I run a small SEO shop. We help local folks and a few online stores. I care about two things: real results and clean reports with my logo. That’s why I tested a stack of white label SEO tools. I wanted clients to see “our” dashboard, not the tool’s brand.
If you want the full play-by-play of that experiment, I put together the entire breakdown over on Cupid Systems.
You know what? Some tools made my life easier. A few drove me nuts. Let me explain.
What “White Label” Means (In Plain Talk)
White label just means the tool hides its name and shows yours. Same data. Your colors, your logo, your link. It looks like your own software. Clients love it. They feel cared for. And I don’t have to build a tool from scratch. Thank goodness. For anyone wanting a deeper dive into the nuts and bolts of re-skinning software, Cupid Systems lays it out clearly.
My Core Stack This Year
I don’t stick to one tool. I match the tool to the job.
- AgencyAnalytics for cross-channel dashboards and client logins
- SE Ranking for audits, rank tracking, and neat reports
- BrightLocal for local SEO (Google Business Profile, citations, reviews)
- DashThis for ad and SEO combo reports when a client loves one report link
- WebCEO when I want a true client portal on my own domain
- SEOptimer for quick, branded lead-gen audits on my site
- Raven Tools for link reports and site audits that clients can read
Most of this stack runs happily on my trusty MacBook Air; if you’re hunting for macOS-friendly SEO apps I actually keep open every week, that quick list might save you some trial and error.
I’ll share real stories, the good and the bad.
AgencyAnalytics: The Dashboard Clients Actually Open
I used AgencyAnalytics for a Texas HVAC client, Hill Country Air. The owner wanted “one link” he could check on his phone at 7 a.m. while drinking coffee. Fair ask.
I set up a white label dashboard with our logo and colors. I gave him a user login. He saw:
- Keyword ranks (daily)
- Calls and forms from Google Ads
- Google Business Profile actions
- Site traffic by city
We tracked “AC repair Round Rock.” It climbed from position 23 to 9 over six weeks after we fixed title tags and built two service pages. He texted, “I can see the move—looks good.” That dashboard link became our north star. No messy PDFs in email chains.
What I liked:
- Fast to set up. Clean widgets. Easy branding.
- Scheduled emails that said “From: My Agency,” not the tool.
What bugged me:
- Rank tags get messy if you track a lot of cities.
- Backlink data felt light compared to Ahrefs. Not a deal-breaker, but I noticed.
BrightLocal: Local SEO Muscle for Multi-Location Folks
I used BrightLocal for a 12-location dental group. The group’s ops lead needed a “monthly local health check.” So I built a white label report that covered:
- GBP audits (hours wrong on 3 listings—fixed in a day)
- Citation tracker (19 duplicate listings—we cleaned them)
- Review flow (auto-pulled new reviews; reply rate went up)
We sent a branded PDF on the first Monday of each month. Over a quarter, average rating moved from 3.9 to 4.4. Call volume from GBP was up 22%. That lead was happy and renewed their retainer without a fuss.
What I liked:
- Local rank grids look great even if you’re not “map nerds.”
- Review reports with our logo. Felt polished.
What bugged me:
- Some citation sources update slow.
- The UI can feel busy if you add too many locations in one view.
SE Ranking: My Workhorse for On-Page Fixes and Clean Reports
For a Shopify store selling baby blankets, I used SE Ranking for weekly site audits and ranks. The white label report had our colors and footer. No tool branding.
Real wins:
- The audit found 31 duplicate meta titles on variant pages. We set unique titles. Click-through rose on “organic cotton swaddle” by a tiny but real bump.
- Rank tracking by region helped a lot. They only ship in the U.S., so we focused on U.S. data.
- I liked the content editor for quick tweaks and ideas.
What I liked:
- Reports look neat. Clients don’t glaze over.
- Good balance of audit depth and simple fixes.
What bugged me:
- Large audits can lag if you scan a big site at rush hour.
- Some keyword volume numbers felt soft next to Google’s own ranges. Not shocking, just something I watch.
WebCEO: A Real Client Portal on Your Own Domain
For a franchise brand, the CEO asked, “Can clients log in at portal.myagency.com and see only their stuff?” WebCEO nailed this. I set the portal on my subdomain, added SSL, and branded the whole thing. Each franchise owner had a private login. No wanderers.
What I liked:
- True portal feel with roles and access levels.
- Good task manager tied to audit issues.
What bugged me:
- The interface looks older in spots. Not ugly, just dated.
- Setup took me about two hours the first time. Worth it, but it wasn’t click-and-go.
DashThis: One Link for Ads + SEO When You Need Simple
Some clients hate PDFs. They want a live link. DashThis did that for a roofing client who ran Google Ads and Facebook Ads on top of SEO. I pulled in ad spend, CPA, and organic leads, then branded the whole dashboard.
What I liked:
- Fast, pretty, and “client-proof.”
- White label link with my logo front and center.
What bugged me:
- Rank tracking is thin. I still used another tool for deep SEO work.
- Custom metrics take a few tries to get right.
SEOptimer: Quick White Label Audits for Lead Gen
On my website, I added a “Free Site Audit” form powered by SEOptimer. Prospects entered their URL and email. They got a branded PDF in under a minute. Over 60 days, it pulled 40 warm leads. Did we close all of them? No. But the ones who booked a call already saw our brand on the audit, which helped.
Once those leads land, routing them to the right rep can be chaos—I ran a head-to-head test of dedicated lead-routing software and shared what worked (and what made me groan).
What I liked:
- The report looks tidy. It’s not scary.
- Easy to add to a landing page.
What bugged me:
- The grading can seem strict to newbies. I softened the language in my email follow-up.
Raven Tools: Still Handy for Link Reports Clients Can Read
Raven Tools helped me with a B2B SaaS client who cared about links and on-page changes. The white label reports told a simple story: new links, anchor text mix, and top pages that got links last month. I added notes in plain talk like, “This link came from a guest post on a partner site.”
What I liked:
- Client-friendly link charts.
- Notes and comments feel natural.
What bugged me:
- Some scans ran slow mid-day.
- The design is fine, not flashy. I sometimes export and tweak the cover page.
What Clients Actually Notice (And What They Don’t)
Funny thing: clients don’t care which tool you use. They care that:
- The link has your logo and works on mobile.
- They can see rank, traffic, and leads without hunting.
- The story is clear: what changed, what moved, what’s next.
They don’t notice if you pulled the data from one tool or two. They do notice when the logo is someone else’s and the colors clash.
My Setup Flow That Saves Time
Here’s my simple checklist when I spin up a white label space:
- Brand kit: logo, colors, and a short “About” blurb
- Clean names: “Service Pages – Austin” beats “Misc SEO”
- Tags for keywords by theme and city
- One summary page, then tabs for SEO, Local, and Ads
- A notes widget titled “What We Did / What’s Next”
- Schedule one monthly PDF and one live dashboard link
Small detail, big win: I drop a tiny legend on page one. “Green = improved. Red = needs love.” People read that.
Annoying Stuff I Bumped Into
- “White label” sometimes costs more. Read the plan notes first.
- Data sampling can make numbers jump week to week. I mark that in notes so clients don’t panic.
- CSV exports can be messy. I keep one master template in Google Sheets and paste in fresh data.
How I Choose Per Client Type
- Local service (plumber, dentist, HVAC): BrightLocal + Agency