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>
127 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
127 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
# Known Issues and Gotchas
|
|
|
|
Confirmed issues, limitations, and workarounds for SmartCrawl v3.15.0.
|
|
|
|
## Fixed in v3.15.0 (Verify You're Updated)
|
|
|
|
These were bugs in prior versions — confirm you're on 3.15.0+:
|
|
|
|
| Issue | Description |
|
|
|-------|-------------|
|
|
| Editor freezing | Editor got stuck when typing for >2 minutes with SmartCrawl enabled |
|
|
| Focus keywords with numbers | SmartCrawl failed to detect focus keywords containing numbers |
|
|
| Large content pages | SEO checks failed on very large content pages |
|
|
| Social accounts erased | Social accounts wiped from Schema General Settings on save |
|
|
| Taxonomy archives | Categories/tags not saving under Taxonomy Archives settings |
|
|
| Blog/Posts archive | Global Titles & Meta didn't apply to blog archive when static front page was set |
|
|
|
|
## Current Known Issues
|
|
|
|
### Redirect Ordering
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Redirects cannot be reordered once added.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Delete the redirect and recreate it. For complex redirect lists, consider exporting as JSON, editing the order, and re-importing.
|
|
|
|
### Regex Redirects Inconsistency
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Some users report regex patterns not working in SmartCrawl despite being valid on regex101.com.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Use simpler patterns. Test thoroughly after creating. For complex regex redirects, consider handling them at the server level (`.htaccess` or Nginx config).
|
|
|
|
### Sitemap 1,000 Post Limit
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Sitemaps are limited to 1,000 most recent posts per post type to prevent memory errors.
|
|
|
|
**Impact:** Older posts on large sites may not appear in the sitemap.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** For sites with 1,000+ posts, consider supplementing with a manual sitemap or contacting WPMU DEV support.
|
|
|
|
### Noindex + Sitemap Disconnect
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Setting a page to `noindex` does NOT automatically exclude it from the sitemap.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Manually exclude noindexed pages from the sitemap by post ID. **Always do both when noindexing a page.**
|
|
|
|
### No IndexNow Support
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** SmartCrawl does not support the IndexNow protocol (unlike Yoast and Rank Math).
|
|
|
|
**Impact:** Bing and Yandex won't get instant notification of content changes. Google does not support IndexNow anyway (they use their own crawl notification).
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Not critical — SmartCrawl's "Instant Indexing" feature notifies Google directly.
|
|
|
|
### Auto-Linking + WooCommerce Conflict (Pro)
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Auto-linking can cause issues with WooCommerce cart and account page caching.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Exclude WooCommerce cart, checkout, and account pages from auto-linking in the settings.
|
|
|
|
### WPML Duplicate Sitemap URLs
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** When using WPML (multilingual plugin), duplicate homepage URLs appear in the sitemap.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Manually exclude duplicate URLs from the sitemap.
|
|
|
|
### OpenGraph Persistence After Disabling
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** OG tags can remain active on the homepage even after deactivating Open Graph in the setup wizard.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Manually disable OG for the homepage in SmartCrawl > Social settings, or clear any cached pages.
|
|
|
|
### Auto-Linking Tab in Free Version
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** The auto-linking tab appears in the free version UI but the feature does not function without Pro.
|
|
|
|
**Impact:** Cosmetic only — confusing but not harmful.
|
|
|
|
### Plugin Update Data Loss (Rare)
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** At least one user reported keywords, descriptions, and titles being wiped on plugin update.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Always export SmartCrawl settings (JSON backup) before updating the plugin. This is a rare issue but catastrophic when it happens.
|
|
|
|
## Plugin Conflicts
|
|
|
|
### Google Web Stories
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** SmartCrawl conflicts with the Google Web Stories editor.
|
|
|
|
**Workaround:** Exclude Web Stories post type from SmartCrawl processing, or use a different SEO plugin for Web Stories.
|
|
|
|
### Other SEO Plugins
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Running multiple SEO plugins simultaneously causes duplicate meta tags, conflicting sitemaps, and schema errors.
|
|
|
|
**Fix:** Only run one SEO plugin at a time. Use SmartCrawl's import tool when migrating from another plugin.
|
|
|
|
### Caching Plugins
|
|
|
|
**Issue:** Page caching can serve stale meta tags after SmartCrawl changes.
|
|
|
|
**Fix:** Clear the cache after making SEO changes. On your server with EA-Nginx:
|
|
```bash
|
|
rm -rf /var/cache/ea-nginx/proxy/<account>/*
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### WP Hummingbird
|
|
|
|
SmartCrawl and Hummingbird (both WPMU DEV) generally work well together. No known conflicts.
|
|
|
|
## Best Practices to Avoid Issues
|
|
|
|
1. **Export settings before every plugin update** — JSON backup takes 10 seconds
|
|
2. **Keep SmartCrawl updated** — many issues are fixed in recent versions
|
|
3. **Never run two SEO plugins** — deactivate the old one after importing
|
|
4. **Manually sync noindex and sitemap exclusions** — SmartCrawl doesn't auto-sync these
|
|
5. **Test redirects after creating** — especially regex patterns
|
|
6. **Clear cache after SEO changes** — especially on sites with server-level caching
|
|
7. **Be patient with Google** — title/description changes can take up to a week to reflect in SERPs
|
|
8. **Use the SEO Health Checkup** periodically — catches configuration drift
|
|
|
|
## Where to Get Help
|
|
|
|
- [WPMU DEV Documentation](https://wpmudev.com/docs/wpmu-dev-plugins/smartcrawl/)
|
|
- [WPMU DEV Support](https://wpmudev.com/hub/support/) (Pro members)
|
|
- [WordPress.org Support Forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/smartcrawl-seo/) (Free version)
|