A useful monthly report from a digital marketing agency should start with business results (calls, enquiries, bookings and cost per enquiry), then explain what work was done, why the numbers moved, and what happens next month. It should cover each channel you pay for, such as Google Business Profile, your website, Google Ads, SEO and social, and it should be short enough to understand in five minutes. If your report is twenty pages of graphs about impressions and followers with no mention of enquiries, that is a warning sign, not a sign of hard work.
TL;DR:
- Lead with results that make money: calls, form enquiries, bookings, cost per enquiry and, ideally, jobs won.
- Explain the why: what changed, what was done and what is planned next.
- Cover every paid channel: Google Business Profile, website, Google Ads, SEO and social, each tied back to enquiries.
- Be honest about bad months rather than hiding them behind vanity metrics.
- You should own the accounts the numbers come from, so you can check them yourself.
Why Does the Monthly Report Matter So Much?
The monthly report is how you tell whether your marketing spend is working. You pay an agency every month, and in return you should get a clear picture of what they did, what happened as a result, and what comes next. A good report builds trust and helps you make decisions. A confusing one hides problems until you have spent months of budget.
Use the checklist below to measure any report, whether it comes from OZ Media Digital or anyone else.
1. Does It Start With a One-Page Summary?
Within the first page, you should be able to answer three questions: what happened this month (up, down or steady), why it happened, and what the agency is doing about it. If you have to hunt through ten pages to work out whether things are going well, the report is not doing its job.
2. Does It Report Results That Matter to Your Business?
Look for numbers connected to money, not just attention:
- Phone calls from ads, your Google Business Profile and your website
- Form enquiries and booking requests
- Quote requests
- Cost per enquiry for paid channels
- Jobs or sales won, if you share that data with the agency
Clicks and impressions can be useful context, but they are not the point. A report that celebrates traffic while ignoring enquiries is missing the story. For benchmarks on what a lead should cost, see What's a Good Cost Per Lead for an Australian Small Business?
3. Does It Show Google Business Profile Performance?
For local businesses this is essential. Your Business Profile records actions such as calls, direction requests and website clicks, and the report should show them month by month alongside:
- New reviews and your average rating
- The number of review replies
- New photos and posts added
Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that complete, detailed business information helps.1 You should see steady work happening on those fronts, not a profile left alone.
4. Does It Cover Website Performance in Plain Terms?
The website section should show where visits came from (Google search, ads, social, direct) and, more importantly, what visitors did. In Google Analytics 4, important actions such as phone taps, form submissions and bookings are tracked as key events, which Google describes as events that measure actions particularly important to the success of your business.2
It is also reasonable to see a note on mobile speed. Google's Core Web Vitals guidance says a good experience means the main content loads within 2.5 seconds and the page responds to a tap within 200 milliseconds.3
5. Does It Break Down Paid Ads Clearly?
If you run Google Ads or Meta ads, the report should show:
- Spend against budget
- Calls and enquiries from ads
- Cost per enquiry
- Best and worst campaigns or keywords
- Search terms that were blocked as negative keywords
- Changes made this month, and why
A good agency shows you where waste was cut. You should never have to wonder where your ad budget went. Our guide to negative keywords for local service businesses explains one of the most common sources of waste.
6. Does It Report SEO Progress Honestly?
SEO reporting should include rankings for your main local searches (with the location noted, because rankings vary by suburb), which pages bring in traffic and enquiries, the work completed (new pages, fixes, content, links, citations), and a fair explanation if rankings dipped.
Be wary of anyone promising guaranteed positions. Google's own guide to hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google, and warns about SEOs that claim a "special relationship" with Google.4
7. Does It Tie Social Media to Business Impact?
If social media is part of your package, expect to see the posts published, reach and engagement, your best-performing posts, and any messages or leads that came from social. Likes are nice. Enquiries are better. The report should connect the two wherever possible.
8. Does It List Work Completed and Work Planned?
A simple two-column table makes it obvious what you paid for and what is coming:
| Done this month | Planned next month |
|---|---|
| Added 12 negative keywords | Test new ad copy |
| Published two Google posts | Add two service area pages |
| Uploaded 8 new photos | Start a review request routine |
9. Does It Include Recommendations?
The best reports contain advice: what to keep doing, what to change, and what the agency needs from you (photos, pricing updates, review requests, feedback on lead quality). If a report never includes a recommendation, ask why.
10. Is It Honest About Problems?
Some months are slow. Seasonality, competitors, algorithm updates and even weather all play a part. A real agency tells you what happened and what the plan is, rather than burying a bad month under impressions.
What Are the Red Flags in an Agency Report?
These signs suggest a report is designed to look busy rather than inform you:
- Only vanity numbers, such as impressions, reach and followers
- No link between the work done and the results
- Unexplained jargon and acronyms
- Reports that arrive late, irregularly or not at all
- Numbers you cannot check, because the agency controls every account
If several of these apply, it may be time for a harder conversation. Our list of 10 red flags before hiring a marketing agency covers the wider warning signs.
Why Should You Own Your Marketing Accounts?
You should be an owner or administrator on your Google Ads account, Google Analytics property and Google Business Profile, with the agency given access, not the other way around. If an agency sets these up in its own name, you can lose your history and data if you leave, and you cannot independently check the numbers in your report.
Ask about this before signing. It is one of the 15 questions to ask before hiring a marketing agency.
Take your latest report and tick off each of the ten sections above. If more than half are missing, raise it with your agency and ask for a simple one-page summary next month. At OZ Media Digital, our reports are short, plain and focused on enquiries and customers, and clients own every account we work in. You can see how we work across our marketing services, or book a free session and we will go through your current report with you.
FAQ
What should be in a monthly marketing report?
A one-page summary, results that matter (calls, enquiries, cost per enquiry), Google Business Profile actions, website key events, paid ads performance, SEO progress, social impact, work done and planned, recommendations and honest notes on problems.
What metrics matter most in a marketing report?
Enquiries, calls, bookings and cost per enquiry matter most, ideally linked to jobs or sales won. Impressions, clicks and followers are context, not results.
How often should a marketing agency report?
Monthly is standard for small businesses, with a short summary you can read in a few minutes. Paid ads accounts may also warrant a quick fortnightly check-in during the first few months.
Can an SEO agency guarantee a number one ranking?
No. Google's own guide to hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google, and warns about SEOs who claim a special relationship with Google.
Should I have access to my own Google Ads and Analytics accounts?
Yes. You should be an owner or administrator on your Google Ads, Google Analytics and Google Business Profile accounts, so you keep your data if you change agencies and can check the numbers yourself.
What are key events in Google Analytics?
In Google Analytics 4, key events are events that measure actions particularly important to your business, such as form submissions, phone taps or bookings. They replaced the older "conversions" label in GA4 reporting.
