Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a popular desktop-based software tool used for website crawling and technical SEO analysis. It is commonly used by SEO professionals, webmasters, and digital marketers to audit websites and identify various SEO issues. Here are some key features and functionalities of Screaming Frog SEO Spider:
Website Crawling: The SEO Spider crawls websites like search engines, visiting each page and collecting data for analysis. It can crawl both small and large websites, extracting information such as page titles, meta descriptions, headings, URLs, response codes, internal and external links, images, and more.
Site Audit and Analysis: The tool provides a comprehensive overview of your website’s technical health. It can identify common SEO issues like broken links, duplicate content, missing meta tags, redirect chains, 404 errors, server errors, and other crawl-related issues. The detailed reports help you understand the areas that need improvement for better search engine visibility.
URL and Data Visualization: Screaming Frog SEO Spider offers visual representations of website structure and data. You can view the website’s hierarchy, internal linking, and identify potential issues with URLs or navigation. The tool provides visual maps and charts for a better understanding of your website’s structure and internal linking.
Page-Level SEO Analysis: The software allows you to analyze individual web pages for on-page SEO elements. You can check page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and other important HTML elements. It helps identify missing or duplicate titles/descriptions, improper header tags, and other on-page optimization opportunities.
XML Sitemap Generation and Analysis: Screaming Frog SEO Spider can generate XML sitemaps for your website, which are crucial for search engine indexing and discovery. You can also analyze existing XML sitemaps to ensure they include all relevant pages and identify any issues or errors.
Integration with Google Analytics and Search Console: You can integrate Screaming Frog SEO Spider with your Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts. This allows you to fetch additional data like organic search traffic, clicks, impressions, and other performance metrics directly within the tool.
Custom Extraction and Reporting: The tool enables you to extract custom data from web pages using XPath, CSS Path, or regular expressions. You can create custom reports to focus on specific elements or metrics of interest, facilitating more targeted analysis and reporting.
Configurable Crawling Options: Screaming Frog SEO Spider provides various customization options to control the crawling behavior. You can set crawl speed, adjust user-agent, specify inclusion or exclusion rules for URLs, and configure advanced settings according to your specific requirements.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider offers a free version with limited features, as well as a paid version with additional functionalities and no limitations. It is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, making it widely accessible for website analysis and technical SEO optimization.