How Hub

Screaming Frog Roadmap Post-Production

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Author:

Morgan Kobayashi

Goal

Run a quick Screaming Frog scan, identify obvious website issues, and turn the useful findings into simple roadmap items.

This is not a full SEO audit. The goal is to create clear working lists for fixes, not a big report.

Step 1: Run the Screaming Frog Scan

Open Screaming Frog and crawl the live website.

Example:

https://example.com

Use a basic Spider crawl. Do not spend much time changing advanced settings unless there is a specific reason.

Step 2: Export the Main Files

Export these files from Screaming Frog:

1. Internal HTML Export

Go to:

Internal > HTML > Export

This gives page-level information like status code, title, meta description, H1, canonical, and indexability.

2. 4xx Inlinks Export

Go to:

Bulk Export > Response Codes > Client Error (4xx) Inlinks

This shows broken links and where those broken links are coming from.

3. Sitemap Files

Download the website sitemap index and any child sitemaps.

Usually start here:

/sitemap_index.xml

Then download the child sitemaps listed inside it, such as page, post, or custom post type sitemaps.

Step 3: Ask AI for a Quick Health Check

Upload the Screaming Frog exports and sitemap files to AI.

Use this prompt:

I am doing a basic Screaming Frog health check for a client website.

This is not a full SEO audit. I only want to identify clear issues that are worth fixing or turning into simple roadmap items.

I have uploaded:
1. Internal HTML export
2. 4xx inlinks export
3. Sitemap files

Please review the files and identify issue groups that could become roadmap items.

Focus on:
- Internal 404s or broken links
- External broken links that users may click
- Site-wide broken or blocked links
- Sitemap URLs that are broken, redirected, or suspicious
- Important pages that are non-indexable
- Missing meta descriptions
- Duplicate page titles
- Missing H1s
- Obvious canonical or redirect issues

Do not create a large audit report. Keep the findings simple and grouped by likely roadmap item.

For each issue group, tell me:
- What the issue is
- Whether it is worth turning into a roadmap item
- What the simple working Excel should include
- What can be ignored for this basic scan

Step 4: Create Separate Simple Excel Files

Do not create one large workbook with lots of summary tabs.

Create a separate simple Excel for each roadmap item we actually want to propose.

The Excel should be a working list, not a report.

Common Excel Outputs

1. Broken Link Cleanup Excel

Use this when the scan finds 404s, malformed links, broken external links, or blocked site-wide links.

Suggested columns:

  • Broken / blocked URL
  • Status code
  • Source page
  • Anchor text
  • Issue type
  • Recommended action
  • Notes

Example file name:

Client_Broken_Link_Cleanup.xlsx

2. Metadata + H1 Cleanup Excel

Use this when the scan finds missing meta descriptions, duplicate titles, missing H1s, or multiple H1s.

These can usually be grouped into one roadmap item because they are all basic on-page SEO cleanup.

Suggested columns:

  • Page URL
  • Issue type
  • Current title
  • Current meta description
  • Current H1
  • Recommended change
  • Notes

Example file name:

Client_Metadata_H1_Cleanup.xlsx

3. Sitemap / Indexability Cleanup Excel

Only create this if there are clear sitemap or indexability issues.

Use this when the scan finds sitemap URLs that are broken, redirected, non-indexable, noindexed, or suspicious.

Suggested columns:

  • Sitemap URL
  • Issue type
  • Current status
  • Indexability
  • Recommended action
  • Notes

Example file name:

Client_Sitemap_Indexability_Cleanup.xlsx

Step 5: Ask AI to Create the Excel Files

Use one prompt to create the separate Excel files. This is easier than asking one file at a time.

Use this prompt:

Create separate simple Excel files from this Screaming Frog scan.

Do not create one large summary workbook. Do not include dashboards or summary tabs. I only want simple working lists for cleanup tasks.

Create separate Excel files only for issue groups that have real findings.

Possible files:

1. Broken Link Cleanup Excel
Use this for 404s, 4xx links, malformed links, broken external links, or blocked site-wide links.

Columns:
- Broken / blocked URL
- Status code
- Source page
- Anchor text
- Issue type
- Recommended action
- Notes

2. Metadata + H1 Cleanup Excel
Use this for missing meta descriptions, duplicate page titles, missing H1s, or multiple H1s.

Columns:
- Page URL
- Issue type
- Current title
- Current meta description
- Current H1
- Recommended change
- Notes

3. Sitemap / Indexability Cleanup Excel
Only create this if there are clear sitemap or indexability issues, such as broken sitemap URLs, redirected sitemap URLs, noindexed sitemap URLs, or important pages that are non-indexable.

Columns:
- Sitemap URL or page URL
- Issue type
- Current status
- Indexability
- Recommended action
- Notes

Important:
- Keep each Excel simple.
- Only include rows relevant to that file.
- Do not include every minor Screaming Frog warning.
- Do not make a roadmap task for every row.
- The goal is to create working lists that can support roadmap items.

Step 6: Turn Each Excel Into a Roadmap Item

Group similar issues together. Do not create a separate roadmap item for every small issue.

Recommended Groupings

Broken links should usually be separate

404s, broken external links, malformed links, and blocked links should be one roadmap item.

Example title:
Broken Link Cleanup – Fix high-priority 4xx issues from site scan

Metadata and H1s can usually be combined

Missing meta descriptions, duplicate titles, missing H1s, and multiple H1s can usually be one roadmap item.

Example title:
On-Page SEO Cleanup – Fix metadata and heading issues from site scan

Sitemap and indexability should only be separate if there is a real issue

Do not create this item unless there are clear problems in the sitemap or with important non-indexable pages.

Example title:
Sitemap Cleanup – Review indexable URLs and sitemap quality

Step 7: Ask AI to Write the Roadmap Task

Use this prompt:

Based on this Screaming Frog issue list, write a roadmap task using KZ's roadmap format.

The scan and Excel list have already been created, so the task should be about the cleanup work.

Please include:
- Roadmap title using the next-step format
- Estimated time
- Ballpark size
- Source
- Priority
- Description
- Notes / next steps

Keep it client-benefit focused and easy to paste into Teamwork.

Example Roadmap Item: Broken Links

Title:
Broken Link Cleanup – Fix 4xx issues from site scan

Description:
Fix the broken or blocked links found during the Screaming Frog health check. This will improve user experience, reduce crawl noise, and help keep the site healthier after launch.

This task may include fixing malformed internal links, updating broken external links, reviewing blocked site-wide links, and running a short follow-up crawl to confirm the issues are resolved.

This is limited to link cleanup. It is not a full SEO audit.

Working File:
Broken Link Cleanup Excel

Example Roadmap Item: Metadata + H1s

Title:
On-Page SEO Cleanup – Fix metadata and heading issues from site scan

Description:
Fix the on-page SEO issues identified in the Screaming Frog health check. This includes missing meta descriptions, duplicate page titles, missing H1s, and related heading or metadata cleanup.

This work will make important pages clearer for users and search engines, and help improve how pages appear in search results.

This is limited to the pages listed in the metadata and H1 cleanup Excel. It is not a full SEO audit.

Working File:
Metadata + H1 Cleanup Excel

Morgan Kobayashi