{ "version": "1.0.1", "last_updated": "2026-01-03", "settings": { "tabs": { "general": [ { "title": "General Settings", "icon": "dashicons-admin-settings", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/general-settings/" } ], "verification": [ { "title": "Search Engine Verification", "icon": "dashicons-search", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/verification/" } ], "indexnow": [ { "title": "IndexNow (Instant URL Notification)", "icon": "dashicons-update", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/indexnow/" } ], "social": [ { "title": "Social Sharing (Open Graph & Twitter)", "icon": "dashicons-share", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/social-settings/" } ], "schema": [ { "title": "Schema (Structured Data)", "icon": "dashicons-location", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/schema/" } ], "templates": [ { "title": "SEO Templates (Automatic Fallbacks)", "icon": "dashicons-text", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/templates/" } ], "maintenance": [ { "title": "Safety & Maintenance", "icon": "dashicons-admin-generic", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/maintenance-settings/" } ] }, "modals": { "settings-general": { "title": "General Settings Overview", "body": "

What are General Settings?

These settings control site-wide identity used in structured data (schema) and social metadata. They help search engines and social platforms understand your brand and display your pages consistently.

Tip: Set these once, then keep them stable. Frequent changes can cause inconsistent previews and schema signals.

What you configure here

Important: These settings help with clarity and consistency. They do not guarantee indexing or improve rankings by themselves.
" }, "site-name": { "title": "Organization / Site Name", "body": "

What does this do?

This is your brand or organization name. It can appear in:

Best practice

Recommendation: If your site name is \"Zendigitalworld\", enter exactly that.
" }, "logo-url": { "title": "Logo URL", "body": "

What does this do?

Your logo may be used in:

Recommended logo formats

Note: The URL should be a publicly accessible image URL on your live site (not localhost) for real search engines and social platforms.
" }, "sitemap-info": { "title": "XML Sitemap", "body": "

What is a sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a list of your important URLs. Search engines use it to discover new and updated pages more efficiently.

What this section shows

How to use it (recommended)

  1. Click View Sitemap and confirm the URL loads without errors
  2. Verify your site in Google Search Console and/or Bing Webmaster Tools
  3. Submit the exact sitemap URL shown here in their Sitemaps section
Tip: Use the sitemap URL displayed on this page. Different setups can use different sitemap paths.
Reality check: A sitemap helps discovery, but it does not guarantee indexing or rankings.
" }, "default-robots": { "title": "Default Robots Settings", "body": "

What are Robots settings?

Robots settings control your site-wide defaults for:

Default Indexing

Default Following

Critical warning: If you set Default Indexing = NoIndex, you are telling search engines to hide your entire site from search results. This is usually only correct for staging/dev sites.

Recommended defaults (most public sites)

Page-level overrides

Even with safe defaults, you can still set specific pages to NoIndex (e.g., thank-you pages, login pages) using per-page SEO controls.

Tip: If you're unsure, use Index + Follow as defaults and apply NoIndex only to specific pages when needed.
" }, "gsc-verification": { "title": "Google Search Console Verification", "body": "

What Is Google Search Console Verification?

Verification proves to Google Search Console that you own or manage this website. Once verified, you gain access to:

πŸ’‘ Important: Verification does NOT improve your search rankings. It only gives you access to Google's webmaster data and tools.

How it works

Each search engine gives you a unique code. This plugin outputs that code as a <meta> tag in your site’s <head>. When you click Verify, the search engine checks your homepage source for that tag.

Step-by-Step Google Verification

  1. Go to Google Search Console and add your property
  2. Choose the HTML tag verification method
  3. Copy only the value inside content="..." (not the full meta tag)
  4. Paste it into the Google verification field in this plugin and click Save Settings
  5. Return to Google Search Console and click Verify
Common mistake: Don’t paste the entire <meta> tag. Paste only the content value (the long string).

Google Search Console (GSC)

Google provides a tag like:

<meta name="google-site-verification" content="abc123xyz456" />

Paste only: abc123xyz456

Tip: If you’re using the Domain property in GSC, Google may require DNS verification instead. This meta-tag method is typically for URL-prefix properties.

Troubleshooting Google Verification

After Successful Verification

πŸ’‘ Pro Tip: Google Search Console data has a 3-day delay. Don't expect immediate results after making SEO changes.
" }, "bing-verification": { "title": "Bing Webmaster Tools Verification", "body": "

What Is Bing Verification?

Bing verification proves to Bing Webmaster Tools that you own or manage this website. Once verified, you gain access to:

How Bing Verification Works

Bing provides a unique verification code that must be added as a <meta> tag inside your site's <head> section.

This plugin automatically inserts the meta tag for you.

Step-by-Step Verification Process

  1. Go to Bing Webmaster Tools
  2. Add your website (or select an existing site)
  3. Choose the HTML Meta Tag verification method
  4. Copy ONLY the content value provided by Bing
  5. Paste the value into the Bing verification field in this plugin
  6. Click Save Settings
  7. Return to Bing Webmaster Tools and click Verify

Example: Bing Meta Tag

<meta name=\"msvalidate.01\" content=\"ABC123DEF456\" />

You only need to copy: ABC123DEF456

⚠️ Common Mistake: Do not paste the entire meta tag. Paste only the value inside content=\"\".

Why Bing Matters

πŸ’‘ Note: Verification does NOT improve rankings. It only unlocks access to Bing’s webmaster reports and tools.

After Verification

" }, "yandex-verification": { "title": "Yandex Webmaster Verification", "body": "

What Is Yandex Verification?

Yandex verification confirms that you own or manage this website, allowing access to Yandex Webmaster tools.

