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SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

11 min read

0:00 11:59

What it does #

SEO is the work of helping Google, Bing and other search engines find your pages, understand them and show them to the right people. VuloPilot’s SEO tools do three things:

  1. Check your site for problems that hurt your search results, and give you a score.
  2. Set up the things search engines look for: page titles, sitemaps, redirects and more.
  3. Guide you page by page while you write, with a panel inside the post editor.

Why it matters #

Most visitors arrive from a search engine. If your titles are missing, your pages cannot be found, or old links lead nowhere, people never reach you. Fixing these basics is usually the cheapest way to get more visitors.

New to VuloPilot? See GETTING-STARTED for installation and the first scan.

Where to find things #

You want to…Go to
See your SEO score and problemsVuloPilot → SEO & Visibility → SEO
Set how page titles lookSettings → SEO → SEO Titles
Set up your sitemapSettings → SEO → Sitemap
Tell search engines about new pages instantlySettings → SEO → Instant Indexing
Choose which problems VuloPilot looks forSettings → Scanning → SEO & Content
Manage redirects, missing pages and robots.txtSEO & Visibility → Crawl & URLs
Prove you own your site to Google or BingSettings → Integrations → Webmaster Tools
Edit one page’s SEOThe VuloPilot SEO panel in the post editor

1. Your SEO score and problems #

What it does. After a scan, the SEO tab shows an overall score and lists problems in six groups.

Why it matters. It tells you exactly what to fix, in order of importance, so you are not guessing.

How to use it.

  1. Run a scan (Dashboard → Run scan).
  2. Open SEO & Visibility → SEO.
  3. Read the Overall Score and how many issues are critical or high priority.
  4. Open a group, read each problem and its advice, fix it, then scan again.
GroupPlain-English meaning
Titles & MetaAre page titles and short descriptions present, the right length and different on every page?
Content StructureAre headings in a sensible order, and are pages long enough to be useful?
ImagesDo images have a description (alt text), and do important pages have a main image?
Internal LinkingDo your pages link to each other so visitors and search engines can move around?
Indexability & CanonicalsAre there duplicate pages, or pages nothing links to?
Structured DataDo pages carry the information social sites and search engines use for previews?

Choose which problems VuloPilot looks for #

Go to Settings → Scanning → SEO & Content. Every switch below decides whether that problem is reported in your scan.

SettingWhat it doesWhy you might use it
Flag orphan pagesReports pages that no other page links toVisitors and search engines struggle to find these pages
Thin content threshold (words)Reports pages with fewer words than this (default 300)Very short pages rarely rank well
Flag missing meta descriptionsReports pages with no short summary for search resultsThe summary is what people read before clicking
Flag duplicate title tagsReports pages that share the same titleEach page should have its own title so search engines can tell them apart
Flag missing alt textReports images with no descriptionHelps blind visitors and helps image search
Flag broken imagesReports images that fail to loadBroken images make a site look neglected
Flag missing featured imagesReports posts and pages with no main imagePages with a main image look better when shared
Flag broken internal linksReports links to pages that no longer existDead links frustrate visitors
Add canonical URL tagsAdds a tag that tells search engines which address is the “official” one for a pageWordPress already does this; turn it on only if the scan says the tags are missing
Add Open Graph & Twitter Card tagsAdds the information used for previews when your page is shared on social sitesGives you a proper title, description and picture when shared
Minimum readability scoreReports posts that are hard to read (default 50; higher is easier)Easy text keeps visitors reading

2. Page titles and descriptions (SEO Titles) #

What it does. A page title is the clickable headline you see in search results. SEO Titles lets you set one pattern for each kind of page so every page gets a good title automatically.

Why it matters. The title is the first thing a searcher reads. A clear, consistent title gets more clicks.

How to use it. Go to Settings → SEO → SEO Titles.

  1. Turn on Custom title formats.
  2. Choose a Separator, the small symbol between parts of the title, for example Post title | Your site.
  3. Under Title & Description Format Templates, click Edit on a row: Homepage, Blog Post, Page, Category, Tag, Search Results or Archive.
  4. Build the pattern with the variables in the table below.
  5. Watch the length indicator: Too short, Good or Too long. Search engines cut off long titles.
  6. Save.
VariableBecomes
%site_title%Your website name
%site_description%Your website tagline
%post_title% / %page_title%The name of the post or page
%category_title% / %tag_title%The name of the category or tag
%search_term%What the visitor searched for
%archive_title%The archive name
%sep%Your chosen separator

Example: %post_title% %sep% %site_title% becomes Best Running Shoes | My Shop. That is also the default for posts.

A title you type for one page in the post editor panel always wins over these patterns.

3. Sitemap #

What it does. A sitemap is a list of all the pages you want search engines to know about. VuloPilot creates it and keeps it up to date. It also offers an HTML sitemap, a normal web page listing your content for visitors.

Why it matters. It helps search engines discover new and updated pages faster. Note that a sitemap makes finding your pages easier, but it does not guarantee they will appear in search results.

How to use it. Go to Settings → SEO → Sitemap.

  1. Switch XML Sitemap to Enabled. Your sitemap is at yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml, and search engines are told automatically when you publish or update something.
  2. Under What is included, tick the content types and categories to list.
  3. Adjust Advanced settings only if you need to.
  4. To give visitors a sitemap page, turn on Enable HTML sitemap and put the shortcode

    Posts #

    Pages #

    Categories #

     on any page.
SettingWhat it doesWhy you might use it
Post types in sitemapWhich kinds of content are listed (Posts, Pages, Media, Products)Leave out things you do not want found
Taxonomies in sitemapWhether categories and tags are listedCategory pages can help discovery
Links per sitemapHow many links go in each sitemap file (default 200)Rarely needs changing
Exclude posts / Exclude termsHide specific items by their ID number, separated by commasKeep private or thank-you pages out
Images in sitemapsLists the images used in your contentHelps your pictures appear in image search
Include featured imagesAlso lists main imagesSame as above
Display format / Sort by / Show dates / Item titles (HTML sitemap)How the visitor sitemap looks and is orderedMake it easy to read

4. Instant Indexing #

What it does. Normally search engines discover changes only when they next visit, which can take days. Instant Indexing sends them a message the moment you publish, edit or delete a page, using a free system called IndexNow.

