Video summary

How to do an SEO Audit With Screaming Frog (#1 Way to Fix Issues Fast)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Overview

The video is a practical walkthrough for using Screaming Frog to run fast SEO audits. The emphasis is on fixing issues immediately during the process (rather than documenting everything first). The speaker also promotes using a free GPT to interpret Screaming Frog findings and suggest remediation steps.

Core workflow / setup

  1. Download Screaming Frog
  2. Enter the target site
  3. Run a crawl

You can either:

  • Wait for the crawl to finish, or
  • Fix issues during the crawl (the speaker says this is usually quick)

After the crawl, Screaming Frog typically shows:

  • A list of issue severities (high / medium / low)
  • Issue types
  • The reason it’s a problem and how to fix it (the speaker supplements this with GPT to make remediation easier)

Specific SEO findings and how to fix them

Multiple H2 tags (often not a real issue)

Screaming Frog may flag “multiple H2 tags,” but the speaker argues it’s usually not a true problem.

Key nuance: the heading structure should still be logical, such as:

  • Ensuring proper hierarchy (e.g., H3/H6 under the correct H2)
  • Moving on cleanly rather than scrambling levels

The speaker uses a headings/HTML extension to inspect the heading structure and concludes some “multiple H2” alerts are often false positives.

Non-indexed author page (important issue)

A major flag is when an author page is set to “noindex.”

Fix approach:

  • Open the page and check the SEO snippet settings (shown using Rank Math)
  • Change from noindex to index
  • Update profile/settings as needed
  • Optionally clear cache

After fixing, the issue should disappear in the next crawl.

“X content type options” / security-related warning

The speaker treats this as low urgency, framing it as a security concern rather than a high-impact SEO blocker.

Fix approach:

  • Use a screenshot + GPT prompt to get explanation and steps
  • GPT may suggest actions such as:
    • Using a plugin, or
    • Adding/adjusting directives like HSTS/headers

The speaker mentions adding rules in an .htaccess*-style location (e.g., “add that in there”).

Duplicate meta descriptions

Screaming Frog flags duplicate meta descriptions, but the speaker notes this can sometimes be incorrect due to how Rank Math excerpts or settings generate those descriptions.

The guidance is to treat it as something to verify in the SEO plugin/excerpt configuration.

H1 over 70 characters

When H1 text is too long (especially if multiple occurrences are flagged), the speaker fixes it by:

  • Identifying affected pages from the Screaming Frog issue list
  • Reworking headings so one H1 uses a better keyword-driven phrase

Often this requires:

  • Converting an existing heading (e.g., changing it to H2), and/or
  • Creating a new shorter H1 at the top

The speaker mentions using keyword research / SEO tools to choose an appropriate phrase (example given: “free Google ads ebook”).

Alt text longer than 100 characters

This is another flagged issue.

Fix: use a character counter and shorten the alt text where needed.

Non-sequential heading order

An example problem is H2 appearing before H1, which the speaker calls a big no-no.

Fix approach:

  • Reorder heading levels (e.g., convert the earlier “wrong” heading to paragraph text or restructure)
  • Implement changes using:
    • Theme builder / page templates
    • Category archive templates (Example mention: editing in Elementor)

Tooling strategy / “shortcuts”

The speaker emphasizes that many fixes are self-service:

  • “You don’t have to wait for anyone”
  • If you build sites yourself, you can resolve most issues single-handedly

The workflow combines:

  • Screaming Frog issue list
  • Opening specific pages from the results
  • Editing via the CMS / SEO plugin / theme builder
  • Using GPT for interpretation and step-by-step guidance—especially for less obvious warnings

Other uses of Screaming Frog mentioned

Beyond on-page issues, Screaming Frog can be used to:

  • Inspect site structure / crawl maps
  • Estimate the number of pages discovered (helpful for identifying potentially hidden pages and assessing topical coverage beyond what’s visible in a WordPress dashboard)

Main speaker/sources (as described)

  • Primary speaker: the YouTube presenter (unnamed in the subtitles), who says they’ve audited 100+ websites and provides a free GPT (the GPT is the key external tool referenced)
  • Referenced tools/products: Screaming Frog, Rank Math, Elementor, plus the GPT (browser version) used to interpret screenshots

Original video