Yandex is a major search engine in Russian-speaking regions.

When Yandex Verification Is Useful

How Yandex Verification Works

Yandex provides a unique verification code that must be added as a <meta> tag in your site’s <head>.

This plugin automatically adds the tag for you.

Step-by-Step Verification Process

  1. Go to Yandex Webmaster
  2. Add your website
  3. Select the Meta Tag verification method
  4. Copy ONLY the verification code value
  5. Paste the value into the Yandex verification field in this plugin
  6. Click Save Settings
  7. Return to Yandex Webmaster and click Verify

Example: Yandex Meta Tag

<meta name=\"yandex-verification\" content=\"abcdef123456\" />

You only need to copy: abcdef123456

⚠️ Common Mistake: Do not paste the full meta tag. Only paste the verification string.

Important Notes About Yandex

πŸ’‘ Note: Verification does NOT influence rankings. It only enables access to Yandex Webmaster data.

After Verification

" }, "indexnow-protocol": { "title": "Understanding IndexNow", "body": "

What is IndexNow?

IndexNow is a protocol that lets your site notify participating search engines when a URL is created, updated, or deleted. This reduces the waiting time for discovery compared to relying only on crawling.

Plain meaning: Your site β€œpings” search engines when something changes, so they know what to check next.

How it works

  1. You publish, update, or delete a page
  2. This plugin sends the changed URL(s) to an IndexNow endpoint
  3. Participating search engines can pick up those URLs for faster crawling
  4. Search engines may crawl the URL sooner than usual

Participating search engines

Commonly supported via IndexNow:

Not supported:

What IndexNow helps with

What IndexNow does NOT do

Important realities:

API key and verification file

IndexNow requires proof that you control the site. When you enable IndexNow, this plugin generates an API key and creates a verification file at:

https://yoursite.com/<your-api-key>.txt

Participating search engines may check for this file before accepting URL notifications.

Should you enable it?

Enable IndexNow if:

Skip IndexNow if:

Best practice: Keep your sitemap enabled and submitted in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. IndexNow is a complement, not a replacement.
" }, "social-media-tags": { "title": "Social Media & Open Graph Tags", "body": "

What Are Open Graph Tags?

Open Graph (OG) tags control how your pages appear when shared on social media platforms. They define:

Platform Support

Open Graph is used by:

Twitter/X uses:

Default Open Graph Image

This image is used when:

Recommended size: 1200Γ—630 pixels

Why this size? It works well on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Discord, and most platforms without cropping.

Twitter Username

Setting your Twitter/X username enables \"Twitter Card\" previews with large images when your content is shared on Twitter/X.

Format: Just the username (without @)

Example: yourusername not @yourusername

Facebook App ID

This is optional and only needed if you want:

Most sites can skip this.

Theme Color

Some platforms (Discord, Telegram) display a colored strip or embed border using the theme-color meta tag. This is purely cosmetic.

Example: #2271b1 (WordPress blue)

πŸ’‘ Tip: Use your brand's primary color for consistency.

Do Social Tags Affect SEO?

No. Google does not use Open Graph or Twitter Card tags for rankings. However, better social previews can lead to:

⚠️ Reality Check: Social tags affect how your links look when shared. They do not improve your Google rankings directly.

Testing Your Social Tags

Use these tools to preview how your pages will look when shared:

" }, "schema-structured-data": { "title": "Schema & Structured Data", "body": "

What Is Schema.org Markup?

Schema (structured data) is code that describes your content in a machine-readable format. It helps search engines understand:

Why Use Schema?

Benefits:

⚠️ Important Reality: Schema does NOT guarantee rich results or better rankings. Google may choose to display rich results if it finds the schema useful and the content high-quality, but there's no guarantee.

Organization Schema

This markup describes your business or brand:

Most sites should enable Organization schema β€” it's simple and helps establish brand identity.

Breadcrumbs Schema

Breadcrumbs show page hierarchy (e.g., Home > Blog > Article Title).

Enable if:

Skip if:

πŸ’‘ Tip: Use Google's Rich Results Test to validate your schema after setup.

Schema Does Not Guarantee Rankings

Schema helps search engines understand your content. It may lead to better visibility through rich results, but it does NOT directly improve rankings. High-quality content, good user experience, and proper technical SEO still matter most.

" }, "local-biz-data": { "title": "Local Business Schema", "body": "

What Is Local Business Schema?

Local Business schema is structured data that helps search engines understand your physical business location, services, and operating details. It's specifically designed for businesses that serve customers at a physical location or within a defined service area.

When to Enable Local Business Schema

Enable only if you:

Don't enable if you:

Business Information Must Match

πŸ”₯ Critical: If you have a Google Business Profile, your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) must EXACTLY match between:

Inconsistent information confuses search engines and hurts local SEO.

Business Type Selection

Choose the most specific business type that matches your business. For example:

Specific types give search engines more context about your business category.

Required vs Optional Fields

Essential for Local SEO:

Optional but helpful:

Leaving optional fields empty won't harm your site, but complete information may help with local visibility.

πŸ’‘ Tip: Use Google's Rich Results Test to validate your local business schema after setup.

Local Business Schema Benefits

Local Business schema may help with:

⚠️ Important: Schema does not guarantee rich results or improved rankings. It helps search engines understand your business better, which may lead to better local visibility.
" }, "seo-templates": { "title": "SEO Templates Explained", "body": "

What Are SEO Templates?

SEO templates provide automatic fallback values for page titles and meta descriptions when individual pages don't have custom SEO set.

Key point: Templates are used ONLY when per-page SEO values are missing.