Why it matters. New and updated pages can show up in search results sooner.

How to use it. Go to Settings → SEO → Instant Indexing.

  1. If it says IndexNow needs a key, generate one. Then it shows IndexNow is connected. There is nothing else to manage.
  2. Under What should notify search engines automatically, tick the kinds of content that should trigger a message (default: Posts, Pages, Products).
  3. To announce specific pages by hand, paste their addresses (one per line, up to 10,000) into Submit specific URLs and click Submit URLs.
  4. Recent submissions shows your last 100 messages and whether each was accepted.

5. Redirects and missing pages #

What it does. A redirect sends visitors from an old address to a new one. The 404 log records every time someone landed on a page that does not exist.

Why it matters. When you rename or delete a page, the old address stops working. Visitors see an error and search engines lose the page’s ranking. A redirect keeps both.

How to use it.

  1. Go to Settings → Scanning → SEO & Content → Redirects and turn on what you need:
SettingWhat it doesWhy you might use it
Enable redirect managerLets you create and manage redirectsNeeded for everything below
Auto-create redirect on slug changeAutomatically redirects the old address when you change a page’s web addressChanging a slug never breaks old links
Log 404sRecords visits to pages that do not existShows you which broken links need a redirect
  1. Open SEO & Visibility → Crawl & URLs.
  2. Redirects: click Add redirect, enter the old address (like /old-page/) and the new one (like https://example.com/new-page/), and save. You can edit, turn off or delete a redirect later. Redirect Health shows how many are working.
  3. 404 Log: each entry shows the address people requested. Click Create redirect to fix it, or Dismiss if no fix is needed. Use the All / Content / System filter to hide noise from theme and plugin files.

6. robots.txt #

What it does. robots.txt is a small file that tells search engines and AI bots which parts of your site they may visit. VuloPilot shows your live file and lets you edit it.

Why it matters. A wrong rule can hide your whole site from search engines by mistake. VuloPilot warns you if that happens.

How to use it. Open SEO & Visibility → Crawl & URLs → Robots & Sitemap.

  • Read the summary of allowed and blocked rules.
  • Edit the file and save. Changes are live immediately. Use Test robots.txt to check it, or Reset to WordPress default to undo.
  • Robots.txt Issues warns you if the file cannot be reached or blocks everything.
Setting (in Scanning → SEO & Content)What it doesWhy you might use it
Auto-generate robots.txtAdds a line pointing to your sitemapHelps search engines find the sitemap
Flag pages blocked for specific AI crawlersReports pages that AI bots such as GPTBot and ClaudeBot are told to stay away fromLets you decide whether that is what you want

7. SEO for one page (the post editor panel) #

What it does. When you edit a post or page, open the VuloPilot SEO sidebar. It shows how the page will look in search results and checks it as you type.

Why it matters. You fix problems while writing, instead of finding them in a scan later.

TabWhat it is for
GeneralSee a live search preview. Click Edit Snippet to write the SEO Title and Meta Description (the short summary under the title in search results). Add a Focus Keyword, the main phrase you want the page found for. A checklist shows All Good, Could Be Better or Needs Improvement
SocialChoose the title, description and picture used when the page is shared on social sites. Empty fields use the SEO title, the description and the featured image
SchemaStructured data that helps search engines understand the page. For advanced users
AdvancedSet a Canonical URL (the official address; leave empty normally). Tick No Index to keep the page out of search results, or No Follow to tell search engines not to follow its links
Page AnalysisShows this page’s current SEO issues

8. Table of Contents and FAQ blocks #

What they do. Two ready-made blocks you can add from the block inserter under Widgets.

  • Table of Contents builds a clickable list of the page’s headings. Options: a title, which heading levels to include, and whether it can be collapsed.
  • FAQ shows a list of questions and answers, and also tells search engines about them, which can earn a richer result.

Why use them. Readers jump straight to what they need, and FAQs can win more space in search results.

9. Prove you own your site (verification) and connect Google #

What it does. Search engines want proof that you own a site before they show you private data. Go to Settings → Integrations.

  • Webmaster Tools: paste the code Google, Bing, Pinterest, Baidu, Yandex or Norton Safe Web gives you, then click Verify.
  • Google Services: connect your Google account to see Search Console, Analytics and AdSense information inside VuloPilot. VuloPilot only reads the data and stores it on your own site.
  • Tag Manager: enter your container ID (looks like GTM-XXXXXXX) to add Google Tag Manager.

Why it matters. Verified sites get accurate search data, which VuloPilot uses to give better advice. If you turn on Analytics or Tag Manager, Google scripts load on your site, so tell visitors as your privacy rules require.

Common questions #

Where is my sitemap? At yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml once the XML Sitemap is enabled.

A page still shows an old title. A title set in the post editor panel overrides the patterns. Clear it there to use the pattern.

Will this guarantee top rankings? No. VuloPilot fixes the technical and content problems search engines look at, but no tool can guarantee a ranking or that a page is indexed.

Which outside services are used? Only the ones you turn on. See the readme’s External services section.

More help: TROUBLESHOOTING.

Related #

Updated on October 10, 2026

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