when i open the seo agency report i have no clue what 'domain authority', 'backlink growth', 'top pages' etc. mean — how do you read a report?

critical report metrics: 1) organic traffic trend (3-6 months), 2) keyword position (ranking of specified keywords), 3) top performing pages (which pages bring traffic), 4) conversion (which pages generate leads/sales). if they show these, the agency is doing its job.

i saw 'backlink growth' in our agency report when i checked them all they were spam links. when i asked they said 'it increases Domain Authority', but there was no traffic. i realized the agency's performance was bad when i got stuck on report metrics and didn't see traffic.

from now on i'm looking at traffic + ranking + conversion in the report ignoring the other 'fancy metrics'.

what should be in the report: 1) traffic graph (3-6 month trend), 2) keyword ranking table (top 30 keywords and their positions), 3) top pages (traffic source), 4) conversion tracking (lead/sale attribution). if these are there, the agency is data-driven.

ignore domain authority backlinks etc. I mean ask if traffic increased if rankings went up. same here. they show tons of metrics but if it's not working question it.

agency report: 'Domain Authority 45 to 48.' me: when will traffic come? anyway agency: you'll see. 3 months later no traffic, report says '50 backlinks added.' lesson: ignore fancy metrics in reports, look at traffic and rankings.

There is something to watch out for... Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

Thanks for writing this, that's the right way. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

Of course it varies if your situation is different.

Correct.

The discussion got scattered, let me summarize. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

Map listings bring more business than blog posts for most local businesses. If I were you, I'd go this route.

My questions are cleared up, thanks. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

I'll argue the opposite don't get mad. If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

Of course it varies if your situation is different.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

let me write how its done in practice and trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

i'm also cuurious if anyone does it differently.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. Mistakes made on the agency seo report is confusing side are usually reversible but expensive.

Hope this helps.

there's one point I'm curious about. if it's your first time start small; scaling comes later.

when maikng a decision, first look at what data you have on hand. btw of course it varies if your situation is different.

The opposite happened to me, that's why I'm writing. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

The harder it is to reverse a decision, the slower you should make it. Good luck with that.