How Templates Work

Priority order:

  1. Custom per-page SEO (highest priority) β€” set via meta box on individual posts/pages
  2. Template (fallback) β€” uses template with variables
  3. WordPress default (last resort) β€” basic title from post/page title

Available Variables

Templates use variables that automatically fill with page-specific information:

πŸ’‘ Note: You don't need to use all variables. Only use what makes sense for your site.

Common Template Examples

Simple title template:

{title} {separator} {site}

Result: \"About Us | Asneris SEO Toolkit\"

Blog post with category:

{title} {separator} {category} {separator} {site}

Result: \"How to Use Schema | SEO Tips | Asneris SEO Toolkit\"

Minimalist:

{title}

Result: Just the page title, no site name

Title Separator

The separator is the character that visually splits parts of the title. Common options:

Choose one that matches your brand style. There's no SEO advantage to any specific separator.

Description Templates

Description templates work similarly, but you can often leave them empty.

If empty: This plugin (or your theme) will automatically extract the first ~155 characters from the page content or excerpt.

If filled: The template will be used as the meta description fallback.

Example description template:

Read about {title} on {site}. {excerpt}
⚠️ Best Practice: For most sites, it's better to leave description templates empty and let the plugin auto-generate from content. This ensures descriptions are unique and relevant.

Per-Post Type Templates

You can set different templates for:

This gives you flexibility. For example:

When Should I Use Templates?

Use templates if:

Write custom per-page SEO if:

πŸ’‘ Pro Tip: Start with simple templates like {title} | {site}. You can always customize important pages individually later.

Do Templates Affect Rankings?

Templates help ensure every page has a title and description. However:

Think of templates as safety nets, not optimization tools.

" }, "maintenance-safety": { "title": "Maintenance & Safety Tools", "body": "

What's on This Tab?

The Maintenance & Safety tab provides tools for:

Most users rarely need these tools unless troubleshooting issues or migrating sites.

Conflict Detection

This plugin checks for other active SEO plugins and warns you if multiple plugins might be outputting duplicate meta tags, schema, or sitemaps.

Common conflicts:

⚠️ Warning: Running multiple SEO plugins simultaneously can confuse search engines and hurt your SEO. Keep only one SEO plugin active at a time.

How to fix conflicts:

  1. Decide which SEO plugin you want to use as your primary tool
  2. Deactivate or uninstall other SEO plugins
  3. Clear your site cache (if using a caching plugin)
  4. Test a few pages to ensure meta tags appear correctly

Export Settings

Use this to download your current plugin settings as a JSON file.

When to export:

The exported file contains all your settings (verification codes, social media config, schema settings, templates, etc.) but does NOT include per-post SEO data.

Import Settings

Upload a previously exported JSON file to restore settings.

⚠️ Important: Only import files that were exported from this plugin. Importing settings from other plugins or manually edited JSON files may cause errors.

Use cases:

Reset Settings

This button deletes ALL plugin settings and returns everything to default.

πŸ”₯ Danger: This action is PERMANENT and cannot be undone. All configuration, verification codes, schema settings, and templates will be deleted.

Use reset only if:

Before resetting: Export your settings so you can restore them later if needed.

Plugin Information

This section shows:

Useful for troubleshooting or when contacting support.

πŸ’‘ Pro Tip: Make it a habit to export settings before making major changes. It takes 5 seconds and can save you hours of reconfiguration if something goes wrong.
" } } }, "page-diagnostics": { "cards": [ { "title": "About Page Diagnostics", "icon": "dashicons-info", "content": "

Inspect a single page and see exactly what search engines can read from it β€” including title, description, canonical URL, indexing rules, and structured data.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/page-diagnostics/" }, { "title": "How to Use", "icon": "dashicons-search", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/diagnostics-guide/" }, { "title": "What You’ll See", "icon": "dashicons-lightbulb", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/understanding-results/" }, { "title": "Note", "icon": "dashicons-warning", "content": "

This page is read-only. It shows factual output only β€” no scoring, no recommendations, and no ranking predictions. Use it to spot missing, conflicting, or unexpected signals.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/facts-based-approach/" } ], "modals": { "page-diagnostics-overview": { "title": "Page Diagnostics Overview", "body": "

What is Page Diagnostics?

Page Diagnostics is a read-only inspection tool that shows you exactly what search engines, social platforms, and browsers can read from a single page on your site.

This page reflects a single fetch at a specific point in time. Results may change if your page, settings, or server behavior changes.

What It Does

Important: This tool is read-only. It shows facts about what exists β€” no scoring, no recommendations, no changes.

What It Does NOT Do

When to Use Page Diagnostics

How It Works

  1. Select a page from the dropdown or enter a custom URL
  2. Click \"Run Diagnostics\" to fetch the page
  3. Review the results in categorized sections
  4. Use findings to verify or troubleshoot settings
" }, "page-fetch-status": { "title": "Page Fetch & HTTP Status", "body": "

What is Page Fetch?

Page fetch shows whether the page loads successfully and reports the HTTP status code returned by your server.

HTTP Status Codes

2xx Success:

3xx Redirects:

4xx Client Errors:

5xx Server Errors:

Important: If a page returns 404, 500, or other error codes, search engines cannot index it β€” even if it appears in your sitemap.

Redirects

If the page redirects, you'll see:

Important: The Final URL is where the browser lands after redirects. It is not necessarily the canonical URL.

Note: Search engines follow redirects but may lose signals through redirect chains. Keep redirects to 1 hop when possible.
" }, "indexing-rules": { "title": "Indexing Rules (Robots Meta)", "body": "

What Are Indexing Rules?

