craig
6eff12e8ac
SmartCrawl plugin reference (11 docs): - Overview, configuration, titles & meta, schema, sitemaps, social/OG, redirects, breadcrumbs, content analysis, hooks/filters, known issues SEO strategy playbook (6 docs): - Keyword research, per-page-type selection, on-page optimization, local SEO, technical SEO, content strategy Reusable templates (3): - Site audit checklist, keyword research worksheet, page optimization checklist Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
231 lines
7.3 KiB
Markdown
231 lines
7.3 KiB
Markdown
# SmartCrawl Configuration Guide
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Module-by-module setup with recommended settings for production WordPress sites.
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## Initial Setup
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### 1. Install and Activate
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Install SmartCrawl from the WordPress plugin repository or upload the WPMU DEV Pro version. On activation, the Setup Wizard launches.
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### 2. Setup Wizard
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The wizard enables all modules by default. Recommended approach:
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- **Run the wizard** — accept all defaults
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- **Then configure each module** per the sections below
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- **If migrating from another SEO plugin** (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO): use the Import tool in Settings to pull in existing titles, descriptions, and meta data before making changes
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### 3. Conflict Check
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SmartCrawl detects other SEO plugins. **Never run two SEO plugins simultaneously** — they will output duplicate meta tags. Deactivate the old plugin after importing its data.
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---
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## Module: Titles & Meta
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See [titles-and-meta.md](titles-and-meta.md) for the full macro reference.
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### Recommended Global Settings
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**Homepage:**
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```
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Title: %%sitename%% %%sep%% [Primary service/value proposition]
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Description: Hand-write this — 150-160 characters, include primary keyword + CTA
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```
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**Posts:**
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```
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Title: %%title%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%
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Description: %%excerpt%% (override per-post for important pages)
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```
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**Pages:**
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```
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Title: %%title%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%
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Description: Leave blank at template level — hand-write per page
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```
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**Categories/Tags:**
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```
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Title: %%term_title%% %%sep%% %%sitename%%
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Description: %%term_description%%
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```
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**Separator:** Use `|` or `—` (clean, modern look in SERPs)
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### Key Settings
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- **Noindex tag archives** unless your tags have substantial unique content
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- **Noindex author archives** on single-author sites (duplicate of your posts page)
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- **Noindex paginated archives** (`/page/2/`, `/page/3/`) — thin content
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- **Check custom post types** — WooCommerce products, portfolio items, etc. must be explicitly enabled
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---
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## Module: Social (Open Graph & Twitter)
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### Global Settings
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| Setting | Recommendation |
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|---------|---------------|
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| Default OG Image | Set a branded fallback image (1200x630px) |
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| Facebook OG | Enable for all post types |
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| Twitter Cards | Enable — use `summary_large_image` card type |
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| Pinterest Verification | Add your Pinterest meta tag if applicable |
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### Per-Post Type Settings
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- **Posts/Pages:** Enable OG and Twitter, use post title and excerpt as defaults
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- **Products (WooCommerce):** Enable the "WooCommerce Product Open Graph" toggle — auto-adds `og:type=product`, price, availability
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- **Custom post types:** Enable and verify OG tags render correctly
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### Per-Post Overrides
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For important pages, always set custom OG title, description, and image:
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- OG title can differ from the SEO title (e.g., more engaging/clickable for social)
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- OG image should be exactly **1200x630px** for best rendering across platforms
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- OG description can be longer than meta description (up to ~300 characters)
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---
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## Module: Sitemap
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### Recommended Settings
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| Setting | Value |
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|---------|-------|
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| XML Sitemap | Enable |
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| Include post types | Posts, Pages, Products, and any public custom post types |
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| Include taxonomies | Categories (yes), Tags (only if indexable), custom taxonomies |
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| Image Sitemap | Enable — helps with Google Images indexing |
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| Google News Sitemap | Enable only if the site publishes news-style content |
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| Notify search engines | Automatic mode |
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### Exclusions
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Exclude from sitemap:
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- Thank you / confirmation pages
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- Internal-use pages (login, dashboard, etc.)
