Screaming Frog for SEO: A Comprehensive Overview

Screaming Frog is an invaluable tool for professionals specializing in search engine optimization (SEO) and want to streamline auditing, launch content checks, generate sitemaps, and perform other related tasks. In this detailed guide, we will analyze the main upsides and downsides of using this service and provide a complete overview of its features to help you make an informed decision before purchasing a premium version.

What Is Screaming Frog?

Screaming Frog is a well-established agency that specializes in SEO services. Based in the United Kingdom, the team works with small and medium-sized businesses and top brands from all over the world. The developers created Screaming Frog SEO Spider, also known as Screaming Frog, to help SEO specialists conduct professional SEO audits.

This advanced website crawler was designed for those who need to enhance the SEO performance of their platforms. It facilitates auditing websites and uncovering SEO issues.

How to Start Using Screaming Frog

The program’s interface may seem convoluted, so it’s recommended to read tutorials before using it. If you have never used such services before, follow the steps described below to get started. 

Download the Software

The first thing you need to do is download a suitable version for your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux) from the official website.

You will find it under the SEO Tools tab. Click the “SEO Spider” menu and choose “Download.” It may take you a few minutes to download the file to your PC. 

While you can install the software without paying a dime and use its tools freely, you will have to pay for the premium version to crawl over 500 URLs and utilize advanced tools and detailed reports.

Pay for a License

If you decide to purchase a license, go to the “Buy & Renew” menu that can be found under the SEO Spider tab.

After pressing the “Buy Now” button, you will be redirected to the checkout page. Once you have finalized the purchase, you will get a license key. To activate it, open the software and go to the “License” menu.

When everything is ready, confirm the action by pressing OK. It will allow you to get full access to the app and use it legally. 

After your license key is checked, you will see a confirmation informing you that it is valid. Restart the app to access pro-grade tools and crawl the web without limitations. 

Configure Memory and Storage

Those who use the free version can skip this step. However, if you decide to pay for the premium version, you can adjust the settings to avoid any issues.

If you have an SSD, it’s recommended to configure the database storage mode. It will enable you to crawl more URLs, automate the process of saving data, and optimize your routines.

Open the “File” menu, find the “Settings” option, and click the “Storage Mode.”

Choose the “Database Storage” option to maximize the number of URLs that you will be able to crawl.

Those who don’t have an SSD typically use the “RAM storage mode.” If they have plenty of RAM, they will be able to crawl a lot of URLs without noticing any limitations and save the results.

After adjusting these settings, you are ready to use Screaming Frog for professional tasks.

Leveraging Screaming Frog for SEO Purposes: Key Tools

After installing Screaming Frog and configuring its settings, it’s time to discover how to utilize its tools to optimize your site’s performance. It comes with handy features that help users improve the search engine ranking of their platforms. Below, we have outlined the main functionalities of this software.

1. Website SEO Audit Tools

Most people who utilize Screaming Frog for SEO purposes deploy its tools to perform an SEO website audit using the pro-grade features available on the platform. This procedure allows users to analyze the SEO score of their sites and discover barriers on the way to increasing the visibility of their sites in search results.

The auditing process is quite streamlined. To check your site, follow such steps:

• Paste a link to your website in the dedicated field at the top of the page.
• Click the “Start” button on the right.
• Wait until the program generates a report.

You will see a page that will look like this:

Go to the “Reports” tab, choose the “Crawl Overview” option, and save a report to your device in CSV, XLS, XLSX, or Gsheet format.

It will allow you to access detailed information about your crawl and analyze the main problems of your website. By eliminating these SEO issues, you can achieve higher visibility.

2. Features for Discovering Broken URLs

Another popular tool allows users to discover whether they have any broken links on their platforms. Such URLs affect a user experience and may have a disastrous impact on a site’s SEO parameters and rankings.

This is why it’s essential to remove such links as quickly as possible. To find them, go to the “Response Codes” tab.

If there is any issue, you will see Client Error [4xx] results. By clicking on them, you can see a list of all broken URLs on your platform. Click the “Inlinks” option at the bottom left to see all the pages with a broken URL. It will allow you to discover the pages that require an update.

3. Tools for Analyzing Titles and Meta Descriptions

The SEO performance of every website largely depends on titles and meta descriptions. Well-optimized titles and informative descriptions with relevant keywords can significantly boost traffic.

Screaming Frog developers decided to simplify the task of reviewing the title and meta descriptions and created a handy tool for those who want to save time. Click the “Page Titles” or “Meta Descriptions” tabs to see detailed information.

You will see a list of page addresses on the left. After clicking on any of them, you will see their titles and meta descriptions. This software allows users to filter the results to discover links with titles and meta descriptions that have any issues. Using the built-in tools, you can eliminate duplicates or discover titles and meta descriptions that are too short or too long.

