By Shad Super in Questions —

How Can Screaming Frog SEO Spider's Custom Extraction Feature Be Used for Auditing On-Page SEO Elements?

Summary

The custom extraction feature in Screaming Frog SEO Spider allows users to audit specific on-page SEO elements by extracting data using CSS Path, XPath, or Regex. This powerful functionality helps SEO professionals gather detailed insights beyond what is typically available, enabling comprehensive analysis and optimization of web pages.

Overview of Screaming Frog SEO Spider's Custom Extraction

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a versatile tool used for technical SEO audits. One of its key features is custom extraction, which allows users to scrape specific data from web pages. This data can include elements like meta tags, structured data, or any HTML element that isn't captured by default.

Setting Up Custom Extraction

Accessing the Feature

To begin, navigate to the "Configuration" menu in Screaming Frog SEO Spider and select "Custom" followed by "Extraction." This opens the interface where users can define their extraction criteria.

Using CSS Path, XPath, and Regex

  • CSS Path: Use CSS selectors to target elements. This method is straightforward for those familiar with CSS [CSS Selectors, 2023].
  • XPath: A more precise way to select elements, especially useful for complex HTML structures [XPath, 2023].
  • Regex: Use regular expressions to extract text patterns, allowing for flexible text matching [Regular Expressions, 2023].

Examples of On-Page SEO Audits

Meta Description Audit

To extract meta descriptions, use the following XPath expression:

<meta[@name='description']/@content>

This will pull the content of the meta description tag, useful for ensuring each page has a unique and optimized description.

Structured Data Validation

For JSON-LD structured data, you can use a CSS Path like:

<script[type='application/ld+json']>

Extracting and validating structured data helps improve search visibility through rich snippets [Structured Data, 2023].

Canonical Tags

Verify canonical tags using the XPath:

<link[@rel='canonical']/@href>

Ensure each page points to the correct canonical URL, which is essential for preventing duplicate content issues [Canonicalization, 2023].

Benefits of Using Custom Extraction

Custom extraction allows for tailored audits, enabling SEO professionals to:

  • Identify missing or duplicate on-page elements.
  • Validate the presence and correctness of structured data.
  • Audit specific elements like open graph tags or hreflang attributes [Hreflang, 2023].

Conclusion

Screaming Frog SEO Spider's custom extraction feature is an invaluable tool for conducting detailed SEO audits. By leveraging CSS Path, XPath, and Regex, users can extract and analyze specific on-page elements, providing insights necessary for optimizing web pages effectively.

References