At Artemis, we provide our clients with a completely open and transparent working process. This means that we submit relevant monthly reports with details of all of the work that we have carried out over the month, as well as information on how this work has affected rankings, conversions and a full range of other metrics.

Here Artemis Finance Supervisor Narciso Baldo sets out some of the dos and don’ts of reporting.

The Dos

Make it relevant

You have to make reporting relevant to the stakeholder, there’s no point sending a report on the general office expenses to the HR department. Focus on creating a report that is going to be beneficial to the person who is going to read it.

Keep it concise

People don’t like long reports, even if they’re interesting people don’t hold long attention spans. Keep reporting as concise and to the point as possible to ensure that information is imparted.

Use correct language

Reporting should be formal and professional. It is best to stay away from slang and writing in the first person. You should also proofread the report multiple times to make sure that you have not repeated yourself. The language should be neutral and objective.

Keep it timely

There’s no point sending reports that are out of date. Make sure your reporting is current and fresh otherwise it will be redundant and obsolete.

The Don’ts

Don’t have spelling errors

You simply can’t send reports with errors. Doing so reflects poorly on you and the organisation and shows a lack of attention to detail. There’s no reason why report should ever have a spelling error when we all have spell checks.

Don’t miss deadlines

Everyone is busy and needs reports at the right times. Is there ever a legitimate excuse to send a report after the deadline?

Don’t forget the contents page

Readers like to know where to look, it might be simple, but you have to include a contents page so the reader knows where to look for specific parts.

Don’t have important text straddling pages

Formatting is crucial to how a report reads. If you have parts straddling pages, it shows you haven’t taken the time to properly format your report and looks shoddy. Text should be easily readable and structured well so you don’t have to turn the page for the same part.

I joined Artemis as Finance Supervisor in September 2017 – it was my first time working in an SEO company, and there were a few things I found quite different from my experience in other finance roles. If you are thinking of taking your skills in finance into digital marketing here are five things you can expect from a role with an SEO company.

1. No Paper

Gone are the days where every sales and purchase invoice are printed on paper. There may still be companies using reams and reams but when you work for a digital marketing and SEO company, there is no paper anywhere! Of course, this means you need to make sure that your IT department is top notch as they will need to ensure your files are secure.

2. Cloud Accounting Software

There are lots of accounting software around but cloud-based technology is the only way for a progressive SEO company. All your financial reports, bank reconciliations, receivable and payable lists are safely stored in the cloud. This also means you can work from home or even login on your phone with some apps!

3. No more manual

How many sales invoices can you raise in a day? It’s irrelevant now, with automatically generated recurring invoices every month the need for high volume data entry is less important now. Most SEO companies invoice based on ongoing monthly work so there is less chance of error if you are billing the same every month – just make sure you get it right at the start!

4. Spreadsheets

Every self-respecting finance professional should know how to use spreadsheets. This is especially true working for an SEO company which constantly requires data analysis. Make sure you know your pivot tables!

5. Fun Atmosphere

Finance has a reputation for being boring, mundane and repetitive. But this is not the case at all when you work in an SEO company. From banter with the account managers to team building days and Netflix in the kitchen at lunch, it can make for a really fun and exciting work atmosphere.

Of course, SEO businesses require skills from many other industries. If you’re interested in working for Artemis, check out our careers page for current vacancies.