Indexing rules tell search engines whether a page is allowed to appear in search results. These rules are communicated through:

Common Directives

index: Allow the page in search results (default)

noindex: Prevent the page from appearing in search results

follow: Allow search engines to follow links on the page (default)

nofollow: Do not follow links on this page

noarchive: Do not show a cached copy in search results

nosnippet: Do not show a text snippet or video preview in search results

Critical: If a page has noindex, search engines will remove it from their index (or never index it). Make sure this is intentional.

Note: Removing noindex does not instantly restore rankings β€” search engines must re-crawl the page.

Multiple Robots Tags

If Page Diagnostics detects multiple robots meta tags, this indicates a conflict:

Resolution: Search engines typically use the most restrictive directive when multiple tags exist. Fix conflicts by disabling duplicate SEO plugins.

X-Robots-Tag Header

Some sites use HTTP headers instead of meta tags. If present, Page Diagnostics will show the X-Robots-Tag value. This header has the same effect as the meta tag.

" }, "canonical-url": { "title": "Canonical URL", "body": "

What is a Canonical URL?

A canonical URL tells search engines which version of a page to index when multiple URLs show the same (or very similar) content.

Why Canonical URLs Matter

These URLs may show the same content:

The canonical tag consolidates ranking signals to one preferred URL.

Canonical Tag Format

<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https://example.com/page/\" />

Common Patterns

Self-referencing canonical: Most pages should canonical to themselves (the current URL). This is the default WordPress behavior.

Cross-page canonical: Page A canonicals to Page B. This tells search engines to index Page B instead of Page A.

Important: If a page canonicals to a different URL, search engines will likely not index that page β€” they'll index the canonical target instead.

Issues to Watch For

Testing Canonical Target

Page Diagnostics will test the canonical target URL and report:

Tip: A green \"self-referencing\" canonical is usually the safest and recommended setup.

WordPress Default: WordPress automatically adds a self-referencing canonical to most pages. Custom canonicals are rarely needed.
" }, "meta-tags": { "title": "Meta Tags (Title & Description)", "body": "

Title Tag

The title tag (<title>) is what appears:

Title Tag Best Practices

Multiple Title Tags: If Page Diagnostics detects multiple <title> tags, this indicates a conflict between your theme and plugins. Search engines typically use the first title tag.

Meta Description

The meta description is the brief text that appears below the title in search results.

Key Points About Descriptions

Note: Google often ignores custom descriptions and generates its own based on the user's search query and page content.

Multiple Meta Tags

If Page Diagnostics shows multiple meta descriptions, this indicates:

Resolution: Disable duplicate SEO plugins or remove manual meta tags. Search engines typically use the first meta description tag.

Missing Title or Description

If no custom title or description is set:

" }, "social-preview": { "title": "Social Media Preview Tags", "body": "

What Are Social Preview Tags?

Social preview tags control how your pages look when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and messaging apps.

These tags affect how links look when shared β€” they do not affect search rankings.

Open Graph (og:) Tags

Used by Facebook, LinkedIn, Discord, and most social platforms:

Twitter Card Tags

Twitter/X uses its own tags (but falls back to Open Graph if missing):

Fallback Behavior: Most platforms will use Open Graph tags if Twitter-specific tags are missing.

Recommended Image Sizes

Testing Social Previews

Use these official tools to see how your pages appear when shared:

Cache Note: Social platforms cache preview data. After updating tags, use their debug tools to clear the cache and fetch fresh data.

Multiple Social Tags

If Page Diagnostics detects multiple og:title or og:image tags, this indicates plugin conflicts. Platforms typically use the first tag they encounter.

" }, "structured-data": { "title": "Structured Data (Schema)", "body": "

What is Structured Data?

Structured data (also called schema markup) is code that helps search engines understand what your content represents β€” not just what it says.

Common Schema Types

JSON-LD Format

Most modern structured data uses JSON-LD format, which appears in <script type=\"application/ld+json\"> tags.

Example:

<script type=\"application/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https://schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n  \"name\": \"Your Company\",\n  \"url\": \"https://example.com\"\n}\n</script>
Benefits: Structured data can help search engines show rich results (star ratings, breadcrumbs, event details, etc.) in search results β€” but rich results are never guaranteed.

Note: Valid structured data does not guarantee rich results. Display is entirely at the search engine's discretion.

What Page Diagnostics Shows

Validating Structured Data

Use Google's official tools to validate schema:

Important: Structured data improves understanding, not rankings. Rich results may appear if Google chooses to display them, but this is not guaranteed.

Multiple Schema Blocks

It's normal to have multiple JSON-LD blocks on a page (e.g., Organization + WebPage + BreadcrumbList). Each block serves a different purpose.

Missing Structured Data

If Page Diagnostics shows \"No schema blocks detected\":

" } } }, "site-diagnostics": { "cards": [ { "title": "About Site Diagnostics", "icon": "dashicons-info", "content": "

Site Diagnostics checks site-wide SEO patterns that may affect how search engines discover, understand, and index your pages. It focuses on global signals, not individual pages.

