Client reporting is more than just sharing numbers with your client over email, it’s about telling the story behind the performance. Showcasing the value, you deliver as an agency and making life easier for your clients. Whether you’re reporting weekly, monthly, or quarterly, strong client reporting can cement your client-agency relationship and help guide better decisions leading to increased performance.
Here’s our Associate Director Performance Marketing, Daniel Akers, expert opinion on the essentials of effective client reporting, the common mistakes to avoid, and how tools like ASK BOSCO® are making the process faster for agencies.
What is client reporting?
Put simply, agency client reporting is the process of regularly sharing insights, and strategic updates with clients to keep them informed about how their campaigns are progressing. It’s not just about showing the numbers and statistics, it’s about explaining why things have changed, what actions the agency has taken, and what the planned next steps are.
Why client reporting matters
Client reporting isn’t completing a checklist, it’s a touchpoint for clients to know how they are preforming both on and offline and for agencies to build transparency and collaboration. Here are a few reasons why it matters:
Visibility
For many clients, weekly or monthly reports are their main window into campaign performance. When clients are too busy with their everyday tasks or not looking in tracking platforms daily, agency reports bring them up to speed and allow them to update campaigns when needed.
Insight
Great reports don’t just show what happened using the same commentary that is provided in your data and screenshots, they explain why it happened. That context is critical to driving performance improvements and understanding fluctuations such as seasonality performance.
Alignment
Regular reporting isn’t just about communicating results, it’s a key opportunity to align on strategy. By setting aside time to review performance together, you create a shared understanding of what’s working, what needs adjusting, and where to focus next. This time provides the perfect moment to flag any unexpected changes in performance or emerging opportunities.
Value
Reporting is one of the most powerful tools an agency has to show its impact. It’s your opportunity to demonstrate real return on investment (ROI). Not just in terms of numbers, but also in strategic thinking and continual optimization. A good report should highlight not only what’s been achieved, but how you got there, and the actions taken.
Support
Your report often becomes the foundation for internal presentations, board decks, and wider business updates. Make your client look good and make their job easier by summarizing key results and offering clear commentary.
Best practices for better client reporting
Here are some top tips and lessons from our team to elevate your reporting game as an agency…
Tailor reports to your audience
Some clients want detailed breakdowns, down to the product or keyword level. Others prefer high-level summaries of market shifts and broader strategy scope. Find out what your client cares about and deliver it in their preferred format.
Focus on the “why”, not Just the “what”
Top-level stats (clicks, impressions, spend) are easy to screenshot, but they don’t explain performance. Add value by sharing your analysis of why things changed and what you’re doing about it instead of only commenting on what has changed.
Benchmark the right way
Always consider seasonality and year-on-year (YOY) trends when making your detailed client reports. A 40% uplift might look amazing… until you remember at the same time last year it was Easter and you’re comparing apples to chocolate eggs. Context is key.
Make it easy to digest
Big chunks of text won’t get read properly, or at the very least will be skimmed or read later in the week when the information could be less useful to the client. Use bullet points, headings, and visuals to highlight the key takeaways. Be concise and clear, especially when your client is skimming through reports on a busy Monday morning.
Use the right tools
Platforms like ASK BOSCO® are a game-changer for client reporting. ASK BOSCO® allows you to pull in data from all major channels into one place, so you aren’t rushing to consolidate results from multiple platforms before submitting your report. You can create consistent reporting templates, making it your weekly reports seamless. You can benchmark channel performance easily and spot trends without digging through multiple dashboards, saving you time to share your insights and how campaigns can be improved.
Not only does this save time and reduce human error, but it also gives clients a clearer view of how different channels are contributing, and where opportunities lie for their campaigns.
“Instead of going into Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google Analytics separately, ASK BOSCO® puts it all in one place — from top-level overviews to deeper channel-specific insights.” — Daniel, ASK BOSCO®
Common pitfalls to avoid
Even seasoned teams can fall into a few traps when it comes to client reporting. Here’s what Daniel warns you to what to watch for:
Overly technical language
Avoid jargon unless you’re sure your client is fluent in it. while phrases like “ROAS uplift”, “CTR”, or “SERP volatility” might be second nature to you, they can be confusing or even alienating to clients who aren’t as immersed in digital marketing. Focus on clarity and explain terms where needed
Too much data, too little insight
Screenshots can be useful for context, but they’re not a report on their own. Clients don’t need a visual dump of dashboards; they need your insight. Your analysis should connect the dots, tell the story, and highlight the “so what” behind the data.
Ignoring client needs
One-size-fits-all rarely works. If your client’s prepping for a board meeting, give them what they need to shine and don’t use the same client report template across several different clients. You want your report to be tailored and personal to each client.
Delaying bad news
A common mistake which shouldn’t be made is if something major happens mid-week, don’t wait for the weekly report. Communicate it promptly so you and your client can make changes to campaigns instantly… and report the good news about the changed you made in your next catch up.
Not benchmarking properly
Context is everything. Without it, data is just noise. You might see a spike in traffic or a drop in conversions. But what does that really mean without something to compare it to? Benchmarking gives your data relevance.
Key metrics to Include (and why)
While metrics vary by service and client goals, here are the essentials you should have in your reports:
Revenue / ROI
Whether you’re driving purchases or leads, this is your ultimate value marker. It’s not enough to show impressions or clicks. You need to show what those actions are actually delivering for the business. For eCommerce clients, that means tracking direct revenue and calculating ROI per channel. For lead-gen clients, it means working with them to estimate lead value and potential close rates.
Conversions & leads
For clients focused on lead generation rather than direct sales, conversions and leads are the next most critical performance indicators. But don’t stop at just counting leads. To show real value, go a step further by working with your client to estimate close rates and assign an average value per lead. This allows you to present a more complete picture of ROI and forecast potential revenue.
Channel comparison
Not all channels deliver equal value, you should use channel comparisons to show your client which channels are pulling their weight, and use ASK BOSCO® to benchmark against others to identify where budget is working it’s hardest and where there’s room to optimize.
Keyword rankings & organic traffic
Keyword rankings and organic traffic are core metrics for SEO-focused clients. They give an indication of visibility, brand reach, and long-term content performance. However, it’s important to remember that rankings alone aren’t the goal. A top spot on Google is only valuable if it’s driving meaningful traffic.
Competitive data & market trends
Monthly and quarterly reports should zoom out to look at shifts in performance. Understanding how your brand is performing in the context of competitors and wider industry trends is crucial for making smarter strategic decisions. ASK BOSCO®’s benchmarking with SimilarWeb integration is perfect for tracking competitor movements and estimated traffic changes.
Client reporting isn’t just about sharing data and screenshots, it’s about providing your agencies expert commentary and actionable recommendations based on the results you have. And with platforms like ASK BOSCO®, reporting doesn’t need to be a week-long job. It becomes a seamless part of your workflow, driving smarter decisions and better performance, week in and week out.
