screaming-frog-tool

Installation

$npx skills add garrettjsmith/localseoskills --skill screaming-frog-tool

Summary

The agent can crawl a multi-location site (or analyze exported crawl data) to detect location page quality issues, duplicate content, indexing blockers, schema gaps, and internal linking problems. Invoke when the user needs technical SEO diagnostics at scale, especially for location pages, redirect audits, or custom data extraction.

SKILL.MD

Screaming Frog Tool

Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler with community-built MCP servers available. Even without MCP, the agent can analyze exported crawl data (CSV/Excel). This is your primary technical SEO audit tool.

When to Use Screaming Frog vs Other Tools

You NeedUse Screaming FrogUse Instead
Full technical site crawl✅ Most detailed crawlerSemrush site audit (lighter)
Location page quality audit at scale✅ Best for this
Custom data extraction (NAP, schema fields)✅ Unique capability
Duplicate content detection
Internal linking analysis
Redirect chain detection
Schema validation per page✅ Custom extraction
Missing titles/metas across hundreds of pages
Keyword rankingsLocal Falcon, Semrush
Backlink dataAhrefs
Search traffic dataGSC, GA4
Citation dataBrightLocal

How the Agent Interacts with Screaming Frog

With MCP Connected

The agent can trigger crawls and read results directly.

Without MCP (More Common)

The user runs the crawl locally and exports data. The agent analyzes the exported CSV/Excel files.

Tell the user what to export:

  1. Run the crawl in Screaming Frog
  2. Export: Internal > All (CSV)
  3. If needed: Bulk Export > specific reports (response codes, directives, schema, etc.)
  4. Upload the CSV to the conversation

Core Workflows

Location Page Technical Audit

When: User has a multi-location site and needs to verify all location pages are technically sound.

What to check in crawl data:

CheckWhere to FindWhat's Wrong If...
Title tagsTitle 1 columnDuplicate titles across locations, missing titles, truncated titles
Meta descriptionsMeta Description 1Duplicate metas, missing metas, boilerplate metas
H1 tagsH1-1 columnMissing H1, duplicate H1s, H1 doesn't include service + city
Word countWord Count columnUnder 300 words = thin content (Google may not index)
Status codesStatus Code column404 errors, 302 redirects (should be 301), 5xx errors
Canonical tagsCanonical Link Element 1Self-referencing canonical missing, or canonical pointing to wrong page
Internal links inInlinks column0 or 1 internal links = orphan page
Schema presentCustom extraction neededNo LocalBusiness schema on location pages
NAP on pageCustom extraction neededMissing or inconsistent NAP
Page speedPageSpeed tab (if PSI integration enabled)LCP > 2.5s, CLS > 0.1

Custom Extraction for Local SEO

What to tell the user to configure:

LocalBusiness Schema Extraction:

  • Extraction: CSS Selector or XPath
  • Target: script[type="application/ld+json"]
  • This extracts the full JSON-LD block — agent can then validate schema fields

NAP Extraction:

  • Business name: CSS selector for the element containing business name
  • Phone: CSS selector for tel: links
  • Address: CSS selector for address block

Per-page schema validation the agent should do:

  1. Is @type correct? (e.g., Dentist, Plumber, LocalBusiness)
  2. Does name match GBP exactly?
  3. Does address match GBP exactly?
  4. Does telephone match GBP exactly?
  5. Are openingHoursSpecification present?
  6. Are geo coordinates present and correct?
  7. Is areaServed present (for SABs)?

Duplicate Content Detection

When: Multi-location sites often have boilerplate location pages with only the city name changed.

What to check:

  • Near-duplicate detection (Screaming Frog has this built in)
  • Word count column — if all location pages are exactly the same word count, they're probably templated
  • Title tag patterns — if all titles are "[Service] in [City] | [Brand]" with identical supporting content, Google may not index them all

What "unique enough" looks like:

  • Unique intro paragraph mentioning specific area landmarks, neighborhoods, demographics
  • Unique service details relevant to that location
  • Unique testimonials or case studies from that area
  • Different photos per location
  • Unique FAQ based on common questions from that area's customers

Internal Linking Analysis

When: Location pages aren't getting organic traffic and you suspect they're orphaned or poorly linked.

What to check:

  • Inlinks column: How many internal pages link to each location page
  • Crawl depth: How many clicks from homepage to reach each location page
  • Link structure: Are location pages linked from the main navigation, footer, or buried?

Healthy internal linking for location pages:

  • Every location page linked from a locations index/directory page
  • Location pages linked from service pages (where relevant)
  • Location pages linked from each other (nearby locations)
  • Crawl depth: Max 3 clicks from homepage

Redirect Audit

When: User migrated sites, changed URLs, or has old location pages that redirected.

What to check:

  • 302 redirects (should usually be 301 for permanent moves)
  • Redirect chains (A → B → C → D — should be A → D)
  • Redirect loops (A → B → A)
  • Old location URLs that 404 instead of redirecting

Interpreting Crawl Data for Local SEO

Priority Issues (Fix First)

IssueImpactHow to Find
Location pages returning 404Pages completely invisibleStatus Code = 404, filter to location URLs
Location pages not in sitemapGoogle may not discover themCross-reference sitemap URLs with crawled URLs
Location pages blocked by robots.txtGoogle can't crawl themIndexability column = "Blocked by Robots.txt"
Location pages with noindexGoogle won't index themMeta Robots column contains "noindex"

Important Issues (Fix Next)

IssueImpactHow to Find
Duplicate titles across locationsGoogle may suppress duplicatesTitle 1 column — sort and find duplicates
Thin content (under 300 words)Google may not indexWord Count column < 300
Missing schemaLosing structured data signalsCustom extraction shows empty
Orphan pages (0-1 internal links)Low crawl priority, low authorityInlinks column = 0 or 1

Maintenance Issues (Fix When Possible)

IssueImpactHow to Find
Missing meta descriptionsLower CTR from search resultsMeta Description 1 = empty
Images without alt textAccessibility + minor SEO signalImages tab, Alt Text column empty
Redirect chainsWasted crawl budget, slow page loadsRedirect Chains report

What to Do Next

What You FoundNext ActionSkill
Location pages with thin contentRewrite with unique, substantial content per locationlocal-landing-pages
Missing schema on location pagesImplement LocalBusiness schemalocal-schema
Duplicate titles/metasRewrite with unique, keyword-targeted titles per locationlocal-landing-pages
Orphan location pagesFix internal linking structurelocal-landing-pages
Indexing issues (noindex, robots.txt, missing from sitemap)Fix technical issueslocal-seo-audit
NAP inconsistencies found via custom extractionFix on-page NAP to match GBP exactlygbp-optimization, local-citations
All technical issues documentedPackage into audit report for clientclient-deliverables

Default next step: Screaming Frog crawl data is a goldmine but it's raw. Always prioritize: indexing blockers → content issues → structural issues → optimization opportunities.