An SEO report for a trade business should show the calls and enquiries that came from Google, backed by Google’s own figures. The main ones come from your Business Profile Performance report, which counts “views, searches and actions”, and from Google Search Console. Google lists “How do you measure your success?” among the questions to ask an SEO. The monthly report is where that answer should show.
This guide takes each part of a report in turn: what it should show, how to read it and what to check. Then the red flags. If you’re still picking a firm, start with how to choose an SEO company for a trade business.
Do this today
- Find last month’s SEO report. Look for the number of calls and enquiries. If it isn’t there, ask for it.
- Count last month’s enquiries yourself from your phone, inbox and website forms.
- Open Search Console and read last month’s Queries list. Tick the searches that sound like work you’d take.
- Check that you can log in to your own Business Profile and Search Console.
- Ask your SEO company for a written list of what it did last month.
Calls and enquiries come first
In our view, the first number in a trade SEO report should be the calls and enquiries that came in that month. Every other figure in the report helps explain it.
To check it, put three numbers side by side for the same month:
- Your own count. Enquiries from your phone log, inbox and website forms.
- Business Profile calls. Google counts the times someone “clicked on the call button” on your profile.
- Website enquiries. Form fills and call taps from your site, as tracked by your SEO company.
The Business Profile figure counts taps. It doesn’t count answered calls or jobs won. So a tap is a sign of interest, not a booking.
The three numbers usually won’t match exactly. Some customers tap and don’t get through. Others ring from a number they saved last year. But they should move the same way. If the report says enquiries are up and your diary says they’re down, ask why.
A useful report splits enquiries by where they came from: your Business Profile, your website from the normal results and paid ads if you run them. Then you can see which part is working.
How to read your Business Profile performance report
The Performance report sits inside your Business Profile. Google says “Performance data is available only for verified Business Profiles.” If yours isn’t verified, here’s how to set up a Google Business Profile for your trade.
Here’s how to read each figure:
- Calls. Taps on your call button. Compare them with your own count, as above.
- Website clicks. Taps on the website link on your profile.
- Directions. People asking for directions to your business.
- Views. People who looked at your profile on Search and Maps. Google says “A person can only be counted once a day.” So ten visits from one person in a day count as one.
- Searches. The search terms people used to find your business.
The searches list is the most useful part. It should contain the names of jobs you do, not only your business name. If only your name shows, most people finding you already knew you.
Two points catch people out. First, the data comes “from both organic search results and Google Ads”. If you started ads that month, they can lift these figures. Second, Google says “The searches metric is updated at the start of each month.” It can take up to five days to show. So a report sent on the 1st may not have last month’s searches in it.
How to read Search Console clicks and impressions
Search Console’s Performance report covers your website in the normal search results. It doesn’t cover your Business Profile. Each figure needs reading a certain way.
Clicks are times someone clicked from Google’s results to your site. In our view, they’re the Search Console figure closest to an enquiry.
Impressions are times your site appeared in the results. Google says that in general an impression counts “whenever an item appears in the current page of results”. The person may never scroll down to you. Carousels are the exception. There a result “must typically be scrolled into view within the carousel”. So impressions can climb a long way while the phone stays quiet.
Click-through rate (CTR) is clicks divided by impressions. A page with lots of impressions and a low CTR is worth a look. Its title and description may not match what people searched for.
Average position is based on “the topmost position occupied by a link” from your site. So if two of your pages show for one search, the higher one is the position counted. The average can get worse while clicks go up. That happens when your site starts showing for lots of new searches lower down.
Queries show what people typed. In our view, this list matters more than the totals. Look for searches that name a job you’d take and a town you cover. Clicks from those are worth more than clicks from people after free advice.
Search Console’s help page adds that “The newest data can be preliminary”. So figures for the last few days of the month can still change.
Which pages brought people in
Search Console has a Pages tab that groups clicks and impressions by page. In our view, a report should name the pages that got the clicks.
Check it page by page:
- Job and town pages. In our view, these bring people who want work done in your area. You want most of your clicks here.
- Guides and blog posts. In our view, clicks here are fine. But they rarely turn into enquiries on their own.
- Pages with no clicks. A page for a main job with no clicks for months needs a plan in the report.
- New or changed pages. The report should say which pages were added or changed. Then next month you can see if they brought anything in.
What was done that month
Google’s advice says an SEO should “share with me all the changes you make to my site” and explain the reasoning behind its recommendations.
A useful work log names real tasks you could check yourself. For example:
- new or rewritten pages, with their addresses
- Business Profile updates such as photos, services or categories
- reviews asked for and replied to
- listings corrected so your name, address and phone match
- problems found on the site and fixed
In our view, “ongoing optimisation” or “technical improvements” on their own aren’t a record of work. Each task should say what changed and where. The log should also say what’s planned for next month. Our local SEO checklist for a trade business covers the same ground if you want to check the groundwork yourself.
Red flags in an SEO report
Rankings only. A table of positions with no calls or enquiries doesn’t show whether SEO is paying. Google says results are “specific to the time, place, device, and recent history of the person searching”. So one ranking checked from one spot isn’t what your customers see across your towns. Our guide on how to check where you rank on Google shows how to check it properly. Our guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps for trades shows how to check where you show.
Vanity numbers. Big impression totals, “visibility scores” and traffic graphs with no link to enquiries. If a headline number can’t be traced to calls, ask what it means for your business.
No record of work done. If the report never says what was done, you can’t tell if anything was. Google warns about firms that “won’t clearly explain what they intend to do”.
Numbers you can’t check. In our view, every Google figure in the report should match what you see when you log in yourself. If the accounts aren’t in your name, you can’t check.
Promised positions. A report that treats next month’s ranking as certain is promising something nobody controls. Google says “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”
Questions about SEO reports
What should a local SEO report include?
A local SEO report should include calls and enquiries, your Business Profile performance figures, Search Console clicks and impressions, the pages that brought people in and the work done. Each figure should sit next to the month before so you can see the direction.
How often should I get an SEO report?
In our view, an SEO report once a month is enough for a trade. Google updates the Business Profile searches figure once a month. Weekly reports would show that figure half-finished.
Why are my impressions up but my calls aren’t?
Impressions can rise without calls because Google generally counts an impression whenever your site appears on a results page. The person may never scroll to you or click. Check the Queries list to see if the new impressions come from searches for work you do.
Can I see these numbers without an SEO company?
Yes, you can see these numbers yourself if the accounts are in your name or you’ve been given access. The Performance report sits inside your verified Business Profile. Search Console is where you can see your own website’s figures.
Is a rankings report enough?
No, a rankings report isn’t enough on its own. Rankings change by place, device and the person searching. They don’t show whether the phone rang. Ask for calls, enquiries and a list of work done as well.
Can you do this for me?
Yes. We send one plain report a month and go through it on a call. It lists the calls and enquiries that came in and what we did. Your profile, website and accounts stay in your name, so you can check every figure. There’s more on how we work on our local SEO for trades page.