Semrush holds an enormous amount of data, and that is exactly why so many SEO reports built with it fail. A forty page export of every metric the platform can produce does not help a client decide anything. A useful report answers three questions quickly: what changed, why it changed, and what we are doing next. This guide shows how to configure Semrush properly and then assemble that data into a report that drives decisions rather than confusion.

How AAMAX.CO Turns SEO Data Into Growth Decisions

We are AAMAX.CO, a full service digital marketing company providing web development, digital marketing and SEO services around the world. Reporting is where most agency relationships quietly break down, so we treat it as part of the strategy rather than an administrative task. Our reports connect ranking and traffic movement to the specific actions taken that month, flag the technical issues that are capping performance, and set clear priorities for the next sprint. When you hire us for SEO services, you receive reporting you can act on and a team that explains every number in plain language.

Step 1: Create a Project and Verify the Domain

Open the Projects area and add your domain as a new project. Verification through Google Search Console and Google Analytics is the most important early step, because it lets Semrush blend its own estimates with your real impression, click and conversion data. Without that connection you are reporting on modelled numbers only, which is fine for competitor analysis but unreliable for your own performance narrative. Set the project location and device targeting to match your actual audience.

Step 2: Configure Position Tracking Correctly

Position Tracking is the backbone of most reports. Add your target keywords in themed groups such as commercial, informational and branded, then set the correct country, city and device. Mobile and desktop results differ significantly, so track the device your audience actually uses. Add three to five genuine competitors so every ranking movement has context. Tag keywords by funnel stage or service line, because a client cares far more about movement in high intent commercial terms than in a broad informational keyword that will never convert.

Step 3: Run a Site Audit and Prioritise the Findings

Schedule a weekly Site Audit crawl and review the Site Health score, but never report the score alone. Group issues into three tiers: blockers that prevent indexing such as noindex tags, broken canonicals and server errors, performance issues such as slow pages and oversized images, and hygiene issues such as missing alt text or duplicate meta descriptions. Report the count of each tier, the trend since last month, and the specific fixes completed. A falling error count paired with rising impressions is one of the most persuasive stories a report can tell.

Step 4: Analyse Organic Traffic and Keyword Movement

Use the Organic Research report to show estimated traffic, keyword count and visibility trend, then cross reference with Search Console for clicks and impressions. Highlight keywords that moved into the top three, terms that entered page one, and any that dropped out of the top ten. Explain the cause where you can: a new article, an internal linking change, a competitor's update or an algorithm rollout. Movement without explanation is just noise.

Step 5: Review Backlinks and Authority

The Backlink Analytics and Backlink Audit reports show referring domains, authority score, anchor text distribution and toxic link risk. Report new referring domains gained, links lost, and any spike in low quality links that needs monitoring. Use the Backlink Gap tool to show domains linking to competitors but not to you, which converts a backlink report from a status update into a prospect list.

Step 6: Add Competitor Benchmarking

Nothing contextualises performance better than comparison. Use the Domain vs Domain view and the Keyword Gap tool to show where competitors outrank you and which topics they cover that you do not. Present a small table of shared keywords with your position beside theirs. This section usually generates the most productive conversation in a client meeting because it turns abstract effort into a competitive race with clear targets.

Step 7: Build the Report in My Reports

The My Reports builder lets you drag in widgets from Position Tracking, Site Audit, Organic Research, Backlink Analytics, Google Analytics and Search Console. Start from a template, remove anything that does not support a decision, then add your own text blocks. A structure that works reliably is an executive summary of three to five bullet points, a performance section, a technical health section, a content and keyword section, a backlink section, a competitor snapshot and finally next month's priorities. Schedule the report to email automatically as a PDF on a fixed day each month so expectations are predictable.

Step 8: Write the Commentary That Makes It Useful

Charts describe, commentary explains. For every section write two or three sentences covering what happened, why it happened and what it means. Avoid jargon, quantify impact in business terms such as sessions, leads or revenue where possible, and be honest about setbacks. A report that admits a dip and explains the recovery plan builds far more trust than one that hides behind selectively chosen metrics.

Common Reporting Mistakes

Reporting vanity metrics like total keyword count without commercial context, changing the metric set every month so trends become impossible to read, dumping raw exports into the appendix, and omitting a next steps section are the four most common failures. Also avoid mixing tracked locations or devices between months, because that alone can create phantom ranking swings.

Conclusion

A strong Semrush report is short, consistent, contextual and forward looking. Configure your project accurately, track the keywords that matter commercially, tie technical fixes to performance change, and always close with priorities. If you want reporting like this plus the strategy and execution behind it, our digital marketing specialists can take ownership of the entire process for you.