4. Tools for Detecting Missing Alt Text

Screaming Frog also comes with useful features allowing users to discover pictures with missing alt text. By adding it, you can improve the accessibility of your website and ensure that it will remain informative even if a user’s device fails to load the image. 

Those who disregard the significance of alt text fail to recognize its importance for achieving high rankings in relevant image search results. By adding such descriptions, one can easily boost their platforms’ visibility.

To analyze alt text, go to the “Images” tab and click on any link on the left. Then, filter the list by clicking the “Missing Alt Text” option.

You will see a list of page URLs with issues. Click on the “Inlinks” tab to discover the exact location of a picture and add alt text to it.

5. Tools for Discovering Duplicate Content

Duplicate content may be difficult to notice, especially if you update your website often. However, it can drastically affect your site’s SEO performance and decrease its visibility. To maintain a high site ranking, it’s critical to find such content and remove it swiftly.

Go to the “Bulk Export” tab, find the “Content” menu, and choose between the “Exact Duplicates” or “Near Duplicates” options.

After discovering content that includes duplicated information, use relevant keywords to create new informative materials and engage your target audience.

6. Create a Sitemap

The usage of sitemaps for SEO purposes is hard to underestimate. They allow search engines to find all the URLs on your platform, index them, and display them when people are looking for relevant information online. A well-thought-out sitemap facilitates searching through your content and allows users to discover other materials published on your platform.

Using Screaming Frog SEO Spider, you can automate the process of creating XML sitemaps and image sitemaps. The program allows users to generate them quickly and send them to popular search engines.

Find the “Sitemaps” menu at the top of the page. Then, choose between the two available options:

• XLM Sitemap
• Images Sitemap

Make sure to indicate the most suitable export settings to create a sitemap that meets your requirements.

You can also use the default settings. An XLM sitemap enables you to include extra information about site pages, including the date when they were modified and the frequency of updates. It will allow search engines to crawl your website when your pages are likely to be up-to-date.

Image sitemaps facilitate indexing your site’s pictures by search engines. By focusing on them, you can generate more traffic and ensure that the images you use will be visible at the top of search results.

Screaming Frog Pricing

While regular users often prefer to utilize a free version to perform basic SEO-related checks, experienced professionals opt for the premium plan. The licensed version for 1 user costs $259 per year.

The free version is an appealing option for budget-conscious users as it allows them to save money. If they are willing to stay within a crawl limit of 500 URLs and do not need to access pro-grade tools, using the basic version will suffice. However, it does not allow users to discover structured data validation errors or perform spelling and grammar checks.

Users who work with their teams can purchase multiple licenses at a discount price to save money. The premium version allows users to crawl an unlimited number of URLs and access all the tools available in this software. Moreover, premium users can access technical support whenever they face any issue they cannot solve independently. 

The final choice between these versions depends on your budget and current needs. Those who manage multiple sites and work on complex projects can significantly benefit from buying the licensed version with full access to all the SEO features.

Screaming Frog: Advantages and Shortcomings

Before deciding on whether this software offers great value, let’s consider the key upsides and downsides of using it for SEO purposes. 

Pros

• Up to 500 URL limit: The free version covers the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.
• Metadata analysis: The program displays accurate information about page titles, keywords, and meta descriptions. It facilitates avoiding situations when multiple pages compete for the same keywords.
• Link optimization: Screaming Frog allows users to handle the issue of broken URLs with ease.
• Regular site audits: Users can schedule audits and perform them automatically.
• Progress tracking capabilities: Screaming Frog helps professionals to analyze the changes that happen between crawls. 
• Integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console: It allows users to assess their site’s SEO performance accurately.

Despite the noticeable advantages of this software, its functionality may seem a bit basic. Moreover, it has other frequently mentioned shortcomings.

Cons

• A free version is limited: Company owners may find the free version with its 500 URL crawl limit a bit too constraining for their needs.
• Convoluted design: The interface is outdated and contains too many features.
• The program is difficult to master: Beginners may find it challenging to use this software and figure out how to deploy its tools. While there are some tutorials available online, watching them is time-consuming.

Thus, Screaming Frog is best suited for small business owners on a tight budget and larger teams that want to access pro-grade SEO tools at an affordable price.

Final Considerations

Screaming Frog is an excellent choice for those who want to improve the SEO rankings of their platforms. While it may be challenging to master its features if you don’t have any prior experience, you can significantly enhance your website’s SEO performance after learning how to use the available tools.

Many users also opt for such open-source alternatives as Greenflare, SEO Macroscope, and SiteInspector. However, they do not get updated often. Despite some shortcomings, Screaming Frog is a decent option to consider if you want to implement your SEO strategy without significant investments and achieve sustainable business growth. After testing its free version and analyzing your site’s performance, you can decide whether the premium version suits your specific purposes.