This helps you identify issues that impact all pages at once.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/site-diagnostics/" }, { "title": "Can search engines easily discover your pages?", "icon": "dashicons-networking", "content": "

Why this matters: If search engines cannot find your sitemap, they may discover pages slowly or miss updates.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/sitemaps/" }, { "title": "Is your site sending clear, single signals?", "icon": "dashicons-yes", "content": "

Why this matters: Search engines expect one clear SEO signal per page. Multiple outputs can cause confusion.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/duplicate-signals/" }, { "title": "Is anything blocking your site from search results?", "icon": "dashicons-shield", "content": "

Important: Even a well-optimized site cannot appear in search results if indexing is blocked.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/indexing-safety/" }, { "title": "Do pages clearly identify their main URL?", "icon": "dashicons-admin-links", "content": "

Why this matters: Canonical URLs tell search engines which version of a page should be indexed.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/canonical-consistency/" }, { "title": "How to use this page", "icon": "dashicons-lightbulb", "content": "
  1. Fix blocking issues (red status) first
  2. Resolve duplicate or conflict warnings next
  3. Use Page Diagnostics for deep checks on individual URLs
  4. Re-run Site Diagnostics after major changes
", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/validation/" }, { "title": "Important Note", "icon": "dashicons-warning", "content": "

This page shows facts and detected patterns only.

It does not predict rankings, assign scores, or guarantee results. It reflects what search engines can see at a site-wide level.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/facts-based-approach/" } ], "modals": { "site-diagnostics-overview": { "title": "Site Diagnostics Overview", "body": "

What is Site Diagnostics?

Site Diagnostics performs automated checks on site-wide SEO patterns that may affect how search engines discover, crawl, and index your content.

What It Checks

Note: Sitemaps help discovery, not rankings. They don't guarantee indexing or improve rankings directly.
Important: This tool shows facts and patterns only. It does not predict rankings, assign scores, or guarantee results.

What It Does NOT Check

When to Run Site Diagnostics

Understanding Results

Status Indicators:

Priority: Fix red errors first, then address yellow warnings. Info items are for reference only.

How Long Does It Take?

Site Diagnostics runs automatically when you load the page and typically completes in a few seconds. Results are cached for performance.

" }, "sitemap-discovery": { "title": "Sitemap Discovery & Accessibility", "body": "

What is Sitemap Discovery?

Site Diagnostics checks whether your XML sitemap exists, is accessible, and is properly announced to search engines.

What Gets Checked

Common Sitemap Locations

Why Sitemaps Matter

Note: Sitemaps help discovery, not rankings. They don't guarantee indexing or improve rankings directly.

Common Issues & Fixes

Sitemap Not Found (404):

Sitemap Not in robots.txt:

Multiple SEO Plugins:

Critical: If your sitemap returns 404 or redirects, search engines cannot access it β€” even if it's declared in robots.txt or submitted to Search Console.

After Fixing Sitemap Issues

  1. Verify sitemap is accessible: Visit the URL directly
  2. Check robots.txt: Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt
  3. Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
  4. Submit sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
  5. Re-run Site Diagnostics to confirm fixes
" }, "duplicate-signals": { "title": "Duplicate SEO Signals & Plugin Conflicts", "body": "

What Are Duplicate Signals?

Duplicate signals occur when multiple sources (plugins, theme, manual code) output the same type of SEO tag, creating confusion for search engines.

What Gets Checked

Site Diagnostics detects:

Why This Matters

When search engines encounter duplicate tags, they typically:

Important: Search engines expect one clear signal per page. Multiple outputs dilute clarity and can cause indexing issues.

Common Causes

How to Fix Conflicts

  1. Choose ONE SEO plugin as your primary tool
  2. Deactivate or uninstall other SEO plugins
  3. Check theme settings β€” disable theme-based SEO features
  4. Search template files for manual meta tags (header.php, functions.php)
  5. Clear site cache after making changes
  6. Re-run Site Diagnostics to verify fixes

Detected Conflicting Plugins

Site Diagnostics will list any active SEO plugins it detects. Common conflicts include:

Recommendation: Keep only ONE SEO plugin active. This plugin is designed to work standalone or can be disabled if you prefer another SEO solution.

Testing After Fixes

Use Page Diagnostics to inspect a few pages and verify:

" }, "indexing-blocks": { "title": "Indexing Blocks & Search Visibility", "body": "

What Are Indexing Blocks?

Indexing blocks are settings or directives that prevent search engines from indexing your site or specific pages, effectively hiding them from search results.

What Gets Checked

Site Diagnostics looks for:

WordPress \"Discourage Search Engines\"

Location: Settings β†’ Reading β†’ Search engine visibility

When checked, WordPress adds this to every page:

<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" />
Critical: If this setting is enabled, your entire site is blocked from search results. This setting should only be checked for development/staging sites.

How to Fix Global Noindex

  1. Go to WordPress Dashboard β†’ Settings β†’ Reading
  2. Find \"Search engine visibility\" section
  3. Ensure \"Discourage search engines from indexing this site\" is UNCHECKED
  4. Click Save Changes
  5. Wait for search engines to re-crawl (typically several days, depending on crawl frequency)
  6. Request re-indexing in Google Search Console (optional but faster)

Homepage Noindex

If only your homepage is noindexed:

robots.txt Blocks

Site Diagnostics checks for overly broad robots.txt rules like:

Important: robots.txt blocks crawling, not indexing. However, search engines cannot index pages they cannot crawl.

Conflicting Signals

Common conflicts detected:

Fix: Either remove the page from the sitemap OR remove the noindex tag. Both signals should agree.

Checking Individual Pages

After fixing site-wide blocks, check key pages using Page Diagnostics to verify:

How Long Until Fixed?

After removing noindex blocks:

" }, "canonical-consistency": { "title": "Canonical URL Consistency", "body": "

What is Canonical Consistency?

Canonical consistency ensures pages correctly declare their preferred URL to search engines, preventing duplicate content issues and consolidating ranking signals.

What Gets Checked

Site Diagnostics checks a representative sample of pages to detect:

Understanding Canonical URLs

A canonical URL is the \"main\" version of a page when multiple URLs show similar content:

The canonical tag tells search engines: \"Index this URL, ignore the others.\"

WordPress Default Behavior

WordPress automatically adds a self-referencing canonical to most pages:

<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https://example.com/current-page/\" />

This is the recommended approach for most sites. Custom canonicals are rarely needed.