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- Any page set to `noindex` — **SmartCrawl does not do this automatically**
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- Thin content pages with little SEO value
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### Important Notes
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- Sitemap is limited to **1,000 most recent posts** to prevent memory errors
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- After making sitemap changes, use the **"New Crawl" button** to notify Google
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- Verify your sitemap loads at `yoursite.com/sitemap.xml`
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- Submit the sitemap URL in Google Search Console
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---
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## Module: Schema / Structured Data
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See [schema-markup.md](schema-markup.md) for the full type reference.
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### Recommended Setup
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1. **Organization Schema** — Enable globally with:
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- Business name, logo, contact info
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- Social media profile URLs
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- Same-as links to directory listings
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2. **LocalBusiness Schema** — For local businesses, add with:
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- Full NAP (name, address, phone)
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- Opening hours
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- Geo coordinates
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- Area served
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- Appropriate subtype (60+ available)
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3. **Article/WebPage Schema** — Default for posts and pages respectively
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4. **Per-page schema** — Add specific types where applicable:
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- **FAQ** on pages with Q&A content
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- **Event** on event listing pages
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- **Course** on educational offerings
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- **Product** on WooCommerce products (auto-handled)
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5. **Validate schema** at [Google Rich Results Test](https://search.google.com/test/rich-results) after deploying
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---
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## Module: Redirects
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See [redirects.md](redirects.md) for the full reference.
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### Quick Setup
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- Enable the Redirects module
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- Set default redirect type to **301 (Permanent)**
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- Enable **"Auto-redirect deleted posts"** (v3.9.0+) to catch deleted content
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- Import any existing redirects from `.htaccess` or a previous plugin
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---
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## Module: Content Analysis
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See [content-analysis.md](content-analysis.md) for scoring details.
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### Recommended Approach
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- **Always set a focus keyword** for every published page/post
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- Use **up to 3 keywords** per page (1 primary + 2 secondary)
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- Aim for **all green checks** on the SEO analysis tab
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- Target a **Flesch-Kincaid readability score of 60-70** (8th-grade level)
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- Don't chase a perfect score at the expense of natural writing
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---
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## Module: Breadcrumbs
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See [breadcrumbs.md](breadcrumbs.md) for implementation details.
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### Quick Setup
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1. Enable Breadcrumbs in the Advanced Tools module
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2. Add `[smartcrawl_breadcrumbs]` shortcode to your theme template or use the PHP function
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3. Choose a separator (` > ` or ` / ` are most common)
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4. Verify the breadcrumb trail renders correctly and the schema output validates
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---
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## Module: Robots.txt (Pro Only)
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### Recommended Content
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```
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User-agent: *
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Allow: /
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Disallow: /wp-admin/
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Allow: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
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Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
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```
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**Important:** Use full absolute URLs for sitemap directives.
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**Do not block CSS/JS files** — Google needs them to render pages for mobile-first indexing.
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---
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## Settings: Import/Export
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- **Export** your SmartCrawl configuration as JSON after setting up a site
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- **Import** that configuration when setting up similar sites to save time
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- Settings are transferable between sites but **titles/descriptions are templates, not content** — they'll adapt to each site's content via macros
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---
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## Post-Setup Checklist
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After configuring SmartCrawl:
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- [ ] Run the **SEO Health Checkup** and address all red/yellow items
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- [ ] Verify `sitemap.xml` loads and is submitted in Google Search Console
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- [ ] Check 5-10 key pages for correct title tags and meta descriptions (view source)
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- [ ] Verify Open Graph tags render correctly (use [Facebook Sharing Debugger](https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/))
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- [ ] Validate schema markup with [Google Rich Results Test](https://search.google.com/test/rich-results)
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- [ ] Check robots.txt at `yoursite.com/robots.txt`
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- [ ] Confirm no duplicate SEO plugins are active
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- [ ] Set focus keywords on all priority pages
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