Marketing and agency reporting
Client reporting dashboards for agencies: what to automate
The short answer
Automate the data: pull ad, analytics, search, social and call data into one branded dashboard that refreshes on its own. Keep the commentary human: three to five sentences on what changed, why, and what you will do next. Looker Studio suits agencies willing to build and maintain connectors; a platform such as AgencyAnalytics suits agencies that want templates, many integrations and white labelling out of the box.
Key takeaways
- Automate the data, keep the commentary human: three to five sentences on what changed and what is next.
- Put the outcome the client pays for at the top, with last month and last year beside it.
- Looker Studio suits few clients and a technical team; a platform suits many clients and a standard report.
On this page 4 sections
What clients read
Most clients read the first screen and the summary. Put the outcome metric they pay you for at the top (leads, booked calls, revenue, cost per lead) with the comparison to last month and last year. Channel detail goes below for the people who want it.
A monthly report template
- Headline: the outcome metric, versus last period and target.
- Commentary: what changed and why, in plain words.
- Channel summary: spend, leads and cost per lead by channel.
- Lead quality: qualified leads from call and form tracking, where you have it.
- Work done this month, briefly.
- Next month's plan.
Looker Studio or a platform
| Looker Studio | Dedicated platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free; paid connectors for many non-Google sources | Subscription, usually priced by number of clients |
| Set-up | Build each report | Templates and pre-built integrations |
| Maintenance | Connectors can break when APIs change | Vendor maintains integrations |
| Branding | Possible with effort | White label, client logins and custom domain |
| Best for | Few clients, technical team | Many clients, standard report |
Lead quality is the section most reports skip. Call and form tracking platforms can show which leads were qualified, so the report proves value rather than volume. See how to track form submissions and leads.
Questions
- How often should agencies send client reports?
- Monthly for most retainers, with a live dashboard clients can check any time. Weekly reporting tends to invite over-reaction to normal noise.
Next step
Compare the tools for this job
Related guides
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