Best Practice: Let WordPress handle canonicals automatically unless you have a specific reason to customize them.

Common Canonical Issues

1. Canonical to Homepage

2. Canonical Loops

3. Canonical to Redirected URL

4. HTTP/HTTPS Mismatch

Critical: If a page canonicals to a different URL, search engines will likely not index that page β€” they'll index the canonical target instead.

How to Fix Canonical Issues

  1. Use Page Diagnostics to inspect affected pages
  2. Check WordPress Settings β†’ General (ensure correct HTTPS/HTTP)
  3. Review per-page canonical settings in SEO meta box
  4. Check for plugin conflicts (multiple SEO plugins)
  5. Verify theme isn't adding conflicting canonical tags
  6. Clear site cache after making changes
  7. Re-run Site Diagnostics to confirm fixes

When to Use Custom Canonicals

Only use custom canonicals when:

For most sites, WordPress default canonicals are sufficient and safer.

" }, "redirect-chains": { "title": "Redirect Chains & Performance", "body": "

Note: Site Diagnostics identifies the presence of redirect chain patterns. Detailed per-URL analysis is available in Page Diagnostics.

What Are Redirect Chains?

A redirect chain occurs when a URL redirects multiple times before reaching the final destination. For example:

Page A β†’ Page B β†’ Page C β†’ Final Page

Each hop adds latency and may cause search engines to stop following the chain.

What Gets Checked

Site Diagnostics checks a representative sample of pages to detect:

Why Redirect Chains Matter

Important: Google and other search engines may not follow redirect chains longer than 5 hops. Pages at the end of long chains may not be indexed.

Common Causes of Redirect Chains

How to Fix Redirect Chains

  1. Identify the final destination: Follow the chain to see where it ends
  2. Update redirect to point directly: Skip intermediate hops
  3. Example: If A β†’ B β†’ C, change to A β†’ C (direct)
  4. Remove unnecessary redirects: If a page no longer needs to redirect, remove the rule
  5. Consolidate redirect sources: Use ONE redirect management tool
  6. Clear server cache and CDN cache after changes
  7. Test with Page Diagnostics or browser tools

Redirect Loops

A redirect loop occurs when a URL redirects back to itself:

Page A β†’ Page B β†’ Page A (infinite loop)
Critical: Redirect loops make pages completely inaccessible to both users and search engines. Fix immediately.

How to fix:

  1. Identify which page redirects back to itself
  2. Check redirect rules in SEO plugin or .htaccess
  3. Remove the conflicting redirect rule
  4. Verify the page loads correctly after fix

Redirects to 404s

If a redirect points to a non-existent page:

Best Practices for Redirects

Testing Redirects

Use these tools to test redirect behavior:

After Fixing Chains

  1. Test the URL directly in a browser
  2. Verify with Page Diagnostics
  3. Re-run Site Diagnostics to confirm
  4. Monitor Google Search Console for crawl errors
  5. Clear any CDN or server-level caching
" } } }, "bulk-edit": { "cards": [ { "title": "About SEO Bulk Edit", "icon": "dashicons-edit", "content": "

Bulk Edit lets you update SEO titles, descriptions, and indexing settings for multiple posts at once.

This is useful when cleaning up old content or applying consistent SEO rules.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/bulk-edit/" }, { "title": "How to use Bulk Edit", "icon": "dashicons-filter", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/bulk-edit-usage/" }, { "title": "Bulk actions explained", "icon": "dashicons-admin-tools", "content": "

πŸ’‘ Tip: Clearing values doesn't delete content β€” it tells the system to generate them automatically using fallback rules.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/bulk-actions/" }, { "title": "Best practices", "icon": "dashicons-lightbulb", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/bulk-edit-best-practices/" }, { "title": "Important notes", "icon": "dashicons-warning", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/bulk-edit-safety/" } ], "modals": { "bulk-overview": { "title": "SEO Bulk Edit Overview", "body": "

What is SEO Bulk Edit?

SEO Bulk Edit lets you update Content Titles, Content Descriptions, and Search Visibility (Index/NoIndex) for multiple items at once. This helps when cleaning up older content or applying consistent SEO rules across many pages.

How to Use

  1. Filter Content: Choose a Content Type (Posts, Pages, etc.) and optionally filter by Indexing Status
  2. Select Items: Check the boxes next to the items you want to update
  3. Apply Changes: Use Quick Bulk Actions or edit fields inline
  4. Save: Click Save All Changes to commit the edits

What You Can Edit

Important: Nothing is applied until you click Save All Changes. Bulk edits can affect many pagesβ€”double-check selections before saving.

Best Practices

" }, "quick-bulk-actions": { "title": "Quick Bulk Actions", "body": "

What Are Quick Bulk Actions?

These buttons apply one change to all selected items. First select rows using the checkboxes, then click an action.

βœ“ Allow in Search (Index)

Allows selected items to appear in search results.

βœ— Hide from Search (NoIndex)

Prevents selected items from appearing in search results.

Important: NoIndex removes pages from search results, but it does not block visitors from viewing the page.

Clear Content Titles

Removes custom titles from selected items.

Clear Descriptions

Removes custom descriptions from selected items.

How to Use

  1. Filter content (optional)
  2. Select rows using checkboxes
  3. Click an action button
  4. Review updates in the table
  5. Click Save All Changes to commit

Reminder: Nothing is saved until you click Save All Changes.

" }, "filter-content": { "title": "Filter Content", "body": "

Use filters to narrow the table before making bulk updates.

