What Is Screaming Frog SEO Spider?

Screaming Frog is a website crawler that mimics the way search engines crawl your site. It analyzes URLs and fetches data on elements such as metadata, page status codes, duplicate content, internal links, response times, and more.

🔍 Key Benefits:

  • Crawls websites up to 500 URLs (free version)
  • Discovers broken links, duplicate content, and redirects
  • Extracts meta tags, headings, and canonical URLs
  • Integrates with Google Analytics, GSC, and PageSpeed Insights
  • Supports JavaScript rendering for dynamic sites (paid version)

Getting Started with Screaming Frog

✅ Installation and Setup

  • Download Screaming Frog from https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
  • Choose between Free (limited features) and Paid (unlimited features + integrations) versions
  • Install and launch the application
  • Enter your website URL and click “Start” to begin crawling
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Main Features of Screaming Frog for Technical SEO

Let's dive into how to use Screaming Frog’s key features for conducting a thorough technical SEO audit.

  1. Site Crawling and Overview

Once the crawl begins, you’ll see a detailed overview of your website’s structure.

📋 Core Data Captured:

  • Page titles
  • Meta descriptions
  • H1, H2 headings
  • Canonical tags
  • Status codes (200, 301, 404, etc.)
  • Word count
  • Image size and alt attributes

🧠 Use Cases:

  • Discover pages with missing or duplicate metadata
  • Find broken internal/external links
  • Analyze page depth and site architecture
  • Identify thin content (pages with low word count)

  1. Status Codes: Fix Crawl Errors

Understanding the status codes of your pages is crucial for SEO health.

🔢 Common Status Codes:

  • 200 OK – Healthy, accessible pages
  • 301 Moved Permanently – Permanent redirects
  • 302 Found – Temporary redirects
  • 404 Not Found – Broken or missing pages
  • 500 Internal Server Error – Server-side issues

🛠️ How to Fix:

  • Replace or remove broken links (404s)
  • Use 301s for proper redirection
  • Minimize 302s unless intentionally temporary
  • Resolve server issues causing 500 errors

  1. Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

Screaming Frog flags any missing, duplicate, or overly long/short meta tags.

🧩 Best Practices:

  • Page titles: 50–60 characters
  • Meta descriptions: 150–160 characters
  • Avoid duplication across pages
  • Include focus keywords

📌 Steps:

  • Navigate to the “Page Titles” tab
  • Sort by length or duplicate values
  • Export to CSV for content team to update

  1. H1 and H2 Tags Analysis

Proper heading structure helps search engines understand page hierarchy and improves accessibility.

🔎 Check For:

  • Missing H1 tags
  • Multiple H1 tags on one page
  • Keyword-stuffed or duplicate headings

✅ Recommendations:

  • One H1 per page with a clear focus keyword
  • Use H2s to organize subtopics
  • Avoid repetition across pages

  1. Canonical Tags & Duplicate Content

Canonical tags guide Google on which version of a page to index.

🚩 Screaming Frog Identifies:

  • Missing canonical tags
  • Conflicting canonicals (pointing to different pages)
  • Duplicate content (based on identical titles/meta)

📌 Fixes:

  • Add canonicals to every page
  • Consolidate duplicate pages with 301 redirects
  • Audit content for uniqueness

  1. Internal Linking and Crawl Depth

Screaming Frog helps map internal linking and crawl hierarchy to improve crawlability.

📈 Why It Matters:

  • Pages too deep in crawl hierarchy (3+ clicks from home) may be missed
  • Orphaned pages (no internal links) have lower chances of ranking

🔍 Use the Crawl Tree Visualization:

  • See how many clicks away a page is from the homepage
  • Optimize linking structure to flatten site architecture
  • Link to high-value pages more often

  1. Images: SEO and Optimization

Large or unoptimized images slow down your site and affect user experience.

🖼️ What to Look For:

  • Missing alt attributes (important for accessibility and SEO)
  • Images larger than 100 KB
  • Broken image links (404)

🧰 Fix Tips:

  • Compress large images without quality loss
  • Add descriptive, keyword-friendly alt text
  • Remove or replace broken media

  1. JavaScript Rendering (Paid Version)

JavaScript-heavy websites require rendering to simulate how Googlebot views them.

🧪 When to Use:

  • Websites built with frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue
  • Sites with content loaded via JavaScript

🔍 Steps:

  • Switch to “JavaScript Rendering” mode under Configuration > Spider > Rendering
  • Analyze which JS elements are being blocked or misread

  1. Integrations with Other SEO Tools (Paid)

Take your audit deeper by connecting GSC, GA, and PSI.

🔗 Useful Integrations:

  • Google Analytics – Overlay traffic data on URLs
  • Google Search Console – Combine impressions/clicks with crawl data
  • PageSpeed Insights – Identify slow-loading pages and Core Web Vitals issues

Comparison Table: Free vs Paid Version

Feature Free Version Paid Version (License Required)
Crawl Limit 500 URLs Unlimited
JavaScript Rendering ❌ ✅
Crawl Scheduling ❌ ✅
GA & GSC Integration ❌ ✅
Custom Extraction ❌ ✅
Export Reports to Google Sheets ❌ ✅
Duplicate Content Reports ✅ ✅
Status Code & Metadata Reports ✅ ✅
Image Optimization Report ✅ ✅
Cost Free ~£149/year

How to Perform a Complete SEO Audit Using Screaming Frog

Here’s a checklist to follow during a complete SEO audit:

📋 SEO Audit Checklist:

  • ✅ Crawl the entire site (set to follow canonical, ignore blocked resources)
  • ✅ Check all status codes (404s, 500s, redirects)
  • ✅ Review page titles, meta descriptions, H1s
  • ✅ Scan for duplicate content and canonicals
  • ✅ Analyze internal linking structure
  • ✅ Audit images for size and alt text
  • ✅ Connect to GA/GSC for deeper insights (paid)
  • ✅ Export reports for developers and content teams

Conclusion

Screaming Frog is like a magnifying glass for your website—helping you uncover issues that affect indexing, performance, and rankings. With its in-depth crawl capabilities and powerful SEO insights, it's a must-have tool for every technical SEO audit in 2025.

From identifying broken links and duplicate content to analyzing internal links and image issues, Screaming Frog gives you a complete overview of your site’s health. Whether you stick with the free version or invest in the paid license, the value it brings is undeniable.

Start crawling today—and turn technical SEO issues into ranking opportunities.

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