A local SEO report has one job: help a busy business owner understand whether the work is paying off and what happens next. Most reports fail at this by being too long. Forty pages of charts tells the client you are busy. It does not tell them whether the phone is ringing more.
This post is for agencies and freelancers who look after local businesses. It covers what to put in, what to cut, how to show progress without flattering yourself, and how often to send it.
What a client is actually asking
A salon owner or a plumber opening your report wants answers to three questions, roughly in this order. Are more people finding me? What did you do this month? What are you doing next? If your report answers those on the first page, most clients will be happy even if they never scroll further.
Anything that does not help answer those questions belongs in an appendix or nowhere.
What a local SEO report should contain
A headline figure that means something
Pick one number to lead with and keep it the same every month. For map visibility, top-three share works well: the share of spots across the client's area where they appear in Google's top three map results. It is easy to explain ("you are in the top three in more of the town than last month") and hard to game.
Average position is a useful second figure, provided it counts missing spots honestly. If the report shows average position only where the business was found, say so plainly, because that version always looks better than reality.
The map
A grid map shows the client where they are strong and where they are missing in a way no table can. Point out blind spots by name ("we are still missing in the north, around the retail park") so the client can connect it to real places. If you track with a grid tool, our post on local rank trackers explains what the map should and should not include.
Competitors
Clients care about the business down the road. A short comparison with whoever holds the top three, covering reviews, rating, photos and category, makes the gap concrete. Keep it factual, using figures from their public listings.
Work done, and whether it worked
List the jobs you did this month. Then, separately, list which of those are now confirmed as fixed. "Updated the website schema map pin" is a task. "Checked on the next scan: the pin now matches Google" is a result. Clients value the second far more.
What happens next
Two to five actions for next month, in priority order, each in one plain sentence. If one needs the client's help (asking customers for reviews, sending photos), put that first and make it clear.
What to leave out
- Vanity rankings. Being first for a search nobody makes is not progress. Check monthly search numbers before a search goes in the report. A Portsmouth skin clinic we track gets about 70 searches a month for "lip filler" but only about 10 each for "aesthetics clinic" and "skin care clinic". A report that celebrates the quiet ones is misleading the client, even if every number is true.
- Town-name searches as proof of success. "Plumber Bristol" tends to show similar results across the whole town, so it hides real movement. Track what people nearby actually type.
- Raw data dumps. Exported spreadsheets of every keyword add pages, not understanding.
- Jargon. If you would not say it to the client on the phone, rewrite it.
- Unverifiable claims. Do not promise that any single change will move rankings. Google says it ranks on relevance, distance and prominence, and a lot of that is outside anyone's control.
How to show progress honestly
Only compare like with like
This is the rule most reports break. If you added five new searches this month, or widened the map, then this month's numbers cannot be compared with last month's. A new search usually starts lower, so it drags the average down. A bigger map usually includes weaker spots at the edges. Either can make good work look bad, or bad work look good.
The fix is simple: only show a change when the same searches were measured on the same map. When they were not, say "searches changed" or "map changed" and start a new baseline. Kerbrank's reports do this automatically, and it is worth doing by hand if your tool does not.
Separate "done" from "done and confirmed"
A task marked done in your notes is not the same as a problem that has gone away. Where you can, check on the next measurement. In Kerbrank each job on the fix list has a "Mark as done" button, and the next scan checks whether the problem has actually gone. If it has, the job moves to "Done and confirmed", and the client sees that on their report link too. Our guide to the job list explains how this works.
Be straight about bad months
Local results move for reasons that have nothing to do with you: a new competitor opens, a rival gets a burst of reviews. Say so, and say what you will do about it. Clients stay with agencies they trust, and a report that only ever shows good news stops being believed.
White-label reports
If you are an agency, the report should carry your name, not your tool's. Clients are paying you for the judgement, and a report in your brand keeps that relationship clear.
Check what "white-label" covers in any tool you use: logo only, or logo, colours and your name throughout, including on shared links and PDFs. On Kerbrank's Pro plan and above, reports go out in your own name, colour and logo. The sharing reports guide shows how to set up the private client link and PDF.
How often to send
Monthly suits most local clients. Weekly is too often for a written report, because a single week's movement is mostly noise, but a live link the client can open any time works well alongside a monthly summary.
A simple rhythm:
- Measurements run weekly in the background.
- The client has a private link they can check whenever they like.
- Once a month you send a short written summary: headline figure, map, jobs confirmed, next steps.
- Every quarter, a slightly longer review that looks at the trend and resets priorities.
Common questions
How long should a local SEO report be?
As short as it can be while still answering whether things are improving, what was done and what is next. One or two pages of summary, with detail in a link, suits most small business clients.
Should I include keyword rankings in a local SEO report?
Yes, but only for searches people actually make, measured across the area rather than from one spot. Leave out searches with almost no demand.
What if the numbers went down?
Say so, explain what you think caused it, and set out what you will do. Check first that the searches and map were the same both months, because a change there often explains a drop.
Can clients see the report between monthly updates?
With a shared client link, yes. Many clients like being able to look whenever they want, and it saves you answering "how are we doing?" emails.