Tip: Always filter first before bulk NoIndex actions to avoid updating the wrong content type.
" }, "seo-title-field": { "title": "Custom Content Title", "body": "

What is the Custom Content Title?

This is the SEO title (title tag) that may appear as the clickable headline in search results and browser tabs.

How to Use

Best Practices

Note: Titles help clarity and clicks, but they do not guarantee rankings.
" }, "meta-description-field": { "title": "Custom Content Description", "body": "

What is the Custom Content Description?

This is the meta description that may appear under the title in search results. Search engines may use itβ€”or generate their own snippet depending on the query.

How to Use

Best Practices

Tip: Prioritize custom descriptions for important pages; let less important pages auto-generate.
" }, "indexing-status": { "title": "Search Visibility (Index / NoIndex)", "body": "

What is Search Visibility?

This controls whether a page is allowed to appear in search results.

Options

Important: NoIndex does not hide the page from visitors. It only affects search engine indexing.

When Changes Take Effect

Search engines must re-crawl pages to observe changes, so updates may take days or longer to reflect in search results.

" } } }, "redirects": { "cards": [ { "title": "About SEO Redirects", "icon": "dashicons-randomize", "content": "

Redirects guide visitors and search engines from an old URL to the correct page when URLs change.

This helps avoid broken links and preserves search visibility.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/redirects/" }, { "title": "How redirects work", "icon": "dashicons-admin-links", "content": "

Why this matters: Without redirects, users may see errors and search engines may drop old pages.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/how-redirects-work/" }, { "title": "Choosing the right redirect type", "icon": "dashicons-filter", "content": "

Tip: Temporary redirects keep the original URL indexed.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/redirect-types/" }, { "title": "Best practices", "icon": "dashicons-yes", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/redirect-best-practices/" }, { "title": "Important Note", "icon": "dashicons-warning", "content": "

This tool manages redirects only.

It does not modify page content, predict rankings, or guarantee SEO improvements.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/facts-based-approach/" } ], "modals": { "redirects-overview": { "title": "What Are Redirects?", "body": "

Purpose

Redirects automatically send visitors and search engines from one URL to another. Use them when:

Important: Redirects help search engines understand that a page has moved, instead of treating it as missing or deleted.

Automatic Redirects

This plugin automatically creates 301 redirects when you change a published post's permalink. Manual redirects give you full control for other scenarios.

When NOT to Use Redirects

" }, "from-url": { "title": "From (Old URL)", "body": "

What to Enter

Enter the old URL path that visitors or search engines might request. Do not include your domain name.

Supported Formats

Tip: You can copy the URL from your browser and remove the http://yoursite.com part.

Example

If your old page was:
https://example.com/old-page/

Enter only:
/old-page/

" }, "to-url": { "title": "To (New URL)", "body": "

What to Enter

Enter the new URL where visitors should land. You can use:

Supported Formats

Important: Make sure the destination page exists and is accessible. Redirecting to a broken page creates a bad user experience.

Example

If your new page is:
https://example.com/new-page/

You can enter:
/new-page/

External Redirects

To redirect to another domain, use the full URL:
https://otherdomain.com/page/

" }, "redirect-types": { "title": "Redirect Types (301, 302, 307)", "body": "

301 Permanent (Most Common)

Use when the old page is permanently replaced by the new page.

Use for: Permalink changes, content consolidation, deleted pages

302 Temporary

Use when the redirect is temporary and the old URL may come back.

Use for: Maintenance pages, A/B testing, seasonal content

307 Temporary (Preserve Method)

Similar to 302, but guarantees that POST requests stay as POST (not converted to GET).

Use for: Form submissions, API endpoints (rare for most sites)

Recommendation: When in doubt, use 301 Permanent. It's the right choice for 95% of scenarios.

Important

Redirects preserve existing value. They do not improve rankings or create new value.

" } } }, "validation": { "cards": [ { "title": "About Validation", "icon": "dashicons-yes", "content": "

Validation checks your site for common SEO issues that may affect how search engines discover, crawl, and index your content.

It looks for clarity issues β€” not rankings or guarantees.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/validation/" }, { "title": "What Validation Checks", "icon": "dashicons-search", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/validation-checks/" }, { "title": "How to Use Validation", "icon": "dashicons-admin-tools", "content": "
  1. Click Run Validation to scan your site
  2. Review results by category (errors, warnings, info)
  3. Fix errors first (red status)
  4. Address warnings as needed (yellow status)
  5. Re-run validation after making changes
", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/using-validation/" }, { "title": "Understanding Results", "icon": "dashicons-info", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/validation-results/" }, { "title": "Important Note", "icon": "dashicons-warning", "content": "

Validation shows facts and detected patterns β€” not rankings or scores.

Fixing all issues does not guarantee improved rankings. It ensures your site sends clear, consistent signals to search engines.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/facts-based-approach/" } ], "modals": { "validation-overview": { "title": "Validation Overview", "body": "

What is Validation?

Validation is an automated scan that checks your WordPress site for common SEO issues that may prevent search engines from properly discovering, crawling, and indexing your content.

What Validation Does

What Validation Does NOT Do

Purpose: Validation ensures your site sends clear, consistent signals to search engines. It identifies technical barriers, not content quality.

When to Run Validation

How Long Does It Take?

Validation typically takes 30-60 seconds depending on site size and complexity.

" }, "indexing-checks": { "title": "Indexing Status Checks", "body": "

What Are Indexing Checks?

Indexing checks verify that pages intended to appear in search results are not accidentally blocked by noindex tags or settings.

