How to Present SEO Results to the Board (So They See the Real Value)

If you’ve ever struggled to explain SEO results to the board (or anyone outside marketing), you know how challenging it can be. 

For directors and officers, SEO can feel like a black box, full of technical jargon and unclear outcomes. Even so, as a CMO, you’re expected to justify every line of spend, including one of the most misunderstood channels in your mix: SEO.

One of the biggest challenges lies in translating results. Board members aren’t asking about keyword rankings or crawl issues; they’re concerned with things like: 

Is our brand visible? Are we capturing demand efficiently? Is this strategy moving the business forward?

In this article, I’ll share tips on how to connect SEO to business outcomes, structure your story around what the board cares about and build trust in SEO.

• Lead with Wins
• Use Their Language
• Show Causal Connection
• Prove Market Potential
• Final Thoughts
• Contact Us
• Quick Solutions
• FAQ: How do I effectively communicate SEO results to organizational leadership like the board?

Lead with Wins

If you want the boardroom to become a “bored room” fast, then go ahead and start with the details. 

But, if you want to grab attention and make things a little more exciting out of the gate, open with a high-level snapshot of your results — framed in business terms, of course.

This isn’t the time for technical details; instead, highlight momentum and growth. In practical terms, you might highlight data that shows: 

• Year-over-year growth in organic traffic.
• How much of that traffic contributed to conversions or revenue.
• An increase in share of voice in a key category or region.
• Gains in visibility for strategic, high-intent search terms. 

The most interesting data will connect the dots between these results and business outcomes like pipeline growth, reduced customer acquisition costs or improved visibility in strategic verticals, to name a few. 

This is your chance to frame SEO as a driver of growth, not a cost center.

Also, be ready to walk through how you achieved them. Storytelling is going to be more impactful than simply reporting data. 

That might mean framing a story around a successful initiative with the following in mind: 

• What was the challenge? 
• What did we do? (Think: bird’s eye view, very high level.)
• What changed? (Estimate business value or tie to business outcomes.)

These kinds of stories make the numbers stick. If all they remember from your deck is that one slide, you’ve got a win. 

Imagine being able to present these results with clarity and confidence, leaving no room for doubt about the value you bring.

How do I create inspiring SEO narratives that the board will remember?

Use Their Language

While we’re on the topic of storytelling, the boardroom is not the place to showcase your knowledge of technical SEO. 

There may be people in the room who have no idea what a backlink or keyword is. What they do need to understand, though, is what those things mean for the business.

That means translating SEO speak into business speak. Here’s how you might reframe some common SEO terms: 

• Instead of “keywords,” you can say: “the terms our customers are searching for.”
• Instead of “optimization,” you might say: “improving how we attract and convert online.”
• Instead of “ranking position,” you can say: “where we show up in the search results.”
• Instead of “click-throughs from search,” say: “how much of our visibility drives traffic to the website.”

The more the board understands what you’re talking about, the more confident they’ll feel supporting what comes next.

Looking for a solution to translate complex SEO metrics into business-focused insights everyone understands? See:

How do I translate SEO data into business terms the board can understand?

Show Causal Connection

Leaders want visibility into how actions create results. In SEO, these kinds of details can be challenging to track — you have to be diligent about it. 

Luckily, customized SEO reporting can help you show these types of things. (I recently wrote about how to create powerful, customized SEO dashboards in Looker Studio over at Search Engine Land for more ideas on how to do this.)

Here are some ways to report casual lifts: 

• Add simple annotations to trend charts. If you launched a new content series or optimized a product page in March, draw a direct line to the traffic or conversion lift that followed in April.
• Include before-and-after comparisons for key actions, especially when they show a shift in performance. A single chart showing traffic increase after a page speed update tells a clearer story than a wall of numbers.
• Use scorecards to summarize how different efforts perform. For example, the number of keywords ranking in the top three, top 10 or page-level conversion rates after optimization. 

The goal is to quickly show there’s an SEO system behind the success. 

If you need some aspirational examples instead, there are plenty of case studies out there showing how, for example, site performance directly impacts revenue. (Take Amazon or Yelp as two examples.)

Picture yourself having the tools and strategies to consistently prove how SEO efforts translate into measurable business gains:

How do I show the board how SEO actions drive business outcomes?

Prove Market Potential

Boards want to know what’s possible next. That means going beyond current metrics and showing how your SEO strategy is positioned to capture market momentum.

You can use your various data sources to show, for instance, if interest in a key product line is growing or if more customers are searching for pain points that your solutions solve.

