Connect SEOReport to Claude Desktop: MCP setup for SEO audits

What you need

You need an active SEOReport plan and an API key. Create the key at https://seoreport.dev/dashboard/api-keys. API keys require an active plan. [3][4][1]

SEOReport shows the key once. Store it in a secret store or an environment variable, not in a prompt, a project file or your shell history. [4]

The server speaks streamable HTTP at https://seoreport.dev/mcp. It expects the key on every request as an Authorization: Bearer <api-key> header, the same key you use for the REST API. [3][4][1]

Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Free users can add one custom connector. [6][5]

Add the server

Option 1, a custom connector: on a Free, Pro or Max plan, go to Customize > Connectors and click Add custom connector. Enter https://seoreport.dev/mcp as the MCP server URL. [5]

The dialog's layout varies by organization. If it asks you to choose Authentication, choose No sign-in, then open Request headers. Anthropic's instruction for a server that uses an API key is to choose No sign-in and add the key under Request headers. [5]

Choose authorization as the header name and enter Bearer sr__live_your_api_key as the value, with your key. Claude sends the value exactly as entered and does not add the Bearer scheme for you. Mark the header Required, then click Add. [5]

If you do not see a Request headers section, Anthropic says your organization does not have access yet. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds the connector in Organization settings > Connectors. [5]

Option 2, the mcp-remote bridge: mcp-remote connects a client that runs local servers to a remote one. Open Settings > Developer > Edit Config in Claude Desktop and add this entry to claude_desktop_config.json. [8][7]

Header name:  authorization
Value:        Bearer sr__live_your_api_key
Required:     on

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "seoreport": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://seoreport.dev/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"
      ],
      "env": {
        "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer sr__live_your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The header argument has no spaces around the colon on purpose. mcp-remote's README notes that some clients, including Claude Desktop on Windows, do not escape spaces inside args, and puts the space-containing value in env instead. [8]

The trade-off of option 2: mcp-remote is a third-party npm package run through npx, which needs Node.js, and the key sits in plain text in the config file. Anthropic also says servers configured in claude_desktop_config.json are not available in Cowork or claude.ai. [8][7][6]

Confirm it works

Option 1: click the + button in the chat input, select Connectors and turn the SEOReport connector on for the conversation. [5]

Option 2: quit Claude Desktop completely and restart it. Then click Add files, connectors, and more in the chat input, go to Connectors > Manage connectors and select the server to see its tools. [7]

You should see 9 tools whose names start with seoreport_: seoreport_create_report, seoreport_get_report_status, seoreport_get_report, seoreport_list_reports, seoreport_get_report_download, seoreport_get_account, seoreport_list_plans, seoreport_start_checkout and seoreport_submit_feedback. [3]

Then try a first prompt: "Audit https://example.com and list the three highest-severity findings." The agent can start the audit with seoreport_create_report and read the findings with seoreport_get_report. A report takes up to about 30 seconds. [4][3]

A new site uses one credit from your plan. Running a site you already have a report for again does not use a credit. [1][2]

Keep the key out of version control

With option 1, Claude stores each header value securely and does not show it again after you save. You cannot edit the header later: to rotate the key, remove the connector and add it again. [5]

On Team and Enterprise plans, everyone who uses the connector reaches the server with that same credential. In practice every member's audits then run on one SEOReport account and its credits; that is our reading. [6][5][1]

With option 2, the key lives in claude_desktop_config.json in Claude's application folder (~/Library/Application Support/Claude on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude on Windows), outside your repositories. Do not copy that file into one. [7]

Troubleshooting

Authentication error or HTTP 401: SEOReport lists and calls tools only for a valid key. Check that the header value is Bearer, one space, then the key. If the key may be wrong or exposed, revoke it and create a new one in the dashboard. [3][4]

With option 1, check that the value starts with Bearer and a space. Anthropic notes that most servers using bearer tokens reject a value without the scheme. [5]

Plan or credit error: if seoreport_create_report says an active plan is required or the month's credits are used, the key works but the account cannot start a report. Ask the agent to call seoreport_get_account to see the plan and the credits left. [4]

To subscribe from the agent, it can call seoreport_list_plans and then seoreport_start_checkout. Checkout returns a browser link: an agent can start it, and only a person can pay. Credits reset on the first day of each month (UTC). [4][1]

Tools not listed with option 2: restart Claude Desktop completely, check the JSON syntax, and read the logs in ~/Library/Logs/Claude (%APPDATA%\Claude\logs on Windows). mcp.log records connection failures. [7]