Features / Local site audit
Website launch SEO checklist: audit your site before it goes live
SEOSage can crawl a site that runs on your own computer or network, such as localhost:3000 or mysite.test. Find noindex tags, broken links and bad canonicals before visitors and Google do.
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See local site audit in 18 seconds
Crawl a site that runs on your own computer, such as localhost:3000 or a .test address, and fix noindex tags and bad canonicals before launch.
Read the video transcript
Audit your site before it goes live. Add localhost, or a .test address, like any other site. Find noindex tags and bad canonicals before launch. Start your fourteen-day free trial at seosage.co.
Your local sites sit next to your live sites
Type the address in Add project like any other site. It is crawled over http and shown under its full address, for example localhost:3000.
What to test before launch
- Local addresses: localhost:3000, 127.0.0.1:8080, 192.168.1.20 and mysite.test all work
- Noindex left on: Noindex in a meta tag or an HTTP header, and pages where the two disagree
- Broken links and redirects: Found in the same crawl, with no page limit
- Canonicals: Canonical chains, and canonicals that point to a noindex page
- Titles, URLs and security headers: Titles too wide for Google, bad URLs and missing security headers
- Sitemap and robots.txt: Crawl delay, blocked CSS or JavaScript, no sitemap line and sitemap limits
Good to know
A local site never leaves your computer. SEOSage does not look up the icon of a private address online, so you get a coloured letter instead. Rules from Custom extraction are kept per address including the port, so two local sites on different ports do not share them.
Links that still point to localhost are flagged as Malformed link when you crawl the staging or live site, so run it there too before launch.
What the issues look like
Real messages from the Issues list:
- Noindex in HTTP header. The server sends X-Robots-Tag: noindex, so search engines will not index this page.
- Canonical points to noindex page. Canonical points to https://example.com/page, which has a noindex tag.
- Malformed link. Link to http://localhost:3000/about points to your own computer (localhost). Shown when you crawl the staging or live site.
How it works in three steps
- Start your site.Run it on your computer or network, for example at localhost:3000.
- Add it as a project.Type the address in Add project and press start. Link strength and Custom extraction work on it too.
- Fix, then crawl again.Work through the Issues list, then crawl once more. For a staging site behind a login, see crawl settings.
Related: crawl settings for staging sites · SEO crawler · security headers check.
Questions about this check
Can I run an SEO audit on a local website?
Yes. Add an address such as localhost:3000, 127.0.0.1:8080, 192.168.1.20 or mysite.test as a project. SEOSage crawls it over http and runs all its checks.
How do I test a website before launch?
Crawl the local or staging copy, fix what the Issues list shows, and crawl again. Look first for noindex tags, broken links, redirects, canonicals, titles, the sitemap and robots.txt.
Does a local crawl send my private address anywhere?
No. SEOSage does not look up the icon of a private address online. You see a coloured letter instead.
Can I crawl a staging site that needs a login?
Yes. The crawl settings include sign-in for password-protected sites, plus JavaScript rendering, speed and URL rules.
Are there page limits for local sites?
No. SEOSage has no page limit, and that includes local sites.
Which local addresses work?
localhost, 127.0.0.1, private network addresses such as 192.168.x.x, and names ending in .test. Names that are not real or local addresses are still refused.
More SEOSage features
Every check and tool in the app, each with its own page.
SEO crawler Crawl settings Custom extraction Internal linking tool Orphan pages Link strength Canonical tag checker Title tag width checker URL structure checker Security headers check Keyword cannibalization Search Console quick wins Competitor analysis Weekly SEO to-do list Fix and re-check White-label reports Ask Claude All features
Try it on your own site
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