Then, layer in competitive comparisons to show where you stand. 

A couple of simple visuals can be especially effective, like your share of voice vs. a primary competitor or visibility graphs showing who’s winning for high-intent search terms. (If there’s one competitor the company loves to beat, include them.) 

The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that demand is growing and your team has a clear plan to win more of it.

And most importantly, close with a recommendation. Should the company double down on content in a high-converting category? Invest in UX to lift conversion rates? Support a cross-functional initiative to scale authority?

The goal is to inspire confidence in your strategy and offer a clear next step that the board can support.

Would you like a solution where your team can confidently prove market opportunities and create a winning strategy?

How do I prove SEO can capture future opportunities in a competitive space?

Final Thoughts

If you’re presenting to the board, one of your goals is likely to show why SEO deserves continued investment. 

When you lead with results, speak their language and connect the dots to business outcomes, SEO stops looking like an expense and starts looking like a competitive advantage. 

Contact Us

If you’re ready to elevate how you present SEO results to your organizational leadership, contact us today. 

Showcase Your SEO Success to the Board!

Quick Solutions

• How do I create inspiring SEO narratives that the board will remember?
• How do I translate SEO data into business terms the board can understand?
• How do I prove SEO can capture future opportunities in a competitive space?

FAQ: How do I effectively communicate SEO results to organizational leadership like the board?

When talking to the board, you want to take a structured and clear approach that translates complex data into easy-to-understand insights. 

Identify the Metrics

Start by identifying the metrics that matter most to the board, such as increased share of voice or revenue. 

Use storytelling techniques to convey how specific SEO actions have driven these outcomes, making it more relatable to stakeholders. 

Visual aids like charts and graphs can help illustrate trends and results clearly and quickly.

As you’re doing this, avoid overloading the presentation with technical jargon. Tailor the language to match the knowledge level of your audience. 

Practically, this means focusing on what your SEO efforts mean for the business rather than the intricate processes involved. 

Show Impact

Regular reporting and updates are key to maintaining transparency and trust with leadership. 

Set meetings for presenting results that align with organizational review periods or business milestones. This ensures SEO efforts stay visible and shows you are adapting to market changes. 

As you are reporting your wins, highlight the specific strategies that led to SEO achievements and how they align with the broader goals of the organization.

Discuss any obstacles encountered and the proactive measures you took to overcome them, showing your ability to turn challenges into opportunities. 

This approach reassures your position as a leader and your role in the organization’s planning and decision-making processes. 

When you focus on clear communication and strategic alignment, you can make a compelling case for the value of SEO to organizational leadership.

17-Step Action Plan for Communicating SEO Results to the Board

Here are some steps you can take to better communicate SEO’s impact on business goals:

1. Identify the key metrics that the board values, such as market share and revenue; align SEO goals with broader organizational priorities.
2. Gather comprehensive data from SEO tools and analytics platforms, and then organize data into categories that align with organizational goals.
3. Develop a clear narrative for the board, connecting SEO efforts with business outcomes, and highlighting the direct benefits of SEO. 
4. Use storytelling to highlight key achievements and their business impact to keep it interesting; share success stories to reinforce the value of SEO.
5. Create visual aids like charts to make trends and data easily digestible; develop a summary slide that encapsulates key points for quick understanding.
6. Avoid technical jargon and use language that leadership understands.
7. Schedule regular reporting slots that align with business review cycles.
8. Prepare for presentations by anticipating potential questions from leadership.
9. Include competitive analysis to show how SEO supports market positioning.
10. Address challenges transparently, detailing actions taken to resolve them, and show your adaptability to market changes and how SEO strategies evolve.
11. Set metrics and goals for tracking future SEO performance, and provide examples of predictive analytics to highlight future opportunities.
12. Prepare detailed reports for follow-up after presentations.
13. Solicit feedback from leadership to continuously improve reporting.
14. Discuss resource allocation and potential needs for enhancing SEO strategies.
15. Offer training sessions for non-SEO team members to understand the basics.
16. Use case studies from similar organizations to validate your approach.
17. Regularly update leadership on industry trends affecting SEO strategies.

About Us

Bruce Clay Inc. is a leading provider of SEO services and digital marketing expertise. With decades of experience helping businesses improve online visibility, we are pioneers in the digital marketing industry. Our team specializes in innovative strategies that drive traffic, increase conversions and align with your organizational goals. Learn more about our history, achievements, and services on our About Us page.

Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing firm providing search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media marketing, SEO-friendly web architecture, and SEO tools and education. Connect with him on LinkedIn or through the BruceClay.com website.

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