Part 1: the summary table
The client reads this first. It answers one question: is Google sending more people than before?
| KPI | September 2026 | August 2026 | September 2025 | MoM change | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clicks | 4,150 | 3,700 | 3,180 | +12.2% | +30.5% |
| Impressions | 212,400 | 198,900 | 171,300 | +6.8% | +24.0% |
| CTR | 1.95% | 1.86% | 1.86% | +0.09 pts | +0.10 pts |
| Average position | 18.4 | 19.6 | 22.1 | -1.2 (better) | -3.7 (better) |
| Indexed pages | 412 | 405 | 366 | +1.7% | +12.6% |
| Leads from organic | 38 | 31 | 22 | +22.6% | +72.7% |
Three things to notice:
- Both comparisons are there. Month over month shows momentum. Year over year shows whether the site is really growing, because it removes seasons. A camping store that only compared September with August might panic every autumn.
- CTR is computed, not averaged. 4,150 clicks divided by 212,400 impressions is 1.95%. Averaging the CTR of each page gives a wrong number.
- Position going down is good. In Search Console, 1 is the top spot (Google). A move from 19.6 to 18.4 means the site shows higher. Say this once in every report, because clients read "down" as bad.
Get this exact layout, with the formulas already in place: SEO report template.
Part 2: where the clicks came from
| Measure | September | August | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branded clicks (searches with "northwind") | 870 | 817 | +6% |
| Non-branded clicks | 738 | 602 | +23% |
| Queries in the top 10 | 7 | 5 | +2 |
| Queries on page 2 (positions 11 to 20) | 3 | 4 | -1 |
These counts come from the query rows in the export, so they are lower than total clicks. Google hides some private queries from the table but counts them in the totals (Google).
The useful line here is non-branded clicks. Branded searches come from people who already know the store. Non-branded searches, like "best 2 person tent", are new people. Up 23% means the SEO work is reaching new buyers.
Part 3: wins and losses
| Page | Clicks Sep | Clicks Aug | Change | Position | Why it moved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /tents/ | 860 | 610 | +250 | 12.1 to 9.8 | Comparison table added 2026-09-04, reached page 1 |
| /guides/winter-camping-checklist/ | 380 | 140 | +240 | 16.3 to 8.9 | Rewritten 2026-08-28, plus the season started |
| /guides/how-to-choose-a-sleeping-bag/ | 640 | 720 | -80 | 6.9 to 7.6 | A newer competitor guide now ranks above it |
| /backpacks/ | 410 | 455 | -45 | 10.8 to 11.4 | Slipped from page 1 to page 2 |
A report that only lists numbers leaves the client guessing. Every big move gets one reason in plain words. If you do not know the reason yet, say so, and say when you will.
Part 4: the client summary
This is the part most clients actually read. Five sentences:
September was the best month yet for visits from Google: 4,150, up 12% on August and 31% on last September. Most of the gain came from the tents page and the winter camping checklist, which we updated in late August and early September. The sleeping bag guide lost 80 visits because a newer competitor guide now shows above it; we will update ours in October. We made 4 changes this month. Next month we fix the title on the stove fuel guide and add a size guide to the backpacks page, and we need 5 photos of the new 40L pack by 2026-10-15.
Notice what is missing: no jargon, no "organic sessions", no "domain rating". One number per sentence, and a clear ask at the end.
Part 5: work done and next month
| Date | Page | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | /guides/winter-camping-checklist/ | Rewrote the intro, added a gear table and 12 missing items | Done |
| 2026-09-04 | /tents/ | Added a comparison table of 6 tents | Done |
| 2026-09-10 | /guides/tent-footprint-vs-tarp/ | Added 4 internal links from tent pages | Done |
| 2026-09-18 | /stoves/ | New title tag | Done |
| Next month task | Page | Why (the data point) | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rewrite title and meta description | /guides/camp-stove-fuel-guide/ | 11,200 impressions at position 6.4 but CTR 0.5% | 2026-10-10 |
| Add a section on 3 season vs 4 season bags | /guides/how-to-choose-a-sleeping-bag/ | Clicks down 11%, position 6.9 to 7.6 | 2026-10-17 |
| Add a size guide and 3 internal links | /backpacks/ | Position 11.4, just off page 1 | 2026-10-24 |
Every task names the number behind it. If you cannot name the number, question the task.
What makes this a good example
- It leads with the result, then the reason, then the work.
- It compares with last year, not only last month.
- It splits branded from non-branded clicks.
- It ties each change to a date, so next month's results can be traced to it.
- It ends with what the client needs to do.
This is a performance report, not an audit. If you need to present a list of site problems, see the SEO audit report template.
How to use this with an AI assistant
Connect SEOmatic at https://seomatic.ai/mcp and ask: "Use gsc_performance with action compare_periods on mysite.com to compare last month with the month before, by page, and write my report in the layout of the SEO report example: summary table, wins and losses with one reason each, and a five-sentence client summary." Reading your Search Console data needs a free sign-in with connect_seomatic.