Build an Automated Technical SEO Scanner with n8n

What is an automated technical SEO scanner?

An automated technical SEO scanner is a software tool that automatically analyzes a website’s technical aspects, which are critical for search engine ranking and visibility. It systematically checks elements such as:

• Whether all links work correctly and redirects are properly set up
• Page titles, metadata, and content uniqueness
• Website speed and performance metrics
• External backlinks and crawl errors

How to Conduct a Technical SEO Audit?

To conduct a technical SEO audit, follow these key steps to identify and fix issues that affect your website’s search engine performance and user experience:

1. Check Crawlability and Indexability: Ensure search engines can access and index your important pages.
2. Analyze Website Structure and Internal Linking: Review your site’s architecture to ensure it has a clear, logical hierarchy that guides users and search engines.
3. Audit Site Speed and Core Web Vitals: Measure page load times and user experience metrics such as Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Optimize images, leverage caching, and improve server response times to boost performance.
4. Check Mobile-Friendliness: Verify your site is responsive and provides a smooth experience on mobile devices, as mobile usability is a ranking factor.
5. Verify HTTPS and Security: Ensure your website uses HTTPS to secure user data and build trust.
6. Identify and Fix Broken Links and Redirects: Scan for 404 errors, broken internal and external links, and improper redirects (e.g., redirect chains or loops).

How does an automated SEO scanner work?

An automated SEO scanner works by systematically crawling and analyzing a website’s technical SEO elements, much like a search engine bot would. It automates the process of identifying issues that can affect search rankings and user experience. Here’s how it typically operates:

• Crawling the Website
• Detecting Crawl Errors
• Checking for Broken Links
• Analyzing Site Speed and Performance
• Assessing Mobile Usability
• Generating Reports
• Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts
• Automation and Integration

What are we going to build?

In this article, we are going to use n8n to automate the technical SEO scanner of a site, focusing on the Site Speed and Performance. We provide the sitemap URL, n8n loops through each link, and using the PageSpeed API, we get key metrics of the site performance and save it in a Google Sheet.

Step 1: Pull Sitemap URLs

Before getting started, create an account on n8m cloud or self-host n8n on your infrastructure.

In this step, we are adding a scheduled trigger to run every midnight, make a GET request to the Sitemap URL, convert the sitemap XML to JSON, and processing the response to only get the URLs.

Schedule Trigger Node

Clear Google Sheet Node

Create a Google Sheet with the following Header,

Link Google Sheet with your n8n instance and add a clear sheet node

HTTP Request Node

Let's add an HTTP Request node to enter our Sitempa URL there

XML to JSON Node

After pulling the sitemap XML to work with this data, let's use XML to JSON node

Code Node

In this node, we are going to sanitize the sitemap JSON to only return URLs. Add a new node to run return $input.first().json.urlset.url once for all items

Step 2: Update the Sheet with URLs

In this step, we are entering all of the URLs into the Sheets, so in the next step, we will read them one by one and get the performance metrics for each URL.

Let's add a new branch after the previous code node we created, and add an append row in sheet node to it

The settings of the node should be as follows

Step 3: Get PageSpeed Metrics for URLs

In this step, we loop over each URL, send the URL to the PageSpeed API, and add each page metric to the Google Sheets.

Before continuing in the Google Cloud Console, enable PageSpeed Insights API and create a new API key for it.

We will use a batch of 1 URL and add a wait node with a 5 seconds delay at the end so we don't hit the rate limit of the PageSpeed API.

Loop Over Node

HTTP Request Node

Add a new HTTP Node to make a GET request to https://pagespeedonline.googleapis.com/pagespeedonline/v5/runPagespeed?url={{ $json.loc }}&strategy=mobile&category=performance&key=YOUR-API-KEY

Don't forget to add your api key to the URL.

Update Sheet Node

Add a new Sheets node to update the Google Sheets, using the URL as a column to match on and map each metric to the Sheets column.

Wait Node

Add a Wait node with 5 seconds waiting interval.

Full Workflow

FAQs

How often should I run automated technical SEO scans?

You should run automated technical SEO scans at least once every month to catch and fix issues early, maintaining your website’s health and search rankings

Technical SEO Checklist for Beginners

1. Set Up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
2. Set Up Google Analytics
3. Create and Submit an XML Sitemap
4. Ensure Your Website Uses HTTPS
5. Check for Duplicate Site Versions and Set Proper Redirects
6. Fix Crawl Errors and Broken Links
7. Improve Site Speed and Core Web Vitals
8. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
9. Optimize Robots.txt File
10. Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup)
11. Create a Clear Site Architecture and Internal Linking
12. Regularly Perform Technical SEO Audits

Conclusion

In summary, an automated technical SEO scanner is an invaluable tool that simplifies and accelerates the process of identifying technical issues that affect your website’s search engine performance and user experience. By systematically crawling your site and analyzing critical factors such as crawlability, site speed, mobile-friendliness, and broken links, these scanners provide actionable insights that help maintain and improve your site’s SEO health.

Conducting regular technical SEO audits—whether manually or through automation—is essential to ensure your website remains optimized and competitive in search rankings. With tools like n8n and Google PageSpeed API, you can even automate parts of this process to monitor site performance continuously and efficiently.

As SEO evolves, integrating AI and automation into your technical audits will become increasingly important, enabling faster diagnosis and smarter fixes. Start leveraging automated SEO scanners today to keep your website technically sound, improve visibility, and deliver a better user experience.