party data – Like Google Search Console and Google Analytics
• 3rd-party information – Like Ahrefs oregon different SEO tool
• Custom data – Like Google Sheets oregon immoderate different database

Final thoughts

Creating an SEO reporting dashboard is simply a bully concern for businesses that privation to way their SEO performance, automate SEO reporting, and place areas for betterment successful their SEO campaign.

However, creating a dashboard isn’t ever casual if you don’t person immoderate acquisition gathering one. That’s wherefore Ahrefs’ Looker Studio Integration is the cleanable starting constituent for astir businesses. With conscionable a fewer clicks, you tin person a afloat functioning SEO reporting dashboard without the headache of designing and gathering 1 from scratch.

Got questions? Let maine cognize on LinkedIn.