Common Issues Detected

Why This Matters

If a page is marked noindex:

Critical: If your entire site is noindexed, it will disappear from search results entirely.

How to Fix

  1. Check WordPress Settings β†’ Reading β†’ \"Discourage search engines\" (should be unchecked)
  2. Check individual pages in Bulk Edit for noindex status
  3. Verify plugin settings don't have global noindex enabled
  4. Check for theme or other plugin conflicts
Note: It may take days or weeks for search engines to re-crawl and re-index pages after fixing noindex issues.
" }, "canonical-checks": { "title": "Canonical URL Checks", "body": "

What Are Canonical Checks?

Canonical checks verify that pages correctly declare their main URL version to search engines, preventing duplicate content issues.

What is a Canonical URL?

A canonical URL is the \"preferred\" version of a page when multiple URLs show the same content. For example:

All three may show the same content, but the canonical tells search engines which one to index.

Common Issues Detected

Important: If a page canonicals to a different URL, search engines will likely not index that page β€” they'll index the canonical URL instead.

Why This Matters

How to Fix

  1. Use Page Diagnostics to check canonical URLs for affected pages
  2. Verify custom canonical settings in page editor
  3. Check for plugin conflicts (multiple SEO plugins)
  4. Ensure redirects don't create canonical conflicts
WordPress Default: WordPress automatically adds a canonical to the current URL for most pages. Custom canonicals are rarely needed.
" }, "discovery-checks": { "title": "Discovery & Crawling Checks", "body": "

What Are Discovery Checks?

Discovery checks verify that search engines can find and crawl your pages efficiently through sitemaps and robots.txt.

Sitemap Checks

Validation verifies:

Why Sitemaps Matter

Note: Sitemaps help discovery, not rankings. They don't guarantee indexing or improve rankings directly.

Robots.txt Checks

Validation verifies:

Common Issues Detected

How to Fix

  1. Verify sitemap exists: Visit yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
  2. Add sitemap to robots.txt if missing
  3. Review robots.txt rules in Robots.txt Editor
  4. Submit sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
Critical: If robots.txt blocks your sitemap or key pages, search engines cannot crawl them β€” even if they're not noindexed.
" }, "redirect-checks": { "title": "Redirect & Performance Checks", "body": "

What Are Redirect Checks?

Redirect checks identify issues with redirects that may slow crawling, waste crawl budget, or prevent indexing entirely.

Common Issues Detected

Why This Matters

Important: If a redirect chain ends in a noindex page or 404, search engines may not index the final URL (or any URL in the chain).

How to Fix

  1. Review detected redirect chains in Validation results
  2. Update redirects to point directly to the final destination
  3. Remove redirect loops entirely
  4. Verify final destinations are indexable (not noindex)
  5. Use Page Diagnostics to confirm redirect behavior

Redirect Best Practices

Tool Tip: Use the Redirects page to manage redirects and avoid creating chains.
" } } }, "robots-txt": { "cards": [ { "title": "About robots.txt", "icon": "dashicons-shield", "content": "

The robots.txt file tells search engines which parts of your site they are allowed to visit.

It controls crawling only β€” not rankings or indexing.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/robots-txt/" }, { "title": "What robots.txt does (and doesn’t do)", "icon": "dashicons-info", "content": "

Important: Pages blocked here may still appear in search results if linked elsewhere.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/robots-txt-basics/" }, { "title": "Common safe rules", "icon": "dashicons-yes", "content": "

These defaults are safe for most WordPress sites.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/robots-txt-safe-defaults/" }, { "title": "When to be careful", "icon": "dashicons-warning", "content": "

Incorrect rules can prevent search engines from understanding your pages.

", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/robots-txt-mistakes/" }, { "title": "After making changes", "icon": "dashicons-update", "content": "", "review_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/asneris-seo-toolkit/robots-txt-testing/" } ], "modals": { "robots-overview": { "title": "robots.txt Overview", "body": "

What is robots.txt?

The robots.txt file is a publicly accessible text file located at the root of your site (for example, https://example.com/robots.txt). It tells search engine crawlers which URLs they are allowed or not allowed to crawl.

Key Points

Best Practice: Use robots.txt only for crawl management. Avoid blocking URLs you want search engines to understand.

Common Uses

Security & Privacy Note

robots.txt is public. Anyone can view it by visiting /robots.txt.

robots.txt is a crawler directive, not a security mechanism. To actually restrict access:

" }, "robots-validation": { "title": "robots.txt Validation Checks", "body": "

What Is Being Validated?

This section checks whether search engines can successfully access your robots.txt file.

Checks Performed

Common Issues

Important: Validation checks the live public URL, not what is currently typed in the editor.

After saving changes, re-run validation to confirm search engines can access the updated file.

" }, "robots-editor": { "title": "Edit robots.txt", "body": "

What Does This Editor Do?

This editor lets you modify the robots.txt file that is served to search engines.

How It Works

Tip: After saving, always click View Live File and re-run validation to confirm the update.

What This Does NOT Do

" }, "robots-syntax": { "title": "robots.txt Syntax Guide", "body": "

Basic Rule Format

User-agent: [crawler name]\nDisallow: [path]\nAllow: [path]

User-agent

Disallow

Allow

Sitemap

Note: Paths are case-sensitive and must be exact.
" }, "robots-best-practices": { "title": "robots.txt Best Practices", "body": "

Safe WordPress Defaults

User-agent: *\nDisallow: /wp-admin/\nAllow: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php\nDisallow: /wp-includes/\n\nSitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Recommended Blocks

Do NOT Block

Tip: Blocking resources needed for rendering can harm search engine understanding.

Common Mistakes

" } } } }